The most telling moment of the Super Bowl wasn’t a play. It was all the plays, and it was what Tampa Bay safety John Lynch said about them.
ABC stuck a microphone on Lynch, and one of the things he said to a teammate in the first quarter was, “Every play they’ve run, we’ve run in practice.”
Sounds like Oakland didn’t get enough for Jon Gruden.
JON GRUDEN: Your table is ready.
PICK THIS: Now how stupid is the new NFL rule that prohibits a team from trading draft picks for a coach? I mean, Marc Colombo or Jon Gruden? Come on.
BODY PARTS: Charles Woodson played with a plate in his leg. Rich Gannon looked like he played with one on his hands.
ATTENTION: Someone tell Gannon that Henry Burris wants his QB rating back.
WAY TO GO: Simeon Rice. From Mt. Carmel to the top of the mountain.
A KEEPER: Keenan McCardell wasn’t good enough for the Bears roster, but there he was in the Super Bowl, catching a TD pass. And another one. Nice of Dave Wannstedt to stop by, don’t you think?
LEAVING: Guess Tampa Bay showed what happens when Jerry Angelo leaves. Wonder if Bears president Ted Phillips can connect those dots.
UH-OH: Warren Sapp actually has something to talk about.
JUMP: Don’t know what the Raiders offense practiced all week, but their defense had offsides down cold.
SAME GUY: Dexter Jackson, meet Larry Brown.
JUST ASKING: Greg Spires?
PLAYER RATINGS: Don’t you just hate it when a team has guys you’ve never heard of who are better than the Bears?
RAIDERS SLOGAN: From “Commitment to Excellence” to “Three and out.”
PLAY CALL: The Bucs were third-and-7 and threw 11 yards. You watching John Shoop?
RATE THIS: The Choice (and remember, death is not an option): Celine Dion singing or Jimmy Kimmel blathering?
ARMED AND READY: Looked like ABC’s pregame set was mobilized by Donald Rumsfeld. I mean, Mike Tirico was backed by a better navy than Saddam Hussein.
RUNWAY: All these Super Bowl pregame shows, and where’s Joan Rivers asking Bill Romanowski who did his outfit?
FLAGGED: What part of Aaron Stecker having a knee down didn’t the Super Bowl officials understand without needing replay? To think, these are supposed to be the officials who graded out best this season. Yikes, babe.
THEN AGAIN: Just in case the NFL didn’t have enough officiating problems this season, referee Bill Carrolo didn’t know who the home team was at the coin flip.
DOG DAYS: Budweiser had a guy put a dog on his head for a commercial, and I’m thinking, $2.1 million for that?
TAG DAY: The NFL sold title sponsorships to everything except the coin flip and Al Davis’ jumpsuit.
BON VOYAGE: I waited for the trophy presentation and MVP award, but I guess it ain’t over until the long-haired guy sings.
WAIT A MINUTE: I think Gannon just threw another pick.
THE END: Bucs safety John Howell, on what he would do if he was NFL commissioner for a day: “More cheerleaders.”
AND ANOTHER THING: The Bucs have been to as many Super Bowls as the Bears. What’s more, the once-pathetic Creamsicles have won as many Super Bowls as the once-proud franchise that started the whole league. Now which team should be known as the “Yucks”?
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srosenbloom@tribune.com
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