Did Callahan throw the Super Bow?

[Jay in Phoenix]

http://www.news10.net/news/article/2264 ... Super-Bowl

Tim Brown caught reporters off guard over the weekend with his claim that former Oakland Raiders coach Bill Callahan intentionally threw Super Bowl XXXVII so that his old boss, Jon Gruden, could win a championship with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Perhaps even crazier than Brown's accusation is the fact that Jerry Rice, who was on that 2002 Raiders team, is in complete accordance.

"For some reason - and I don't know why - Bill Callahan did not like me," Rice said on ESPN, via ProFootballTalk. "In a way, maybe because he didn't like the Raiders, he decided, 'Maybe we should sabotage this a little bit and let Jon Gruden go out and win this one.'"

As we know, the Buccaneers annihilated the Raiders 48-21. And as far as Brown and now Rice are concerned, the fix was in once Callahan decided to alter Oakland's offensive game plan 48 hours before the game.

Callahan vehemently denied the whole thing in a statement obtained by USA TODAY Sports' Mike Garafolo.

"I am shocked, saddened and outraged by Tim Brown's allegations and Jerry Rice's support of those allegations made through various media outlets over the last twenty four hours," Callahan said. "To leave no doubt, I categorically and unequivocally deny the sum and substance of their allegations."

Rice siding with Brown on this controversy is obviously a big deal. That fact wasn't lost on ESPN host Trey Wingo, who stopped Rice to ask if he realized the magnitude of his words.

"Yeah, I know exactly what I'm saying," Rice said.

Rice even went so far as to reiterate that center Barret Robbins was especially perturbed by Callahan's last-minute changes, to the point that, as Brown alluded to, maybe that is why Robbins went off the deep end and was AWOL for the game.

"With Barrett, he was frustrated, like, 'You cannot do this to us at the last second.' Maybe that's why he decided to not show up," Rice said.

Wow, wow and WOW -- to all of this.

Of course, former Raiders offensive lineman Lincoln Kennedy refuted these sabotage claims to USA TODAY Sports' Lindsay Jones, so this could just be a case of wide receivers sticking together.

By Simon Samano

USA Today

If this were just Tim Brown speaking, it would be easy to write it off, but with Jerry Rice backing it up, did Callahan actually sabotage the Super Bowl? It seems pretty far fetched, especiall given that Lincoln Kennedy refuted it. Is this just sour grapes and some old wide receivers looking for a pub grub, or is there blood under the water?

[mvscal]

Total bullshit.

[Jay in Phoenix]

Actually, I agree that it most likely is bullshit. I am wondering though, why the hell would Rice risk tarnishing his reputation by attaching his name to Brown's accusations?

That part of it doesn't make sense, unless he's just an attention whore vying for publicity during the Super Hype.

[jiminphilly]

Was it Rich Gannon or Callahan behind center throwing those INT's?

[mvscal]

unless he's just an attention whore vying for publicity during the Super Hype.

Rice has always been an attention whoring asshat. He simply had the great good fortune to play on some outstanding teams. It's easy to be the "good guy" when everything is going your way.

Who the fuck spends his life working his ass off to reach the pinnacle of success in his chosen profession and then blows a (possibly) once in a lifetime opportunity to do a solid for a friend? It's so fucking dumb that it doesn't bear serious comment or consideration.

He changed the gameplan because it wasn't going to work. Nobody was going to "pound the ball" against the Bucs that year. He changed it at the last minute because he's an idiot and a shit coach. Oh, yeah....and his starting center stopped taking his meds and wigged out.

[Bucmonkey]

Should never have traded Gruden away...talk about a perfect opponent in the big game...stfu Raider player/coach/fan...the beatdown was inevitable.

[ucantdoitdoggieSTyle2]

Today I heard Tim Brown say that Mitt Romney threw the Presidential Election because he and Obama were 'boyz' and that Romney always hated the idea of the Oval Office. This guy is on to something...

[Joe in PB]

Everybody acknowledges game plans get tweaked but nobody totally changes a game plan on the Friday before a game, let alone the Superbowl. Tampa had a great passing defense and the way to beat them back then was to run the ball if a team could. The Raiduhs had a size advantage on the LOS, and the dominate running game plan was sound. The execution of it might have been another story, but the fact remains to go in with a passing game plan put the team with two aging receivers at a disadvantage. Callahan either threw the game, or is the dumbest mother fucker on the planet.

Good luck Dallas with that POS calling your plays next season.