By Adam H. Beasley
As he stood in the corner of the Baltimore Ravens’ locker room with dozens of reporters and cameramen hanging on his every word Thursday, Deion Sanders gave the most surprising news of the week.
“You’ve got to understand, I don’t call cameras,” said Sanders, who is so made-for-TV, his nickname is Prime Time. “I don’t call media. Just because I make a statement and it travels farther than someone else’s statement, I don’t call attention to myself. I just do what I do. I try to do it well.”
Ever since his days at Florida State, the two-sport star’s personality has commanded the media’s attention. Even when he retired from football, Sanders went into television, working on CBS-TV’s NFL pre-game show.
When he returned to football last week, national and local reporters filled a trailer for his press conference. Sanders, 37, is easily the NFL’s most heralded nickel back.
But since his return, Sanders has been more Deion than Prime Time. While his interview with former Cowboys teammate Michael Irvin got some tongues wagging in Cleveland, he has kept a relatively low profile since joining the team – as low a profile as a future Hall of Famer can keep, of course.
“I don’t talk trash,” Sanders said. “Everybody I’ve ever played against, I’ve never talked trash. I challenge myself to go out there and play the football that I’m capable of playing.”
In essence, that’s what Sanders did earlier this week, when he challenged Browns quarterback Jeff Garcia to throw at him on ESPN.
Ravens head coach Brian Billick, who has said on several occasions that there is difference between respectfully challenging a player and talking trash, had no problem with the interview.
“He basically, when asked, ‘They’re going to come after you,’ he basically said, ‘Bring it on. OK, let’s go.’” Billick said. “That’s all he said. He said, ‘Let’s go. Garcia, you’re up first, OK, come on, bring it.’”
Sanders’ interview and all of the talking coming out of Browns camp this week will mean little when the teams actually take the field Sunday. While emotion plays a part in the outcome of the game, ultimately, it comes down to Xs and Os and execution.
For roughly 20 plays, Sanders will have the chance to prove that he can execute as well as anyone. For the time being, he’s doing his best to downplay expectations.
During this week’s media session, interviewers tried to get him to say if he’s already planned one of his patented touchdown celebrations.
To that, Sanders responded: “Let’s just make a play first before we start the celebrations. Let’s just make a play. I want to help this team in every way imaginable.”
When asked if his presence will be a distraction on this team, Sanders was quick to shoot down the idea.
“I’ve played for, I think, eight organizations, and I don’t think I’ve been a distraction yet, so I don’t think we should start here,” Sanders said. “We have tremendous personalities in this locker room. I played with Barry Bonds, I played with Barry Larkin, Ken Griffey Jr., Jerry Rice, John Taylor, Steve Young, Michael Irvin, several Pro Bowlers in Dallas, as well as Hall of Famers in Washington. I haven’t been a distraction, and I don’t know why we should start now.”
The old Prime Time could still emerge this season, but Sanders likely wants to speak on the field before he speaks too much off it. He also told reporters Baltimore that he needs to build a level of trust with them before he really cuts loose.
However, the media got at least one sound bite out of Sanders Thursday that was a glimpse of the past – and perhaps the future.
When asked what worries him most about this weekend, Sanders responded: “What suit I’m going to wear. I haven’t decided that, as of yet. I take two – one there and one back. That’s the only thing I’m concerned about. I don’t know if I brought all of the shoes to match the suits.”