Marshall's suspension reduced, to much relief
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Both the Oakland Raiders and the Denver Broncos figure they caught a big break with wide receiver Brandon Marshall's suspension.
The Raiders are glad they don't have to face the Broncos' superstar in their opener Monday night, and the Broncos are relieved they'll only be without their playmaker for one game.
Marshall was originally assessed a three-game penalty for violating the league's personal conduct code with the possibility of reducing it to two games if he stayed out of trouble and in touch with a counselor.
Marshall, however, successfully appealed his punishment, which was reduced to one game and two paychecks, totaling $52,352.
"He's the best player on offense when I look on film," Raiders coach Lane Kiffin said. "To be honest, I'm glad he's not playing because he gives you a lot of problems. Even as good as our corners are, he's a great football player.
"Yeah, we're pleased he's not playing."
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan doesn't appear too worried about missing Marshall for a game. He kept just four wide receivers on his roster, including newcomers Darrell Jackson, Keary Colbert and Eddie Royal.
"I just look at it as a guy sprained his ankle on Friday," Shanahan said. "At least we have the whole week to get somebody else ready."
Jackson is slated to start in Marshall's flanker spot with Royal, a rookie, starting at split end.
"I don't think Brandon will dictate the (complexity) of our game plan," Shanahan said. "We have some young players, so it might not be as deep as it normally is, but we have enough to show up and play."
Marshall caught 102 passes for 1,325 yards last season as he emerged as Jay Cutler's top target.
"Obviously, we'd like to have him every game. He's an offensive weapon that you're not going to find very often in this league," Cutler said. "He does some stuff on the field that is amazing. So, we're going to have to make do with the receivers we've got, tight ends, the running game. We're going to have to pull together to make up for it."
Although the Broncos have a terrific trio of tight ends in Daniel Graham, Tony Scheffler and Nate Jackson, their offensive line has been shuffled and not a single starter is back from last season and neither of their tackles has ever started an NFL game. They have a rookie starting fullback in Peyton Hillis and they lost two of their promising tailbacks in Ryan Torain (elbow) and Anthony Alridge (foot) in the preseason.
They like the tailback tandem they do have in Selvin Young and Andre Hall, and they love the progression Cutler has made this summer since getting his diabetes diagnosed and under control.
Cutler, however, knows it would be easier facing the Raiders' refurbished secondary featuring offseason acquisitions Gibril Wilson and DeAngelo Hall if he had Marshall around to command extra attention from the safeties.
"It's huge, especially with the secondary they got. Those guys are experienced. They're really good, they're fast, they make plays. Without our best playmaker out there, it's going to be difficult," Cutler said. "We got a rookie with Eddie playing. And then we got D-Jack, it's his first year in this offense, so he's still learning. So it's going to be a struggle."
The low point of training camp for Denver came when commissioner Roger Goodell handed down his original ruling on Marshall, and the high point easily was when that penalty was reduced to a single game.
"I was ecstatic," slot receiver Brandon Stokley said. "We need him."
Marshall is banned from team headquarters until Tuesday, when he can return to work and begin preparations for the San Diego Chargers' visit on Sept. 14. Had he lost his appeal, he might not have made his debut until two weeks after that, at Kansas City.
A shorter absence should help him catch up quickly because he won't miss enough time to get out of shape or out of rhythm, suggested Stokley.
"We need the guy. He's our big playmaker and teams have to account for him," Stokley said. "When you lose your best offensive player, it hurts. So to only have it go down to one game is huge. Missing two or three weeks, it takes a little bit longer to get back in the flow."
Until he returns to the lineup, the remaining receivers are using Marshall's absence as motivation.
"Everyone will be watching to see how we play without Brandon Marshall," Stokley said. "That is what we will be living for."
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
Turner speaks, the Chargers deliver
INDIANAPOLIS He got choked up during his Saturday night speech, punctuating some of his more passionate statements with fist-pumps, and the San Diego Chargers felt inspired by their head coach's emotion. "I believe in you," he told them, and they believed him, and it meant something more than they had dreamt it could have back in the uncertain days of autumn.
This was a different Norv Turner than the man some of them doubted earlier this season, a driven leader who strode confidently and defiantly into the den of the defending champions intent on irrevocably changing the way he and his team are perceived. He shed the dead-fish exterior and took command of the sidelines, railing at officials and at one point venturing a good 10 yards onto the playing field to throw a replay-challenge flag. He looked like he would fight somebody a ref, a row of fans, Peyton Manning, whomever to get what he wanted.
Through it all, Turner kept his poise. There were smart calls at ideal times as he got into one of those sublime play-calling rhythms which made him such a hot coaching prospect in the first place. And for the first time as a head coach in a truly big game, he walked off a winner, his face showing no trace of surprise.
Meanwhile, virtually everyone else looked at the final score Chargers 28, Indianapolis Colts 24 and wondered if the football world had spun off its axis. San Diego, a team known for playoff flameouts, had just taken out the one team thought to have a realistic shot at stopping the New England Patriots' merciless assault on an undefeated season. Instead, it'll be the Chargers who show up at Gillette Stadium next Sunday to play Tom Brady and the Pats for the AFC championship, while Manning sits home and digests a can't-win-the-big-one flashback to which Turner unfortunately can relate.
Throw in the game's surreal circumstances, and what Turner's team accomplished was nothing short of stunning. Playing most of the second half without his superstar halfback and starting quarterback, seemingly shafted by the officials on a couple of key occasions, and stuck on the short end of what would be a 402-yard passing day from Manning, Turner was the hero in the headset.
"The adversity this year, starting out 1-3 and putting ourselves in a hole, it was a tough road," Chargers owner Dean Spanos said after the game. "And I give Norv all the credit. He stayed the course and pulled us out of it."
Turner, he of the 59-83-1 coaching record in prior stints with the Redskins and Raiders, joined the Chargers at a fractious time, with ultra-emotional coach Marty Schottenheimer having been fired by Spanos last February after losing a power struggle with general manager A.J. Smith. That the top-seeded Chargers, who'd gone a league-best 14-2 in the '06 regular season, had flailed down the stretch of a 24-21 divisional round playoff defeat to the Pats cemented the franchise's reputation as front-running underachievers something Turner alluded to when he spoke to his players at their suburban Indy hotel the night before the game.
The new coach had his share of critics when he got the job, and the bashing intensified when he dropped three of his first four games, including a 38-14 thrashing by the Patriots in Week 2. To be fair, I have been a longtime member of this not-so-secret society, not because of anything personal I have against Turner, but largely because of what I've been told about him by various players and coaches I respect.
And, to be even more fair, some of those people who felt Turner was miscast as a head coach were current Chargers players. In mid-November, San Diego was 5-5 and seemed to be treading water, and Smith, a shrewd talent evaluator with an authoritarian streak, looked like he'd blown it by putting Turner in charge.
The coach, however, stuck to his message: Last year, you were the best team in October and November, he told his players, and look where it got you. The challenge this year is to be the best team in December and January.
LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego's All-Pro halfback and unquestioned leader, helped get his teammates on board with a heartfelt speech. The Chargers promptly began a winning streak that on Sunday reached eight games, and as the victories mounted, the coach's credibility increased internally.
On Saturday night, at long last, Turner found his voice. He spoke of the team's journey, reminding the players of the season's rough beginning and how many times they'd been counted out. "Once again, we're at that crossroads," he told them. "People want to see Brady vs. Manning. Let's be honest. No one gives us a shot in this game."
He talked about the way the Chargers were perceived by outsiders as a talented team that couldn't dig down deep and, say, pull out a big game as road underdogs.
"I don't know where that comes from, but that's not true," he said emphatically. The room grew silent as Turner continued, "I believe in you. I believe in this team."
Then, tapping his chest for emphasis: "I feel it right here."
"You could see him tearing up," Tomlinson recalled Sunday. "We all felt it because we knew it was coming from the heart. And when he tapped his chest "
Wait a minute that was a page straight out of the Schottenheimer playbook.
"Yep," Tomlinson said, smiling. "It sure was."
The Chargers could have been blown out of the Dome on Sunday, as so many other teams had before them, but they kept finding a way to silence the roar of 56,950 fans by drawing on the deep, talented roster Smith has assembled.
The Colts were up 7-0 and driving late in the first quarter when future Hall of Fame wideout Marvin Harrison, in his return after missing the regular season's final 10 games with a severely bruised left knee, made his first catch on a crossing route at the San Diego 23-yard line and fought for extra yardage. Cornerback Antonio Cromartie, a Pro Bowl selection despite spending the first half of the season as a non-starter, forced a fumble that safety Marlon McCree recovered the first of three valiant takeaways by the Chargers, who led the league in that department this season and the game settled down into a back-and-forth affair.
Three gorgeous touchdown passes by quarterback Philip Rivers (14 of 19, 264 yards) gave San Diego a 21-17 lead, the last coming on a short screen that 5-foot-6 scatback Darren Sproles turned into a 56-yard breakaway down the left sideline to close the third quarter. But Rivers tweaked his right knee while backpedaling on the delivery, forcing him to the sidelines, where (gasp) Tomlinson had been relegated since twisting his left knee in the second quarter, on the Chargers' first touchdown drive.
So it was that with 10:07 left in the game and Indy having just gone ahead by three on Manning's 55-yard touchdown pass to rookie wideout Anthony Gonzalez, Turner's offense took the field with backup quarterback Billy Volek manning the controls.
Armed with a slew of Smith-acquired skill players, including backup halfback Michael (No Relation) Turner, and the cool wisdom of a confident coach who pushed the right buttons at the perfect time, Volek marched the team 78 yards in eight plays, scoring on a one-yard sneak with 4:50 remaining to put the Chargers ahead. A pair of fourth-down stops, thwarted respectively thanks to killer rushes by bookend outside linebackers Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips, doused Indy's comeback hopes.
The Colts, commonly depicted as having flown under the radar while the Patriots were completing an unprecedented 16-0 regular season, officially had crash-landed.
Now Volek was taking a knee, and the Chargers were skipping off the field and into the locker room, where Turner gave the backup quarterback a game ball and told his players he was proud of them and marched into an interview room with a new bounce in his step.
"We've got some guys who compete and fight and scratch and claw as good as I've ever been around," Turner said. "I told them in the locker room I've been doing this a long time and I've never been around a more gutsy performance by a team. And the adversity, the things that happened during the game, the injuries, our guys never backed down.
"It's one I'll remember in terms of individuals stepping up and doing the things you talk about and competing. That's a special game."
No matter what happens in New England next Sunday, this victory over the Colts was a game that Turner never will forget.
When we look at him now, we see a different man.
His players saw it first.
"We're going to New England," Tomlinson said.
At long last, they know who'll lead them.
Copyright 2008 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Hackett is latest Seahawks receiver hurting, iffy for Saturday
KIRKLAND, Wash. (AP) -- Just as the Seahawks finally got all their receivers back and healthy, D.J. Hackett is hurt again.
Seattle's oft-injured starting receiver missed all but the stretching portion of practice Thursday, the team's final workout before leaving for Saturday's NFC playoff game against Green Bay. Hackett aggravated a sprained right ankle he's had for most of the season by practicing Wednesday. Four days earlier, he had six catches for 101 yards and a touchdown in the victory over Washington in the wild-card game,
His ankle is a little bit sore. We rested it today," Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said. "That will be a game-time decision.
"Instead of making it a little worse (Thursday), I think I'd rather have him there on Saturday."
Hackett's problem comes one day after fellow starter Deion Branch returned for the first time since Dec. 26. The 2005 Super Bowl MVP, one of Seattle's most experienced playoff performers, practiced again Thursday and had precautionary ice on his strained right calf as he walked off the field after the workout.
When asked to confirm Branch's proclamation he would play against the Packers, Holmgren said, "Looks like it, yeah."
Holmgren said All-Pro defensive end Patrick Kerney will start Saturday. Kerney, second in the NFL with 14 1/2 sacks this season, practiced for the first time this week after what he called "just rest." The Seahawks called it a left knee issue on their injury report.
Seattle has had its full corps of receivers for just 2 1/2 games this season -- and not since a win at St. Louis seven weeks ago. Yet Matt Hasselbeck set team record for yards (3,966), completions (352) and attempts (562).
Hasselbeck values the 6-foot-2 Hackett for his speed and size. Hackett severely sprained the ankle on his only catch of the season opener, when his foot got snagged in his home field's turf while he was being tackled.
He missed the next six games, returned with 27 catches and three touchdowns in four games, then was out four more weeks with the same injury. He returned for the regular-season finale two weeks ago.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Sapp awaits word from NFL on possible suspension for bumping ref
ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Raiders' defensive tackle Warren Sapp said on Wednesday he does not expect to be suspended by the NFL after being ejected from last week's 49-11 loss to Jacksonville.
Speaking about the incident for the first time, Sapp defended his actions and blamed the officiating crew for the situation which resulted in Oakland getting hit with four unsportsmanlike conduct penalties late in the first half, three on Sapp.
After the game, referee Jerome Boger said Sapp bumped umpire Garth DeFelice during the argument which was why he was ejected, a claim the seven-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman vehemently denies.
"Come on, I've never touched anybody in any shape, form or anything," Sapp said. "I've never been in a fight in this league. It's not about a fight."
Sapp was given Wednesday off by the Raiders, as has been the team's custom with the 35-year-old veteran much of the season. He is expected to practice Thursday in anticipation of playing in Oakland's season finale against playoff-bound San Diego.
That could change if NFL commissioner Roger Goodell decides to penalize or suspend Sapp. League spokesman Greg Aiello said Wednesday a decision should come by Friday.
Sapp has had run-ins with officials in the past. Before a game against Washington in 2003, Sapp, then with Tampa Bay, reportedly bumped an official. Four days later he was fined $50,000 for what the league called "repeated violations of abusing officials."
Oakland coach Lane Kiffin said the Raiders had already been in contact with the NFL over the latest incident.
"We made contact," Kiffin said. "I don't think there's anything to it."
The situation began late in the second quarter when Jacksonville right tackle Tony Pashos was flagged for illegal use of hands to the face. Officials initially said the Raiders declined the penalty, and the Jaguars lined up for a 43-yard field goal attempt. Officials then said Oakland would accept the penalty, making it third-and-20 from the Raiders 35.
Jacksonville's offense went back on the field, but a few seconds later, the officials called the first unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Sapp. That gave the Jaguars an automatic first down, and Sapp started jawing at officials.
Sapp and defensive end Derrick Burgess were both flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct penalties during the arguments. Sapp kept talking and then drew the third penalty and the ejection. Players and Kiffin said they were told Sapp made contact with an official.
Sapp was not available for comment after the game but denied the claim on Wednesday.
"That's what they're trying to sneak in now, that, 'Oh, we got him bumping him twice," Sapp said. "Bump who? It's been four days. You can't find it (on film) in four days? They got 20 cameras out there."
Sapp, who had to be restrained by teammates and defensive line coach Keith Millard after being kicked out of the game, said he was surprised and felt cheated by being ejected for arguing with the officiating crew.
"It was all just words. I never put my hand on nobody, never bumped nobody, never did anything," Sapp said. "I felt like I should have whipped somebody's (butt). I should have beaten somebody up so at least they put you on SportsCenter for whipping some (butt). At least you get a little respect."
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
Colts tight end Utecht practices with Colts after resting shoulder
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Indianapolis tight end Ben Utecht returned to practice Thursday, a day after sitting out with an injured shoulder.
Rookie outside linebacker Clint Session (ankle) and wide receiver Craphonso Thorpe (illness) also returned, and the Colts said all three might play Sunday against Houston at the RCA Dome.
Sitting out Thursday's workout were safety Antoine Bethea (knee), defensive tackle Raheem Brock (rib), offensive tackle Ryan Diem (knee), rookie outside linebacker Ramon Guzman (foot), wide receiver Marvin Harrison (knee), cornerback Tim Jennings (team decision), defensive end Robert Mathis (knees), and safety Bob Sanders (team decision).
Sanders usually sits out one practice a week. He and Jennings both are expected to be available Sunday. Guzman's status should be updated before Sunday. The others aren't expected to play.
Coach Tony Dungy has said he doesn't plan to rest his starters before the playoffs if they're healthy.
"I envision some guys playing the whole game, other guys getting rest," Dungy said. "I envision some of our younger guys and second-team guys in there with the first team. I don't think it will be just wholesale substitutions. We want to get some guys in there in the heat of battle with guys that they may be playing with in the playoffs."
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Panthers' defense won't point fingers toward anemic offense
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- After Carolina's defense was on the field for nearly 40 minutes during Sunday's loss at Jacksonville, Panthers safety Chris Harris was asked about the team's offensive woes.
As Harris began to answer, cornerback Richard Marshall started shouting from a nearby locker.
Tell them the truth, Chris!" Marshall said. "Tell them the truth!"
Speaking on Wednesday about the loss, Marshall said he wasn't calling out the offense. It was part of a day of calculated answers to try to stop a growing divide between the offense and defense in Carolina's sinking season.
"What I meant by that was, 'Tell them the truth, we're not playing a good team game,"' Marshall said. "We're losing. We're not playing good on offense or defense or special teams, and that's contributing to us losing."
The offense, though, has played the major role in the team's problems. Since Jake Delhomme's season-ending elbow injury in Week 3, the Panthers (5-8) have scored a touchdown or less six times. In two of the past three games, the defense has been on the field for nearly 40 minutes.
On Sunday against Jacksonville, the Panthers managed 10 first downs, 149 total yards and converted two of 12 third downs. The Panthers' defense kept it close for a while, with Jacksonville leading only 10-6 at halftime despite holding the ball for nearly 21 minutes.
Then running back DeShaun Foster fumbled on the first play of the third quarter, leading to a touchdown. Vinny Testaverde had an interception returned for a TD on the first play of the fourth quarter and the Panthers lost 37-6.
"The defense is out there playing hard. We're out there playing hard, too. We're just not getting it done, unfortunately," center Justin Hartwig said. "They're keeping us in games at halftime. But when we can't put the points up, they can only hold them so long."
Little help appears to be on the way. Testaverde was held out of practice on Wednesday to give his 44-year-old body a rest. Coach John Fox held off saying Testaverde, who was yanked in the fourth quarter, or undrafted Matt Moore, who has a 21.1 passer rating, is the starter for Sunday's game against Seattle.
Testaverde, Moore and ineffective David Carr have combined for eight touchdown passes in the past 10 games. Delhomme had that many in the first three before getting hurt.
And it doesn't bode well that Carolina plays three division leaders -- Seattle, Dallas and Tampa Bay -- the next three weeks.
"The important thing this week that we haven't been able to do is stay on the field longer and try to help our defense out," guard Mike Wahle said.
While the Panthers have the 29th-ranked offense, the defense has recovered from a shaky start to rank 13th. A limited pass rush and a disappointing season for Julius Peppers has limited Carolina to 16 sacks, but the back seven have played well.
Rookie linebacker Jon Beason leads the team in tackles, and Harris has proved to be a good acquisition in a training camp trade with Chicago.
Harris, though, resisted the urge Wednesday to criticize the other side of the ball.
"People try to say that our offense didn't hold the ball long enough, but we're not getting ourselves a chance to get off the field," said Harris, who forced two fumbles against Jacksonville. "We're letting them (convert) 50 percent on third downs. It goes both ways. We could help ourselves a lot. I really don't complain about that."
Marshall was also quick not to point fingers three days after his odd outburst in another losing locker room.
"Whether we're on the field 40 minutes, whether we're on the field 30 minutes, we've got to get off the field," Marshall said. "I mean, our offense can't get us off the field. They're not out there with us."
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved
Little drama in division races
What's happened to all the races?
With still four weeks left in the season, all eight division leaders have at least a two-game lead - further proof that parity in the NFL has become parody.
New England has a six-game bulge over Buffalo in the AFC East, Green Bay has a four-game lead over Detroit and Minnesota in the NFC North, Dallas leads the New York Giants by three games in the NFC East and Tampa Bay is three games in front of Carolina and New Orleans in the NFC South.
Pittsburgh and Indianapolis have two-game leads, but they are in effect three-game advantages since the Steelers and Colts posted season sweeps over the respective second-place teams in their divisions.
The Patriots seemingly clinched the AFC East before the Boston Red Sox won the World Series - actually, they did it when Buffalo lost to Jacksonville on November 25 - while the Cowboys, Packers and Buccaneers only need wins to lock up their divisions.
Remarkably, all eight divisions could be wrapped up this weekend with the right combination of results.
The Steelers can put away the AFC North with a win and a Cleveland loss. The Colts can secure their fifth straight AFC South crown with a victory and defeats by Jacksonville and Tennessee.
Currently, the only divisions that could still be considered up for grabs are the NFC West, where Seattle has a two-game edge over Arizona, and the AFC West, where San Diego is two games ahead of Denver.
The Cardinals could make things interesting with a win over Seattle on Sunday. A Seattle victory, however, would give the Seahawks their fourth straight division title.
In the AFC West, the Chargers need a win and a Broncos' loss this week to secure their second straight division title.
It's hard to remember the last time an NFL season unfolded with less drama in the division races with still four games to play.
In fact, there never has been a season since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 in which every division was decided by more than one game.
CHAOTIC CARDS: Rooting for the Cardinals is rough on the nervous system, as they nearly lost on the game's final play for the second straight week last Sunday.
Cleveland's Derek Anderson completed a 47-yard "Hail Mary" pass to Kellen Winslow in the end zone, but Winslow was ruled to have caught the ball out of bounds and video replay confirmed the call on the field.
The week before, the Cardinals suffered a 37-31 overtime loss to the San Francisco 49ers when linebacker Tully Banta-Cain recovered Kurt Warner's fumble in the end zone.
Even though Arizona is tied for the final wild card spot in the NFC, it's hard to take the Cardinals' playoff chances too seriously, as they have lost twice to the lowly San Francisco 49ers.
Still, Arizona has wins over two division leaders (Pittsburgh and Seattle) and another playoff contender (Cleveland). Of course, all three of those victories came at home.
So, which Arizona team will show at Seattle this weekend?
"It has been a roller-coaster year," Warner said.
THEY ARE REALLY BAD: Everyone knew the Miami Dolphins were bad. But after getting routed by the New York Jets, 40-13, the Dolphins' "badness" may have been underestimated.
This team isn't merely bad. It's really, really, really bad.
With only four games remaining in the season, the reality is perhaps sinking in for the first time. The Dolphins actually have a chance to become the first team in NFL history to go 0-16.
Then, football historians could debate which team is worse - the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who went 0-14 under the late John McKay, or the 2007 Dolphins.
But at least the '76 Buccaneers were an expansion team, and McKay was a lot funnier than current Dolphins coach Cam Cameron.
When asked what he thought of his team's execution, McKay uttered the famous line, "I'm all for it."
Still, with the holidays approaching, Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor managed to spread some good cheer following Sunday's defeat to the Jets.
"They (stink), too," Taylor said. "They beat us, they'll go home happy and their fans will be happy they've got three wins this season. Good for them."
SHOW GOES ON: "The show must go on," is a popular expression in show business. The NFL also subscribes to that belief since it did not postpone Thursday's game between the Washington Redskins and Chicago Bears that was played three days after Sean Taylor's funeral.
Tragedy occurs in all walks of life and people have to go on living. No one suggested that Thursday's game should be canceled. Still, would it have so unreasonable to postpone it a couple days until Saturday and give the Redskins more time in the grieving process?
Few would have criticized the move, and the NFL (aka "Big Brother") actually might have been seen in a compassionate light. Even the Bears were open to pushing back the game.
"I understand what the Redskins are going through right now," Bears coach Lovie Smith said last week. "We are team players. We will do whatever the league thinks is appropriate."
It's hard not to be cynical and think the only reason the NFL didn't consider postponing the game was because it is televised on its own network.
Of course, one wonders how many fans would have even noticed if the game was postponed. Due to the NFL's fight with powerful cable companies, the NFL Network is seen in fewer than 50 percent of households.
Bottom line, Thursday's game between a pair of 5-7 teams will attract a lot less attention than last week's Thursday night's showdown between the Cowboys and Packers.
GRUDEN'S A GAMBLER: Kudos to Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden, who showed he is willing to take a chance.
Instead of attempting a potential game-tying 45-yard field goal late in Sunday's 27-23 victory over New Orleans, Gruden went for it on 4th-and-1.
The gamble paid off as Earnest Graham converted the fourth down with a 2-yard gain, which led to Luke McCown's game-winning 4-yard TD pass to Jerramy Stevens with 14 seconds remaining.
"You have to make some tough calls during the course of the game," Gruden said. "That was certainly a tough call. We had been making real good yardage off the right side throughout the game.
"I'd just as soon go home without a victory getting shut out on that play. If they could stop that play, I was willing to go home without a win."
Copyright 2007 PA SportsTicker. All Rights Reserved
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