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'Back to work' Brown dinged-up heading to first playoff game in seven years
Updated: Tuesday January 02, 2001 9:44 PM
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) -- Oakland wide receiver Tim Brown won't permit a sore knee to keep him from making his first playoff appearance in seven years. Brown tweaked his left knee in practice two weeks ago. Despite playing well in the Raiders' 52-9 rout of the Carolina Panthers on Dec. 24, Brown said Tuesday that he really needed the bye week the team got for winning the AFC West. "I probably won't be 100 percent, but I'll be able to run," he said. "I just can't jog. But I can run fine, and that's the most important thing. "It will take a lot more than what I have to keep me out of this game or keep me from doing what I can do. I'm looking forward to it." Coming off their first-round bye, the Raiders (12-4) play the Miami Dolphins (12-5) on Saturday at Oakland Coliseum. Back at work on Tuesday, the team was rested and healed from those regular-season bumps and bruises. Brown, who has spent his 13-year career in Oakland, last appeared in the playoffs after the 1993 season, when the Raiders lost 29-23 to the Buffalo Bills in an AFC divisional game. "I don't want to think about that," he said. "That was a bad Sunday." Brown has a career-high 11 touchdown receptions this season for the Raiders, and would like to improve on that against Miami. Overall, the Raiders ranked sixth in the NFL this season in total offense. "There's not an offense in the AFC that we think can outscore us," Brown said. "If we do what we do on offense and give our defense a little cushion, we think we're going to be all right." Napoleon Kaufman sees Saturday's game the same way. It doesn't matter if he's hurting, it's the playoffs. The running back has never been to the postseason in his six-year career. But Kaufman has knee and thigh injuries left from a 31-7 victory against the New York Jets on Dec. 10, and head coach Jon Gruden called him questionable for Saturday's game. Kaufman, who rushed for 499 yards this season, thinks otherwise. "I feel like I'm really able to run and explode, and do all the things I'm supposed to do," he said. Kaufman participated in a full practice Tuesday, and Gruden said he looked good. But only time will tell if he'll be ready for the game. "He's just got to prove it," Gruden said. Jon Ritchie might not get an opportunity to start in his first career playoff game. The third-year fullback has a sprained right ankle that forced him to miss the season-ending victory. Ritchie, who said he's putting his status into the hands of the coaches and trainers, had limited practice time Tuesday. Andre Rison, whose sprained shoulder got a much-needed break during the week off, said he'll be ready Saturday. And Oakland's defense was rested and healthy, too, Gruden said. The bye week also gave the Raiders a chance to let it all sink in. After two consecutive 8-8 seasons under Gruden, the Raiders are not only in the playoffs -- they've got their first winning season since 1994. "Last week was a good week," Brown said. "We had the bye, we had a chance to enjoy our situation. But, now, it's time to get back to work."
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