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Almost instantly, Bucs shrug off loss in finale

Playoff rematch vs. Eagles occupies optimistic team.

By RICK STROUD, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 8, 2002

TAMPA -- Some mornings after a tough loss, Bucs safety John Lynch liked to pull the covers over his head.

Monday, he didn't need to look at the alarm clock to know what time it was.

"I woke up this morning and said, "Hey, it's playoff time,' " Lynch said. "I don't think we can lose sight of the fact that, hey, we're a good football team. We're a hot team. We've won five of seven, it should've been six of seven, but we're on a roll right now."

If there were lingering effects from the Bucs' 17-14 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday night, they weren't very apparent.

The somber postgame locker room was replaced by the excitement of the postseason's arrival and the realization that only 12 teams still will be going to work this week.

"It's easy to put it past you," linebacker Derrick Brooks said. "We have to do it. You realize you're one of 12 teams that are still in there. There are 19 other teams wishing they were in your position. That's how you do it from a numbers standpoint. And then you go out and practice. Now you do it with a little more of a sense of urgency.

If the Bucs needed to boost their confidence after Sunday's loss, they needed only to look at the first quarter, when their first unit essentially held a 103-5 advantage in total yards.

Granted, the Eagles allowed quarterback Donovan McNabb to hand off twice before leaving the game, and the starting offensive line took the night off.

But there was no letdown for the Bucs from their performances in wins over New Orleans and Baltimore.

"We watched the film, we took the good from it and got the disappointment out of our system," Lynch said. "We need to feel positive, we need to feel confident because we have a tremendous opportunity that I think we're going to take advantage of.

"I think defensively, we're playing as well as we have in a long, long time. So we should feel confident. We should feel confident going up there."

Bucs receiver Keyshawn Johnson, one of several starters not in uniform Sunday, said he knew it would be tough for the team to build on its momentum once it clinched the NFC's sixth seed.

"I think from a momentum standpoint, that was probably lost once we made the playoffs and knew that this was a game we wanted to win, not one we had to win," Johnson said. "At that point, the momentum was probably lost. You walk onto the field and it just doesn't feel good."

The Bucs led 13-3 until Eagles third-string quarterback A.J. Feeley tossed two fourth-quarter touchdowns to Dameane Douglas. A fumbled kickoff by Karl Williams set up the winning score.

"We can't let five minutes play on our minds because we're rolling right now," Lynch said.

In a strange way, Sunday's loss might strengthen the Bucs' resolve when they meet Philadelphia in Saturday's wild-card game.

Not only will the Bucs be trying to avenge last season's 21-3 playoff defeat at Veterans Stadium, they would like to put to rest speculation that coach Tony Dungy won't return.

The Bucs on Monday were without Dungy, who attended the funeral of his mother, Cleomae, who died Thursday.

"There's plenty of motivating factors here," cornerback Ronde Barber said. "You could reduce it to everybody wants to play for Tony. We know it's going to be a tough road. We're looking at four road games in four hostile environments. You can't play them all at once."

-- Times staff writer Roger Mills contributed to this report.

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