Post by TheShadow on Dec 12, 2003 22:46:18 GMT -5
www.fresnobee.com
Statistics of receivers Tim Brown and Jerry Rice reflect Raiders'
frustrating season.
Associated Press
ALAMEDA -- Jerry Rice and Tim Brown are likely to end their NFL
careers as the two most prolific receivers in league history, but this
season has been anything but productive for the Oakland Raiders' duo.
With three games remaining for the 3-10 Raiders, both Rice and Brown
are headed for their worst statistical seasons in more than a decade on an
offense that went from a No. 1 overall ranking in 2002 to 24th this year.
Rice, the NFL's career leader in both receptions and receiving
yardage, is Oakland's leading receiver this season with 48 catches and 648
yards -- but that's just about the only positive aspect of his season.
Only a year removed from the 14th 1,000-yard season of his career,
Rice has scored just one touchdown, and he's on pace to finish with the
fewest number of catches and yardage since his rookie season of 1985. The
lone exception was in 1997, when Rice played just two games due to a knee
injury.
Brown is second to Rice on the NFL's career receiving yardage list,
and needs only 41 more catches to move past Cris Carter into second place
for career receptions. Yet like Rice, Brown has seen his statistics dip
dramatically in 2003.
With 43 catches, 489 yards and two touchdowns, the 16-year NFL veteran
is headed for his lowest totals since 1992.
Part of the problem has been the Raiders' injuries at quarterback.
Rich Gannon, last season's NFL MVP, lasted just seven games before a torn
labrum in his right shoulder landed him on injured reserve. Backup Marques
Tuiasosopo also was lost for the year with a knee injury one week after
Gannon went down.
Left with journeyman Rick Mirer at quarterback, the Raiders were
forced to alter their offense in recent weeks, relying more on the running
of Tyrone Wheatley and Charlie Garner than the passing attack.
"All you can do is run the plays they call," said Brown in the
aftermath of Oakland's 27-7 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday, a game in which he
caught three passes for 19 yards while Rice caught two for 27 yards. "You
can't make a 20-yard pass play out of a handoff."
Even before the quarterback shuffle, neither Rice nor Brown had much
of an impact on Oakland's season. There were private complaints about the
team's play-calling, not to mention the ongoing feud between some of the
Raiders and coach Bill Callahan.
Brown called a players-only meeting after Oakland's loss to Denver on
Nov. 30 to clear the air after Callahan was quoted as saying the Raiders
"must be the dumbest team in America in terms of how we play the game."
It was just the latest in a long string of incidents that have
sidetracked the defending AFC champions, who are in danger of becoming the
first Super Bowl team in league history to fail to win at least five games
the next year.
Because the Raiders have fallen so far so fast, there is speculation
that owner Al Davis will jettison a large part of the roster and rebuild in
the offseason. Part of that rebuilding process could leave Rice, Brown or
both looking for new employers in 2004.
Though Rice signed a six-year extension in 2002, his unhappiness over
the offense and his role this year could persuade the 41-year-old to retire.
Rice hasn't spoken to reporters in two weeks, but when he has broached the
subject of retirement previously, he has been evasive and vague, saying only
that he would make the decision in the offseason.
But Brown is adamant about playing another season. With Carter's No. 2
slot on the career receptions chart within grasp, he could easily join Rice
as the only two players in NFL history to have at least 1,100 catches and
15,000 receiving yards.
Whether that will be in Oakland or somewhere else, Brown speculated,
is in the hands of Davis and senior assistant Bruce Allen.
"I don't know what the situation is going to be," Brown said. "I just
have to do what I can do to keep everybody, along with the other veterans,
playing as hard as we can play. After the season, [I'll] have a conversation
with Al and Bruce and see what the plans are for me."
Statistics of receivers Tim Brown and Jerry Rice reflect Raiders'
frustrating season.
Associated Press
ALAMEDA -- Jerry Rice and Tim Brown are likely to end their NFL
careers as the two most prolific receivers in league history, but this
season has been anything but productive for the Oakland Raiders' duo.
With three games remaining for the 3-10 Raiders, both Rice and Brown
are headed for their worst statistical seasons in more than a decade on an
offense that went from a No. 1 overall ranking in 2002 to 24th this year.
Rice, the NFL's career leader in both receptions and receiving
yardage, is Oakland's leading receiver this season with 48 catches and 648
yards -- but that's just about the only positive aspect of his season.
Only a year removed from the 14th 1,000-yard season of his career,
Rice has scored just one touchdown, and he's on pace to finish with the
fewest number of catches and yardage since his rookie season of 1985. The
lone exception was in 1997, when Rice played just two games due to a knee
injury.
Brown is second to Rice on the NFL's career receiving yardage list,
and needs only 41 more catches to move past Cris Carter into second place
for career receptions. Yet like Rice, Brown has seen his statistics dip
dramatically in 2003.
With 43 catches, 489 yards and two touchdowns, the 16-year NFL veteran
is headed for his lowest totals since 1992.
Part of the problem has been the Raiders' injuries at quarterback.
Rich Gannon, last season's NFL MVP, lasted just seven games before a torn
labrum in his right shoulder landed him on injured reserve. Backup Marques
Tuiasosopo also was lost for the year with a knee injury one week after
Gannon went down.
Left with journeyman Rick Mirer at quarterback, the Raiders were
forced to alter their offense in recent weeks, relying more on the running
of Tyrone Wheatley and Charlie Garner than the passing attack.
"All you can do is run the plays they call," said Brown in the
aftermath of Oakland's 27-7 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday, a game in which he
caught three passes for 19 yards while Rice caught two for 27 yards. "You
can't make a 20-yard pass play out of a handoff."
Even before the quarterback shuffle, neither Rice nor Brown had much
of an impact on Oakland's season. There were private complaints about the
team's play-calling, not to mention the ongoing feud between some of the
Raiders and coach Bill Callahan.
Brown called a players-only meeting after Oakland's loss to Denver on
Nov. 30 to clear the air after Callahan was quoted as saying the Raiders
"must be the dumbest team in America in terms of how we play the game."
It was just the latest in a long string of incidents that have
sidetracked the defending AFC champions, who are in danger of becoming the
first Super Bowl team in league history to fail to win at least five games
the next year.
Because the Raiders have fallen so far so fast, there is speculation
that owner Al Davis will jettison a large part of the roster and rebuild in
the offseason. Part of that rebuilding process could leave Rice, Brown or
both looking for new employers in 2004.
Though Rice signed a six-year extension in 2002, his unhappiness over
the offense and his role this year could persuade the 41-year-old to retire.
Rice hasn't spoken to reporters in two weeks, but when he has broached the
subject of retirement previously, he has been evasive and vague, saying only
that he would make the decision in the offseason.
But Brown is adamant about playing another season. With Carter's No. 2
slot on the career receptions chart within grasp, he could easily join Rice
as the only two players in NFL history to have at least 1,100 catches and
15,000 receiving yards.
Whether that will be in Oakland or somewhere else, Brown speculated,
is in the hands of Davis and senior assistant Bruce Allen.
"I don't know what the situation is going to be," Brown said. "I just
have to do what I can do to keep everybody, along with the other veterans,
playing as hard as we can play. After the season, [I'll] have a conversation
with Al and Bruce and see what the plans are for me."