Former Raiders wide receiver Tim Brown has said he believes his former head coach Bill Callahan "sabotaged" his own team in Super Bowl 37 by changing the game plan the week of the game.  Brown wants us to believe the design was to run the ball down Tampa Bay's throats because the Raiders offensive line, in his words, "averaged 340-pounds and Tampa averaged 280-pounds on the defensive line." Jerry Rice joined in and said Callahan for some reason "didn't like me and didn't like the Raiders so maybe 'He thought we should sabotage this and let Jon Gruden win this one." To his credit, Callahan has defended his own honor and strongly denied all of it.  Players from that same Raiders squad have also defended the head coach-guys like Rich Gannon, Bill Romanowski, and Lincoln Kennedy.  I can't help but wonder why it's taken Brown and Rice 10-years to make these allegations.  Maybe they fall into the wide receiver "diva" category and want the attention they have failed to receive since retiring.  No one will convince me that Bill Callhan gave this one away.  Think about it. He "hates the Raiders," yet they had the best record in the AFC (11-5), the highest scoring team in the entire league and possessed the league MVP (Rich Gannon).  I wish a Lions coach hated the franchise that much.  Brown says Callahan wanted to let his friend win this one.  Those reading this blog are all competitors-don't you want to beat your friends more than your enemies? Absolutely.  And finally, Brown and Rice say the coach changed the game plan two days before the game.  How much could it have changed? The Raiders led the league in passing that year....they threw 41 times in the AFC championship game win, three fewer than the attempts in the Super Bowl.  Rich Gannon was the league MVP, led the league in yards AND ATTEMPTS; he was third in td passes, and second in rating. Did Brown and Rice really think the way to beat Tampa was to run the ball when Charlie Garner was their leading rusher (had fewer yards than the Lions' James Stewart)? Come on! Oakland was 18th in rushing and 23rd in attempts that year.  They beat teams by slinging it around the yard and defending. Blame Gannon if you want for throwing three picks, but to say the coach sabotaged the game is a joke.  Can you imagine the criticism he'd have to deal with if his #1 passing unit threw just 20 times so his 18th rated running game could win it for him? The Raiders passing game got them to the title game, why would you change from what was successful.  Maybe Brown and Rice weren't the guys we thought.  I've always considered them true pro's, but now I see them as excuse-making prima-dona's.