Brown Wants to Get Involved : Raiders: He is unhappy because he has only 24 receptions. He would like to contribute more to the offense.

Tim Brown never begged anyone to play football. He didn’t beseech Notre Dame recruiters to camp on his front porch back in high school. He didn’t coax opposing tacklers to miss him on dazzling runs and kickoff returns.

Brown didn’t implore anyone to hand over the Heisman Trophy in 1987.

But four years into his career with the Raiders, Brown finds himself on the sideline every Sunday, burning the ears of Coach Art Shell and Terry Robiskie, the offensive coordinator.

Four years into his career and Brown, the former college superstar nonpareil, sings the old Motown refrain: Ain’t too proud to beg.

“I hate that I have to ask to play football,” Brown said, “but if it comes down to that, I’m going to do whatever it takes to get me on the field.”

Brown, 25, is hardly what you would call a team agitator. He asks not what the team can do for him, but rather what he can do for the team. Brown doesn’t think he’s doing enough for a man of his caliber.

Last year was one thing. Brown was coming off reconstructive knee surgery in 1989 and didn’t know himself if he was the same Tim Brown.

During rehabilitation workouts, Brown would run wind sprints and get all full of himself, thinking he was Carl Lewis. Then he’d catch a glance of the world beside him in mid-stride and it was almost standing still.

“I was running hard, but I was running like I was in mud,” he said.

Eighteen catches and part-time duty in 1990 was easier to live with, what with starting receivers Mervyn Fernandez and Willie Gault having 50-plus reception seasons.

But this year is different. Brown is back; if not better than ever, then pretty darn close.

Last Sunday against Cincinnati, he returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown, the first return for a score in his NFL career. Brown is leading the AFC in punt returns with a 13.3 average.

But as the third receiver in a conservative Raider offense, Brown has 24 receptions through 12 games.

“I mean, I’m at 24 now, what is that?” Brown asked. “You look at the guys you came up with, the (Michael) Irvins, the (Sterling) Sharpes, the (Brian) Bladeses, the (Anthony) Millers, they’re all at 50 now. I’m sitting here with 24 and I’m supposed to be happy about it.”

Brown understands there are more players than footballs in a given game.

“That happens when you have so much talent on the team,” he said. “They can’t pump you the ball 15, 20 times a game. What is Mervyn going to say? Marcus? Ethan (Horton)?”

But this year is different. This year has opened a window of opportunity. Gault is struggling with 17 catches because opponents are playing deep zone defenses and refusing him the deep route.

Historically, Raider personnel decisions are rooted in mystery, but Brown was at least hoping the coaches would pull him aside during training camp and invite him to compete for a starting job.

“But that never happened,” he said.

He took his case to a higher authority, owner Al Davis.

“I told him I just want to play football, I don’t care about everything else,” Brown said of his conversation earlier this season. “That’s my job, that’s what I want to do. And he said, ‘Ya doing aw great job, Timmer, just keep it up. We love ya.’ ”

The Raiders have told Brown they prefer his spark coming off the bench. Shell acknowledged this week that Brown had fully recovered from his injury.

“This year he is really there,” Shell said. “This year’s there been no problem at all. He’s just done an outstanding job when called upon.”

Brown wishes Shell would call more often. Teammates have nicknamed Brown after the former super-sub for the Boston Celtics, John Havlicek.

Brown said he understands the politics of the Raiders, the philosophies and back-room decisions. It’s no secret that Al Davis loves speed at wide receiver or that Gault, a former world-class sprinter, is a personal favorite.

“I think he has everything the way he wants it right now,” Brown said of Davis. “If I get the ball more throughout the rest of this season, it’s because he wants me to get the ball more. That’s just the way it goes. Once you accept that, you can live with it and go on. If you deny that’s the fact, it’s going to hurt you.”

Brown is in the last season of his original four-year contract and he says he doesn’t know what the future holds. His name has been mentioned in trade rumors.

“A lot of things are going to be decided in the off-season,” he said. “I want to be here. I want to play every down. I want to help the Raiders win. But if they don’t feel I can fit their role, that’s something we have to talk about.”

Brown might look optimistically down the road and envision himself as the starting receiver opposite Raghib (Rocket) Ismail, another former Notre Dame star who will probably join the Raiders late next season. Imagine the combination: Heisman and Hydrogen.

But while Brown is convinced Ismail will soon be a part of the Raider equation, he has doubts about himself.

“For some reason, I don’t think that will ever happen,” Brown said. “I don’t think we’ll be on the same team. I haven’t heard anything. I haven’t been told anything. But if you bring a guy like Rocket in, well, he’s much the same guy I am. He returns punts and kickoffs, and he’s a receiver that goes underneath to make something happen. I don’t know. I just can’t see it happening.”