For the Bucs: ground zero Rick Stroud, The St.Petersburg Times, published 28 October 1991 What an improbable scene on the sideline for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. There stood Vinny Testaverde and Chris Chandler, a coat of (unused) arms for this once hopeful franchise. An abandoned No. 1 draft choice and his Never Won replacement. On this Sunday, they wore baseball caps instead of helmets while somebody else took his turn in the Bucs' puzzling quarterback rotation. Free agent Jeff Carlson, who had never thrown a pass in a regular-season National Football League game and had taken just three snaps in as many pro seasons, became the Bucs' last resort against the Green Bay Packers. Replacing Chandler with 10 minutes to play in the second quarter after Tampa Bay's offense had committed four turnovers, Carlson tossed three interceptions and was sacked five times in the Bucs' 27-0 loss to the Packers. The loss gave Tampa Bay (1-7) sole possession of last place in the NFC Central and was the Bucs' first shutout defeat in six seasons. Chandler is now 0-6 as a Bucs starter and the average margin of defeat in his starts is 31-6. "We never executed anything well," said Bucs head coach Richard Williamson. "We try to run it, we can't run it. We try to throw it, we can't throw it. Instead of getting better, we seem to be taking a step backward. We were just very inept. We didn't do anything well at all offensively. We were grasping. We were struggling, and I think it was obvious in what we were doing." In being blasted by the equally inept Packers, the Bucs set some low-water marks for futility. Tampa Bay committed eight turnovers, equaling a club record, and that despite having two Carlson interceptions erased by interference penalties. The Bucs' offense compiled a season-low 170 yards while its beleaguered offensive line allowed six sacks for the second consecutive week. The Packers jumped to a 20-0 lead, although their longest scoring drive covered just 19 yards. Even Bucs owner Hugh Culverhouse called the first quarter, "as bad as I've suffered through." But don't expect Williamson to be looking for a new line of work this morning. Following Sunday's game, Culverhouse said he is committed to Williamson for at least the remainder of the season. "I don't see where Richard's at fault," Culverhouse said. "Richard Williamson is very trustworthy. He's holding himself accountable. My God, my heart goes out to him. He doesn't make the tackles. He doesn't miss the assignments. They coach. They teach. And these young players will prove to be a good team." Against the Packers, they proved to be horrible. Chandler, for whom the Bucs traded their 1992 No. 1 draft pick to Indianapolis, got things off to a bad start. Starting his first home game in a Tampa Bay uniform, Chandler lost a fumble and threw an interception before completing his first pass. On the Bucs' second possession, Chandler was sacked by Green Bay linebacker Bryce Paup and lost the football, a fumble that was gathered at the 1-yard line by Brian Noble, who rolled into the end zone for the Packers' first touchdown. Chandler's next pass attempt was intercepted by Green Bay safety Chuck Cecil to set up the first of two field goals by Chris Jacke. Things would only get worse for the luckless Bucs. Tailback Reggie Cobb fumbled on the Bucs' next try to set up another Jacke field goal, this time from 46 yards, to leave Tampa Bay trailing 13-0. On the Bucs' next attempt, Chandler was intercepted again, this time after badly overthrowing Lawrence Dawsey. If you're keeping score, that's four turnovers in five possessions. By that time, Williamson had seen enough of Chandler. However, Chandler said he felt Williamson was too quick with the hook with 10 minutes still left in the first half. "It makes it tough," Chandler said. "You'd definitely like to feel you have a little more security than that. That's the NFL, I guess. It's a funny game." Not so funny was the sight of Carlson, an obscure lefty from Weber State who spent his first two pro seasons on the Los Angeles Rams and Bucs practice squads, trying to resurrect the Tampa Bay offense. Carlson was fortunate to complete 12 of 32 passes for 164 yards. His first of three interceptions killed the Bucs' best drive at the Green Bay 14-yard line. Even Carlson admitted he felt awkward quarterbacking the Bucs while Testaverde and Chandler watched from the sidelines. "The ultimate is for the coach to say, `Jeff, you're my guy and go out there and play. You have all my confidence.' " Carlson said. "Instead of, `You're my last resort' kind of thing. Not that he did that, but people can interpret it that way." Chandler said there was little advice he could offer Carlson except to keep chucking and ducking. "Just to sit in the pocket and just hang in there and throw it," Chandler said. "There's really not much you can say. He tried his best, too." While Carlson was thrilled for the chance to play, he provided more proof that the Bucs' problems on offense run deeper than the quarterback position. Testaverde, who pronounced himself fit to play Sunday after having suffered a chip fracture in his right thumb three weeks ago, was dry-docked as the Bucs' inactive third quarterback. And Williamson lost his patience with Chandler. So what chance did Carlson have of winning the game? "I come in as a third guy and I haven't had a lot of practice time, but I expect to do well every time I play," Carlson said. "I was glad for the shot, and I'm glad a got to play more than a couple plays at the end of the game or something like that. I felt I had a real chance here. But it's definitely tainted by some of the bad things that happened and definitely by losing." As for Williamson, he has to be happy for another chance to show up for work this morning. "Unless someone tells me I'm not, I expect to," he said.