http://www.mercurynews.com/sportsheadlines/ci_7873260?nclick_check=1 Raiders' Warren Sapp announces retirement After 13 seasons, Raiders' star Warren Sapp is retiring. Today, Sapp used only two words to inform Raiders Managing General Partner Al Davis of his intentions for next season. "I'm done," Sapp said he told Davis in a phone conversation this morning. Just like that, Sapp made the quantum leap from elite NFL defensive tackle to retired 35-year-old. Sapp leaves the game with his body intact, his mind sharp and his r?sum? chock full of impressive credentials. "If you were going to pick a football team and play on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday or whenever, and it came time for you to pick your three-technique (tackle)," Sapp said by phone, "you were taking me with you. That's all I ever wanted from this game."In the end, Sapp received much more than widespread recognition as one of the game's premiere players. He earned seven Pro Bowl selections with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1999. He played a vital role in the Buccaneers' Super Bowl championship team in the 2002 season. Quarterbacks always knew where he lined up. Sapp credits former Buccaneers defensive line coach Rod Marinelli, now the Detroit Lions coach, with molding him into a well-rounded player. His development came under the watchful eye of defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. Along the way, Sapp got to know Kiffin's son, Lane, now the coach of the Raiders. They grew even closer this past year. He and I hit it off pretty good right away," Lane Kiffin said Monday, "and he liked what he saw in the team meetings. He liked what we talked about, the practice tempo, a bunch of things he'd been disappointed in before. He really got behind us and what we were doing. It was a good experience." Sapp finished with 96 1/2 career sacks. Former Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle John Randle is the only interior lineman with more sacks. "There are three dudes people are always talking about when it comes to three-techniques, 'under' tackles, whatever you want to call it," Sapp said. "John Randle, Keith Millard and me. - Those three guys right there, you can't go wrong with any of them." Sapp first informed Davis of his intention to retire in a get-together last Friday night. Davis told Sapp to think about his decision and get back to him this week. That time came in what Sapp termed a "simple conversation." Davis and Sapp thanked each other for the four-year relationship they enjoyed from the time Sapp joined the Raiders in 2004, exchanged thoughts on the Raiders' current plight and vowed to see each other in a week. At that time, Davis told Sapp, the Raiders will honor Sapp in a formal setting somewhere in Oakland or Alameda. Sapp said he is thrilled by the prospect. Davis always has been fond of Sapp. He admired Sapp's tenacity, production and enthusiasm for the game. So it was that Davis pounced on the chance to land Sapp once he became a free agent after the 2003 season. Sapp learned of the Raiders' interest in him through an early-morning call from agent Drew Rosenhaus. "He said, 'Al Davis is on the line, and he's not getting off until you're a Raider," Sapp said. "I said, 'Well, do the deal.' I didn't take a visit here. I didn't see who the defensive coordinator was. I didn't see who the head coach was. Al Davis said, 'Warren Sapp, I want you to play for the Oakland Raiders.' I said, 'I'll take that.' I came here, I put in four years." Sapp said he has no immediate plans. Yet, one day he said he envisions himself as an analyst of some sort.
"He earned seven Pro Bowl selections with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1999. He played a vital role in the Buccaneers' Super Bowl championship team in the 2002 season. Quarterbacks always knew where he lined up. " Depends on how you define overrated. He did aight for an NFL career.
Memo to Warren Sapp: You've been "done" for the last five years. Now, kindly take your assigned corner booth at the Waffle House, and don't come out until you're 600 pounds.
Sapp did have a double digit sack year last season, I believe. He never fit in the Raiders defense at all. And how can people say he was overrated? He was the golden standard for the 3-technique tackle along with Randle.
Saying he's overrated is different than saying he's washed-up. Last year he did have 10 sacks. But he also played on a defense that couldn't stop St. Coletta's Day School from running on them. He's been otherwise on the steady decline since the Tampa Bay Superbowl year. TGG trivia question (which I've screwed up before, and may again): Which TGG poster twisted Warren Sapp's finger at the bottom of the pile-up?
And his fat mouth and horrid attitude will live on for all eternity. Sigh... Oh, man, that was such a long time ago, but I remember that story! :lol: I'll remember who it was at four in the morning or something.
It will live on in your brain if that's what you choose to hang on to. "During his career he earned seven trips to the Pro Bowl and was regarded as "one of the best defensive tackles to play in the NFL[1]." His 96.5 career sacks are the second-highest career total sacks for a defensive tackle (since sacks became an official NFL statistic in 1982) and the 28th highest overall for a defensive lineman.[2][3][4]. He was elected defensive team captain by his Raiders teammates in 2007." And OMG, he smoked pot, so the Jets passed on him. Such a pariah. He calls it like he sees it. You may not agree with his take, but I respect someone who has the guts to tell it like it is.
Yeah, but if I had to do that 1995 draft all over again,.......call me crazy,......but I think I would've gone out on a limb & passed on Kyle Brady to select Warren Sapp instead.
I never said he was overrated, I just said he was still arrogant as ever, despite the fact that he sucked this season. And I don't really think anyone earns the right to be cocky. Look at Curtis Martin, and its why we all love him, because he doesn't showboat or speak out. He does plays.
Sapp knows nothing about what it's like to be a slave. He was a good football player. Leave it at that. Jeez, can any 'cane do anything wrong?
Why would you even bother to gloss that over? It was kind of hard to, you know, IGNORE and stuff, and what is so bad about saying the guy had a fat mouth if he did? In all honesty, what really soured me on Sapp wasn't that "he spoke his mind." What soured me on him was what he pulled vs. the Packers in Nov. of '02. He levels Chad Clifton, the guy crumples like a rag doll, and as he's laying on the field motionless, Sapp is celebrating. Then, when Sherman engages him, although not smart, he acts like more of a jackass. I was waiting for Sapp to tell him to meet him at Applebees. Every team has had their share of dirty players or players who have had lapses of judgment, the Jets included; but for heaven's sake, it isn't like I'm slandering that fat slob. Yeah, he's fat - and that's not slander.
He definitely acted like a jackass on numerous occasions. :wink: So did Charles Barkley. I still remember very well sitting near the court in The Garden with my ex, and the crowd was getting on barkley and he turned to the crowd and emphatically grabbed his crotch, LMAO! Colorful guys dont bother me, it makes the world of sports more interesting. they are anti-NoFunLeague. Dirty is another thing. Dirty like Conrad Dobler, and jerks like that are really bad for the game.
