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© St. Petersburg Times, published January 3, 2002
TAMPA -- The Bucs had six players make the Pro Bowl, and none was a surprise.
But defensive end Simeon Rice, who leads the team with 11 sacks and is tops among linemen on the Bucs with 61 tackles, wasn't among them.
Rice, who has blossomed in the final weeks of the season, accepts that his late charge (nine sacks in the past seven games) may have been missed by many fans, players and coaches. But that doesn't curtail his disappointment.
"It is what it is, and it's been this way for me basically every year," Rice said. "I always get overlooked. I don't know what more I have to do."
No one can argue with Giants defensive end Michael Strahan's Pro Bowl nomination, considering his 21 1/2 sacks lead the league and are one short of breaking Mark Gastineau's NFL record set in 1984.
But Rice has numbers comparable, if not better, than the other two Pro Bowl defensive ends, Philadelphia's Hugh Douglas (9 1/2 sacks, 41 tackles) and Detroit's Robert Porcher (11 sacks, 49 tackles).
"I had 16 1/2 sacks one year and didn't get picked, so it's nothing new," Rice said. "It's a frustrating situation. You have to look at it as a situation of hype. I'm not one to solicit myself, to sell myself. I just play and let everything else fall into place."
MORE PRO BOWL ISSUES: Left guard Randall McDaniel has been something of a Pro Bowl institution, having played in 12 straight. But one of the game's most impressive streaks came to an end when McDaniel, 37, did not make the roster.
McDaniel would not talk about his streak coming to an end, but coach Tony Dungy said it is no reflection on the veteran's play.
"It's the end of a streak," Dungy said. "It doesn't mean he's not playing as well as he's done before. It just means that he didn't get voted in. Randall's played well for us, he's done everything that we've wanted him to do. But again, I don't know what we have to do to make it to the Pro Bowl."
Center Jeff Christy, who has been to three Pro Bowls playing next to McDaniel, said it didn't come as a surprise.
"We knew we had a down year as an offense and that affects everyone," Christy said. "We understand that we have no one to blame but ourselves. If we had played better we would have made it."
WEEKLY HONORS: Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Brooks and backup tight end Todd Yoder won NFL player of the week awards for defense and special teams, respectively.
Brooks, who had a late-game tackle on Ravens tight end Shannon Sharpe Saturday to force a punt, finished with 20 tackles, two passes defensed and a 53-yard interception return to the 1. Brooks leads the Bucs with 165 tackles.
Yoder, a second-year player out of Vanderbilt, blocked a Kyle Richardson punt in the second quarter and drew a holding penalty on another Ravens punt.
"It means a lot to me to be able to work that hard and to be able to make a play and help us win the game," Yoder said. "That's where I get most of my plays, on special teams, it's where I get a chance to make an impact for the club and it's where I really have been working hard."
SPEAKING OF OVERLOOKED: Lost in the shuffle of Saturday's playoff-securing win was the effort of starting free safety Dexter Jackson, who had seven tackles and two sacks.
"My number got called and that's really the difference," Jackson said. "I played pretty well in Green Bay, but we won against the Ravens. That's the difference. I really didn't think about it at the time, but it dawned on me the next day that I had a pretty good game. But the funny thing is, the thing I remember most was the one play when I let (Terry Allen) get away on one run. I had him and he made a move. That's what you remember from games, the bad plays."