Post by TheShadow on Nov 27, 2003 14:18:44 GMT -5
www.oaklandtribune.com
by Jerry McDonald
THEY REMAIN connected by the date of Jan. 26, stuck in a painful parallel
existence that finds one team out of it and the other barely hanging on.
The Oakland Raiders, having found their identity too late in the game, are
3-8 and seek .500 as their ultimate goal in 2003.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers still have a faint pulse, based on their 19-13 win
Monday night over the New York Giants. But at 5-6, the Bucs' more likely
fate is to become the 11th Super Bowl champion to miss the playoffs the
following season.
The old NFL saying, "nothing recedes like success" applies to a pair of
conference champions that have been ravaged by injury, insurrection, penalty
flags and off-the-field distractions.
The reputations of both coaches, given the rocket boost of Super Bowl hype
last January, have plummeted to earth without a parachute.
Some examples of how life in a Pacific coast Bay Area resembles another in
Florida:
Bill Callahan was publicly criticized by star cornerback Charles Woodson for
having a big ego and being too stubborn.
Jon Gruden sent star wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson home with pay rather
than have him in the same building. Johnson's criticisms of Gruden could
roughly be translated into having a big ego and being too stubborn.
The Raiders rank No. 1 in the NFL in penalty yards with 848, a recurring
problem Callahan has addressed each week as inexcusable and correctable.
The Bucs rank No. 2 in the NFL in penalty yards with 837, an ongoing area of
concern that Gruden finds unacceptable.
Oakland has been close enough in seven of its eight defeats to come away
thinking it could have won, only to be done in by its own mistakes. There
was one humiliating departure -- a 31-10 loss at Denver that the Raiders
hope to avenge Sunday at Network Associates Coliseum.
Tampa Bay has taken five of its six losses down to the wire, losing some in
excruciating fashion. There was one exception -- a 24-7 loss to the 49ers in
San Francisco in which the Bucs were barely competitive.
Injuries, a minor annoyance for the Raiders in winning the AFC championship,
are a weekly crisis in 2003. The disabled list includes quarterbacks Rich
Gannon and Marques Tuiasosopo, strong-side linebackers Bill Romanowski and
Travian Smith, guard Matt Stinchcomb and defensive end Trace Armstrong.
Oakland's defensive interior has been decimated with injuries to John
Parrella and Dana Stubblefield. The offensive line has endured numerous
switches and shifts due to injuries to Lincoln Kennedy, Frank Middleton and
Mo Collins.
While not hit as hard as Oakland, the Bucs lost fullback Mike Alstott, a key
component in Gruden's ball-control offense, starting cornerback Brian Kelly
and has done some muscial chairs on its offensive line that has been
particularly troublesome at left tackle.
The No. 1 offense in the NFL (389.9 yards per game) has taken a huge fall,
struggling early even before Gannon was injured. A year after Gannon threw
for 300 yards in a game a record 10 times, Oakland is aveaging just 313.3
yards per game in total offense.
In a three-game stretch against Cleveland, Kansas City and Detroit -- none
of which have particularly strong defenses -- the Raiders scored just 30
points.
Meanwhile, a defense that was billed as one of the fastest and best in NFL
history is giving up a respectable 281.5 yards per game, but has had some
embarrasing cave-ins with the game on the line.
Its aura was punctured Oct.6, when Indianapolis scored three touchdowns in
the final four minutes to tie the game and eventually beat the Bucs 38-35 in
overtime.
Tampa has since yielded game-ending drives that resulted in scores in
consecutive losses to New Orleans, Carolina and Green Bay.
Oakland's special-teams coverage units are so leaky the always
politically-correct-in-public Callahan called them out at his weekly press
conference Monday for a lack of desire.
Tampa's special-teams deficiencies manifested themselves in Week 2 when all
the Bucs had to do was line up and successfully convert an extra-point
attempt for a 10-9 win over Carolina.
It was blocked -- the Panthers' third blocked kick of the game -- and
Carolina won 12-9 in overtime. The Bucs have been below avearge on special
teams all season.
Beginning with Barret Robbins' absence from the Super Bowl and subsequent
on-going rehabilitation from bipolar disorder and alcholism, the Raiders
have endured several off-field distractions.
They have an ongoing litigious feud with the city and county, one player
(tight end Marcus Williams) sue another (Romanowski) over an alleged sucker
punch during practice, had kicker Sebastian Janikowski arrested in a
nightclub skirmish (charges were dropped) and saw the names of four players
prematurely leaked to the media for positive drug tests for the designer
steroid THG.
The Raiders are the NFL club most connected to the Bay Area Laboratory
Co-operative federal investigation, with running back Tyrone Wheatley
slapping the wrist of a photographer who was taking his picture outside the
courthouse.
In Tampa, three players were arrested in the off-season -- Michael Pittman
(aggravated assault, reckless endangerment), free safety Dwight Smith
(brandishing a handgun at another motorist) and Kenyatta Walker (disorderly
conduct outside a nightclub).
Callahan's job security has been a hot topic since Woodson's blast. Gruden
is secure in Tampa Bay, but rumors of a rift with GM Rich McKay continue
unabated.
Apparently, there's a price to pay for reaching the Super Bowl. Neither of
last year's participants had any idea it would be so steep.
by Jerry McDonald
THEY REMAIN connected by the date of Jan. 26, stuck in a painful parallel
existence that finds one team out of it and the other barely hanging on.
The Oakland Raiders, having found their identity too late in the game, are
3-8 and seek .500 as their ultimate goal in 2003.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers still have a faint pulse, based on their 19-13 win
Monday night over the New York Giants. But at 5-6, the Bucs' more likely
fate is to become the 11th Super Bowl champion to miss the playoffs the
following season.
The old NFL saying, "nothing recedes like success" applies to a pair of
conference champions that have been ravaged by injury, insurrection, penalty
flags and off-the-field distractions.
The reputations of both coaches, given the rocket boost of Super Bowl hype
last January, have plummeted to earth without a parachute.
Some examples of how life in a Pacific coast Bay Area resembles another in
Florida:
Bill Callahan was publicly criticized by star cornerback Charles Woodson for
having a big ego and being too stubborn.
Jon Gruden sent star wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson home with pay rather
than have him in the same building. Johnson's criticisms of Gruden could
roughly be translated into having a big ego and being too stubborn.
The Raiders rank No. 1 in the NFL in penalty yards with 848, a recurring
problem Callahan has addressed each week as inexcusable and correctable.
The Bucs rank No. 2 in the NFL in penalty yards with 837, an ongoing area of
concern that Gruden finds unacceptable.
Oakland has been close enough in seven of its eight defeats to come away
thinking it could have won, only to be done in by its own mistakes. There
was one humiliating departure -- a 31-10 loss at Denver that the Raiders
hope to avenge Sunday at Network Associates Coliseum.
Tampa Bay has taken five of its six losses down to the wire, losing some in
excruciating fashion. There was one exception -- a 24-7 loss to the 49ers in
San Francisco in which the Bucs were barely competitive.
Injuries, a minor annoyance for the Raiders in winning the AFC championship,
are a weekly crisis in 2003. The disabled list includes quarterbacks Rich
Gannon and Marques Tuiasosopo, strong-side linebackers Bill Romanowski and
Travian Smith, guard Matt Stinchcomb and defensive end Trace Armstrong.
Oakland's defensive interior has been decimated with injuries to John
Parrella and Dana Stubblefield. The offensive line has endured numerous
switches and shifts due to injuries to Lincoln Kennedy, Frank Middleton and
Mo Collins.
While not hit as hard as Oakland, the Bucs lost fullback Mike Alstott, a key
component in Gruden's ball-control offense, starting cornerback Brian Kelly
and has done some muscial chairs on its offensive line that has been
particularly troublesome at left tackle.
The No. 1 offense in the NFL (389.9 yards per game) has taken a huge fall,
struggling early even before Gannon was injured. A year after Gannon threw
for 300 yards in a game a record 10 times, Oakland is aveaging just 313.3
yards per game in total offense.
In a three-game stretch against Cleveland, Kansas City and Detroit -- none
of which have particularly strong defenses -- the Raiders scored just 30
points.
Meanwhile, a defense that was billed as one of the fastest and best in NFL
history is giving up a respectable 281.5 yards per game, but has had some
embarrasing cave-ins with the game on the line.
Its aura was punctured Oct.6, when Indianapolis scored three touchdowns in
the final four minutes to tie the game and eventually beat the Bucs 38-35 in
overtime.
Tampa has since yielded game-ending drives that resulted in scores in
consecutive losses to New Orleans, Carolina and Green Bay.
Oakland's special-teams coverage units are so leaky the always
politically-correct-in-public Callahan called them out at his weekly press
conference Monday for a lack of desire.
Tampa's special-teams deficiencies manifested themselves in Week 2 when all
the Bucs had to do was line up and successfully convert an extra-point
attempt for a 10-9 win over Carolina.
It was blocked -- the Panthers' third blocked kick of the game -- and
Carolina won 12-9 in overtime. The Bucs have been below avearge on special
teams all season.
Beginning with Barret Robbins' absence from the Super Bowl and subsequent
on-going rehabilitation from bipolar disorder and alcholism, the Raiders
have endured several off-field distractions.
They have an ongoing litigious feud with the city and county, one player
(tight end Marcus Williams) sue another (Romanowski) over an alleged sucker
punch during practice, had kicker Sebastian Janikowski arrested in a
nightclub skirmish (charges were dropped) and saw the names of four players
prematurely leaked to the media for positive drug tests for the designer
steroid THG.
The Raiders are the NFL club most connected to the Bay Area Laboratory
Co-operative federal investigation, with running back Tyrone Wheatley
slapping the wrist of a photographer who was taking his picture outside the
courthouse.
In Tampa, three players were arrested in the off-season -- Michael Pittman
(aggravated assault, reckless endangerment), free safety Dwight Smith
(brandishing a handgun at another motorist) and Kenyatta Walker (disorderly
conduct outside a nightclub).
Callahan's job security has been a hot topic since Woodson's blast. Gruden
is secure in Tampa Bay, but rumors of a rift with GM Rich McKay continue
unabated.
Apparently, there's a price to pay for reaching the Super Bowl. Neither of
last year's participants had any idea it would be so steep.