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American Morning

Interview With Josh Elliott of 'Sports Illustrated'

Aired January 27, 2003 - 07:48   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Josh Elliott writes for "Sports Illustrated," and (EXPLETIVE DELETED) well, we might add. He joins us this morning with a little Monday morning quarterbacking from San Diego, California.
I suppose, Josh, we've got to begin with how good is the Tampa Bay defense, or did the fact that Jon Gruden coached the Oakland Raiders for a number of years have something to do with the fact that it seemed like Tampa Bay was in the Oakland huddle during much of the game.

JOSH ELLIOTT, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Well, you know, what you really saw was a triumphant end to a very trying week for Jon Gruden. You know, he took over a defense that in many ways needed a Super Bowl victory to sort of claim its place among the all-time greats. But for Jon Gruden, you know, he had to listen to a lot of slams from his former players...

CAFFERTY: Yes, they called him a traitor, right?

ELLIOTT: Yes, and it hurt him. It really hurt him bad. I mean, I think we're used to seeing a rough and gruff Jon Gruden, but he told me last night that it was a really difficult week for him, and to have it end the way it did was really -- again, it's really just -- it's a best-case scenario for Gruden and the Buccaneers.

CAFFERTY: Rich Gannon, the NFL MVP. Oakland Raiders offense No. 1 in the National Football League. The Tampa Bay defense made Rich Gannon and the offense look like a pop warner (ph) operation. I mean, it was unbelievable how well they played against them.

ELLIOTT: Yes.

CAFFERTY: Five interceptions?

ELLIOTT: Yes, you know, you really saw a different Rich Gannon out there, and that really speaks to the speed of the Tampa Bay defense. All year long, you know, they (UNINTELLIGIBLE) opponents with their speed. Again, they've been a great defense for a number of years, but you didn't really expect to see them harass the league's MVP like they did. The openings that had been there all year for Oakland simply closed so quickly. A lot of those interceptions you saw weren't necessarily acrobatic ways as they were. You know, Gannon really looking as though he was actually throwing to the Tampa Bay defense. You know, it was a miserable day for him. But again, I think that that's where Gruden's knowledge of the system, Gruden's knowledge of what the Raiders were going to want to do really played into the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

CAFFERTY: Do you think they can repeat? I mean, that's always the toughest thing in the world for a Super Bowl winner is to repeat the next year. But I don't know. From what I saw, and I only watched the first half, they looked pretty solid.

ELLIOTT: Well, you know, they're in a very good position, unlike the Raiders who are $50 million over the salary cap. You're not going to see the same Oakland Raiders out there next year. A lot of those players will be gone.

However, with the Buccaneers, they're only a couple of million dollars over the salary cap. So, they're sitting pretty right now. They're not going to lose any of their skilled players. That defense probably still has another year or two left. Their offense, it was coming on as the year was drawing to a close. And Gruden has infused that team with the belief that, you know, they truly belonged in the Super Bowl, and that had been a problem there. It had been a perception problem and I think an image problem as much as anything. They now believe that they deserve that. Again, yes, it's very hard for anybody to repeat, but if they can, it will be a team coached by Jon Gruden.

CAFFERTY: All right, thank you, Josh -- Josh Elliott, sports writer for "Sports Illustrated," an NFL writer as well. Nice to have you with us from San Diego.

ELLIOTT: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired January 27, 2003 - 07:48   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Josh Elliott writes for "Sports Illustrated," and (EXPLETIVE DELETED) well, we might add. He joins us this morning with a little Monday morning quarterbacking from San Diego, California.
I suppose, Josh, we've got to begin with how good is the Tampa Bay defense, or did the fact that Jon Gruden coached the Oakland Raiders for a number of years have something to do with the fact that it seemed like Tampa Bay was in the Oakland huddle during much of the game.

JOSH ELLIOTT, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Well, you know, what you really saw was a triumphant end to a very trying week for Jon Gruden. You know, he took over a defense that in many ways needed a Super Bowl victory to sort of claim its place among the all-time greats. But for Jon Gruden, you know, he had to listen to a lot of slams from his former players...

CAFFERTY: Yes, they called him a traitor, right?

ELLIOTT: Yes, and it hurt him. It really hurt him bad. I mean, I think we're used to seeing a rough and gruff Jon Gruden, but he told me last night that it was a really difficult week for him, and to have it end the way it did was really -- again, it's really just -- it's a best-case scenario for Gruden and the Buccaneers.

CAFFERTY: Rich Gannon, the NFL MVP. Oakland Raiders offense No. 1 in the National Football League. The Tampa Bay defense made Rich Gannon and the offense look like a pop warner (ph) operation. I mean, it was unbelievable how well they played against them.

ELLIOTT: Yes.

CAFFERTY: Five interceptions?

ELLIOTT: Yes, you know, you really saw a different Rich Gannon out there, and that really speaks to the speed of the Tampa Bay defense. All year long, you know, they (UNINTELLIGIBLE) opponents with their speed. Again, they've been a great defense for a number of years, but you didn't really expect to see them harass the league's MVP like they did. The openings that had been there all year for Oakland simply closed so quickly. A lot of those interceptions you saw weren't necessarily acrobatic ways as they were. You know, Gannon really looking as though he was actually throwing to the Tampa Bay defense. You know, it was a miserable day for him. But again, I think that that's where Gruden's knowledge of the system, Gruden's knowledge of what the Raiders were going to want to do really played into the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

CAFFERTY: Do you think they can repeat? I mean, that's always the toughest thing in the world for a Super Bowl winner is to repeat the next year. But I don't know. From what I saw, and I only watched the first half, they looked pretty solid.

ELLIOTT: Well, you know, they're in a very good position, unlike the Raiders who are $50 million over the salary cap. You're not going to see the same Oakland Raiders out there next year. A lot of those players will be gone.

However, with the Buccaneers, they're only a couple of million dollars over the salary cap. So, they're sitting pretty right now. They're not going to lose any of their skilled players. That defense probably still has another year or two left. Their offense, it was coming on as the year was drawing to a close. And Gruden has infused that team with the belief that, you know, they truly belonged in the Super Bowl, and that had been a problem there. It had been a perception problem and I think an image problem as much as anything. They now believe that they deserve that. Again, yes, it's very hard for anybody to repeat, but if they can, it will be a team coached by Jon Gruden.

CAFFERTY: All right, thank you, Josh -- Josh Elliott, sports writer for "Sports Illustrated," an NFL writer as well. Nice to have you with us from San Diego.

ELLIOTT: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com