ACT I, SCENE I: RAIDERS

The Raiders are a very aggressive offensive team, and that won't change in the Super Bowl. They'll attack with spread formations, looking to get Tim Brown, Jerry Rice and Jerry Porter off early. In the first halves of their 16 regular-season games, the Raiders called pass plays 66% of the time. They strayed from this philosophy in their playoff game against the Jets, running the ball in the first half an astonishing -- for them -- 58% of the time. The score at halftime: 10-10. So in the second half, the Raiders came out throwing: 13 passes in the first 17 plays. Final score: 30-10. That first half was a wake-up call. In the AFC championship game against Tennessee, the Raiders had a 21-to-7 pass-to-run ratio.

	The Raiders will look to Brown early in the game.

The Raiders dictate matchups with 3-, 4-, even 5-wide sets, then attack the mismatch they like. In their Sept. 29 game against the Titans, a 52-25 win, Oakland showed an empty backfield 18 times, letting Rich Gannon read the coverage and find the open receiver.

Occasionally, the Raiders will use a surprise play, and each week they'll have a new formation or a different motion devised by offensive coordinator Marc Trestman. Jerry Porter's 29-yard touchdown against the Jets was a perfect example of both. Jets secondary coach Bill Bradley says they'd never seen the formation or the play, which featured Charlie Garner coming out of the backfield and going wide left. The Jets had watched all of the Raiders' regular-season games, and here was a formation they'd never used.

The Raiders can also grind it out with the short passing game. They had fewer three-and-outs than any team in the NFL this season. You can't forget the Raiders running game, either. Garner has speed, quickness and power, and he's an excellent receiver.

But the pass is at the heart of this script. –Ron Jaworski

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ACT I, SCENE I: BUCCANEERS

Sometimes an offense will show 15 different formations in the first 15 plays, to see how a defense responds. For West Coast offenses, the pass is an extension of the handoff, with all of the short slants and swings they run. Since Jon Gruden wants to establish offensive rhythm, he might pass on first down. A Gruden favorite? Emptying the backfield and putting Mike Alstott in the slot. If the defense blitzes, a man will be open. Then the game within the game begins.

	The D better be ready, because Mike is coming through.

If Gruden's first play is a pass right, but the defense has a free-safety blitz that Gruden knows his offense can't block, Brad Johnson will run away from it. Now it might be second-and-10. So Gruden looks for his first "second-and-10" play, not the second play of his script. The overall script makes assumptions that may not play out. You might call the first play of the game and assume you'll get six yards. But what if you get 12 yards? Or three yards? You're looking at first-and-10 or second-and-seven, not second-and-four. You call the play based on the down and distance achieved, not predicted.

It won't surprise me if the Bucs, should they win the coin toss, choose to kick off. If they receive to start the game, they might get the ball at their own 20. But if the Bucs defense starts hot, it could be three-and-out, and the Bucs offense takes the field at their own 45. That sets up an entirely different mind-set for their first play. They may go deep from the 45, which they wouldn't do from the 20. Even if they don't complete it, the defensive backs might back off the next time.

Gruden calls every play, and his sense of control is important. He wants to know that his scouting of the defense is accurate. He wants to feel confident that he's masked his tendencies, so the defense is a step behind him. Against the Eagles in the NFC championship game, Gruden was aggressive. Eagle defensive backs said they were surprised when Johnson hit Joe Jurevicius on a slant route for a 71-yard catch and run in the second quarter, because Gruden usually only calls that play in the red zone. Another new wrinkle for Gruden? Having his receivers run through the different levels of the zones to find mismatches in their favor.

The game plan won't be much different against the Raiders. Tampa Bay will run slants, crosses, go deep occasionally, hand the ball off. Keyshawn might run a slant from the right rather than the left. At midfield, they might run the flea-flicker. But the Bucs are looking for a big play that fits their overall scheme and talent. Because this game will not be won on a gimmick play. –Sean Salisbury

This article appears in the February 3 issue of ESPN The Magazine.