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FOR USE AS DESIRED NFL-90 12/20/01
SATURDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL – TITANS VISIT RAIDERS
The NFL has gift-wrapped a special telecast of ABC’s NFL Monday Night Football for this Saturday night.
It’s the Tennessee Titans at the Oakland Raiders, and it’s an important game for both clubs. Tennessee is 6-7 and needs a strong finish to have a chance to earn a playoff berth. Oakland (10-3) has clinched its second consecutive AFC Western Division title and is seeking to improve its playoff positioning.
Both clubs have been making noise recently with their passing offenses.
Titans wide receivers DERRICK MASON and KEVIN DYSON have combined for 733 receiving yards in the team’s past four games. Mason has three 100-yard receiving games in that span and four scoring catches in the last three contests. Tennessee quarterback STEVE MC NAIR has a 130.0 passer rating in the past three games with seven touchdowns and no interceptions.
“We're making more plays down the field now than at any time since I've been here,” says Dyson. ''Steve has to trust we're going to be where we're supposed to be, and when he throws it, we have to go up and make a play. If you don't make a play, he's not going to have a reason to come back to you.”
Titans head coach JEFF FISHER foresees his quarterback and receivers making more connections. “It's the timing,” says Fisher. “Steve is throwing to a spot and the receivers are getting there. Everybody is where they are supposed to be. It's hard for the quarterback to throw to a spot if the receiver makes the wrong break. It all works together.”
Out west, Raiders quarterback RICH GANNON has an NFL-best 100.8 passer rating and has been particularly effective at Network Associates Coliseum (1,476 yards and a 15-to-4 TD-to-INT ratio for a 108.2 passer rating in six home games).
Oakland wide receiver TIM BROWN has reached the 1,000-yard mark for the ninth consecutive season and has eight scoring catches in the past seven games. He has five touchdown catches in five career games against Tennessee. Brown’s wide receiving cohort JERRY RICE has nine TD receptions and needs one scoring catch to become the first player in NFL history with 10 seasons with at least 10 touchdown receptions. He also needs 111 receiving yards for his NFL-record 13th career 1,000-yard season.
Gannon appreciates having both receivers on his side. “When you add Jerry Rice into the mix from an offensive standpoint, you’ve got one of best to ever play the game,'' says Gannon of the receiver who joined Oakland this year. “You can say he's lost a step or you can say that he's not the same Jerry Rice he was 10 years ago. I don't really know. I just know that he's as good as I've seen at that position in a long time, and you add him and Tim Brown together and that puts defenses in a real jam.”
In addition to his position in the NFL record books, Rice is also the leader in receptions and touchdowns on Monday Night Football. Following are the MNF career leaders in touchdowns and receptions:
Other Titans-Raiders Notes:
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