Jerry Rice (80) Fits into the system
perfectly. Runs the crossing routes, sets up the picks, kills zone
defenses. Great knowledge of the scheme.
SE
Keyshawn Johnson (19) Still the go-to receiver,
as he has been every year with the club. Does well in traffic. A
strength -- rather than speed -- receiver.
Barry Sims (65)
Had a bad day against the outside speed rush of Miami's Jason Taylor,
but has been OK since. He won't get much help against Simeon
Rice, unless things get out of hand. At 305 pounds, the only non-hog on the
OL.
LT
Roman Oben (72) Durable vet who has bounced
around for seven years. Career appeared to be over when the Browns cut
him. Has had good year since recovering from knee injury during the offseason.
Fine game against Philadelphia's Hugh Douglas.
Frank Middleton (73) Monster drive-blocker. Can
close down a side. Faces a big challenge against ex-teammate Warren Sapp, whom
he used to practice against every day.
LG
Kerry Jenkins (71) Tough guy who cracked a bone
in his left leg and missed only two quarters. Mobile. Will pull and
lead plays to the right side.
Barrett Robbins (63) Grabber and puller. Hog-type and the middle man in one of the NFL's biggest interior threes.
C
Jeff Christy (62) Shows his age. Still crafty
but has problems when the defense puts a man on his nose.
Mo
Collins (79) Phone-booth type. Not much range, but they
don't ask him to move much. Big-bellied musher.
RG
Cosey Coleman (60) Bucs' biggest O-lineman, but no
powerhouse. Firm drive-blocker when they're rushing to his side, but
will have problems against Oakland's cat-quick Rod Coleman.
Lincoln Kennedy (72)
Massive 335-pounder whose pass-blocking is keyed by quick
feet. Uses the angles well in his run blocks, but not an overpowering
type.
RT
Kenyatta Walker (67) Says he now weighs 290,
which would make him the smallest RT in the league. Quick and athletic.
Once was an LT but had trouble with power rushers.
Doug Jolley (88) Rookie
whose breakthrough as speed-type TE able to stretch the seams lifted the
offense to new dimension. Not a blocker.
TE
Ken Dilger (85) Brainy ex-Colt who knows how to
work his way inside zone defenses. Outlet, rather than go-to receiver.
Decent blocker.
Rich
Gannon (12) The league's MVP. At 37 he's found the perfect
offensive system. Has the brainwork to make it go, an accurate
enough arm and enough giddyaps in the legs to get out of
trouble.
QB
Brad Johnson (14) Sturdy warrior who seems happy
in Gruden's offense. Threw only six picks in the regular season, but
two in the playoffs. The perception remains that he could blow, if
faced by a stiff enough rush.
Charlie Garner (25) Has had a magnificent
year -- 5.3 rushing average plus 91 passes caught. They use him just
right, lining him up all over the field, lifting him for Zach Crockett
(No. 32) on short-yardage plays or for Tyrone Wheatley (No. 47) when they're
trying to work the clock late.
RB
Michael Pittman (32) Some decent moments, but he
hasn't had the pop he did in Arizona. Aaron Stecker (No. 27) spells him,
but the only real action in the running game comes when they bring in
Mike Alstott, who has had success of late attacking off-tackle and then
hitting the cutback lanes.
Jerry Porter (84) Three WRs is the base offense
now. Porter is the speediest downfield, with game-breaking potential.
In short-yardage Jon Ritchie (No. 40) is the blocking fullback, and last
week they went with two-TEs on occasion with 6-foot-8, 345-pound Langston Walker.
No one quite knows how this rather scary experiment will work out.
THIRD WR
Joe Jurevicius (83) Johnson loves his size (6-5,
230) but he can motor, too. The Eagles made the mistake of covering him
with an LB and he broke away for71 yards. Darian Barnes (No. 30) is the
fullback they bring in when they go heavy, with Alstott. Ex-Raider Ricky
Dudley (No. 88) is used in two-TE alignments.
Tim Brown (81) Savvy
receiver and clever route runner. A nice counterpart to Rice. Will
occasionally drop the ball, though.
FL
Keenan McCardell (87) At 33, he's about had it. No
range now. Basically a 10-yard threat, although they'll occasionally
throw long to him, just to show it.
0FFENSIVE EDGE: Raiders 8-1-2
DEFENSE
Raiders
Bucs
DeLawrence Grant (99) Wild,
chaser type who runs all over the place without always knowing where
he's going. Chris Cooper (No. 75), who's more disciplined, will play here
in the rotation and at all other D-Line spots.
LE
Greg Spires (94) Hustles, makes plays, stands firm
against the run. Interesting that the Bucs could get a higher and more
sustained performance from him than Bill Belichick's Patriots could.
Ellis Wyms (No. 96) spells him.
Sam Adams (95) Big Sam had his best game of the
season against Tennessee. Until then it was just a matter of marking time
until Rod Coleman (No. 57), a terrific inside rusher and gap-destroyer,
could come in and turn the heat up.
LT
Chartric Darby (91) He plays the nose and admits
to 289, but he's probably less, which would make him one of the smallest
nose tackles in football. When teams say they have to run right at the
Bucs, they have Darby in mind. Yet he's active and dedicated. Wyms or
DeVone Claybrooks (No. 93) provide the relief.
John Parrella (97) There's always a place for a
300-pound run-stuffer, but when Parrella and Adams are lined up side-by-side there just isn't much of a pass rush. Parrella's effective but limited.
An even bigger guy, 320-pound Junior Ioane (No. 92) gives him a breather.
RT
Warren Sapp (99) We don't want to over-dramatize
this, but a large part of the Bucs' chance for success depends on what
kind of a game Sapp feels like having. The Bucs need to get gut pressure
on Gannon to have a chance, and Sapp simply has to give it a sustained
effort, which he hasn't done lately. I have a feeling he will give a major effort on Sunday.
Regan Upshaw (91) Undersized at 260, but he doesn't really play like a demon
speed-rusher. Hustles and makes plays, but is not a serious sacker.
RE
Simeon Rice (97) Relax on him and he'll come off
the edge, take the great circle route and slap the ball loose for a
sack-fumble. He has done it in each postseason game.
Eric Barton (50) Really came on during the season and by the playoffs he was playing at
all-pro level. Very quick, good in short-range coverage.
OLB
Alshermond Singleton (51) Decent strongside
plugger who will get lifted in the nickel. The Bucs don't use a six-DB
dime package.
Napoleon
Harris (58) Kept improving during the season, and by the
Titans game he was staying on the field, on occasion, in long-yardage
situations.
MLB
Shelton Quarles (53) Amazingly fast. Hard to
tell on film, and it has caught people by surprise. Nate Webster
(No.52), who spells him on occasion, also can fly.
Bill Romanowski (53) Doesn't
play the true strongside position. It's keyed to whether the alignment
is an over or an under, but he is generally well protected in the system
and free to make plays. Active but can be overpowered. Travian
Smith (No. 56) will come in at an outside spot and usually lines up as a
rusher.
OLB
Derrick Brooks (55) Plays the weak side and is the
best outside backer in the game. Terrific break on the ball. Always
involved in the running game. A rule of thumb among offensive
coaches -- when he and Ronde Barber are lined up on the same side, do not
throw in that area because bad things will happen.
Charles Woodson (24) Back
from a broken ankle now. Had a terrific game against the Jets, jumping
the short routes, but got burned against the Titans, doing the same
thing. Impulsive. Extremely gifted.
LCB
Brian Kelly (25) Collected an NFC-leading eight
picks because teams were reluctant to throw against Barber on the other
side. Basically a zone CB but the Bucs are more of a blitzing,
man-coverage team now.
Anthony Dorsett (33) Will make the jarring hit, but will miss
his share, too. Replaced Derrick Gibson (No. 36), the early season
starter, who will spell him at times.
SS
John Lynch (47) His range has diminished through
the years, but he's still a functional old pro in this veteran defense,
much as Rod Woodson is with the Raiders.
Rod Woodson (26) Has the
smarts, knows the angles and the flight of the ball. Can't run, but he
gets by anyway.
FS
Dexter Jackson (34) Opportunist. Good ballhawk.
Reaps the benefit of big plays made by others.
Tory James (20) The second
cornerback who's recovering from a leg injury. Spectacular in deep
space against the Jets, chasing down Chad Pennington's floaters, very sound vs. the Titans.
RCB
Ronde Barber (20) The best in football, slam dunk.
The closest thing we have to a shutdown corner these days. Will cover
the slot in the nickel alignment, and he fell off slot coverage to end
the Eagles' game with his 92-yard pick for a TD.
Terrance Shaw (22) Has
been playing with more confidence, now that the varsity corners have
returned. Struggled a bit when he was a starter.
NICKELBACK
Dwight Smith (26) Very underrated. Plays the right corner
in the five-DB alignment and can run with anybody.
DEFENSIVE EDGE: Bucs 8-4
SPECIAL TEAMS
Raiders
Bucs
Sebastian Janikowski (11) Flaky. The possibility of a choke can
not be discounted. And what has happened to his kickoffs? For a guy who
led the league in touchbacks, it was weird to see all his squibs and low
liners against the Titans.
K
Martin Gramatica (7) Tremendous range. Led the
league with five (of six) field goals from 50 yards and beyond, with a
long of 52.
Shane Lechler
(9) Seems to have lost his leg since last year, also his
ability to kill them near the goal line.
P
Tom Tupa (9) The disaster potential is there. Came
down with a case of the yips with the Jets last year, and has skunked
'em at bad times recently.
No. 83 Marcus Knight (KR) No. 81 Tim Brown (PR) Knight is OK, nothing exciting. Punt returns are handled by
committee, which right now consists of Brown, although that might change Sunday. He is not sure-handed.
RETURNS
NO. 27 Aaron Stecker (KR) No. 86 Karl Williams (PR) At least
this pair won't hurt anyone. Stecker runs hard and causes major
collisions. Williams is confident and competent, with the capacity to
occasionally pop one.
SPECIAL
TEAMS EDGE: Bucs 2-1
CAPSULE
Over the last two weeks the Bucs have managed to screw up two top-of-the-heap quarterbacks. They could do it to Gannon, too. But only if they
get pressure, and that pressure must come from inside, because he gets
the ball away so quickly. Warren Sapp is crucial here. If they put too
many blockers on him, then the Bucs have to be ready with an imaginative
blitz package, aimed between the tackles. Generally it's a not a good
idea to blitz the Raiders. Too many picks and crossing routes. And you
can't play zone against them, because their offense eats up zones. I
predict that the Bucs will basically junk their two-deep zone and rely
on some blitzing, backed up by man-coverage, with LBs Brooks and
Quarles being assigned a major role in defending the shallow crossing
routes. They have the upset capacity, but I think the Raiders defense
will force a few turnovers, which will decide it.
FINAL SCORE: RAIDERS 24, BUCCANEERS 22
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