Armchair Quarterback: Tampa will win today with its ‘D’
So much for San Diego. I had my bags packed and was ready to go to the left coast when the Titans did something curious – THEY LOST!
But hey, starting at 1-4, they really overachieved down the stretch so I ain’t going to gripe too much about their debacle at the Black Hole Sunday. Many good teams have had their hats handed to them out there.
So, given the elimination of our Titans, the question now is whether the Raiders can do what they did last week when they play the Buccaneers in Pirate Bowl I this Sunday. There’s no doubt the Raiders have a potent offense, which ranked the best in the NFL this season. They have a three-way receiving threat with two future hall of famers, a fast scat back in Charlie Garner and the league MVP in their quarterback Rich Gannon. They also have an underrated defense with one of the best secondaries in the game.
However, one thing they don’t have is their former Coach John Gruden. This is the guy who built the Raiders back from mediocrity before departing to Tampa Bay this year. He took with him a wealth of knowledge about the team which he will turn around and use against them today.
I’m not pulling punches here. I’m picking the Buccaneers even though they are a slight underdog. As you may recall, I also said there was no way the Pats would beat the Rams last year, so if you go out and bet the farm on anything I say, well, you’re an idiot.
The Bucs will win because it’s defense which wins Super Bowls. Just look at the Pats and Ravens and even the Rams, who many forget, led the league in defense the year they beat the Titans in the Super Bowl. In a year where there’s only a one-week turnaround, the defense always seems to have the advantage and the Bucs obviously have the best defense on the field today. Hey, against the Eagles, it looked like Tiki and Ronde Barber were both on the field at the same time, the way he’d show up on every play. The Buc defense is super quick and their line can match the brutal nature of the Raider offensive line. I don’t think the Raiders have seen a defense this quick this season and their ability to close on receiving routes will likely mess up the timing between Gannon and his targets.
The Bucs also have a tenacious pass rush. We saw last week against the Titans that Gannon had all types of problems adjusting when the Titans brought heat. Most of the time he simply threw the ball away, seeing Gannon isn’t the most nimble of quarterbacks. The Bucs make the Titan pass rush look weak.
Granted, any game involving the Raiders is going to have quite a bit of scoring. Today’s winner will have more than 21 points. However, this is where the underrated Buc offense comes in. Brad Johnson gets no respect even though he’s put in a great performance this year. But then, why shouldn’t he? This isn’t the old anemic Buc offense. He’s got Alstott and Pittman in the backfield and Keyshawn and Keenan to throw to outside. Plus, a well-guarded secret is that he’s got two star tight ends in Ken Dilger and Rickey Dudley who were playmakers with their former teams.
The key will be the Buc defense keeping Gannon off the field and allowing Johnson to work time consuming drives. I don’t see the Bucs surrendering a lot of third and longs like the Titans did last week so when they get in bad situations on third down, the Bucs pass rush will be pinning their ears back.
Even though Titan fans are disappointed, I’d still say this will be a classic Super Bowl. Unfortunately, I’ll be watching this one from here and not San Diego.