The Fix Was In

Former Raiders receiver and future NFL Hall of Famer Tim Brown has claimed that his former coach Bill Callahan threw Super Bowl 37 which his Raiders lost to Tampa Bay 48-21. Putting aside what motivation a coach would have to "sabotage" a Super Bowl game, I think Brown's so-called evidence is flawed at best.

Brown claims the gameplan for the game was to run the ball heavily but that Callahan changed the game plan on the Friday before the game and wanted to instead throw the ball 60 times. I can understand players not liking a sudden change in gameplan, but lets take a look at the stats. That season the Raiders ranked 1st in the league in passing yards compared to 18th in rushing yards and 23rd in rushing attempts. The Raiders won games with an MVP quarterback and two Hall of Fame receivers; why wouldn't their game plan be pass happy? On top of that, the Raiders didn't even throw the ball 60 times as Brown suggests, they attempted 44 passes, only three more than the previous week when they won the AFC Championship over the Tennessee Titans.

 I don't think Callahan threw the game, at worst I would call it a poor coaching decision, but I wouldn't even go that far because the Raiders were much better at passing than rushing the ball that season. I guess the loss still stings for Tim Brown and that's understandable, but I think the claims of Brown and his teammate Jerry Rice are ridiculous. If anyone should be accused of sabotage, it would be Rich Gannon who threw three touchdown passes, I mean pick-sixes, to Tampa Bay.