SB XLIII: What a hoot

Super Bowl week and the beautiful people are heading to town.

Look close. You’ll never know who you might see.

It could be the girls from the Hooters calendar eating inside a Hooters. Say, the one in downtown Tampa.

And, hey? Is that Warren Sapp tailed by an NFL Network camera crew walking through that very same Hooters?

Why, yes. It is the former Buccaneer under tackle. Remember when they used to be called defensive tackles?

Sapp laughed it up with some of the diners than mixed it up with some of the calendar girls.
And that was Sunday night.

Wait until the middle of the week when the party really gets rolling.

I saw Don King outside the media center out in San Diego a few days before the Bucs Super Bowl.

Hang near the hotels in downtown Tampa this week and you will be surprised who run into. Or, who might run into you.

While walking the streets of downtown two days before the last Super Bowl in Tampa, I moved aside so an elderly gentleman could continue his afternoon run.

It was Marv Levy.

I'm feeling Gators

You’re looking live at the stadium known for the moment as Dolphin Stadium in Miami or Miami Gardens. No one really knows for sure.

Kickoff for the BCS title game is more than three hours away and I’m feeling the Gators.
Why? No real reason, other than I think their defense can slow Oklahoma’s offense enough times to let Tim Tebow do his thing.

I’m feeling Tim Tebow, too.

I have a feeling he’s going to turn in a performance tonight that we will remember for a long time. Sort of like Vince Young against Texas.

I’m thinking Florida pulls away late like they did against Alabama in the SEC Championship game. I’m thinking Tebow will take over at some point late in the fourth quarter and prove that he is the best offensive player in college football.

I think the speech he gave after the loss to Ole Mis will go down as one of the best speeches in college football history.

Of course, I also felt the Bills in the Super Bowl. FOUR TIMES!

So, what do I really know?

The weather is nice here.

Let’s play two?

Nope. Just give us a title game for the ages.

Earlier start time doesn't help the Bucs

No one wanted to see the Chargers and Bucs play at 8:15 p.m. Sunday. Big game sure, but we shouldn’t have to wait all day to start a game between one team that is 9-5 (the Bucs) and another that is 6-8 (the Chargers).

Thank goodness for the NFL’s flex scheduling.

Now the Bucs and Chargers kick off at 1 p.m.

And that is actually bad news for the Bucs.

Why?

Good question.

Here’s why.

The Chargers need a win and a loss by the Broncos to set up a winner-take-all game next week for the division title.

The Broncos play at 4 p.m. If they win, the Chargers are out regardless of what the Chargers do against the Bucs.

So, if kickoff were still 8:15 p.m., the Chargers would already now their fate. If the Broncos win, it wouldn’t matter what the Chargers do. Think mail it it.

But now that it is at 1 p.m. start, the Chargers are still playing for a playoff spot. They have something to play for, which means they should give the Bucs a better game than if they were already eliminated.

Not that it should change the way the Bucs approach the game. They need a win to enhance their playoff chances.

But it will change the way the Chargers approach things, and that could mean a tougher afternoon for the Bucs.

Bucs Bryant makes a point

Do your homework, Antonio Bryant said more than once Wednesday when asked about his big season. What he’s doing this year is nothing new to the Bucs receiver, who is heading toward a career year in receptions, yards and touchdowns.

Bryant not only is miffed that reporters, especially those on ESPN, keep referring to the “baggage” he brings to a team, but he is also steamed that nine receivers were picked ahead of him in the 2002 draft.

And Bryant is well aware of what those guys are doing these days. Compare them to Bryant’s season and the answer is not much.

Here is a breakdown of the first 10 receivers drafted in 2002:

Donte Stallworth, 13th pick, 14 catches, 141 yards, 1 TD.

Ashley Lelie, 19th pick, 11 catches, 197 yards, 2 TDs.

Javon Walker, 20th pick, 15 catches, 196 yards, 1 TD.

Jabar Gaffney, 33rd pick, 33 catches, 378 yards, 2TDs.

Josh Reed, 36th pick, 41 catches, 454 yards, 1TD.

Tim Carter, 46th pick, not playing.

Andre Davis, 47th pick, 10 catches, 155 yards, 0 TDs.

Reche Caldwell, 48th pick, not playing.

Antwaan Randle El, 62nd pick, 48 catches, 557 yards, 3TDs.

Antonio Bryant, 63rd pick, 936 yards, 5 TDs.

Smith: NFC special teams player of the month

Bucs returner Clifton Smith was named the NFC’s special teams player of the month for November.

Smith had 11 punt returns for 199 yards (18.1 avg.) and one touchdown. He also registered 16 kickoff returns for 498 yards (31.1 avg.) and one touchdown. Smith’s punt return average of 18.1 yards this season ranks first in the NFL and his 31.1 yard kickoff return average ranks second in the NFL. He is also the only player in the NFL to have a kickoff return for a touchdown and a punt return for a touchdown this season.

Smith was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 9 as he became the second player in team history to return a kickoff for a touchdown with a 97-yard touchdown return at Kansas City (Nov. 2). He finished the game with two punt returns for 27 yards and six kickoff returns for 232 yards and a touchdown. His 97-yard kickoff return was also the longest kickoff return in team history and the 259 total return yards (232 kickoff return yards and 27 punt return yards) set a franchise record for the most return yards in a single game.

Smith had four punt returns for 90 yards, including a touchdown, and five kickoff returns for 142 yards, including a long of 49 yards at Detroit (Nov. 23). With his 70-yard punt return for a touchdown, Smith became the first Buccaneer since 2004 to record a punt return for a touchdown and he became the first player in franchise history to return both a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown.

Smith had five punt returns for 82 yards (16.4 avg.), including a long of 42 yards, and three kickoff returns for 76 yards vs. New Orleans (Nov. 30).

Smith’s honor marks the seventh time in team history that a Buccaneer has been named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month. Kicker Matt Bryant (December 2007), Punter Josh Bidwell (November 2005), Kicker Martin Gramatica (November 1999, October 2000 and December 2002), and returner Karl Williams (December 1996) have previously been honored.

Gruden: Kiffin rumors not a distraction

The reports that Monte Kiffin is heading to the University of Tennessee to join his son, Lane, on the Volunteers coaching staff will not present a distraction to the first-place Bucs, said Bucs coach Jon Gruden on Monday morning.

"A lot of our coaches are sought after every year, and Monte's sought after every year,'' Gruden said during his Monday morning press conference."He should be. I'm not worried about any distractions. We've got a great opportunity ahead of us, and we want to take advantage of it.''

Lane Kiffin is scheduled to be named the Vols coach at a 2 p.m. press conference today. ESPN is reporting Lane will bring his dad with him as the defensive coordinator.

Monte called those rumors “speculation” after Sunday’s win against the Saints, and ESPN has been known to be wrong.

Kiffin is in the first year of a multi-year contract, and the Bucs have never been in the habit of letting coaches out of their contracts to pursue other jobs.

If the rumors are true and Kiffin were to leave, Gruden said he expects Kiffin to finish the season with the Bucs, who are 9-3 and tied for first place in the NFC South with Carolina.

Barber NFC defensive player of week

Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 12, marking the eighth time in his career Barber earned the honor.

Barber intercepted a pair of passes in the Bucs win last Sunday at Detroit, returning one 65 yards for a touchdown. It was his 13th career score. His 11 regular season touchdowns off interceptions is most among active players.

This was the 33rd time a Buc has been named NFC Defensive Player of the Week and the second time this year. LB Derrick Brooks won the award in Week 4.

Bucs postgame notes

Some notes from the Bucs win Sunday at Detroit ...

- After trailing the Lions 17-0 after the first quarter, the Buccaneers scored 21 points of their own in the second quarter, tying for the third-most points scored in a quarter in team history and helping the team to tie for the second largest comeback win in franchise history. It was the first time the Buccaneers had scored 21 points in a quarter since December 17, 2006 when the Buccaneers scored 21 points vs. the Chicago Bears in the fourth quarter. The 17-point comeback win is the largest comeback victory in Bucs history that did not require OT and was the team’s third comeback win of the season. In Week 9 at Kansas City, the Buccaneers launched a 21-point comeback defeating the Chiefs 30-27 in OT, their largest comeback win in franchise history. After trailing 24-3 in the second quarter, the Buccaneers came storming back, outscoring the Chiefs 27-3. The team’s first comeback win of the season was from 10 points down at Chicago (9/21/08) in Week 3 for a 27-24 overtime victory. Tampa Bay had trailed 24-14 in the fourth quarter. Prior to that, the last time Tampa Bay won a game after trailing by 10 or more points in the regular season was on December 12, 1999 against Detroit. The Buccaneers trailed 10-0 before rallying for a 23-16 victory.

MOST POINTS SCORED IN A QUARTER

24, vs. Chicago, 12/22/96 (2nd)

24, vs. Green Bay, 11/22/81 (2nd)

21, 14 times, last at Detroit, 11/23/08 (2nd)



TOP COMEBACK WINS IN TEAM HISTORY
Deficit Opponent Date Score

21 (Trailed 24-3) at KC 11/2/08 W, 30-27 OT

17 (Trailed 17-0) at DET 11/23/08 W, 38-20

17 (Trailed 23-6) vs. CHI 1/2/83 W, 26-23 OT

17 (Trailed 17-0) at BAL 9/9/79 W, 29-26 OT

15 (Trailed 15-0) vs. CHI 9/20/98 W, 27-15

15 (Trailed 21-6) vs. DET 12/26/82 W, 23-21

14 (Trailed 14-0) at SD 11/17/96 W, 25-17

14 (Trailed 14-0) vs. MIN 10/7/84 W, 35-31

14 (Trailed 14-0) at DET 9/16/84 W, 21-17

13 (Trailed 13-0) vs. WAS* 1/15/00 W, 14-13

13 (Trailed 13-0) vs. PHI 10/6/91 W, 14-13
*Playoff Game

- RB Clifton Smith recorded the first punt return for a touchdown of his career on a 70-yard return in the third quarter. With the score, Smith became the first player in Bucs history to return both a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown, with both occurring this season. In Week 9, Smith returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, the longest in team history, sparking a 21-point comeback win for the Buccaneers over the Kansas City Chiefs. He also finished that game with a single game team record 259 total return yards. Today, Smith finished with five kickoff returns for 142 yards (28.4 avg.) and four punt returns for 90 yards (22.5 avg.) and one touchdown for a total of 232 return yards.

Smith’s touchdown today was the first punt return for a touchdown by a Buccaneer since December 19, 2004 when WR Joey Galloway returned a punt 59 yards for a touchdown against New Orleans. He is just the sixth player in franchise history to return a punt for a touchdown and his score marked just the 10th punt return for a touchdown in team history.

MOST PUNT RETURN TOUCHDOWNS IN TEAM HISTORY
Player Years TDs

Karl Williams 1996-03 5

Ronde Barber 1997-present 1

Joey Galloway 2004-present 1

Jacquez Green 1998-01 1

Clifton Smith 2008-present 1

Vernon Turner 1993-94 1

- CB Ronde Barber recorded his first two interceptions of the season, today, giving him a franchise-best 35 for his career. On his second interception, Barber returned the interception 65 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, his 13th career touchdown (including postseason). Barber now has 11 career regular season touchdowns on fumble/interception returns, most among active players and third in NFL history. It was his sixth career multi-interception game, with the last time occurring vs. Philadelphia (10/22/06), both of which were returned for touchdowns.

MOST CAREER TOUCHDOWNS ON FUMBLE/INTERCEPTION RETURNS(ACTIVE PLAYERS)
TDs Player Current Team

11 CB Ronde Barber Tampa Bay

10 S Darren Sharper Minnesota

8 DE Jason Taylor Washington

7 LB Derrick Brooks Tampa Bay

7 CB Dre’ Bly Denver

7 S Mike Brown Chicago

7 CB Ty Law N.Y. Jets

7 CB Charles Woodson Green Bay

MOST CAREER TOUCHDOWNS ON FUMBLE/INTERCEPTION RETURNS All-Time in NFL History

TDs Player

13 Rod Woodson

12 Aeneas Williams

11 Ronde Barber

10 Ken Houston

10 Deion Sanders

10 Darren Sharper

9 Eric Allen

MOST CAREER TOUCHDOWNS BY A DEFENSIVE PLAYER IN TEAM HISTORY (Includes Postseason)
CB Ronde Barber 13

65-yard INT return at Det. (11/23/08)

29-yard INT return vs. Atl. (12/16/07)

41-yard fumble return at Atl. (11/18/07)

66-yard INT return vs. Phil. (10/22/06)

37-yard INT return vs. Phil. (10/22/06)

18-yard fumble return at N.O. (10/10/04)

9-yard fumble return at Wash. (9/12/04)

29-yard INT return vs. Ind. (10/6/03)

92-yard INT return at Phil. (1/19/03)*

36-yard INT return vs. N.O. (12/23/01)

37-yard INT return vs. N.Y. Jets (9/24/00)

24-yard fumble return vs. Chi. (9/10/00)

23-yard punt return at Chi. (11/29/98)

* Postseason



MOST INTERCEPTIONS RETURNED FOR TOUCHDOWNS IN TEAM HISTORY (Includes Postseason)
CB Ronde Barber 8

LB Derrick Brooks 7

- The Buccaneers added their fourth defensive touchdown on the season, tying for the second most in team history (also 1987, 1983 and 1977), when CB Ronde Barber returned a QB Daunte Culpepper pass 65 yards for the score. After scoring a total of two defensive touchdowns in all of 2007, the Bucs defense topped that mark with three defensive scores in the first four weeks this season. It was the most in that span since the 2002 season when the team scored a defensive touchdown in four of the first five games. That season the Buccaneers defense scored in a total of five regular season games and added four more defensive touchdowns in three postseason contests.

- DE/DT Jimmy Wilkerson recorded his third and fourth sacks of the season, giving him a career single-game high two sacks. It is the second week in a row that Wilkerson has recorded at least one sack and marks the first multi-sack game of his career. Prior to this season Wilkerson had one career sack in 72 career games. This season Wilkerson has four sacks, third-best on the team, while seeing action in all 11 games as a reserve.

- RB Warrick Dunn recorded his second touchdown of the season and the 49th of his career on a 13-yard run in the second quarter. With his 28th touchdown as a member of the Buccaneers, Dunn moves into sole possession of sixth place on the Buccaneers all-time touchdown list, surpassing Mark Carrier (27 touchdowns from 1987-92). He also moved into fifth on the Buccaneers all-time receptions list, passing Kevin House (286 from 1980-86) as he now has 290 as a Buccaneer. Dunn finished the afternoon with 14 rushes for 90 yards (6.4 avg.) and a touchdown recording a season long 40-yard run in the third quarter to go with five receptions for 37 yards. Dunn is now eight receptions shy of fourth place in Bucs history for receptions behind Keyshawn Johnson (298 from 2000-03) and one touchdown shy of fifth place in Bucs history for total touchdowns behind Joey Galloway (29 from 2004-present).

- QB Jeff Garcia finished the afternoon 13-of-18 for 165 yards and two touchdowns for a passer rating of 137.5. He moved him into eighth place ahead of Shaun King (4,064 from 1999-03) on the Buccaneers passing list. With 4,223 passing yards as a Buccaneer, he is now 349 yards shy of seventh place on the Bucs all-time passing yardage list behind Brian Griese (4,572 from 2004-05, 2008-present).

- WR Ike Hilliard recorded his team-leading fourth touchdown reception of the year on a 36-yard pass from QB Jeff Garcia in the second quarter. It was Hilliard’s 35th career touchdown reception and his longest reception of the season.

- For the second consecutive week, TE Jerramy Stevens paced the tight end position with starter Alex Smith out due to injury. In the second quarter, Stevens caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from QB Jeff Garcia. It was Stevens’ second touchdown of the season and the 21st of his career.

-DE Gaines Adams recorded his team-leading fifth sack of the season in the second quarter, giving him 11 sacks for his career. In the fourth quarter DE Greg White recorded a sack. He now has 4.5 sacks this season, second-most on the team, and 11.5 sacks in his career.

- K Matt Bryant recorded his second-longest field goal of the season when he connected on a 48-yard attempt in the fourth quarter. His season long 49-yard field goal came in Week 6 vs. Carolina (10/12/08).

Bucs Graham out for season

It is official: Bucs running back Earnest Graham is out for the season with a right ankle injury suffered during his first carry in last Sunday’s win against Minnesota. He was placed on the Injured Reserve list Wednesday.

Graham started all 10 games for the Bucs and led the team in rushing (563 yards) and touchdowns (four). His 23 receptions for 174 yards ranked him fifth on the team.

The injury came one year after Graham established himself as the feel-good story of the Bucs 2007 season. He was the special teams lifer who took advantage of playing time created by injuries to Cadillac Williams and Michael Pittman and proved he could be a feature back in the NFL.

Now, Graham’s injury opens the door for Williams’ return.

The Bucs also placed linebacker Geno Hayes on the IR on Wednesday. Hayes injured his knee covering a kickoff late in last Sunday’s win.

In related news, the Bucs signed running back Noah Herron and linebacker Matt McCoy on Wednesday.

Herron has appeared in 23 games in four NFL seasons. He has 273 yards and three touchdowns on 85 carries and has caught 29 passes for 211 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

McCoy played three games for the Bucs earlier this season before being released Oct. 18.

Lynch on Lynch

Thought you might be interested in reading the transcript from John Lunch's Q&A during his press conference Monday when the former Buc announced his retirement.

(On RB Barry Sanders)
“He was the best player that I ever played against. I say that and I think that the quarterback position, they can control the game so when you play against [Joe] Montana and [John] Elway and all that but just in terms of toughness of player I was that eighth guy in the box and that was always a good thing except when you played Barry because that was your guy. He would look you up and find out where you were.
"The longer that I played against him I started to embrace him and enjoy it. Once I started doing that the better it was. He was unbelievable. You had to play team defense against, and you had to trust your buddies. I am in a number of car commercials and that is something that normally I wouldn’t be proud of. One of the proudest moments of my career was, I got a letter from Barry when he went into the Hall Of Fame and he invited me to his party. I didn’t know Barry, I had been to one Pro Bowl with him, he simply wrote in the letter, I always respected the way you played and I would like you to be there and I was able to be there, so that was a big deal.”

(On be eligible to be elected to the Hall-Of-Fame with Warren Sapp)
“If that ever were to happen, it would be incredibly humbling. My thoughts on that, Herm Edwards use to say, ‘every time you go on that field, autograph your performance.’ I tried to do that every time I stepped on the field and if people see me worthy of that someday, I would be extremely humbled. But, I did my job and we will see how that goes. But that class, those are some great friends and I hadn’t heard that. I obviously knew all those guys were retired, but I hadn’t thought about that so that is pretty cool.”

(On going into the media)
“I am trying to shift focus there and call it like I see it. This has been a great opportunity, I had some opportunities right when I left the Patriots, but I really wanted a year at home to just kind of hang out and be at home and kind of just let things come. I’ve been humbled with all the nice offers and what not but this Fox thing turned out perfect. They said that they use to send guys over to Europe but they don’t have that any more, so if we get a game would you be interested. This is a tryout to see if they like me and a tryout for me to see if it something I like. We will see. It’s unbelievable, I watch games in a different light now, I am listening to them. I never have listened to them, but now I am listening to them, seeing what they are saying and how they are saying it. I am looking forward to it. I love the game and I think it gives me an opportunity to stay around the game. I am very excited for it.”

(On when he knew it was time to retire)
“I think you are right, I probably should have listened to my heart because my heart was telling me it was time to be done, but my competitiveness was saying do one more year, get an opportunity to win a championship, give it all you got for one last year. I have to tell you, I try to live in the moment a lot, but I knew the Super Bowl was down here in Tampa and I said, ‘boy if I could ever just do that, what a way to end a career, and I could announce it down there.’ I tried to stick it out. One of the coolest things of my career, New England brought me in there, like they do, they utilize veteran players so well, and they wanted to play me at some linebacker and various ways to use me. After being there a week, coach Belichick said ‘you know the problem with you is your best position is the one you played fifteen years at and been to nine pro bowls at, safety and we don’t need any safeties.’
"So, I kind of knew that things weren’t going to work out. We had some real honest conversations. We went to play the New York Giants, the last preseason game, and Coach Belichick called me in there and told me he was going to play me like the starters. He was going to give me a series. I said, ‘coach, if you would, I know you are trying to prepare for a season, but I would like to play the entire game,’ and he looked at me and said ‘alright, you got it.’
"I am sure if you look at the media reviews, there were 70,000 people, but I am telling you there weren’t more than 30,000 at the start and at the beginning of that fourth quarter there were maybe 10,000 people in the stands and I don’t think I have ever had so much fun playing football.
"We had a goal line stand, I made three tackles and I was out there with rookie free agents and I had more fun playing football that day. I played the first real good football I had played that preseason because I just let it go. I had so much fun and I remember walking off that field thinking if that was the last time it was all right and that was an awesome experience.”

(On if he has any desire to get into coaching)
“There would be a desire to get into coaching; I know I would love it. But, Mike Tomlin sent me a text today saying that if I was thinking about getting into coaching to call him so he could talk me out of it. He said to spend time with my family and I am really looking forward to doing that. Maybe some day. I am coaching little league, the Tigers here and we are having a lot of fun doing that. I am looking forward to coaching some soccer and things like that.”

(On what this day means to him)
“It is awesome. I keep saying it, but I have been so blessed and have so many people that are so special to me and to have them make special efforts to be here, see a lot of old faces that I haven’t seen for a while is just awesome. As I thought about what I wanted to say, of course you get nostalgic, but really I wanted it to be about what this game has meant to me and why it has been so special to me. That is kind of what I feel on this day. I really feel like it is the end of one phase, but again, it is just starting is so many things. I am looking forward to it.”

(On being able to spend time with his family)
“It has been good. I talked to Linda early on and she said do you miss it, and I said of course I miss it, she said you will miss it 10 years from now. I wish I could play forever but you can’t. I always told myself that as long as it was in heart, I would continue. As I said, last season I started having some feelings that maybe it was time and as I said I don’t have any regrets but you always have to listen to your heart and it was time and I’m happy.”

(On what made the group in 2002 the right group)
“I think first of all, that belief that I talked about. It was hard to believe because they had lost for a long time and it was a way of doing things that it just seemed no matter what we did, some things wouldn’t pan out. You had those feeling at times that here we go again. We needed to change that culture and we did.
"We obviously drafted great players with great talent but I think it was much more than that; it was a mind set, a mental toughness that we kind of acquired. Derrick [Brooks] and Ronde [Barber] will get a great chuckle out of this, but I remember some of the old days when we use to play ‘Buc Ball’, and maybe lose 9-6 and Tony Dungy would come in there, in front of the team and say ‘defense we have to play better. I don’t know how do you give nine points to that team. Offense, great job way to control the clock, you gave us a chance to win.’
"Derrick and I, that is how we were raised and I tell you, things happen for a reason and that served me so well for the rest of my career because you expect it. Our job was to have the other team score less points than us and finally I said, you know what, he is right. It was an awesome group of guys and you talk about that core that changed a lot of attitudes around here and I will never forget that.”

Bucs Graham could be out for season

Earnest Graham’s first carry in Sunday’s win against Minnesota might be his last of the season.
The Bucs running back left the game with a leg injury that appears to be an ankle sprain.

“Earnest Graham’s ankle looks to be a serious injury. His status for the rest of the season is very much in question right now,” Bucs coach Jon Gruden said Monday morning. “I don’t have the exact medical terms. I would say it doesn’t look like he’s going to be able play any time soon. We’ll get final results here in next couple hours.”

Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks referred to Graham’s injury as an ankle sprain when talking about how the team will miss Graham in the coming weeks.

With Graham down and Michael Bennett no longer with the team, the Bucs will press Cadillac Williams into service a bit sooner than they anticipated.

“We’ll see what happens,” Gruden said “We’ve got a very good back here in Warrick Dunn. He got a lot of yards yesterday from scrimmage. We’ll see how it goes. Clifton (Smith) has to do a better job taking care of the ball. All those backs will have to step up. It was good to have (fullback B.J.) Askew back. (We) may have to have him carry the ball also.”

Buc Ball 19, Vikings 13

This was the kind of game Chris Hovan remembered from his days playing for the Minnesota Vikings. Bring a pretty good offense to Tampa Bay and watch it get stepped on by the Buccaneers defense.

It happened Sunday in the Bucs 19-13 win against the Vikings.

Hovan, the defensive tackle who began his career with the Vikings and is now a key figure on the Bucs defensive line, played a big role in the Bucs win, getting his first sack of the season and providing the first line of defense as the Bucs held Adrian Peterson to just 85 rushing yards.

That’s “just” because Peterson, who leads the NFL in rushing, entered the game averaging 140 yards during his previous four games and 112 for the season.

The Bucs defense also had a season-high five sacks.

The Bucs had one touchdown drive and used four field goals from Matt Bryant to improve to 7-3 and keep pace with first-place Carolina (8-2) in the NFC South.

“It’s Buc Ball,” Hovan said. “I remember when I used to come down here early in my career and play against the Bucs, same formula for winning. Buc Ball: play great defense, score (19) points, and get a win.”

Allen: Bucs never interested in Favre. What?

Bucs general manager Bruce Allen told the assembled members of the media Thursday morning that the Bucs never had any interest in trading for Brett Favre and denied the reports that said the Bucs made an offer for the Packers quarterback, who was traded to the New York Jets late Wednesday night.

Allen said he knew the Packers had to trade Favre but also knew they would never do so to another NFC team.

When asked why he or coach Jon Gruden never came out and put an end to the speculation that dominated nearly the first two weeks of Bucs camp at Disney’s Wide World of Sports, Allen said, “I can’t control the speculation. It was rumor on top of rumor.”

Except one of those rumors of Favre being interested in the Bucs and of Favre talking with Gruden came from a source very close to the situation – Brett Favre.

Believe what you want.

Garcia: I am the quarterback

Jeff Garcia is the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

If you don’t believe me, just ask Garcia, which we did Monday morning after his first workout with the team this camp.

Garcia said six times that he is the starting quarterback and once that he is the guy.

Kind of feel bad for Garcia. After all, he did lead the Bucs to the division title last season and did finish the year at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

He can’t get his contract reworked, and he can’t escape the shadow Brett Favre’s situation has thrown over Bucs camp.

But the NFL is a business, which is why Garcia is asking to have his contract reworked, and teams spend everyday looking for ways to upgrade every position.

If the Bucs can upgrade at quarterback, they will.

If that upgrade includes Favre, it will, providing the Bucs can work out a trade with the Packers.

Until then, Garcia is the Bucs starting quarterback.

Just ask him. He’ll tell you.

'Football is played on a gridiron ...'

We listened to George Carlin’s album “Class Clown” in my basement with the volume turned down very low, and we laughed at the seven dirty words you couldn’t say on TV, even though we didn’t know what some of the words meant.

Ah, yes, growing up in the 1970s.

Mom was upstairs getting dinner ready and couldn’t figure out what the heck was so funny. She just heard my friends and I break into periods of uncontrollable laughter.

Silence. Laughter. Silence. Laughter. Silence. Laughter.

There were two types of kids in my Catholic grammar school: those who listened to George Carlin records in their basement with the sound turned down and those who didn’t.

And those who did could recite the seven dirty words you can’t say on TV.

Those who didn’t have probably gone to bigger and better things than those of us who did, but, I’m sure, without have half the fun.

Carlin, who died Sunday, is gone having helped changed comedy for the better. He forced comedians to stray from the traditional standup of a series of jokes about your wife or your mother-in-law to a series of observations, some well-thought, about life.

I’m at that point in my life where dirty words no longer automatically make me laugh. I now want an effort from my comedians, and Carlin gave us effort.

Sometimes, it seemed like no effort at all, just common sense, and we were left with a sense of “Why didn’t I think of that?”

I’ll leave you with one of my favorites from King George and one of his cleaner routines.

Enjoy.

Baseball and Football

Baseball is different from any other sport, very different. For instance, in most sports you score points or goals; in baseball you score runs. In most sports the ball, or object, is put in play by the offensive team; in baseball the defensive team puts the ball in play, and only the defense is allowed to touch the ball. In fact, in baseball if an offensive player touches the ball intentionally, he's out; sometimes unintentionally, he's out.

Also: in football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and all sports played with a ball, you score with the ball and in baseball the ball prevents you from scoring.

In most sports the team is run by a coach; in baseball the team is run by a manager. And only in baseball does the manager or coach wear the same clothing the players do. If you'd ever seen John Madden in his Oakland Raiders uniform, you'd know the reason for this custom.

Now, I've mentioned football. Baseball & football are the two most popular spectator sports in this country. And as such, it seems they ought to be able to tell us something about ourselves and our values.

I enjoy comparing baseball and football:

Baseball is a nineteenth-century pastoral game. Football is a twentieth-century technological struggle.

Baseball is played on a diamond, in a park. The baseball park! Football is played on a gridiron, in a stadium, sometimes called Soldier Field or War Memorial Stadium.

Baseball begins in the spring, the season of new life. Football begins in the fall, when everything's dying.

In football you wear a helmet.In baseball you wear a cap.

Football is concerned with downs - what down is it?Baseball is concerned with ups - who's up?
In football you receive a penalty.In baseball you make an error.

In football the specialist comes in to kick. In baseball the specialist comes in to relieve somebody.

Football has hitting, clipping, spearing, piling on, personal fouls, late hitting and unnecessary roughness.Baseball has the sacrifice.

Football is played in any kind of weather: rain, snow, sleet, hail, fog... In baseball, if it rains, we don't go out to play.

Baseball has the seventh inning stretch. Football has the two minute warning.

Baseball has no time limit: we don't know when it's gonna end - might have extra innings.Football is rigidly timed, and it will end even if we've got to go to sudden death.

In baseball, during the game, in the stands, there's kind of a picnic feeling; emotions may run high or low, but there's not too much unpleasantness. In football, during the game in the stands, you can be sure that at least twenty-seven times you're capable of taking the life of a fellow human being.

And finally, the objectives of the two games are completely different:

In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.

In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! - I hope I'll be safe at home!

One man’s opinion of the coolest helmets

I’ve always liked the Bucs old helmets.

Orange was my favorite color when I was a kid, and I’m still partial to it now.

The Bucco Bruce logo was unique and bit on the cool side. What wasn’t to like? OK, the play of the guys wearing those helmets.

But I don’t think the old uniforms were the cause of the Bucs failures. I think it was the old players.

Anyway …

The Bucs old helmet is today’s topic because it came in second in Matthew J. Darnell’s ranking of the 11 coolest football helmets in pro football history. Here is a link to his blog:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Review-The-11-Coolest-Helmets-in-Pro-Football-H?urn=nfl,86651

Some of the reader comments are interesting, like those pointing to the omission of the Raiders and Vikings.

But ranking the helmets of pro football teams – and not just the NFL but any helmet of any pro league – is not an easy task, and I applaud Matthew for his effort.

Besides, I would probably come up with similar teams at the top of my list.

I might go with the Colts first, because I don’t think anything says pro football more than Johnny U looking downfield with the blue horseshoe on the sea of white.

The Packers is pretty cool, too. And so is the Chiefs helmet. And the old Patriots.
Outside of the Seahawks and Browns, I don’t think there is a bad helmet in the NFL. I’m not a big fan of the Rams current helmets. Or the Panthers.

Check out the Iowa Barnstorms of the Arena Football League. Now that’s a good look.

It's a draft, not a marathon

The professional sports leagues are criticized for not being fan-friendly, which, in a lot of cases they are not. Witness the world champion Red Sox opening their season in Japan and not Boston.

Money speaks louder than us.

But the NFL cut us all some slack by shaving time off this weekend’s draft, and for that I say, “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

Giving 15 minutes for each selection, last year’s first round went a record 6 hours, 8 minutes.

Now, for the hardcore, mock-draft-publishing fan, that’s probably three hours too short. But for the rest of us, those who have a life, that’s way too long.

Come on, 6 hours and 8 minutes of Chris Berman? What did we do wrong?

Apparently that was way too long for the NFL execs, too, because they shortened the first round to 10 minutes per pick and cut the second round from 10 minutes to 7. The final five rounds will be 5 minutes per pick.

Of course, they pushed the start back to 3 p.m., which means the draft will run well into the evening, which still stinks if your job is to cover it, but hey, we’ll take the shorter rounds and be thankful for that small gift from the NFL gods.

Now, what can they do about Mel Kiper’s hair?

Kiper: Bradenton represents in first round of draft

Mel Kiper, Jr., speaks, so let us listen.

ESPN’s draft guru reveled his mock draft Monday and it looks pretty good for a pair of Bradenton cornerbacks.

Kiper has Lakewood Ranch High product Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie going 10th overall to the New Orleans Saints and former Southeast High standout Mike Jenkins going 20th to the Bucs.

It will be interesting if that holds true.

Players from Manatee County have been drafted before, even as high as the first round. Peter Warrick of Southeast was the fourth overall pick in 2000, going to Cincinnati.

But we’ve never had two go in the first round, and Kiper said two weeks ago on a conference call that both are certain first rounders.

The Bucs could use a cornerback, so it would be great if they took Jenkins or Cromartie.

The draft is April 26 and 27.

Stay tuned.

Tiki and Ronde to speak at USF

If you like your football players thoughtful, insightful and witty than you may want to make that drive up Interstate 75 to the University of South Florida on April 10 to hear what Ronde and Tiki Barber have to say.

The two all-pro twins will speak at the USF Sun Dome at 7 p.m. as part of the University Lecture Series.

Student tickets are free with a valid USF ID and are provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Faculty, staff and alumni can purchase tickets for $3. Admission for the eneral public is $8.

Tiki and Ronde have volunteered their time on a number of issues, including literacy. They have served as national co-captains of the National Education Associations "Read Across America" literacy celebration and they have written three successful children's books: By My Brothers' Side, Teammates and Game Day.

Those interested can view more information at http://uls.usf.edu or call (813) 974-6107.

Bucs in the middle of the pack?

Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports ranked all 32 NFL teams and placed Tampa Bay just a notch above the middle, ranking the Bucs 15th.
Here’s what he had to say about the defending NFC South champs:

“A lot of money was spent in the offseason on a lot of aging veterans who appear to be on the downside of their careers. But does anyone really expect guys like Warrick Dunn, Marques Douglas and Jeff Faine to turn this into an NFC powerhouse?”

Indianapolis, New England and Dallas are the top three teams in the league, according to Robinson.
He ranked New Orleans 12, Carolina 26 and Atlanta dead last.
Click here http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=cr-rankings032408&prov=yhoo&type=lgns to view all of Robinson’s rankings.