Post by TheShadow on Dec 9, 2003 20:29:15 GMT -5
www.bayarea.com
By Ann Tatko
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
ALAMEDA - Raiders coach Bill Callahan selected "positive" as his choice word of the day Monday.
But even he had a tough time sticking with that word throughout his weekly news conference. That's what happens when your team, the defending AFC champion, has fallen to 3-10 and into a share of the AFC West cellar. It's hard to sell the positive-all-the-time attitude when Pittsburgh's players are questioning whether your players quit during Sunday's 27-7 loss.
Steelers receiver Hines Ward did just that after Sunday's game. "In the middle of the third quarter, maybe they gave up," Ward was quoted as saying to various media outlets. "They were ready to go home. It was cold, and they had a long flight home."
For the record, Callahan didn't see any quit in his team, even though it gave up 27 points and may have relinquished even more had the Steelers not taken a knee inside the 5-yard line as time expired. How exactly can he be sure they didn't give up?
"Well, the way we finish plays," Callahan said, pointing to one play specifically.
Late in the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh quarterback Tommy Maddox threw a 7-yard pass to Ward, who lateralled to tight end Mark Bruener for an 11-yard gain. It may have gone for a lot more had rookie defensive end Tyler Brayton not chased down Bruener to make the tackle along with defensive tackle Chris Cooper.
"You could see his finish and his effort," Callahan said. "And to take that play, mentally, to finish it the way that he did, was phenomenal."
Callahan didn't stop at Brayton. He noted the play of Cooper and right guard Brad Badger, too. Later, he praised right tackle Lincoln Kennedy for playing through an onslaught of injuries this season.
Callahan said he doesn't have to sell his players on the idea of at least trying to win. They get it without any pep talk.
"As professionals, we want to do our best," he said. "We want to go out and put our best play on film."
Ah yes, the film. As some players noted Monday, the film is hard evidence. For some players, it's an audition reel that could dictate their future beyond this season.
"You have to feed your family," cornerback Terrance Shaw said. "The film don't lie. You can see who quit. So that's how you don't quit. You think about your kids and your wife and all your family members that you have to take care of. That's the answer to Hines Ward's theory."
A week ago, Callahan called the Raiders the "dumbest team in America in terms of playing the game." On Monday, he tried to spin even the worst parts of this season into positives, making such references as "positive plays," "positive frame of mind" and "a lot of positives to draw from."
But reality looms just six days away in the form of the Baltimore Ravens' Jamal Lewis, the NFL's leading rusher. A week later, the Raiders get the Green Bay Packers' Ahman Green, currently the NFL's No. 2 rusher. And they close out with the San Diego Chargers' LaDainian Tomlinson, who's at No. 6. That trio poses a particularly formidable challenge to the Raiders, who, through Sunday's games, have the league's second-worst rushing defense.
One reporter was nice enough to paint the upcoming landscape for Callahan.
"You're really making my day," Callahan said with a laugh. "I'm trying to be positive here. It is a tough challenge. ... There's going to be no doubt about it. We're going to have to do our best job of run defense that we ever have because they present the No. 1 challenge in my mind."
By Ann Tatko
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
ALAMEDA - Raiders coach Bill Callahan selected "positive" as his choice word of the day Monday.
But even he had a tough time sticking with that word throughout his weekly news conference. That's what happens when your team, the defending AFC champion, has fallen to 3-10 and into a share of the AFC West cellar. It's hard to sell the positive-all-the-time attitude when Pittsburgh's players are questioning whether your players quit during Sunday's 27-7 loss.
Steelers receiver Hines Ward did just that after Sunday's game. "In the middle of the third quarter, maybe they gave up," Ward was quoted as saying to various media outlets. "They were ready to go home. It was cold, and they had a long flight home."
For the record, Callahan didn't see any quit in his team, even though it gave up 27 points and may have relinquished even more had the Steelers not taken a knee inside the 5-yard line as time expired. How exactly can he be sure they didn't give up?
"Well, the way we finish plays," Callahan said, pointing to one play specifically.
Late in the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh quarterback Tommy Maddox threw a 7-yard pass to Ward, who lateralled to tight end Mark Bruener for an 11-yard gain. It may have gone for a lot more had rookie defensive end Tyler Brayton not chased down Bruener to make the tackle along with defensive tackle Chris Cooper.
"You could see his finish and his effort," Callahan said. "And to take that play, mentally, to finish it the way that he did, was phenomenal."
Callahan didn't stop at Brayton. He noted the play of Cooper and right guard Brad Badger, too. Later, he praised right tackle Lincoln Kennedy for playing through an onslaught of injuries this season.
Callahan said he doesn't have to sell his players on the idea of at least trying to win. They get it without any pep talk.
"As professionals, we want to do our best," he said. "We want to go out and put our best play on film."
Ah yes, the film. As some players noted Monday, the film is hard evidence. For some players, it's an audition reel that could dictate their future beyond this season.
"You have to feed your family," cornerback Terrance Shaw said. "The film don't lie. You can see who quit. So that's how you don't quit. You think about your kids and your wife and all your family members that you have to take care of. That's the answer to Hines Ward's theory."
A week ago, Callahan called the Raiders the "dumbest team in America in terms of playing the game." On Monday, he tried to spin even the worst parts of this season into positives, making such references as "positive plays," "positive frame of mind" and "a lot of positives to draw from."
But reality looms just six days away in the form of the Baltimore Ravens' Jamal Lewis, the NFL's leading rusher. A week later, the Raiders get the Green Bay Packers' Ahman Green, currently the NFL's No. 2 rusher. And they close out with the San Diego Chargers' LaDainian Tomlinson, who's at No. 6. That trio poses a particularly formidable challenge to the Raiders, who, through Sunday's games, have the league's second-worst rushing defense.
One reporter was nice enough to paint the upcoming landscape for Callahan.
"You're really making my day," Callahan said with a laugh. "I'm trying to be positive here. It is a tough challenge. ... There's going to be no doubt about it. We're going to have to do our best job of run defense that we ever have because they present the No. 1 challenge in my mind."