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Bottom Line: 2-1

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By Joe Henderson, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 23, 2007

Next Sunday marks the quarter-pole of the NFL season and the Bucs are in about the best shape they could be at this point. After Sunday's 24-3 victory over St. Louis, they are 2-1 heading to Carolina next week.

Can't complain about that.

And while it's no doubt tempting to pick nits with Sunday's win by lamenting why they couldn't move the ball any better, let's keep it positive and focus on what went well. Watching the defense stuff the Rams all day made us wonder if we hadn't stumble into a time tunnel.

Most encouraging.

OK, so the Rams are winless.

And, sure, the Bucs' ground game sputtered - at least until Mr. August, Earnest Graham, appeared in the fourth quarter and ran for two touchdowns. What did he think this was, the fourth quarter of a preseason game?

On the first day of fall, no less.

We're checking rumors that every month on Graham's calendar is spelled ''August.''

And we probably should mention how a potential fumble return for a touchdown by Phillip Buchanon early in the second quarter was nullified because Kevin Carter lined up in the neutral zone.

And, yeah, there was that sequence in the third quarter where Derrick Brooks was flagged for a (dubious) late hit and Ronde Barber followed a couple of plays later with a personal foul for taunting. That's not exactly what you expect from your veteran stalwarts.

Remember how that drive ended, though, with Buchanon picking off a pass in the right corner of the end zone to keep the Rams at bay.

Holding Serve
About the only thing we can say for sure after three weeks is that the Bucs have done what they needed to do. They've held serve by winning twice at home, including a division win.

Now comes the fun part - consecutive games on the road, starting with that trip next week to Charlotte. A win there, obviously, would be huge - especially since the game right after that is a trip to Super Bowl champion Indianapolis.

They're playing good defense right now, even if they aren't getting the type of quarterback pressure Jon Gruden wants. That's excellent news because the offense still doesn't look in synch.

Cadillac Williams scored the Bucs' first touchdown but otherwise, uh, not so much. He had a bad fumble that led to a field goal and we'll have to check after the game to see if he got hurt.

Where, oh where, are Michael Clayton's hands? If you find them, please return them, quickly, to One Buc Place. I understand Gruden is willing to pay a substantial reward.

All of those are legitimate concerns. Each one may eventually bite the Bucs on the butt.

Bottom line, though: They're 2-1.

They'll take it.

Developing Personality
Early in the fourth quarter, there was a gasp from the assembled multitude at Raymond James Stadium. Joey Galloway lay prone on the turf for a few seconds.

You didn't need to be a mind reader to know what people were thinking - HANDS! SOMEONE FIND CLAYTON'S HANDS!!

But then Galloway popped up and ran off the field.

Exhale.

Bullet dodged.

This is still a fragile thing. They've managed to avoid falling in a deep early-season hole similar to last year and in the NFL that's all that matters. There are the Patriots, the Colts, and everyone else is just trying to tiptoe through the minefields.

They've made it two steps.

So far, so good.

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