TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Will Long Road Lead Bucs Home?

ADVERTISEMENT

By ROY CUMMINGS The Tampa Tribune

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 7, 2008

TAMPA - Out at One Buc Place, where the creed is to take life not just one game at a time but one play at a time, everyone has taken a private moment or two to look ahead. Way ahead. It's hard to blame them.

No team has ever done what the Bucs have a chance to do this year. In fact, most of the teams that have tried have failed miserably.

Of the 34 teams that could have played the Super Bowl in their home stadium, 29 never even made it to the playoffs. Of the five that did, none made it past the second round.

History, then, is not on the Bucs' side. But given what's at stake, who can blame them for dreaming even just a little about making Super Bowl XLIII at Raymond James Stadium their final home game.

"It'd be a fairy tale-come-true to play in the Super Bowl at home," running back Warrick Dunn said. "That would be a movie-like ending for all of us. But so much has to go right for you. There are so many variables."

The biggest one is arguably talent. A team has to be special on at least one side of the line of scrimmage to get to a Super Bowl, and the Bucs just may have that quality on defense.

They are coming off a season in which they ranked second overall in total defense, including first against the pass and third in fewest points allowed. And there's reason to believe they could be better.

The Bucs are concentrating more this year on scoring as a defensive unit, something they did regularly during their 2002 Super Bowl run. Many in their camp believe they're faster than they were a year ago.

"With Cato June, we're as fast as we've ever been at strongside linebacker," secondary coach Raheem Morris said. "And with Barrett Ruud at middle linebacker we're just as fast as we've ever been there.

"Brian Kelly was a great player, but he wasn't as fast at left corner as Phillip Buchanon is, and Jermaine Phillips is a faster strong safety than John Lynch was. Finally, Tanard Jackson is the fastest free safety we've ever had."

Room To Improve

There's a good deal of speed up front, too, but as they head into the new season, that is still an area of some concern for the defending NFC South champions.

Though they expect to get plenty of push from right end Gaines Adams and under tackle Jovan Haye, the Bucs are concerned about the ability of their supporting cast to get the pass pressure and sacks they require.

"We've got to get a good rush going," Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said. "The best defenses I've been around, they could get to the passer and get pressure. We got better last year but we can still do more. We have to."

More would mean notching somewhere around 40 sacks. It won't be easy. A plan to move sack-leader Greg White to left end has all but been abandoned, which means Kevin Carter will man that spot.

Carter is solid but he's not going to lead his team in sacks. The hope, then, is that White can play at a level similar to last year, when he got eight sacks as a part-timer, and that Adams can improve.

If that happens, the Bucs will be able to better aid an offense who's most notable weapons are 36-year-old wide receiver Joey Galloway and 38-year-old quarterback Jeff Garcia.

That doesn't appear to be a real formidable Super Bowl connection, but don't let those ages bother you. Galloway still runs like he's 26 and Garcia wouldn't be the first 38-year-old quarterback to lead his team to the Super Bowl.

John Elway did it in 1998, leading the Denver Broncos through a 14-2 regular season and a playoff run that finished with Elway completing 18 of 29 passes for 336 yards and a touchdown and being named MVP of Super Bowl XXXIII.

"Anything is possible," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said of the Bucs earning the right to make the Super Bowl their last home game. "But a lot has to happen for you along the way.

"You have to avoid injuries, of course, and you have to find a way to play your best football when the playoffs start. The other thing you have to have is a lot of good players. And those good players have to play great for you."

Strength On Offense

That last element is something the Bucs believe they have, and one of the reasons they feel they have a shot at making history this year. They are not a team short on talent, even on offense.

They have what they believe is the best offensive line their franchise has ever fielded and a strong group of running backs, each of whom presents defenses with a different problem.

Earnest Graham is a one-cut power back who can wear down a defense. Dunn is a shifty change-of-pace back who still can sneak his way through defenses for impressive gains. Michael Bennett is a home run hitter.

The only thing that may be missing is a dynamic play-making receiver to accent Galloway. The Bucs aren't short on receivers, though. They have several, including Antonio Bryant and Michael Clayton with success in their past.

Both have fallen on hard times in recent years and may be getting their last chance to prove they belong in the NFL, but both seem to have the talent necessary to be impact players.

"I think we have a lot of really good playmakers here," Garcia said. "Guys like Michael Clayton, Maurice Stovall, Antonio Bryant. They can play this game at a high level. We just need to give them the opportunity to be successful."

That job falls to Gruden, of course, and navigating a team through a Super Bowl season is nothing new to him. He led the Bucs to their first and only Super Bowl title in 2002.

Only five other active coaches have taken teams to a Super Bowl, so Gruden has a bit of an edge in that area. And he's no stranger to recent success either, having taken the Bucs to the playoffs two of the past three years.

The only problem is that both of those recent playoff appearances ended rather abruptly, with the Bucs losing in the first round in a game played at Raymond James Stadium.

"We haven't quite pulled it off there the last couple times we played a playoff game there, but it's an incredible place to play," Gruden said of RJS. "You've got the flags waving and the cannons going off. To be in the Super Bowl there with all that, it would be chilling. It really would.

"But I try not to get into all that. The motivation for us is to stay short-goal oriented, and that's what we're trying to do. We all know where every team in the league wants to be in the end, and we're right there with them."

Reporter Roy Cummings can be

reached at (813) 259-7979

or rcummings@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT