Post by TheShadow on Dec 4, 2003 19:18:16 GMT -5
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By Gregg Bell -- Bee Staff Writer
ALAMEDA -- The team that believes it is perpetually persecuted has found an outlet for reciprocation.
In a twist that seems only possible with this curious sideshow known as the Raiders, coach Bill Callahan's explanation to his players Monday about the proclamation heard 'round the NFL -- "We've got to be the dumbest team in America in terms of playing the game" -- has seemingly unified the 3-9 team.
"When we met this morning, everyone was together, and we talked about a lot of things," running back Tyrone Wheatley said Wednesday before practice for this weekend's game at 4-8 Pittsburgh.
He proceeded to name one.
"You guys (in the media) put a nice edit piece on what he said. ... You took the question and made it into something it shouldn't have been. That was your monster that you fed and you made."
All around the locker room, the theme was the same: unity through media misrepresentation.
Rookie tight end Teyo Johnson said that when Callahan gathered the team Monday, "he said that you guys didn't include the tail end of it, 'in terms of our play.'
"I'm getting phone calls from my friends back on the East Coast -- USA Today has 'Dumbest team in America' on the front -- and people are asking me, 'Man, your coach is calling you guys the dumbest team in America?" Johnson said. "That's when guys take it personally, when it's out there on the street like that.
"I was at Best Buy yesterday. I'm like, man, can I buy 'Pirates of the Caribbean' without talkin' about coach Callahan?"
When asked if sudden unification had become an unintended consequence of his postgame outburst, Callahan shook his head.
"I don't know about that," he said. "I said what I said, and we've moved on. We know where we're at. We're at 3-9.
"It hasn't been a bed of roses. We've been frustrated, and mistakes have hurt us. But we've learned from it, and we're going to move on. We've got four games left."
Back off, was Wheatley's message.
"It's over," Wheatley said. "Right now, you're trying to beat a fart out of a dead horse."
Missing Middleton -- Deposed starting guard and team comedian Frank Middleton doesn't have a problem with Callahan's zinger.
"I wasn't called dumb," Middleton said. "I haven't played in six or seven weeks."
The 6-foot-4, 330-pound-plus veteran of seven NFL seasons entered this one having played in every game since he was a rookie with Tampa Bay in 1997 -- except for three games for which he was inactive to begin his Raiders career in 2001. That span of 77 games played included 75 starts.
Although Middleton is, as Callahan said, "all set," after tearing his quadriceps muscle Oct. 12 at Cleveland, he hasn't started any of the last six games. He hasn't even been on the field in four of those six.
Veteran Brad Badger -- who didn't start any of the seven games in which he appeared last season -- now has Middleton's job.
"Right now, my career and my playing time is in the hands of coach Callahan," said Middleton, who has often joked about being replaced and kicked out of town. But he was serious this time.
"He wants to have Brad Badger in there," he said. "He's the head coach. He's the head coach, man."
Et cetera -- Defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield practiced without limitations and might play Sunday for the first time in six games. Stubblefield sprained his left ankle Sept. 14 against Cincinnati, then played four of the next five games on it.
By Gregg Bell -- Bee Staff Writer
ALAMEDA -- The team that believes it is perpetually persecuted has found an outlet for reciprocation.
In a twist that seems only possible with this curious sideshow known as the Raiders, coach Bill Callahan's explanation to his players Monday about the proclamation heard 'round the NFL -- "We've got to be the dumbest team in America in terms of playing the game" -- has seemingly unified the 3-9 team.
"When we met this morning, everyone was together, and we talked about a lot of things," running back Tyrone Wheatley said Wednesday before practice for this weekend's game at 4-8 Pittsburgh.
He proceeded to name one.
"You guys (in the media) put a nice edit piece on what he said. ... You took the question and made it into something it shouldn't have been. That was your monster that you fed and you made."
All around the locker room, the theme was the same: unity through media misrepresentation.
Rookie tight end Teyo Johnson said that when Callahan gathered the team Monday, "he said that you guys didn't include the tail end of it, 'in terms of our play.'
"I'm getting phone calls from my friends back on the East Coast -- USA Today has 'Dumbest team in America' on the front -- and people are asking me, 'Man, your coach is calling you guys the dumbest team in America?" Johnson said. "That's when guys take it personally, when it's out there on the street like that.
"I was at Best Buy yesterday. I'm like, man, can I buy 'Pirates of the Caribbean' without talkin' about coach Callahan?"
When asked if sudden unification had become an unintended consequence of his postgame outburst, Callahan shook his head.
"I don't know about that," he said. "I said what I said, and we've moved on. We know where we're at. We're at 3-9.
"It hasn't been a bed of roses. We've been frustrated, and mistakes have hurt us. But we've learned from it, and we're going to move on. We've got four games left."
Back off, was Wheatley's message.
"It's over," Wheatley said. "Right now, you're trying to beat a fart out of a dead horse."
Missing Middleton -- Deposed starting guard and team comedian Frank Middleton doesn't have a problem with Callahan's zinger.
"I wasn't called dumb," Middleton said. "I haven't played in six or seven weeks."
The 6-foot-4, 330-pound-plus veteran of seven NFL seasons entered this one having played in every game since he was a rookie with Tampa Bay in 1997 -- except for three games for which he was inactive to begin his Raiders career in 2001. That span of 77 games played included 75 starts.
Although Middleton is, as Callahan said, "all set," after tearing his quadriceps muscle Oct. 12 at Cleveland, he hasn't started any of the last six games. He hasn't even been on the field in four of those six.
Veteran Brad Badger -- who didn't start any of the seven games in which he appeared last season -- now has Middleton's job.
"Right now, my career and my playing time is in the hands of coach Callahan," said Middleton, who has often joked about being replaced and kicked out of town. But he was serious this time.
"He wants to have Brad Badger in there," he said. "He's the head coach. He's the head coach, man."
Et cetera -- Defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield practiced without limitations and might play Sunday for the first time in six games. Stubblefield sprained his left ankle Sept. 14 against Cincinnati, then played four of the next five games on it.