Columnist Sal DeFilippo: Tampa Bay at Oakland a matchup of freefalls

Sal DeFilippo

Friday, Sept. 24, 2004 | 9:25 a.m.

Sal DeFilippo's pro football picks column appears Friday. Reach him at sal@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4076.

January 26, 2003, doesn't seem like that long ago.

In professional football, though, 20 months can be an eternity. Still, I struggle to understand how so recently the Raiders and Buccaneers were suiting up to decide the champions of the football world.

The Raiders had the league's most potent offense, and the Buccaneers had ridden a stalwart defensive unit to the title game under coach Jon Gruden, who was in his first season with Tampa Bay after spending four years laying the seed of Chucky at Oakland.

Tampa Bay destroyed Oakland 48-21 on that day, and the Raiders still haven't recovered. Rich Gannon, the 2002 league most valuable player, was hurt for much of 2003, and the silver and black sputtered without his leadership. They finished with a 4-12 mark, tied for the worst record in the league.

The Bucs, meanwhile, didn't exactly fare well defending their crown either. Despite opening the season with a dominating road win -- a 17-0 shutout at Philadelphia -- the Bucs soon lost credibility faster than a CBS investigation. With more than a month remaining in the season, star receiver Keyshawn Johnson, who often feuded with Gruden, was essentially told he would not play for them any longer. It was mildly ironic since he hadn't done much even while he was playing for them. Tampa Bay finished 7-9 and out of the postseason mix.

This season, Gannon has returned, but the supporting offensive cast isn't the same. Tim Brown, who holds every team receiving record after spending 16 seasons as a Raider, has jumped ship to Tampa Bay. And last week, for the first time in two decades, Jerry Rice played a football game and didn't catch a pass.

Oakland has three touchdowns thus far, all in a fashion synonymous with a longtime Raider philosophy: Keep throwing the ball deep. The Raiders have always liked to stretch the field vertically, and this season, they are doing so -- in both directions.

In the season-opening loss at Pittsburgh, Oakland scored on a 58-yard pass from Gannon to Doug Gabriel, which came on a first-and-20 play. Later, Gannon connected on a 38-yard score to Alvis Whitted. That came on a fourth-and-12.

Oakland's lone score in Sunday's 13-10 win against Buffalo came in similar style, as the Raiders forced themselves into a nice third-and-28 spot before Gannon hit Ronald Curry for a 43-yard touchdown.

Take a penalty. Lose a few more yards. Heave one up. An old team last year, Norv Turner's club is trying to be reborn by playing old-school Al Davis-style Raiders football.

Hey, it's more offense than Tampa Bay has been able to muster. The Bucs have dropped games to Washington and Seattle, and also have returned to their old days of offensive ineptitude, scoring only 16 points in two weeks. In fact, Tampa Bay's lone 2004 touchdown came on a fumble return.

Each team has taken on the look of the other as they continue their parallel downfalls, so much so that some of the players have just switched uniforms.

Along with Brown, another key Raider from their Super Bowl team, Charlie Garner, now plays for the Bucs. Meanwhile, Warren Sapp, the anchor on Tampa Bay's defensive line for nine seasons, is now in Oakland.

Even though those are the most likely players to head for the wrong sideline on Sunday, it's clear that these former powerhouse clubs simply aren't heading in the right direction either.

This week's picks: Another 2-1 mark against the number puts the season mark at 4-2. The Steelers faltered at Baltimore, but the Colts and Eagles covered the spread. This week, I'll go with the Titans -6 against the Jaguars, the Bears plus 9 against the Vikings, and the Browns plus 3 against the Giants.