Tampa, Florida					Monday, September 06, 2010

Just Not The Same Buccaneers
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
TAMPA—Coach Jon Gruden of the Tampa Bay Bucs, an honest man always, acknowledged this 2003 Tampa Bay Buc team is not the same that won the last Super Bowl, that is the defending champion of pro football. All agree. After six games, these Buccaneers are 3-3, and were publicly lashed 24-7 at San Francisco last Sunday. The Bucs of 2002 after six games were 5-1 and rolling with a developing offense behind quarterback Brad Johnson but the best defense in the NFL, The Bucs would move into the playoffs, dunking the 49ers in the first extra game 31-6 and win the Super Bowl smashingly at San Diego 48-21 over Oakland. Gruden put it this way Monday after the runaway and passaway over the Bucs Sunday 24-7: “ This year’s team ain’t last year’s team. For a lot of reasons. Understand that now. We’ve got to improve our Karma around here. We’re 3-3. We’ve had four out of six games on the road, and we’ve lost some nail-biters and unfortunate situations at home (blocked extra point), but there’s still plenty of football left. There’s plenty of football left and plenty more opportunities. I don’t feel like the edge is dulled. I just feel that this year’s squad is asking on a lot men to step up that weren’t here last year.’’ Gruden had prefixed much of that with: “You lose two defensive starters to free agency, You lose a number of players on offense and we need to find our identity.’’ Injuries have been severe until Sunday, then got a whole lot worse, with undefeated and on-a-roll Dallas coming to town coached by the man the Buc-owning Glazer family tried to hire before he said no thanks and then Gruden said yes. That is, of course, Bill Parcells, who is coming to the town where he had been a favorite of the previous owner as well, and who won the Super Bowl here as head coach of the New York Giants. Now, the Bucs face the prospect of not having All-World Safety John Lynch, a team leader as well, who has jammed his neck again because of his severe straight on hits that are his trademark. This once feared defense may face Dallas with only one defensive back, Ronde Barber, and one linebacker, Derrick Brooks, who were on the best defensive team in the NFL a year ago. The Bucs also have been in the news bigtime because of Warren Sapp, star defensive tackle and philosopher, who has taken on the NFL, been fined $50,000, contested that and prior to the game at San Francisco, for a reason unknown, kicked a goal-line pylon out of its mooring. Sapp as been the most sought after Buc for interviews, for stories, none about his football playing ability, all about his commentaries on football, the NFL and slavery. Never popular with much of the public, he has always been a media favorite because he had an opinion on all things and gave it when sought. Now, many think he has become a distraction and more interested in the sideline show he has created, instead of sack and tackle numbers. Gruden said he learned of the kickoff of the pylon on the flight home and would address it with	Sapp one-on-one. He also said he wasn’t going to abandon Sapp, said he loves him and wants him to play football at his best, and at the same time Gruden said he respects the NFL polices and rules. Sapp is a special NFL player. He’s fast on his feet and at the mike. He’s erudite, very intelligent, knows the location always of all cameras at a football field and plays to them beautifully. He’s an actor, a very funny fellow, always a worthy interview. His manners, his big wide eyes, his great smile, and willingness to perform make him an absolute favorite of television, and he knows it. On the health of this team, Gruden said, “dealing with 12 or 14 players not practicing, it’s hard to do that. But, we are going to everything we can to stimulate the great players that we have here and continue to develop the traits that we are looking for in some of the young ones. “This is an endurance contest as I’ve said. Not an easy business. Personally, I look forward to seeing how we respond to this adversity.’’ Gruden looked to the New England Patriot win over Miami in overtime in Miami as a positive example. “I look to the New England Patriots and what they did Sunday. With eight or nine members of their team out, going to Miami, a place they hadn’t won—rounding their fists up and fighting their way back into the game and winning in overtime. It is just a testament that you can indeed get things done if you continue to play hard.’’ No excuses, said Gruden. The Bucs have four of their next six games at home, with Dallas clearly the toughest. He said he knows “our fans will help us out,’’ at home. All games of the Bucs are sold out at Raymond James, but the Bucs are winless there this year, in two. Until the beating at San Francisco, they were considered road warriors. But, not there. He praised San Francisco for fighting back with their backs against the wall, but had to acknowledge that four turnovers were crippling. The first came on the game’s second play, a Johnson pass to the chest of Michael Pittman bounced off and into the hands of a Frisco defensive back. He took it home for the quick 7-0 lead. And later, Gruden cited, with the Niners ahead 21-7 early in the third period and the Bucs moving, running back Thomas Jones fumbled after a first down pass catch at the San Francisco 19. Without that turnover, “I think we could have gotten points on the board,’’ and made a game of it. After the fumble, the Bucs did nothing, the Niners moved to a field goal for the solid 24-7 win. “An awful lot of teams with a 3-3 make the playoffs,’’ said Gruden, on a positive note. He added, when it was brought up that he too was decked, on the sidelines, “I got hit, too. I’m questionable, but by God I will be there. I got back up quickly. Did you see that get up? I thought Yoder (Buc tight end Todd who hit him)could hit hard. I was expecting more out of Yoder.’’ As he was out of his Super Bowl champs Sunday. ##
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