Guard Edwin Mulitalo knew the play, knew who was on the other side of the line and knew he'd better get off the ball quickly.
Unfortunately for Mulitalo, his anxiety made him fall for one of the oldest tricks around, courtesy of Tampa Bay defensive tackle Warren Sapp in the Bucs' 22-10 win over the Ravens on Saturday night.
Sapp induced Mulitalo into a false start in a third-and-goal situation a yard from Tampa Bay's end zone early in the fourth quarter by yelling a word before the snap.
The mistake pushed the Ravens back to the Bucs' 6, and quarterback Elvis Grbac could not connect with tight end Todd Heap on the ensuing play.
The Ravens settled for a 24-yard field goal by Matt Stover that cut the lead to six, but were unable to get back into Tampa Bay territory the rest of the game.
"Out of that whole game, I remember me going offside on the goal line," said Mulitalo, who was matched up primarily against Sapp for the game. "That thing is going to haunt me for a while. [Sapp] said `backside' real loud. After he got me, he came up to me and said, `How do you like my backside?' I was like shut up."
Mulitalo said it was a rare verbal exchange he had with Sapp, known for both his trash talking and dominating play.
Sapp found his way into the Ravens' backfield on a number of occasions, but overall, Mulitalo held his own when he was matched up against him.
"He's the toughest pass-rusher I've faced," Mulitalo said. "His motor was just going all the time, and his intensity level was out of the box. I did some good things against him, but for an offensive lineman, you only remember the bad things."
Even bigger game
The first Monday night game in Baltimore since 1978 might have an even greater significance.
With the Ravens possibly needing a win to make the playoffs, the situation surrounding the game against the Minnesota Vikings is likely vastly different than if the game had been on Sept. 17, as originally scheduled. The game was postponed because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"I'm excited for the city of Baltimore Monday night, and the situation that is going to present itself," Ravens coach Brian Billick said. "They've been waiting a long time for that, due to a lot of different circumstances, obviously.
"What are the odds of fate letting us have a game of this magnitude to get into the playoffs, on a Monday night for the first time in Baltimore in what, 30 years? I think that's wonderful."
