A trip to Tampa - November 2001 Firstly I would like to thank Phil Jones through TANY for the excellent tickets we had at RJS for the Bears game. This is the second time I have had reason to thank Phil recently as it was against him that I secured my first win in the FFL! I've managed to see the last three games either on TV or live, very much with mixed feelings. We were comfortable against the Lions before having to play our "Get Out of Jail Free" card, frustrating against the Bears and yet superb in St Louis. After throwing away the game at Green Bay, beating Detroit was a must and after Karl Williams had redeemed himself galloping splendidly for an 84 yard score we should not have been troubled. Instead having thrown away a ten point lead, we needed a two minute drill and late FG to sneak in. I bet the most relieved man was Reidel Anthony who dropped a simple 5 yard pass in the end zone during the first quarter with no defender in sight. Add to that the botched 22 yd FG attempt on the next play and the game was still scoreless. For a neutral, the game against the Bears was a cracker. For a Bucs fan it was another defeat that shouldn't have been. It was the first game I'd seen under lights and the atmosphere was amazing. When the Bucs came back at the end, the noise was so loud it was like being in a dome. Chicago have surprised many this year and Miller did well after sustaining a lot of early pressure. However, we went AWOL a couple of times in a disastrous third quarter and left ourselves too much to do. The result was summed up by the scoring - two one yard runs for us against their TD passes of 28,44 & 66 yards. Throw in five fumbles and the OL frailties resurfacing - seven more sacks of our QB, and it's not hard to see where we lost it. Brad Johnson is playing really well. Against the Bears he completed 40 passes. Playing behind an unconvincing offensive line he has to avoid the inevitable pass rush, before attempting to find the one legitimate target he has to throw to. Without Jacquez Green and Karl Williams, he only has Anthony to throw to as an alternative, who possesses no threat whatsoever. Take out our pass catching duo in the backfield and all you are left with is number nineteen. I have never been a fan of his, but do respect him for the job he is currently doing. He is the Bucs receiving corps, he has been playing banged up through the number of hits he has taken and has played within our system accumulating the yards, but with no TDs to show for it. Imagine the trash talk he gets off the opposition defenses about his lack of a score. When we did finally score our touchdowns we were so close we couldn't miss - indeed the two point conversion was longer yardage than our TDs. In fact probably the best catch of the afternoon was made by Gary Botteley, when the pirate ship fired a hail Mary into the expectant throngs below. As the projectile fell towards the excited clutch of would-be receivers, he rose like a salmon and it disappeared straight down the throat of the Leicestershire leaper. It proved to be a significantly better effort than that of one particular Bucs fan on the back row who was a little the worse for wear. As the ship dispatched another missile into the masses, he flung himself incoherently with no great style or grace and no little respect whatsoever for his beer, towards the falling packet and failed miserably - but not before landing untidily, draped over the four rows in front of him and emptying the entire contents of his glass over the unimpressed Floridian sitting two seats away from me. I think he'd tried to spike his prize before he caught it. We all saw St Louis and a fabulous result. ABC really picked up on another player busting a gut, namely Sapp. His WWF body slam of Marshall Faulk was incredible. We all saw him snarling and pumped against the Rams eager to get involved, but on every play he is doubled-teamed as a minimum, sometimes tripled in his attempts to get at the QB. Maybe his ambitious declaration to break the sack record is blowing up in his face, but it does pose the question that if he is getting so much attention from the opposition line, where is the free man? If we have a man over, he should be getting a result while Warren toils. That win leaves us 5-5 with two winnable games to follow against Cincinnati and Detroit - the so-called Big Cats. Add to that three home games out of the last four and a 10-6 record along with a play-off berth should be possible, particularly if the team plays like it did in St Louis. Optimistic or realistic? I still believe we can hit 10-6 and give Dungy the chance to bring home the bowl. If we are to dispense with his services at the end of the season ABC certainly felt he would be the most in-demand coaching appointment of the summer. Whatever happens we still have our problems and they are still in the same two places - wide receiver and offensive line. We have no depth at WR and the OL has been a big disappointment this year. Our first round pick is proving to be rather an enigma. Maybe it's because he's going to be compared to Paul Gruber from day one, but Tony Dungy always seems to have run a steady and happy ship (apart from #19 and #99s opinions of each other). Most rookies struggle to adjust in their first season but he seems to be doing himself no favours with his bad attitude. I read some comments on holiday that were then included in TANY regarding his ego and how he demands respect from the veterans - Kenyatta, you earn respect. One report mentioned an altercation with Sapp, but that in itself would probably surprise no-one, although another described an incident with probably the most highly respected Buc, John Lynch. Now refusing to take advice is one thing, but distancing himself from his colleagues and playing the superstar when he has so far achieved f*** all is not on. He needs sorting out and quick. John Davies December 2001