Chucky, Chucky, Chucky. Ah, I bet he wishes he’d stayed in Oakland now. This Sunday in San Diego he will be embarrassed by his former team, one which you could have coached for years, had you stuck around. Think about it: NFL MVP Rich Gannon, superman Jerry Rice, Canton-bound Tim Brown, and Tyrone Wheatley and Charlie Garner in the backfield. Sounds a little better than what was inherited in Tampa Bay. I’ll go through the list. Rag-doll quarterback Brad Johnson, Arizona Cardinals castoff Michael Pittman, crying wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, and backup QB’s Rob Johnson and Shaun King (a few good hits on Brad Johnson and he’ll be forced to insert one of these underachievers).
Last week the Raiders convincingly beat the Tennessee Titans 41-24 with Rich Gannon going 29-41 with 286 yards and three TD’s. This was against a very good Titans defense, with tough corners Andre Dyson and Samari Rolle trying to cover Rice and Brown. Though the Bucs did travel to the Vet in Philly and finally won a road playoff game, that was against a banged- up quarterback and butterfinger receivers who dropped important passes late in the game. This week’s mission is to stop the NFL’s most consistent passer and its best receivers with that “paper champion” defense that was assembled in Tampa Bay.
One more thing to worry about is the fans from Oakland. The “Black Hole” will travel the 500 miles down I-5 along the California coast to make sure the Buccaneers’ lives are a living hell this Sunday. And I don’t think hell is an overstatement.
The thing I am most looking forward to is how humbled the likes of Keyshawn Johnson and Warren Sapp will be when the NFL’s best offense rolls through the Buccaneers like they have the rest of the NFL has all year long. I give Tampa Bay’s defense credit, because they’re good, and if they play well, the Bucs may be close at the end of four quarters. I just don’t see them winning, and for two reasons: One, veterans like Rice, Gannon, and Brown are too smart to let this week’s hoopla surrounding the game affect their teams. And two, the Raiders have an underrated defense, led by psycho Bill Romanowski, who will be giving the Bucs headaches all night. And if Chucky just wanted to get Keyshawn the damn ball, be forewarned, Charles Woodson looks healthy. When he’s at 100%, there isn’t a better cover corner in the league.
So there it is. The Bucs need to make sure and blanket Rice and Brown, shut down Garner and Wheatley, frustrate Gannon, get the ball to Keyshawn, drown out the Black Hole, and actually score some points with that horrendous offense. Then they could wear a Super Bowl XXXVII championship ring around downtown Tampa. But if they can’t do all those tasks, I would advise Chucky not to beg Al Davis for another chance.