Dunn wears the 13th game well Ernest Hooper, The St.Petersburg Times, published 1 December 1997 For Warrick Dunn, a gifted but diminutive runner, all the questions about his physical capabilities have been answered in his mind. And with 120 yards against the New York Giants Sunday, he hopes the mental questions he has had to face since his last 100-yard effort, on Oct. 5, also can be put to rest. "That rookie year, you go through a point where you hit the wall where mentally you're fatigued," Dunn said. "I think I'm past that now. I've had a few good weeks of practice and I've been due for a big game and today was a big game. I hit the wall a few weeks ago. Mentally, I was just gone but I was able to do some things offensively, make some plays. I haven't had the big game like everyone has wanted me to, but I haven't hurt the team." Dunn did hurt the Giants, particularly in the second half when he rushed for 90 yards on 16 carries, including 49 yards in the fourth quarter. Though he left in the third quarter with a strained calf, talk of the 5-foot-8, 178-pound Dunn not being tough enough seems misguided. Dunn got stronger as the Giants wore down. Many of Dunn's runs were physical. He broke tackles and carried defenders. He cracked through the Giants line for runs of 4, 9 and 17 yards on a crucial fourth-quarter touchdown drive. The 17-yard jaunt gave the Bucs first and goal from the 1-yard line. "I guess over the last few weeks, there's been a lot of criticism - `This guy's worn out, this guy can't do this or that,' " Dunn said. "That's not it at all. I just haven't had the opportunity. Today I got a few opportunities." Dunn had 437 rushing yards after six games, but since his 125 yards at Green Bay he had managed only 181 yards on 64 carries. Dunn credited his resurgence to the offensive line's blocking and a renewed attitude. "It's been tough on me," Dunn said. "I just had to be patient. I think I got away from playing my game and I stopped having fun. Today I just wanted to come out and have fun." Dunn didn't come out running, but he did come with a big 53-yard, second-quarter reception that set up the Bucs' first touchdown. The Giants zoned blitz and New York defensive end Michael Strahan ended up hopelessly trying to cover Dunn. "He hits it up in there," Giants coach Jim Fassel said of Dunn. "For his size he runs extremely hard." Fassel's assessment was not news to Tony Dungy, who has held Dunn in high esteem even before the Bucs made him the 12th pick of the NFL draft. While others saw a small "scatback," Dungy saw someone who could run inside and outside. Sunday the game plan was to run Dunn and fullback Mike Alstott inside, a ploy used by Tennessee running back Eddie George, who rushed for 122 yards against New York Nov. 9. "We wanted to run inside against them and we saw Eddie George do that," Dungy said. "We felt we could do that if we made some holes. Warrick can make plays and Warrick can make yards when we can make holes for him. We did that today and he showed what he was all about. We were never concerned about him wearing down." Another theory Dunn doesn't necessarily accept is that he is better on artificial turf than on natural grass. Though three of his four 100-yard games have been on turf, he believes the surface doesn't matter. "It matters what the offensive line does," he said. "That's going to dictate where we go offensively. I think all the guys wanted to establish themselves and didn't want the mistakes to fall on them. They wanted the mistakes to be on the other guys. Today, as a team, as a unit, they just played well."