CHEERLESS LEADER

Talk about a party pooper! Rich Gannon, the player most responsible for putting the fun back in the Oakland Raiders, really isn’t that much fun at all.

Earlier this season, when some of his teammates were playing video games in the lounge at team headquarters, Gannon complained about it. He wanted to see their noses buried in the playbooks. Out went the video games.

Then two months ago, Coach Jon Gruden was alone in his office at 6 a.m., drawing up plays on his computer. He heard a click on his window, then another. He looked down and saw his perturbed quarterback holding a handful of pebbles. Gannon wanted into the facility to do a little film study and was irked to find it all but deserted.

“I was mad,” Gannon said. “I told them I wanted a damn key to the building. What other type of place is there where you can’t get into your work in the morning? All the coaches have their own keys. I wanted one too.”

Gruden happily granted that request, even setting up a special film room for the quarterbacks--Gannon, Bobby Hoying and Rodney Peete--to facilitate predawn cram sessions.

Clearly, it has paid off. The Raiders (11-3), who play at Seattle today, are headed to the playoffs for the first time since 1993. And Gannon is bound for his second consecutive Pro Bowl, this time as a starter.

“If he’s not the MVP, then he’s a close second to somebody,” said Indianapolis defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, whose Colts gave up three rushing touchdowns to Gannon in a 38-31 loss. “With him, you always have to defend two plays--the one they call in the huddle, and the one he does when he improvises.”

That’s the funny thing about Gannon. He’s serious as a safecracker when it comes to studying the playbook, then he steps onto the field and does his best work making things up as he goes along. He specializes in chest passes, sidearm slings and last-gasp dinks. Back when he was a standout at Delaware, some NFL teams considered drafting him as a running back. It’s easy to understand why; he has a keen ability to sense pressure and scramble out of trouble.

Gannon, 34, has run for 471 yards in 14 games. Only Philadelphia’s Donovan McNabb, with 609, has more among quarterbacks. Gannon’s average of 5.8 yards a carry is best on the team.

“Every time he goes back from behind the center, you worry about what’s going to happen,” said former Raider defensive coordinator Willie Shaw, who now coaches defensive backs for Kansas City. “The whole thing just breaks down when he releases from the pocket.”

One wonders why someone didn’t notice that earlier, back when Gannon was an occasional starter in Minnesota (1987-92), Washington (1993) and Kansas City (1995-98). To the people making the decisions, at least, Gannon was seen as an ideal backup, a level-headed player who could run a little and take over in a pinch, yet hardly sent hearts aflutter.

The Raiders were roundly ridiculed in spring 1999 when they signed Gannon to a four-year, $16-million deal, letting go of Jeff George. Gruden pushed for the move not only because he had no confidence in George--whose marvelous arm wrote checks his head and heart couldn’t cash--but because Gannon is his type of quarterback, his type of guy.

“Gannon’s never happy about anything,” said Gruden, a fellow perfectionist. “I’ve never met anybody like him. He’s the most miserable guy I’ve ever been around sometimes. I love that about him. He’s never satisfied, and he never will be satisfied.”

Gannon has always been meticulous. The summer after college graduation, he lived with his parents and never veered from his regimen. He got up every morning at 7:30, was at the gym by 9 and lifted weights for three hours. He would break for lunch, grabbing a sandwich at the same deli every day. Then, it was off to the local aquatic club for a swimming workout. From there, he would go to Father Judge High, where he would throw the ball with some of the players. He completed his day by playing two or three holes at a local golf course, then going for a five-mile run.

“He did the same thing every day except Sunday,” said his father, James, who practices law in Philadelphia. “On Sundays, he’d just go for a long run.”

The younger Gannon was just as dedicated when he sat out the 1994 season to rehabilitate his injured shoulder. He and his wife, Shelley, the daughter of former Viking running back Bill Brown, spent each evening in the backyard with a camcorder, videotaping Gannon’s throwing motion.

“I’m someone who takes the approach to the game, in preparation and performance, very seriously,” Gannon said. “I’m insulted when a teammate doesn’t have the same approach and preparation, and I try to make it known. That drives me crazy.”

Even as a kid, he paid close attention to detail. His room was always spotless. When he was a freshman at Delaware, he lived in a dormitory . . . briefly. “He called me after two weeks and said, ‘Dad, I’ve got to get out of here,’ ” James Gannon said. “He couldn’t study. It was too noisy for him. So I got him an apartment and he stayed there for four years.”

Gannon set 21 school records at Division I-AA Delaware, rolling up 2,000 yards of offense for the Blue Hens three consecutive seasons. To that, the outside world yawned. He might have been a big man on campus, but he was just another blip on the NFL’s radar screen.

Once, at the height of his college career, Gannon was asked to sign autographs and conduct a passing clinic at a county fair an hour downstate. People milled around his booth, yet hardly a soul stopped in.

“There was this big sign that said, ‘All-American Quarterback Rich Gannon Signing Autographs Today!’ ” former Delaware center John Cooley recalled two years ago. “We sat there for six hours and not one person showed up. It was supposed to be a two-day deal, but they let us go home after the first day.”

Cooley swiped the sign, quietly stuffed it the trunk of the car and mounted it outside their apartment building the next day while Gannon was at class.

“Rich was so embarrassed when he saw it hanging there,” Cooley said. “The guy is really unassuming. He hates that kind of stuff.”

Not that Gannon wasn’t hungry for publicity. He needed to make a name for himself to have any chance to make it as an NFL quarterback. It didn’t help that just about every pro scout who stopped by campus wanted to see him backpedal. They envisioned him as a head-knocking safety.

One afternoon during his senior season, Gannon walked into his apartment and headed straight for his bedroom. He had to give a speech to the booster club that night and wanted to get in a few winks. He told his roommates to screen his calls, so he was a bit peeved about an hour later when one of them knocked on his door.

This call couldn’t wait. A fellow from Sports Illustrated was on the line and wanted to ask Gannon some questions. At last, recognition.

“Hello,” he rasped. “This is Rich.”

“Yes, Mr. Gannon,” the voice said, “Are you interested in renewing your subscription?”

Times sure have changed. Gannon was on the cover of SI this season as the embodiment of the Raiders’ turnaround. He’s taking the attention in stride and insists it doesn’t matter to him.

He might not acknowledge it, but Gannon is loosening up with each victory. The night before a recent home game, the team watched a highlight tape prepared by the video staff. In it, there was footage of Gannon wearing a black leather jacket at a Raider rally. The tape flashed to John Travolta standing on the hood of a car and gyrating his hips to “Greased Lightning.” Then, back to Gannon.

The quarterback laughed harder than anyone, proving everyone has a sense of humor. Even a party pooper.

*

TODAY’S GAMES

Washington at Pittsburgh, 9:30 a.m., Channel 11

Oakland at Seattle, 1 p.m., Channel 2

BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX:

A Long Time Coming

Rich Gannon, left, is proving to be the Raiders’ best overall quarterback since Jim Plunkett led the Raiders to the Super Bowl championship after the 1983 season. A look at the primary starting quarterbacks:

W-L Att. Comp. Yds. TD Int. Rating 1984 Marc Wilson 6-4 282 153 2,151 17 17 71.7 Jim Plunkett 5-1 198 108 1,473 6 10 67.6

1985 Marc Wilson 11-2 388 193 2,608 16 21 62.7

1986 Jim Plunkett 3-5 252 133 1,986 14 9 82.5 Marc Wilson 5-3 240 129 1,721 12 15 67.4

1987 Marc Wilson 2-5 266 152 2,070 12 8 84.6

1988 Jay Schroeder 3-5 256 113 1,838 13 13 64.6 Steve Beuerlein 4-4 238 105 1,643 8 7 66.6

W-L Att. Comp. Yds. TD Int. Rating 1989 Steve Beuerlein 4-3 217 108 1,677 13 9 78.4 Jay Schroeder 4-5 194 91 1,550 8 13 60.3

1990 Jay Schroeder 12-4 334 182 2,849 19 9 90.8

1991 Jay Schroeder 9-6 357 189 2,562 15 16 71.4

1992 Jay Schroeder 4-5 253 123 1,476 11 11 63.3 Todd Marinovich 3-4 165 81 1,102 5 9 58.2

1993 Jeff Hostetler 10-5 419 236 3,242 14 10 82.5

1994 Jeff Hostetler 9-7 454 263 3,334 20 16 80.8

1995 Jeff Hostetler 7-4 286 172 1,998 12 9 82.2

1996 Jeff Hostetler 7-9 402 242 2,548 23 14 83.2

W-L Att. Comp. Yds. TD Int. Rating 1997 Jeff George 4-12 521 290 3,917 29 9 91.2

1998 Donald Hollas 4-2 260 135 1,754 10 16 60.6 Jeff George 3-4 168 93 1,186 4 5 72.7

1999 Rich Gannon 8-8 515 304 3,840 24 14 86.5

2000 Rich Gannon 11-3 424 253 3,064 22 8 91.4

END TEXT OF INFOBOX