Although he still disagrees with the Ravens' decision to let him go after winning the Super Bowl, quarterback Trent Dilfer now wants to make amends for his long-standing grudge against coach Brian Billick.
"I want to use this opportunity to publicly apologize to Brian for that bitterness," Dilfer told Baltimore reporters in a conference call yesterday. "I'm going to make a point to see him on Sunday. He's been the man in this deal and I haven't. I've been the childish one, and I want to end that right now."
Dilfer, who replaces injured quarterback Alex Smith for the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, will make his second start against the Ravens since winning the 2001 Super Bowl.
His anger toward Billick dated to March 2001, when the Ravens decided to sign Elvis Grbac without extending a contract offer to Dilfer. He remains the only quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl and lose his starting job before the next season.
At this year's Super Bowl in Miami, Dilfer expressed years of bitterness about Billick's decision to replace him, saying he never wanted to speak to the Ravens coach again.
Now, Dilfer wants to use this game as a turning point.
"I recognize they had a tough decision as an organization. I disagree with it still to this day," Dilfer said. "[But] just because I disagree with it doesn't mean I can't let it go. This is a great opportunity this week to let it go."
Asked for the reason for the sudden change of heart, Dilfer said: "I think I've grown up as a man. You're always trying to get better. As my parenting becomes a lot more serious, I feel hypocritical because I feel like I'm trying to teach things that I haven't done on my own."
Since capturing the NFL title in January 2001, Dilfer said, he has not had a substantial conversation with Billick.
Before Dilfer made his comments yesterday, Billick said he would like to reach out to his Super Bowl-winning quarterback.
"I would love to talk to Trent," Billick said. "I'd love to say hello to Trent and wish him well and see how he is doing."
Dilfer went 11-1 as the Ravens' starter after replacing Tony Banks midway through the 2000 season but struggled at times with his accuracy.
In his first five winning starts for the Ravens, he completed 65.2 percent of his passes for 11 touchdowns with six interceptions. In his other seven starts, he completed 48.3 percent for four touchdowns with five interceptions. He completed 47.9 percent in the postseason.
That prompted the Ravens to sign Grbac, a Pro Bowl quarterback, instead of Dilfer, who eventually became a backup for the Seattle Seahawks that season.
But the decision wasn't made by Billick alone. The Ravens chose to make a change at quarterback after extensive personnel meetings headed by general manager Ozzie Newsome. Billick later said he met with several team leaders after the Super Bowl, and they reinforced his decision to go in another direction at quarterback.
"You see what your team is about, your organization decides what your options are and you pursue them," Billick said. "That's exactly what we did."
Some players felt otherwise.
Offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden and linebacker Ray Lewis, two of the four remaining starters from the Super Bowl team, said yesterday that they wished the Ravens would have brought back Dilfer.
"I was among the people that thought he probably should have gotten a shot," Ogden said, "but I'm sure there are a lot of people who thought that way."
Lewis called Dilfer "the ultimate team player."
"I don't think it's right when you let a person who takes you to the Super Bowl - and then win it - to let him go," Lewis said. "I definitely don't agree with that."
Some former Ravens, such as Rod Woodson, contend the team would have won another Super Bowl with Dilfer.
"It's been very flattering to hear since that they all feel the same way as I felt - partly cheated because I didn't get the chance to go through the tough times of repeating," said Dilfer, who wears his Super Bowl ring only at speaking engagements and corporate events.
After winning the Super Bowl, Dilfer bounced from Seattle (2001-2004) to Cleveland (2005) to San Francisco.
His only previous start against the Ravens was two years ago, when he struggled for the Browns. He completed 16 of 30 passes for 147 yards and one interception.
"I think in '05, when I went in there with Cleveland, I didn't think it would be hard or an added distraction," Dilfer said. "But as hard as I tried not to let it capture any of my focus, it did. Walking into the stadium - the memories it brought back - I didn't play my best football because of that. This time around, my focus is much more on me and the things I can do to help us win and less so [about] the Baltimore Ravens."
jamison.hensley@baltsun.com
Sun reporter Edward Lee contributed to this article.
Dilfer timeline
March 8, 2000 -- Dilfer signs a one-year, $1 million contract with the Ravens to back up starting quarterback Tony Banks. "The biggest thing is [coach Brian Billick] has a plan," Dilfer said. "There is a philosophy in place. There is no doubt what his plan of attack is all the time - that is, to attack."
Oct. 23, 2000 -- Billick officially turns over his struggling offense to Dilfer and benches Banks. Dil- fer inherits an offense that hadn't scored a touchdown in 16 quarters. "Clearly, we've got to do something to change the impetus," Billick said.
Nov. 5, 2000 -- Dilfer ends the Ravens' three-game losing streak, as well as their 21-quarter touchdown drought, with a 14-yard scoring pass to Brandon Stokley in a 27-7 road win over the Cincinnati Bengals. It would be the first of 11 straight victories for Dil- fer. "It was kind of funny," Dilfer said of the touchdown, "because it was like we just won the Super Bowl."
Dec. 24, 2000 -- The Ravens beat the New York Jets, 34-20, to end the regular season 12-4. In his final two regular-season games, Dilfer is 23-for-47 for 169 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. "We really felt we were going to play good this week," Dilfer said. "We knew it'd be ugly."
Jan. 7, 2001 -- Leading up to the divisional playoff game at Tennessee, the Ravens are noncommittal about Dilfer's future with the team. There are rumors that the Ravens plan on replacing the struggling Dilfer with free agent Brad Johnson.
Jan. 14, 2001 -- Dilfer connects with tight end Shannon Sharpe on the longest pass in NFL playoff history (a 96-yard touchdown), highlighting the Ravens' 16-3 road win over the Oakland Raiders in the AFC championship game. "I've got no problem playing second fiddle to our defense," said Dilfer, who completed nine of 18 passes for 190 yards.
Jan. 28, 2001 -- Dilfer hits Stokley for a 38-yard touchdown to help the Ravens to a 34-7 Super Bowl rout of the New York Giants. Dilfer completed 12 of 25 passes for 153 yards and one touchdown and no turnovers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., where he previously played for six seasons. "We all know I'm not Joe Montana," Dilfer said. "But we'll recognize that for an eight-month period, we did something pretty special."
Jan. 29, 2001 -- A day after the Super Bowl victory, Billick responds to the persistent speculation linking the team to Johnson by saying he expects Dilfer to return. "At this point, I'd have no reason to think otherwise," Billick said.
Feb. 26, 2001 -- Three days before the start of free agency, the Ravens haven't discussed a new contract with Dilfer, a sign the team is looking elsewhere.
March 6, 2001 -- A day after Johnson signs with Tampa Bay, the Ravens agree to a five-year, $30 million deal with Elvis Grbac. "You're talking about a Pro Bowl quarterback," Billick said of Grbac, who lasted only one year with the Ravens. "He's got everything: size, athleticism, a strong arm, experience."
June 9, 2001 -- Dilfer returns to Baltimore to receive his Super Bowl ring with his former teammates. "It's the great culmination of a wonderful year," said Dilfer, who has yet to sign with a new team.
July 5, 2001 -- For the first time since losing his starting job with the Ravens, Dilfer talks about his disappointment over the team's decision. "Obviously, circumstances have not worked out the way I thought they would," Dilfer said. "The lessons I've learned from this experience have been invaluable."
Nov. 19, 2003 -- Days before his first game back in Baltimore, Dil- fer says he has "nothing but wonderful memories" about his time with the Ravens. "I deeply, deeply respect 90 percent of that organization," said Dilfer, who was the Seattle Seahawks' backup at the time.
Oct. 16, 2005 -- In his first start in Baltimore since winning the Super Bowl, Dilfer struggled through a 16-for-30, 147-yard day as the quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, who lost, 16-3, to the Ravens. "I was very focused on the game, so I didn't hear much," Dilfer said of the warm ovation from the Baltimore fans. "I tried to go in emotionally not hearing anything - cheers, boos, Ray [Lewis], whatever. I was focused on the task at hand."
Feb. 1, 2007 -- As a commentator at the Super Bowl in Miami, Dilfer continues to express bitterness about Billick's decision to replace him with Grbac after the championship season and doesn't plan to speak to the Ravens coach again. "He grossly misunderstood the talent of that football team, myself specifically," Dilfer said. "I totally agree with so many things he did. But to this day, I am so sad I didn't have the chance to face the challenge of repeating."
JAMISON HENSLEY