Post by TheShadow on Nov 27, 2003 14:54:16 GMT -5
www.sfgate.com
by Nancy Gay
Kansas City, Mo. -- Jerry Rice is the NFL's all-time touchdown king, but his
standing record of 203 end-zone trips stood pat until Sunday, a career-long
10-game scoreless drought that left the Raiders' senior player quietly
steaming.
"I think he was maybe a little more upset with the coaching staff than
anything else,'' teammate Tim Brown said of Rice's frustration, which
threatened to extend into the Raiders' physical battle Sunday at
sub-freezing Arrowhead Stadium.
At stake: Rice's streak of 266 games with at least one catch. That issue was
settled with 6:43 remaining in the third quarter, when Rice pulled in a 4-
yard screen pass from Rick Mirer.
He satisfied two more goals with his next catch. With the Raiders trailing
24-14 and sitting on 3rd-and-6 at the Chiefs' 47-yard line, Rice slipped
past an all-out Kansas City blitz and ran a perfect slant-in pattern. Mirer
hit him in stride, and Rice romped into the end zone.
It was his 1,500th career catch, and it left him both relieved and wanting
for more.
"I just wanted to focus in on it and make the catch,'' Rice, 41, quietly
said. "And then it was off to the races.''
Brown, who extended his own streak to 166 games with at least one catch, had
seven receptions for 50 yards. Speed receiver Jerry Porter also had seven
catches, for 89 yards.
Rice had the long play of the day. But he expressed frustration at the
Raiders' 3-8 record and their inability to finish games. He also conceded he
was mentally prepared for the unthinkable: to finish the year without
reaching the end zone.
"I didn't know what to expect this year. We haven't had that many
opportunities in the red zone,'' he said. "So I had pretty much prepared
myself for whatever. If it had gone that way, if I had gone the entire
season without a touchdown, then it just went that way.
"There was no way I was going to let that take away from the way I play the
game, or what I try to do out on the football field."
Asked again whether this season, his 19th, might be his last, Rice deftly
avoided a definitive response.
"Guys, I'm going to make that decision when the season is over,'' said Rice,
who has a team-leading 44 catches for 594 yards. "But I still enjoy the
game. It's tough. It's tough, when you're 3-8 and you've got a couple more
games to go and then the season is over.
"I'm just going to take it one day at a time.''
by Nancy Gay
Kansas City, Mo. -- Jerry Rice is the NFL's all-time touchdown king, but his
standing record of 203 end-zone trips stood pat until Sunday, a career-long
10-game scoreless drought that left the Raiders' senior player quietly
steaming.
"I think he was maybe a little more upset with the coaching staff than
anything else,'' teammate Tim Brown said of Rice's frustration, which
threatened to extend into the Raiders' physical battle Sunday at
sub-freezing Arrowhead Stadium.
At stake: Rice's streak of 266 games with at least one catch. That issue was
settled with 6:43 remaining in the third quarter, when Rice pulled in a 4-
yard screen pass from Rick Mirer.
He satisfied two more goals with his next catch. With the Raiders trailing
24-14 and sitting on 3rd-and-6 at the Chiefs' 47-yard line, Rice slipped
past an all-out Kansas City blitz and ran a perfect slant-in pattern. Mirer
hit him in stride, and Rice romped into the end zone.
It was his 1,500th career catch, and it left him both relieved and wanting
for more.
"I just wanted to focus in on it and make the catch,'' Rice, 41, quietly
said. "And then it was off to the races.''
Brown, who extended his own streak to 166 games with at least one catch, had
seven receptions for 50 yards. Speed receiver Jerry Porter also had seven
catches, for 89 yards.
Rice had the long play of the day. But he expressed frustration at the
Raiders' 3-8 record and their inability to finish games. He also conceded he
was mentally prepared for the unthinkable: to finish the year without
reaching the end zone.
"I didn't know what to expect this year. We haven't had that many
opportunities in the red zone,'' he said. "So I had pretty much prepared
myself for whatever. If it had gone that way, if I had gone the entire
season without a touchdown, then it just went that way.
"There was no way I was going to let that take away from the way I play the
game, or what I try to do out on the football field."
Asked again whether this season, his 19th, might be his last, Rice deftly
avoided a definitive response.
"Guys, I'm going to make that decision when the season is over,'' said Rice,
who has a team-leading 44 catches for 594 yards. "But I still enjoy the
game. It's tough. It's tough, when you're 3-8 and you've got a couple more
games to go and then the season is over.
"I'm just going to take it one day at a time.''