I was very surprised to see them in on him that quick especially in the first half. Usually they do a pretty decent job giving him some time even in the bad games. Thats honestly the worst play I have seen from a Raiders team as a whole in 4 years with the exception of special teams which were good. The most they had lost by in the last 3 years was 15 points (St. Louis this year). So to beat them that soundly says alot for TB. Also they are well coached on both sides of the ball. I hate Chucky but he is a great coach and Kiffin has been good for a while now. I have heard Kiffin might be headed to San Fran. I look for Oakland to draft some good, young LB's also and another big reciever to compliment Porter.
I think the Fins, Jets, and maybe the Steelers or Titans or Pats will be the chief comp for the AFC. The Chiefs have zero offense, the Chargers don't have the defense they once did, and the Broncos with the exception of Portis are aging in their playmaking positions on both sides--Oakland should take the division title again. The AFC East is the most brutal division in the league, with the AFC West next.
Raiders Blame Super Bowl Loss on Unfair "Interception Rule" - (AP) San Diego, Calif. - After receiving a throttling at the hands of a relentless Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense, members of the Raider organization were left debating the fairness of the interception rule. "It's bull****," suggested Raiders Wide Receiver Jerry Porter. "We played them even but those damn interceptions kept preventing us from winning. Anyone who saw those passes knew they shouldn't have been intercepted and you're not supposed to lose a game based on some fluke play like an interception." Dwight Smith who ran back two interceptions for touchdowns was particularly offensive to the Raider's sense of fairness. Rich Gannon, who threw a Super Bowl record five interceptions suggested, "As if it's not enough that we lost control of the ball on each of my five interceptions, but to also then let the unintended recipient advance the ball to the point where they can score a touchdown. Well, that just doesn't seem fair to me." The Raiders loss of All Pro center Barrett Robbins added to the collective aggravation felt by the entire Raider family of coaches, players and front office employees following one of the biggest blow outs in Super Bowl history. "Everyone and everything always goes against the Raiders," choked out distraught Raiders Owner Al Davis while he nervously rubbed his trademark sterling silver croakie. "Whether it's Satan tempting our all pro-center to commit sins, to God almighty himself guiding Adam Vinatieri's impossible field goal that tied us last year. You don't go into the Super Bowl with the NFL MVP at quarterback and lose due to interceptions. Something is amiss and when I find out what happened here, heads are gonna roll. Your hear that, Tagliabue?" At which point Al Davis began shaking nervously and was quickly escorted to his awaiting Raidermobile. Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Bill Cowher, taking a break from arguing to anyone who would listen exactly how and when rules should apply to the Steelers (particularly focusing on how Rule 12 - Article 6 which details when a defensive player may not run into a kicker loses relevancy when the game is close), agreed with the Raiders, "Anytime the rules directly affect the outcome of a game, that's just sad," opined a pensive Cowher. "You have to let the players decide the outcome on the field as opposed to some bureaucrat in New York making up some rules." Raiders CB Charles Woodson attempted to lift the spirits of a dejected Raider Nation with the following salvo: "You know without all those interceptions, we basically won the Super Bowl."
