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It's Time For Bucs To Stop That Roller Coaster

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By MARTIN FENNELLY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 7, 2008

The idea, for now, is the ride of their lives.

The idea, for now, is history.

"A fairy tale ending," old and new Buc Warrick Dunn said.

In the fairy tale, the ride ends at the Super Bowl in Raymond James Stadium, with Jon Gruden's Bucs hosting a world championship game.

It's Fantasy Land, but how else do players get through two-a-days?

Super idea.

Here's another:

Stop the roller coaster.

Rising And Falling

This franchise has been playing Jekyll and Hyde and Seek since it walked away a champion in San Diego.

Up, down, up, down.

The Schizo-neers.

Somewhere in those last six seasons, the Bucs ditched John Lynch and Warren Sapp. They ousted Keyshawn and Rich McKay.

They hired Brian Griese. They fired Brian Griese. They hired Brian Griese.

Somewhere in there, Chris Simms rose and fell. Simeon Rice was gone.

Somewhere in there, the Bucs sold their soul and looked at Darrell Russell, and acquired and kept Jerramy Stevens.

The roller coaster is 36-44 in the five seasons since San Diego.

The Bucs haven't rolled off consecutive good seasons.

Three losing seasons, two winning ones, zero playoff victories.

Absolutely no consistency, but a certain symmetry when you consider that Gruden actually has a nine-loss season to go with a nine-win season, an 11-loss season to go with an 11-win season and a 12-loss season to go with a 12-win season.

They are up, they are down. Last season, it was up, slightly, but then that first-round playoff loss to the Giants.

"We took our foot off the gas," Bucs defensive end Kevin Carter said. "Of course, we lost the game, but it was a wake-up call for a lot of players."

I can't really say this Bucs team is better than last season's Bucs team, or that it's a good thing when your quarterback and star receiver haven't hooked up on one pass in the preseason.

I don't see the NFC South being as down as last season.

The defense will keep the Bucs in a lot of games — again.

One of the defenders, Derrick Brooks, thinks this team has learned its lesson "because of what we've done the prior two times. We haven't defended the title well."

Forget the gas.

How about steering straight?

I'm not seeing it.

It might very well come down to the cue this club takes from its head coach and occasional head case.

Which One Will It Be?

Which Jon Gruden do we get?

Will it be the effusive joy rider of the Super season, when Gruden came in with all that pressure and finished the deal, or will it be the power tripper who lost his way in 2003 and 2004?

Will it be the coach who re-invented himself for the 2005 playoff season, working with a kid named Simms at quarterback, or will it be the coach who un-invented himself in 2006, ordering passes in the howling winds of New York or demanding that pathetic field goal to keep from getting shut out in Pittsburgh?

Will it be the Gruden who pushed the right buttons during the first 14 games of the 2007 regular season or will it be the Gruden who sat back at the end, then panicked and deserted the run too soon against the Giants in the playoffs.

The guy is a roller coaster all by himself.

Yes, there's that fairy tale out there.

"Obviously, there's the added incentive of the Super Bowl in our back yard," Brooks said.

I'm not seeing it. It feels like 8-8.

I'm not seeing anything close to Super.

I've been on this ride way too long.

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