Having the legendary Fred Biletnikoff as a position coach hardly daunted the second-round draft choice. Playing with Tim Brown and then Jerry Rice a year later did little to dent his confidence. The occasional nugget of advice from Al Davis, the owner who best understands the professional game, was of no concern.

	Jerry Porter caught 51 passes during the regular season.

So why, even Porter asked himself at times during his first two seasons in the league, wasn't he more than just an afterthought in the Oakland offense?

Because it took, Porter acknowledged on Tuesday, more hard work than he first thought it might to work his way off the Raiders bench. Because it took studying the playbook and scrutinizing videotape, two disciplines in which he did not invest earlier in his career, to earn the trust of his superiors. And because it took the departure of head coach Jon Gruden, and the subsequent promotion of Bill Callahan into that spot, to provide him an opportunity.

"You never know how a change is going to work out," said Porter, who in 2002 emerged as one of the game's most productive No. 3 wide receivers. "For me, well, it worked out for the better. I might still be buried if not for the coaching change."

To this juncture of Super Bowl week, at least, Oakland players have done a successful job of downplaying The Gruden Factor. The same veterans who only a few days ago were woofin' about their former coach -- offering up varying levels of bile anytime a guy with a notebook, tape recorder or mini-cam approached them -- have moon-walked away from some of the previous statements. Right offensive tackle Lincoln Kennedy, who accused Gruden of harboring a Napoleonic Complex, suggested Monday night that "the game is bigger" than the Raiders' former coach.

Gruden is getting no such reprieve, however, from Porter. The third-year receiver doesn't exactly spew venom when the subject turns to Gruden, but neither has he softened his stance that the coach likely stunted his growth as a playmaker, nor has Porter stopped trumpeting the role he feels Callahan played in elevating his profile in the Oakland passing game.

It is no secret that Gruden prefers veteran players, that his recruitment of Rice was successful because he essentially promised him the one thing that no one else would, a starting job. And while Porter possessed breathtaking talent, he was still prone to mental errors, and didn't always measure up in Gruden's eyes.

But when Gruden walked out the door last February, he left it ajar just long enough for Porter, 24, to walk through and into a good situation.

"As confident as (Porter) is on the outside," said Rice, "I think he's the kind of player who still needs a pat on the back once in a while. Sometimes, like that saying goes, you get a little more done with some sugar. I think this staff built more on the positives than it did (criticizing) the negatives. And now we're seeing the results."

No one should be surprised it took Porter a while longer to get through his apprenticeship. As the best all-around athlete on the West Virginia roster in his years in college, the Mountaineers staff sometimes was forced to use him in its weakest spot. He lined up at safety, some at cornerback, even saw time as an emergency quarterback. Essentially, he had just one full season of real exposure to the wide receiver position.

It was a continuation of his whirling dervish career at Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C, where Porter at various times lined up at quarterback, fullback, wide receiver, defensive end, cornerback and safety.

	“	As confident as (Porter) is on the outside, I think he's the kind of player who still needs a pat on the back once in a while. Sometimes, like that saying goes, you get a little more done with some sugar. I think this staff built more on the positives than it did (criticizing) the negatives. And now we're seeing the results.. ”
		— Jerry Rice, Raiders WR on Jerry Porter

Said former West Virginia coach Don Nehlen: "We recruited him basically as an athlete and, man, that's what he was. But there were times that we just pointed him to a spot and said, '(Play) there.' It was hard on him. You knew he would be a great player if we just allowed him to concentrate on having to play one position. We're seeing that (greatness) in him now."

It is all but impossible to be successful in the passing game these days minus a dependable No. 3 wide receiver, especially if you are a team like Oakland, which employs three-wideout sets more than 60 percent of the time. One of the ironies of Callahan, whose area of expertise is the offensive line and the running game, is how much he wants to spread the field and throw the ball.

The emergence of Porter, who had only 20 catches his first two seasons, has definitely permitted Callahan and the underrated offensive coordinator Marc Trestman to expand their "spread" package. During the regular season, he had 51 receptions for 688 yards and nine touchdowns. In the two postseason games, Porter has rung up 10 catches for 175 yards and two scores. The 175 yards are the most in the playoffs among the receivers on the two clubs here.

While some No. 3 wide receivers, like Joe Jurevicius of Tampa Bay, use guile and precise route-running to carve out their spots, Porter has superior athleticism and undeniable explosiveness. Many third wideouts move to that position toward the end of their careers, and never start again, but Porter is in line to succeed Rice or Brown at some point in the future.

"I've learned so much from both those guys," Porter said. "They really are (selfless) with their time. They've showed me a lot, and they also taught me you have to be patient, that your time will come, you know? The best is still out there for me but this year is a good start toward getting where I want to go. And it's been nice to be stroked some this year, to be told I'm a pretty good player, instead of getting criticized for every little mistake."

There is an absence of harshness in Porter's voice when he talks of Gruden explicitly or simply suggests him in passing. Porter seems more intent now on beating Gruden on the field than bashing him in print. It is part of a new maturity, it seems, although there could be some gloating on Sunday night if Gruden's old team prevails over his new one.

"Let's just say, I want that ring, and real badly," Porter said. "To me, that's the real signal you belong. It won't matter what anyone else -- coaches, or players, or anyone -- thinks. I'll just flash that ring and that will say it all."

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.