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Mirror images Raiders, Buccaneers were built in similar fashionPosted: Tuesday January 21, 2003 12:53 PM
By B. Duane Cross, CNNSI.com "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" No, Al Davis didn't say those words, but his Raiders have long been known for taking Ellis Island's motto to heart. And while there may be more than one way to win a championship, Oakland and Tampa Bay found similar ways to reach Super Bowl XXXVII. Teams generally strive for a balance both offensively and defensively. San Diego's "Air" Coryell featured a point-a-minute offense -- and a seemingly two-points-per minute defense. Not coincidentally, those Chargers never made it to the Super Bowl. Other teams have been heavy on defense, light on offense -- and watching TV on Super Bowl Sunday. Oakland does have the NFL's No. 1 offense (28.1 ppg), but the Raiders' defense held opponents in check, too (19.0 ppg). Tampa Bay's defense is the league's best (12.3 ppg), and the Buccaneers also know the way to the end zone (21.6 ppg). Evenly matched? Yes. However, even more telling is how the teams got to Sunday night's all-the-marbles game.
In the age of parity through the salary cap, the NFL is doing cartwheels in its Manhattan offices. This is how the mix-and-match, blend-'em-in system is designed to work. Oakland's starting 24 includes 12 draft picks, 11 free agents and one player via trade. Tampa Bay's starters: 11 draft picks, 12 free agents and one trade (chart below).
Oakland has 10 players with at least 10 years' experience, while Tampa Bay has six, but the Raiders have more rookies (5) than the Bucs (3). Both teams also have an 18-year veteran: Oakland's Jerry Rice and Lomas Brown of the Buccaneers. "Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp and myself have been here the longest," Tampa Bay safety John Lynch said. "We wore the orange. We suffered through some tough years. We worked so hard for this opportunity but we told each other we're not done yet." Lynch was Tampa Bay's third-round pick in 1993 and is the team's longest-tenured player, while Sapp (12th overall) and Brooks (28th) were No. 1s in 1995. "I've been looking at this game for 14 years and watching other people go," said Brown, who was one of three first-round picks for the Raiders in 1988. "Now, I'm finally on my way. It's a great feeling."
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