Raiders take final step to 'Chucky Bowl'
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The chants from the infamous Black Hole began at halftime.
"Bring on that (bleeping) Chucky," screamed several Raider Nation faithful at their former head coach turned Super Bowl adversary.
"Chucky's a punk," yelled another.
How quickly they forget.
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| Bill Callahan gets a chance to prove he's a better coach than the man he replaced.(AP) |
With the Raiders' 41-24 victory over the Titans on Sunday night in the AFC Championship Game, those Black Hole faithful will get a chance to see Chucky firsthand. It's a matchup several Raiders were waiting for but others wanted no part of.
"He has no idea what he's in for," said former Pro Bowl defensive tackle Sam Adams, who was not part of the Raiders during Gruden's tenure. "I can tell you there are a lot of guys loving the fact that they get a chance to go against him."
"This is not about Jon Gruden!" tackle Lincoln Kennedy bellowed at the media after the game. "This is not about Tampa Bay! We have a lot of guys in here who have never been to a Super Bowl. Give us a day to enjoy this."
The Raiders have this matchup with their former coach in Super Bowl XXXVII because for the first time in three years controversies did not shoot down their hopes.
There was no infamous "tuck" curse. There was no claim of a dirty squash of quarterback Rich Gannon. There was nothing that stood in the way of the current era of Silver and Black that would prevent them from a trip to San Diego.
"This is such a great feeling," said wide receiver Tim Brown, who several Raiders said they were especially glad to see finally go to his first Super Bowl. "It's even better than I imagined. We thought this could happen but for it to finally come to fruition is only something we could dream about."
They failed in two trips under Gruden. So what do they do? They trade the guy. Considering the result, Raiders owner Al Davis and his braintrust must be marked for executives of the year.
Davis, Bruce Allen, Amy Trasch and Mike Lombardi are still reaping the benefits of a trade that has already brought first- and second-round picks. They receive another first rounder this year and an additional second-round pick the next year. Throw in another $8 million that the Glazer family must wire to Davis' bank account and that trade now appears to be nothing short of lopsided.
Or is it? Both sides received what they wanted -- a Super Bowl berth.
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| Jerry Rice and Jerry Porter celebrate a chance to face their former coach in the Super Bowl.(AP) |
"I think they learned through all their experiences," said Callahan. "We added some (Super Bowl) rings to the roster, it added to our ability to get to this point."
When the Raiders sent Gruden south for the next several football winters, they did not explore many options outside of Callahan. One of Gruden's best buds at the time has done what Gruden couldn't with some of the guys he didn't want to do it with. Gone are the run-first game plans that Gruden often employed.
In fact, in Sunday's win the Raiders had a mere five rushes through the first three quarters of the game, four by Gannon. Under Gruden, Tyrone Wheatley, Jon Ritchie, Garner and Zack Crockett had an equal share of the fun. Under Callahan and offensive coordinator Marc Trestman, Garner is the primary back but only because Callahan's team passes first and runs if it fits into their plans.
"That's something we talked about doing earlier," said guard Frank Middleton, a former Buc himself. "We go for the throats around here. We don't look for wins, we look to stomp on people's throats."
Then there's Jerry Porter. The team's third wide receiver could not buy his way out of Gruden's doghouse. Heck, he would not have been able to blackmail his way out of it. But under Trestman and Callahan, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound freakish Porter has thrived, scoring nine touchdowns this season and turning in an impressive 51 catches.
Like Garner and rookie Doug Jolley, he added a receiving touchdown in the Raiders' Sunday night win. All this from a third-year player who probably wants Gruden more than any of his teammates.
But despite the score, the Raiders only pulled away and into the Chucky Bowl after several mistakes by the Titans to end the first half. Tennessee led toward the end of the second quarter but collapsed when backup running backs Robert Holcombe and John Simon each fumbled, leading to Raiders scores. Had those costly mistakes not occurred, the Raiders might have played right into Titans' coach Jeff Fisher's game plan.
"That was the game right there," said Callahan. "That was huge."
Fisher felt his team had nothing to lose. He preached his "might as well let it all hang out" attitude with fervor.
Just keep it close baby and the Raiders will implode. Just keep it close and those bad boys in the black and silver will start to bicker. Just keep it close guys and the pressure will become too much for them. Fisher was wrong.
His Titans kept the game close until the start of the fourth quarter when Gannon, Garner, Rice and friends calmly marched downfield for an eight-play, 66-yard drive to put the Raiders on top by 10 with 11 minutes remaining.
The Raiders had everything to lose, Fisher told his team. But they never folded those cards. They never lost their cool -- despite being the Raiders. And now they get a chance to keep their cool in the face of Chucky.
"I truly believe that game will be won in the trenches," said Romanowski, who ran over to congratulate the Black Hole faithful after the win. "Sure (Gruden) knows us but we watch film and we're going to know them too."
Let the Gruden Bowl hype begin.
