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This was also in that article:
Despite statistical evidence to the contrary, Raiders coach Norv Turner insists the Patriots' defense was adversely affected when nose tackle Ted Washington was lost for nearly half the season last year. "He missed the first part of the season and they were a lot different defense when he was playing," Turner insisted. "You look at them over the last six or seven games and no one ran the ball on them and he was a big part of it." Turner said the best part about signing Washington was that he will run the same system with the same terminology in Oakland that he was used to last season in New England because of the presence of Rob Ryan as defensive coordinator. "Rob knows Ted and Ted knows the system," Turner said. "I think all those things give Ted a big chance to be successful." . . . Turner said his decision to sign Warren Sapp after first adding Washington will not change how the Raiders play defense because Sapp will often be used as a rush defensive end. Turner said Sapp played more than 80 percent of the plays in Tampa but will have his workload decreased in Oakland. "When you ask a guy to play that much in his style, it takes a toll in terms of during a season," Turner said. "He's going to be a full-time player, but I think we can spell him in terms of what we're going to do. He can give us some big help in the pass rush, get on the edge like he does, and then he's such an active player, he'll help all our guys in terms of intensity and tempo. And, obviously, he's a playmaker." . . . Turner recently told a revealing story about his job interview with Al Davis. During their talk, Turner, who grew up in northern California, told Davis of a night in 1968 when he and his brother went to see Oakland play the Baltimore Colts. "We sat in the end zone," Turner recalled. "We got down as close as we could because I wanted to see Johnny Unitas come out of the end zone tunnel. Johnny Unitas, John Mackey, and Tom Matte. We got to talking and I said I was at the Steeler game when Terry Bradshaw was a rookie and he dropped back from the 20-yard line and the middle of the field opened up and he ran 80 yards for a touchdown. When I started telling, him I was thinking, `God, I hope this really happened because I remember it that way.' He said, `You saw that run?' I've been a Raider guy and watched the Raiders play for a lot of years." .
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