Saturday, Sept. 25, 2004 | 3:57 a.m.
For two teams thousands of miles apart and with little history as rivals before 2002, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders sure are making up for lost time.
There was the mega-trade that allowed coach Jon Gruden to leave the California Bay Area for the Florida one. Then came the Super Bowl meeting between the teams in January 2003.
More recently, Warren Sapp left the Bucs as a free agent and landed with the Raiders. When longtime star receiver Tim Brown was cut by Oakland this summer, he wound up with Gruden in Tampa Bay. That's also where running back Charlie Garner settled. And former Raiders executive Bruce Allen now is the Bucs general manager.
So Sunday's night's national television matchup has some juicy story lines. And with both teams off to struggling starts - Oakland hasn't looked good in going 1-1, while Tampa Bay is 0-2 and can't find the end zone - the personalities might be more interesting than the game.
Gruden was low-keying the game and the newfound rivalry.
"It will be a great experience for me and certainly for Warren Sapp and Tim Brown and some of these ex-Raider guys and some of these ex-employees of the silver and black," he said. "I'd like to win the game."
Brown won't be nervous in front of the Black Hole and the Raiders' wild crowd.
"I don't think anything like that as I play," he said. "I think it is just going to be a little awkward. The football part of it will be fine. I am just worried about what bench I am going to go to. I'm just trying not to go to the wrong bench. If I can accomplish that during the night, it will be all right."
Sapp expects a frenzied atmosphere that could rub off on the players, who need to be single-minded.
"It's the hype that becomes bigger than anything else," Sapp said. "The game's still played 11 on 11, bone on bone, first and second down, third down. You've got to bottle your emotions and go out and do what you're supposed to do."
In other games Sunday, it's Arizona at Atlanta; Philadelphia at Detroit; Cleveland at the New York Giants; Pittsburgh at Miami; Houston at Kansas City; New Orleans at St. Louis; Jacksonville at Tennessee; Baltimore at Cincinnati; Chicago at Minnesota; San Diego at Denver; Green Bay at Indianapolis; and San Francisco at Seattle.
The first bye week of the season has Buffalo (0-2), Carolina (1-1), New England (2-0) and the New York Jets (2-0) idle. On Monday night, it's Dallas at Washington.
Philadelphia (2-0) at Detroit (2-0)
A surprising meeting of unbeaten teams, or at least on Detroit's side. The Lions can prove they belong among the playoff contenders with a win - or at least a good showing - against one of the NFL's best. Detroit's wins were against Chicago and Houston.
The Lions appear to have a terrific young receiver in first-round pick Roy Williams, who made two sensational TD catches last Sunday. The Eagles know they have a star wideout in Terrell Owens, who has four touchdowns already. Owens faces his former coach in San Francisco, Steve Mariucci, with whom Owens had a stressful relationship.
Green Bay (1-1) at Indianapolis (1-1)
A sweet matchup of quarterbacks in a game that could be decided by whether Colts RB Edgerrin James (hamstring) can go. The Packers' defensive line is weakened by injuries.
While Brett Favre will have his primary backfield helper, Ahman Green, he'll need for Green to hang onto the ball better than he did in last week's loss to Chicago.
Favre vs. Peyton Manning represents the best QB of the 1990s facing the best of the 2000s. Look for both to make plays against so-so defenses, although Green Bay's unit has been sharp thus far.
Dallas (1-1) at Washington (1-1) (Monday night)
Another great matchup, this time of coaches. Joe Gibbs won three Super Bowls in his first stint in Washington, and Bill Parcells took two titles with the Giants. They are two coaching icons, and both have lots of work ahead to get their teams into contention.
The Redskins come off a seven-turnover nightmare at the Meadowlands and backup QB Patrick Ramsey, who was very shaky, probably will start for injured Mark Brunell (hamstring). He'll need help from tailback Clinton Portis and what has been a reliable, blitz-happy defense that will be missing star linebacker LaVar Arrington (knee).
Dallas lost rookie RB Julius Jones (shoulder) for two months, so Eddie George will get more work than previously planned and the Cowboys will remain pass-oriented. They also figure to steadily blitz Ramsey until he shows he can handle the pressure.
Arizona (0-2) at Atlanta (2-0)
When Atlanta hired Jim Mora, it hoped he'd make sure there was defensive strength to balance what Michael Vick could provide on offense. The plan is working so far and the Falcons are 2-0 for the first time since 1998, when they went to the Super Bowl for the only time.
The Cardinals have been competitive in losses to St. Louis and New England mainly because they are plus-4 in turnover differential. It's time for highly touted rookie WR Larry Fitzgerald (nine catches, 106 yards) to have more impact, but he has little help. Coach Dennis Green brought in old friend Carl Hargrave as a consultant to jump-start the offense.
San Francisco (0-2) at Seattle (2-0)
A pair of long road trips resulted in wins at New Orleans and Tampa for the Seahawks, who were 2-6 on the road last year. They were 8-0 at home and as long as they don't think they can coast in Seahawks Stadium, they could be headed for a special season.
"Especially back to back, that's a tough double to pull out," linebacker Anthony Simmons said. "I don't care what team you're talking about. To go on two long trips and get two victories is a pretty tough feat."
No matter where San Francisco has played, it's had a chance at the end, only to fold. That could be the story the rest of the way for the rebuilding 49ers.
Jacksonville (2-0) at Tennessee (1-1)
Jacksonville has scored 20 points, tied for worst in the AFC. But the other two teams down there offensively, Miami and Buffalo, haven't won. The Jags, riding a defense that has yielded just 16 points in wins over the Bills and Broncos, figure to need more offense this time.
Tennessee flopped in the second half at home against Indianapolis last week. A loss here would put the Titans in a deep hole in the AFC South just three weeks into the season. Look for a highly physical game in which the hosts try to shut down RB Fred Taylor and force QB Byron Leftwich to throw to a mediocre group of receivers.
San Diego (1-1) at Denver (1-1)
After going nowhere in Jacksonville, yet having a chance to win before Quentin Griffin fumbled in the final moments, the Broncos will be in a bad mood. But they'll be without DE Trevor Pryce (back).
San Diego is going back to Drew Brees at quarterback after he struggled against the Jets and sustained a concussion. But the key on offense for San Diego is unleashing star RB LaDainian Tomlinson, only seventh in the conference in rushing, albeit with a 4.6-yard average per carry.
Cleveland (1-1) at New York Giants (1-1)
The Browns suffered one of the worst injury epidemics in recent seasons when five starters left last Sunday's loss to Dallas. DE Courtney Brown (foot) is gone for the season and prized rookie TE Kellen Winslow (broken leg) might as well be. QB Jeff Garcia had a 0.0 rating vs. the Cowboys.
The Giants don't figure to hold him anywhere near that, but if they can force seven turnovers again, they should have no trouble winning their second straight game after a nine-game slide.
Baltimore (1-1) at Cincinnati (1-1)
With TE Todd Heap out for perhaps a month with a sprained ankle, the Ravens must rely even more on Jamal Lewis, the 2,000-yard rusher of last year who has just 119 yards on 44 carries thus far. Good news for Baltimore: The Bengals allowed 196 to Curtis Martin in the opener and Lewis has six straight 100-yard games against them.
As for the Ravens' ferocious D, it got back on track last week against Pittsburgh. Inexperienced QB Carson Palmer could learn some lessons Sunday.
Chicago (1-1) at Minnesota (1-1)
A big win against Green Bay also was costly. The Bears lost playmaking safety Mike Brown (torn Achilles' tendon) for the season, dampening Lovie Smith's first victory as a head coach.
Chicago's secondary is so battered that mostly reserves will start against Minnesota. Not exactly the way to handle Randy Moss and company. The Vikings, though, need to find the end zone more; at Philadelphia they gained 410 yards and came away with just one TD and three field goals.
Houston (0-2) at Kansas City (1-1)
Houston is a minus-6 in turnover margin, largely because RB Domanick Davis has lost four fumbles. The giveaways have negated some otherwise solid play by the offense and defense.
"I'm not doing anything differently," said Davis, who rushed for 1,000 yards as a rookie in '03. "I'm playing hard, just like I did last year, but the ball's coming loose. So, obviously I'm doing something wrong, and it's up to me to fix it."
Kansas City has plenty to fix after giving up 62 points and scoring 41 in two defeats. The defense that leaked throughout last season has been a sieve again.
"The overall team morale is good," coach Dick Vermeil said. "They certainly don't consider themselves out of the race. And it's my job to let them know that we aren't the only team that's started out 0-2 and ended up being successful."
Pittsburgh (1-1) at Miami (0-2)
Ben Roethlisberger is the Steelers' No. 1 quarterback for now with Tommy Maddox hurt, and after some misplaced angst about the quarterbacking situation, his teammates seem ready to accept the rookie.
"I have confidence in Ben," said Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca, who earlier this week said he wasn't excited about Roethlisberger taking over. "I saw him today while I was working out and I told him, 'The comment had nothing to do with you.' ... I definitely don't think it's a desperate situation."
It is in Miami, where the offense has been pitiful and injuries and defections (Ricky Williams) have taken a toll.
New Orleans (1-1) at St. Louis (1-1)
After two home games, the Saints face a somewhat revamped Rams defense that will have Aenaes Williams moving from safety to cornerback because of injuries. New Orleans figures to throw because ace running back Deuce McAllister is questionable with an ankle injury.
--
archive
