Columnist Sal DeFilippo: For Tennessee, that last yard seems miles away

Sal DeFilippo

Friday, Nov. 16, 2001 | 12:18 p.m.

Sal DeFilippo's pro football column appears Friday. Reach him at sal@lasvegassun.com or 259-4076.

I doubt Jeff Fisher would complain if the NFL changed the length of the field to 99 yards.

That last yard has seemed like a mile for his Tennessee Titans.

Flashback to Super Bowl XXXIV. Who can forget Kevin Dyson stretching toward the goal line in the waning seconds, but falling a yard short as the St. Louis Rams and Mike Jones barely held on, literally, to win the title game two seasons ago?

The same scenario presented itself in Monday night's game against the defending champion Baltimore Ravens, but with a twist:

With the clock winding down, Dyson made a third-down catch near the goal line, but was tackled in bounds at the 1. With no timeouts, Tennessee rushed to the line of scrimmage, trying to beat the buzzer with one final play. Baltimore did its best to slow down play, but as the Titans appeared ready to snap the ball, the Ravens' defense hustled to avoid an offsides penalty.

A Baltimore defender made contact with a Tennessee offensive linesman just before the ball was snapped, and Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair plowed over the goal line for an apparent game-winning touchdown.

What followed was a five-minute delay by officials to discuss the play, during which time replays showed that Tennessee actually was lined up in an illegal formation in its haste to beat the clock.

Since the defense made contact with the offense before the ball was snapped, the touchdown was negated, and the officials ruled that the defensive penalty gave Tennessee one more chance to score -- from one yard away.

The second time around produced a result that Tennessee fans are more familiar with, as McNair's second sneak attempt proved futile and the Ravens escaped with a key division win.

Monte Carlo master magician Lance Burton moved into the lead in my celebrity contest with an impressive 16-9-2 season mark against the spread. Danny Gans made a strong impression on the field with a 3-0 week to move within a half-game of Kevin Janison for second place.