| | | | | | | | Thursday, August 23, 2001
Pro Bowl spotlight: Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon
By Alex Laracy
MondayNightFootball.com
After years of languishing as a frustrated understudy in Minnesota, Washington and Kansas City, the spotlight is finally shining brightly on 35-year old Rich Gannon, who's secured the starring role for the Oakland Raiders the past two seasons.
|  | | Rich Gannon threw 28 touchdown passes and only 11 interceptions in 2000. |
The 13-year veteran was acquired in 1999 with rookie head coach Jon Gruden's full commitment towards him as the starter, the first time Gannon had started a season as the main man. All he's done since is help resurrect a Raiders franchise whose "commitment to excellence" started holding as much weight as Bill's commitment to Hillary, and earned his second consecutive Pro Bowl berth this year (February 4th on ABC, 5:30 p.m. ET) as the AFC's starter.
When watching Gannon play, one would never guess the man is 35, as his controlled recklessness can be described as almost Favre-ian. The graybeard ran for four touchdowns, and created more than that by scrambling around on his "ancient" legs. Only 24-year old Donovan McNabb had more rushing yards from the quarterback position. However, the MVP runner-up out of Philly had less passing yards, touchdown passes, a lower completion percentage and more interceptions than Gannon.
So where was Gannon in the '90s? It's hard to put your finger on why it took so long for Gannon to flourish, but as a result of his years of bench-sitting, he's a remarkably young 35 with a go get 'em attitude.
Perhaps the only thing more unconventional than Gannon's history is his throwing style, which is difficult to label because virtually every pass looks different. He actually prefers being chased around the pocket to traditional drop-back passing, the elusive veteran was sacked only 28 times and missed only two snaps all season long.
Although he'll never be nicknamed "The Cannon," Gannon more than held his own in the passing department, even if several of his throws were underhand, side-armed, lefty, or end over end. He, the mercurial Tim Brown and the revived Andre Rison were the oldest quarterback-receivers trio in football with a combined 38 years of service under their belt. The silver and black still boasted the league's sixth-ranked offense.
While Gruden flatly detests the "West Coast offense" label that various sportswriters have given his unit, the Raiders' passing game consists primarily of short crossing routs designed to let the receivers run with the ball after making the catch. Neither Bill Walsh nor Gruden ever wrote up the ways in which Gannon gets the ball to his receivers, but the man gets results. The Raiders' 12-4 record was their best since 1990, and they might have been making an appearance in Tampa on the 28th if Tony Siragusa hadn't enveloped his eye-popping girth upon Gannon early in the AFC Championship Game.
Outside of the outstanding numbers, Gannon provided the Raiders with something they sorely lacked prior to his arrival: a mature leader with an intense yearning to win. From the very first time you saw Gruden's bloodthirsty snarl on the Oakland sideline, you had to get the impression that he wasn't the type to put up with Todd Marinovich or Jeff George types behind center.
Gannon is only one year younger than Gruden, and as evidenced by the few animated sideline confrontations that took place this season, he isn't afraid to let his head coach know exactly how he feels. He also knows that Gannon's tendency to step just a little outside the offensive system and improvise has provided the Raiders with the majority of their big plays.
With Gannon peaking at a unique age, one might think that there's a slight sense of urgency in Oakland to win the Big One right away, but Gannon has shown no sign of rust despite his penchant for throwing his body around like a fan at a Limp Bizkit concert. He's got Brown and Rison playing like 25-year-olds, and Al Davis declaring team mottoes again.
Although not the renegade that Ken Stabler was, or the rifle-armed mad bomber that Daryle Lamonica was, Gannon's resurrection story and reckless playing style is undeniably Raider-esque. Like any good Raider, he doesn't always do things the way they're drawn up, but in his two seasons at the helm, Gannon certainly has the silver and black back on the path to league prominence.
Alex Laracy is the assistant editor of MondayNightFootball.com.
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