Super Bowl XXXIV a game of hopes, dreams, destiny

Mike Lopresti

Saturday, Jan. 29, 2000 | 3:16 a.m.

ATLANTA -- So what happens when there are two teams of destiny, and only one trophy?

That, among other things, is what Super Bowl XXXIV is all about.

It will be the last rite of passage Sunday (6:18 p.m. EST, ABC) for someone. For the St. Louis Rams, who have come so far so quickly. For the Tennessee Titans, who used a new home and new name to reach a new land.

The Rams win with speed and fire. The Titans are rawer, grittier.

And yet if they do not share style, they share the sense of finally belonging. Someone cracks the inner circle for the first time Sunday night, and both teams suggest fate, fortune, time, or whatever has the door open just for them.

No wonder. What team could feel more pre-ordained than the Rams with their NFL MVP quarterback from nowhere, Kurt Warner? Unless it was the Titans with their last-second lateral reprieve against Buffalo?

What team could feel it has more right than the Rams, going from 4-12 to 13-3? Unless it was the Titans, finally free from their vagabond days of moving from Houston?

Who could feel more due than 63-year-old St. Louis coach Dick Vermeil? Unless it is Tennessee 17-year veteran guard Bruce Matthews?

Who is a more heartwarming story at quarterback than Warner from Northern Iowa? Unless it is Steve McNair from Alcorn State?

Listen to Tennessee defensive end Jevon Kearse: "We feel like the Super Bowl is meant for us."

And then listen to St. Louis defensive end Kevin Carter: "We've had a sheer inevitable quality. There's a lot of magic here."

Listen to Titans running back Eddie George: "I think we just believe."

And then listen to Rams' receiver Az-Zahir Hakim: "We have everything going for us right now."

Destiny? It is a dangerous weapon to depend on come Sunday.

Listen to St. Louis defensive lineman Grant Wistrom: "We've felt that way all along. But I'm sure Tennessee feels the same."

And then listen to George: "I guess it was destined for us to be here. But for us to win, that's a different story."

The Rams are favored by a touchdown or so. But the Titans beat them 24-21 three months ago.

"We'll take that," Tennessee tackle Brad Hopkins said. "The underdog role is not something that is new to us."

The Rams are self-assured, particularly on offense. "We feel as if we can score on anyone," said receiver Isaac Bruce. "And I don't think it's really arrogance as much as confidence."

The Titans are squeezing every last drop they can from slights of disrespect, imagined or otherwise. "It's like pouring gasoline on a fire," defensive end Josh Evans said.

It will be clash of wills, and style. The Rams like to win with speed, attacking from the start. The Titans win with pluck, coming on late.

"We are going to try to put pressure on their defense early," Hakim said, "and try to put their backs up against the wall."

Countered Matthews: "I think it'll be that type of game that we'll play our ugly style or whatever's necessary."

The most intriguing collision would seem to be the high voltage St. Louis offense against the Tennessee defense that held back Buffalo, shackled Indianapolis, ruined Jacksonville.

The Rams are on their favored artificial turf, and whatever winter dumps on Atlanta, the Georgia Dome conditions figure to be friendly to the team that rolled up 526 points this season.

But Tampa Bay stopped the Rams indoors just last Sunday.

And the Titans were paying attention. "What Tampa Bay did as well as anyone I've seen in years," said Tennessee defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, "is tackle extremely well."

So the word went forth to the Titan secondary. "They have guys who can catch the ball and turn it into a 70-yard catch and run," cornerback Samari Rolle said. "The big thing is to make sure we tackle them as soon as they catch the ball."

But the main tackling, Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher stressed, must be done on running back Marshall Faulk. "He's my biggest concern," he said. "He's the guy you have to stop."

Because if they do, and the Rams keep ending up in long passing situations as they did last time against Tennessee, the Titans' pass rush can be fully unleashed.

Williams said he has 50 different blitzes at his disposal. Warner has had a storybook year, but his poise and decision-making ability may never have been tested like it is about to be.

The signature of the regular-season Tennessee win over St. Louis was Rams' offensive tackle Fred Miller, undone by noise and the heat of Kearse's rush, six times moving illegally before the snap.

"Obviously I saw a lot of him last game," Warner said of Kearse. "He was all over the place. What we did as a team put Freddie in a tough situation more than anything Freddie did. "

There is not a chance of a repeat, Miller said. "None." he said. And why? "Because I know me, I know my players. I know my team."

It will be an unpredictable battle, for the Titans like to gamble, and the Rams have the weapons to make them pay.

"Our defense is hit and miss," safety Blaine Bishop said. "We're either going to make a big play, or they're going to make a big play."

One other item. The Titans feast on turnovers. St. Louis' ability to avoid them is absolutely crucial.

"They don't get too fancy with this or that," Faulk said. "They come after the football."

"The only way you can beat a Jeff Fisher team is to play smart and avoid turnovers," Vermeil said. "Jacksonville was a great example of that."

The St. Louis defense acquired new prestige last week since it had to hold Tampa Bay to six points to win. But now it must contend with McNair, and his ability to run, to pass, to create.

"We've got a guy back there who's not a pigeon, who's not going to stand there waiting to be hit," Hopkins said.

"It's much easier to rush the passer if he is standing still," said Carter, with his NFL high 17 sacks, "and that's definitely not something McNair does."

"If I'm a defender standing back there," Matthews said, "that scares me to death."

But the Tennessee offense is more thunder than lightning. Plowing ahead with George, frustrating defenses with McNair. Not a lot of flair, not a lot of flash. But in the end, the other team blinks.

"I know there are some games that are pretty boring to watch because we are going to pound it 30 or 35 times," said offensive coordinator Les Steckel. "But our objective is to keep the defense off the field and keep their offense off the field and win the football game."

Two teams. Two styles. But between them a similar hunger. The hunger only the newcomer to glory knows.

"This would make," Carter said, "everything perfect."

It will. For someone.