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* Another year of disappointing commercials. I liked that Budweiser ad with the zebra looking at replay, but they ruined it at the end with the stupid pun. We got it already, guys.

* Speaking of the commercials, apparently the target audience on many was "people who don't respect women."

* I can't comment on the halftime show, because I didn't watch it, but I'm sure my old college teammate, David Torres, did. HUGE Shania Twain fan. Of course, he probably watched it from jail unless he's changed since graduation. Torres was nuts.

* Those NFL-logo kicking nets were awful. You could barely see what was happening on the play. We know we're watching the NFL, okay? It's the Super Bowl.

* I can't believe the 49ers fired Steve Mariucci. If I were a Niners fan, I would be very upset right now. You can't fire a good coach over a personality conflict when you're a Super Bowl contender. You just can't.

Last week, I made probably my boldest statement ever in this column: "I think the Raiders will win, and I don't think it will be close." Now, I'm going to one-up myself: The Raiders would have won with a healthy Barret Robbins at center.

John Madden called his finest game in years -- maybe ever -- but he offerred some lazy analysis in the first quarter when he said the Raiders weren't missing Robbins, who was suspended for violating team rules. Robbins' replacement, Adam Treu, got double-team help on every play, so the Bucs lined up their weakest defensive lineman -- usually Chartric Darby or Ellis Wyms -- against Treu. He didn't personally give up any big plays, but that left Simeon Rice, Warren Sapp, and Greg Spires in one-on-one matchups.

Spires responded with a career game and I thought Rice was Tampa's MVP. Sapp only had two tackles, but he played a huge role in the dominance of Tampa Bay's defensive unit. Dexter Jackson made two huge plays early in the game, and he wasn't a bad MVP choice, but Rice made plays all game, with five tackles, two sacks, and several key hurries.

The Raiders adjusted at halftime, shifting their double-teams and leaving Treu alone, where he did a fairly good job. But by that time, it was too late, and the Bucs altered their strategy, as well, sometimes rushing only three men and playing a kind of "prevent" defense, relative to what they showed in the first half. With Robbins -- a Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro -- at center, I think the Raiders could've given their tackles more help and given Rich Gannon more time early in the game. Gannon didn't find a rhythm until the fourth quarter, and by then, it was too late.

That said, the Buccaneers deserve a ton of credit, and it starts with Jon Gruden. I was a Gruden fan when he was in Oakland, and even before this season, there could be no doubt that he was an excellent coach. But when Gruden left for Tampa in the offseason, I stopped rooting for him. Not because of the way he left or anything like that; maybe it was just the way Tony Dungy was fired and Marvin Lewis was rejected; maybe not. Either way, I smiled when Tampa finished 24th in the NFL in offense this season, about the same as they usually did for Dungy.

What Gruden did in the playoffs, though, was outcoach Andy Reid and Bill Callahan, the AP Coach of the Year and his successor in Oakland, respectively. It was interesting to hear John Lynch on the sideline remarking that the Bucs had practiced for every play they saw from the Raiders. That tells me Gruden had his team prepared to face an opponent he knew inside and out. Aside from that one comment, however, ABC's "Mic'd Up" could hardly have been any more boring or less informative.

Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin deserves a lot of credit, too. No matter how much Gruden told him about the Raiders' tendencies and weaknesses, the Buccaneers defense went out and dominated that Super Bowl, and Kiffin clearly played a major role. Maybe the Lions or 49ers will give Kiffin a call about their head coaching vacancies (yeah, and maybe next year the NFL will book Insane Clown Posse to do the Super Bowl halftime show).

The Crystal Ball -- Hindsight

"The Bucs need to sack Gannon at least twice to have a chance."

Five sacks.

"Shutting down the run will be essential for Tampa; they need to keep the Raiders one-dimensional."

Oakland's longest run was four yards. They called only nine running plays, none in the second half.

"Charles Woodson, if he's healthy, will probably stay on Keyshawn Johnson most of the time, so Keenan McCardell or Joe Jurevicius (or maybe even TE Ken Dilger) will have to step up and make some catches."

McCardell scored two touchdowns and Jurevicius led all receivers with 78 yards.

"On defense, the Raiders' top priority has to be shutting down the run."

The Bucs called 40 running plays, gaining 140 yards and controlling time of possession 37:14 to 22:46.

"The special teams battle leans Oakland's way, but I don't see special teams deciding this game. I think the Raiders will win, and I don't think it will be close."

The Raiders dominated special teams, including a blocked punt that resulted in their first touchdown and a botched field goal attempt by Tampa. And special teams definitely didn't decide the game -- the Raiders lost by 27.

The Game

The first thing I really took note of was that replay challenge early in the first quarter. Al Michaels was a little off during the game, but he made some revealing comments when he expressed distress that the Buccaneers had to waste one of their challenges on an obvious call. The thing is, I like that the officials called it the way they did. If they had ruled down by contact, and replay showed that to be the wrong call, the Raiders couldn't challenge and get the ball back. So I always root for a fumble ruling in that situation, so that any mistake is correctable via replay.

Michaels made a good point, though, so until the NFL liberalizes its replay rules, how about a simple new one: teams get two challenges per game, but upheld challenges do not subtract from this total. In other words, the refs can call that play a fumble, Tampa can challenge and win, and the Bucs would still have two challenges left. It's not perfect, but at least it's fair.

And as long as I'm on the officiating -- I swear I'll get into the game soon -- that out-of-bounds call on Oakland's last two-point conversion was terrible. Fortunately, it didn't make a difference in who won, but that was a seriously bad call. I don't mind that it couldn't be challenged, but that back judge was awfully emphatic for someone who was completely wrong.

Okay, Now the Game

When Oakland appeared to recover the challenge-overturned fumble after their early field goal, I was ready to call the game over if it didn't get reversed. Shows you how good I am at that, if you remember that I did the same thing for the Eagles when they lost to Tampa last week. The call did get reversed and Tampa drove for a touchdown, mustering a surprising amount of offense.

That offensive production began in the trenches, and consider how well Gruden's ball-control offense complemented Kiffin's seek-and-destroy defense. After an interception on the third play of the game, the Tampa offense had no turnovers, and Brad Johnson wasn't sacked at all. He wasn't even seriously hurried after the first quarter. The Buccaneers' offensive line was regarded as below-average coming into the playoffs, but it dominated in Philadelphia last weekend and it set the tone for the Bucs' offense in Super Bowl XXXVII. Not only did Johnson have plenty of time to throw, mediocre running back Michael Pittman rushed for 124 yards.

The Raiders' miseries began up front, where Tampa's defensive line utterly dominated Oakland's proud front five, but the Tampa Bay defensive backs also did a superb job of containing Oakland's dangerous receiving corps. The Bucs mostly stuck to a zone and focused on stopping the Raiders' short passing attack. With Gannon under too much pressure to go long, the tactic worked perfectly. The Raiders finally broke a couple of long passes in the second half, when Gannon had more time, but it was too little, too late.

I hope everyone enjoyed the game, even though it wasn't as competitive as anticipated. In the next month or so, I hope to do a season roundup and a report on the recent Hall of Fame voting, before the offseason begins in earnest. After the Pro Bowl this weekend, there's nothing but free agency until the draft in April. For the record, my Super Bowl pick last summer was Patriots over Rams. As Chris Berman would say, "That's why they play the game."

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