SUPER BOWL CONFIDENTIAL
SAN DIEGO – Tony Dungy wasn’t far from the hearts of a lot of the Buccaneers after they captured the Super Bowl title last night.
The former Bucs coach, who was fired last year because he hadn’t gotten Tampa Bay to the Super Bowl, was praised mostly by the man who eventually took his job, Jon Gruden.
“I knew it was going to be a very sensitive situation,” Gruden, at 39 the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl, said. “Tony Dungy did a great job here and I reaped benefits from his hard work. This is about Tampa Bay and the championship they deserve.”
Bucs DT Warren Sapp, too, didn’t hold back his feelings for Dungy, who’s now the coach of the Colts.
“That’s the first person I’ll see when I get off the plane and get to my house,” said Sapp, who lives near Dungy. “I’ll say, ‘Thank you. Thank you.’ That’s all I can ever say to the man that brought me up and made me the player I am today.”
Added Keyshawn Johnson: “He built this football team.”
*
Rich Gannon, the NFL’s MVP this season, hadn’t thrown three INTs in a game all season. Last night, three of his five INTs were returned for TDs.
“It’s always a shock to see him struggle,” Raider WR Jerry Porter said. “He’s played so well for us all year, it’s almost like we expect him to come out and play almost a perfect game. This just shows he’s human.”
Added LG Frank Middleton: “I would have bet on Gannon having a perfect game. But everybody is going to have a bad game sooner or later. [The Bucs] were jumping a lot of routes.”
*
Quietly, which is his way, Bucs WR Keenan McCardell snuck under the radar and was one of the stars for Tampa Bay last night, catching two TD passes, which were pivotal in the game.
The first TD came at the end of the first half, giving Tampa Bay a 20-3 lead. The second came in the third quarter, making it 27-3 and putting the game away.
“This feels great, it feels so sweet,” said McCardell, who’s overshadowed on the team by the always-chatty Keyshawn Johnson.
Bucs DE Simeon Rice delighted in sticking it to an Oakland offensive line that he felt mouthed off during the week.
“You called out the dog and the dog bit,” Rice said. “All they talked about was their size and strength. They weren’t big enough and they weren’t strong enough.”
—-
HERO & ZERO
Hero: Michael Pittman – 124 yds on 29 carries
Zero: Rich Gannon – Record five picks