Super Bowl countdown: 12 days, 4 teams and counting
AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE

by Peter Allen
ALL01009@BYUI.EDU
Scroll Staff

Tennessee Titans
11-5

This will be the second meeting for these two teams this season. In Week 4 the Titans rolled into Oakland and left humiliated losing 52-17. Since that lopsided loss the Titans have gone 10-2. It is sure to be a whole different outcome come Sunday with the AFC Championship and a shot at the Super Bowl on the line.

The Titans have been led this year by the tough as nails quarterback Steve McNair. Crippled by back, rib and toe injuries, he has gone on to pass for 3,389 yards and 22 TDs. He also ran for 440 yards and 3 TDs.

Tennessee’s attack is this: get a lead and kill the clock with the running game. The Titans can dominate games when 1,000-yard rusher Eddie George successfully runs the ball.

Injuries have plagued the wide receiving corps, but they still have some play makers in Derrick Mason and Frank Wycheck. As steady as the Titans are in the passing game, Oakland is the wrong one to meet in a shootout.

The Titans rely heavily on their defense, which is one of the best in the NFL. With injuries slowing all-world defensive end Jevon Kearse, other Titans need to step up and make plays on Sunday. Their linebacking corps has a rising star in Keith Bullock. Their defensive line is anchored by Kearse, Kevin Carter and rookie Albert Haynesworth. How well the Titans are able to bottle up the Raiders passing game will be the biggest key come Sunday.

L.A. Raiders
11-5

The Oakland Raiders will have their second chance in three years to play for the AFC Championship.

If the Raiders can win Sunday it will mean their first trip to the Super Bowl since 1984 when they beat the Washington Redskins.

The Raiders are led by MVP Rich Gannon who threw for 4,689 yards and 26 TDs. He has plenty of weapons at his disposal in future Hall of Famers’ Jerry Rice and Tim Brown, plus rising star Jerry Porter.

They are steady at tight end with BYU product Doug Jolley. This group of pass catchers is very dangerous, which is evident by the numbers that Gannon put up in this year’s MVP season.

Starting running back Charlie Garner is a threat as a pass catcher and as a runner. He caught 91 passes for 962 yards and 4 TDs, he also ran for 962 yards and 7 TDs. They also have bruisers Tyrone Wheatley and goal line specialist Zach Crockett. The Raider all-around offense is deep, dangerous and versatile.

The Raider defense is anchored by veteran leadership in Bill Romanowski, Rod Woodsen and Sam Adams. Stopping Eddie George and turning the Titans into a one-dimensional team will be the key for the Raider defense. For the Raiders controlling the line of scrimmage with success will be vital.

The Raider’s secondary is finally getting healthy and making plays. In the last month both starting cornerbacks have had metal plates inserted in their legs to repair fractures and get back on the field faster.

Twenty of the last 37 NFL season MVPs have taken their teams to the Super Bowl. Gannon hopes to lead his team be the 21st.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE

by Jamison Liggett
LIG01002@BYUI.EDU
Scroll Staff

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
12-4

If the Bucs want to win on Sunday, they must be able to contain Donovan Mcnabb. He is much bigger than Michael Vick and almost as slippery. Mcnabb also has lethal weapons downfield in Antonio Freeman, James Thrash and BYU alumnus Chad Lewis.

The Buccaneers can and will counter with their consistent big-play offense. Wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson had five receptions for 85 yards Sunday while full back Alstott finished with 60 yards on 17 carries and two TDs, while running back Pittman ran for 41 yards, also on 17 carries. The Bucs were also clutch on third down conversions going 6-6.

The Bucs’ Brad Jonson returned from a month-long injury to throw for 196 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday’s game.

First-year Buc coach John Gruden who came over from Oakland has put the passion back into Tampa Bay.
“We’re not going to sit here and try to justify what happened two or three years ago, or what happened earlier this year It’s irrelevant no. We respect Philadelphia for what it has done this year, not in the past. What happened there before has no bearing. We’re going to get on the plane, and we’re going to play them anywhere, play them anyplace. Whether it be in ‘The Vet’ or on the Walt Whitman Bridge, we’re going to be there,” Gruden said.

The Bucs and Eagles matchup will be the third in the same number of years in the playoffs this Sunday at Philadelphia’s Veterans stadium.

The most recent time the Buccaneers made it to the NFC Championships was in 2000. The Bucs lost 11-6 to the St. Louis Rams.

Philadelphia Eagles
12-4

Last weekend the quarterbacks for the Bucs and the Eagles had stellar comeback performances from injuries last weekend.

The Eagles’ Donovan McNabb returned from an eight-week absence to complete 20 of 30 passing for 247 yards and ran for 24.

The Eagles paved the way to victory with their defense, both teams just allowing 6 points.

The Bucs own the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in line backer Derrick Brooks who recovered a fumble and made an interception in Sunday’s game.

Yet there have been few teams this year who have stifled the progress of Michael Vick Philadelphia snapped his confidence by an aggressive Defensive line and secondary.

The Philadelphia Eagles have beaten the Bucs at Veterans Stadium in the playoffs the past two years.

When the teams met earlier in the year, the Eagles won 20-10 and ran for over 150 yards.

That Week 7 victory took Philadelphia to 4-2.

Philadelphia has already proved to Tampa Bay that they can win in the post-season.

Last year in the Wild Card matchup, the Eagles ambushed the Buccaneers, 31-9.

McNabb threw for two touchdowns and 194 yards and ran for 57 more in the first round of the playoffs.

The game was typical of the Bucs, who have previously gone three playoff games without a touchdown.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ 2002 Super Bowl bid was declined when the St. Louis Rams shut them down, 29-24.

In 2000 and at Philadelphia’s field, the Eagles beat the Bucs in the Wild Card game, 21-3.