Bucs enter rematch better prepared

Weeks after close call, Tampa Bay hosts Carolina rested, healthy, coming off productive bye.

By RICK STROUD, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published November 12, 2002

TAMPA -- Sprawled across the visitor's locker room at Ericsson Stadium two weeks ago with cracked ribs and a flu virus, Brad Johnson managed to steal a glimpse on television of the Bucs' 12-9 win over Carolina.

"From the floor, I saw a little bit of it. (Rob Johnson) did, too," Brad Johnson said, joking about the six sacks suffered by the Bucs' No. 2 quarterback that day. "But you could tell, those guys came in and it was a fight."

His vantage point will be a little better Sunday, but Brad Johnson is as wary of winding up in the prone position under the Panthers' relentless rush.

That's why he believes that between coming off a bye, reviewing tape of the Panthers' 34-24 loss to the Saints on Sunday and having the first meeting fresh on their minds, the Bucs should be better prepared to face Carolina at Raymond James Stadium.

"I knew I wasn't going to play that week, so I took a lot of notes," Johnson said. "Probably more notes that week than when I play this week. And I think it's coming back to us. The extra couple of days of work will help us this particular game. And we're going to need it. They are very, very tenacious up front."

The Bucs, who failed to score a touchdown against Carolina, should get a lift from the returns of their starting quarterback, receiver Keenan McCardell and guard Kerry Jenkins. McCardell missed the past two games with a fractured scapula and Jenkins has not played since breaking his left orbital bone at Carolina Oct. 27. But the player who could have the biggest impact is Brad Johnson, who finally is healthy and coming off a career-best five-touchdown performance against Minnesota on Nov. 3.

"Our team is used to Brad Johnson; he's a real huge contributor here to all the good things we've done," coach Jon Gruden said.

With the return of Carolina starting quarterback Rodney Peete, the Panthers may play like a different team as well. Peete led Carolina to a 3-3 start before being sidelined by a knee sprain. He figures to fare better against the Bucs defense than rookie Randy Fasani, who was pressured into completing 5 of 18 passes for 46 yards. Fasani also was sacked three times, knocked down five others and hit 12 times, and he threw three interceptions.

"(Peete) is a good player. I've known at two different stops in my career," Gruden said. "He has a very good passing arm, he understands their system and he's a tough guy in the pocket. They're a different team, there's no question about it, with a Rodney Peete and a healthy (receiver) Muhsin Muhammad.

"He's got a strong arm and a lot of courage to throw the ball in tight areas. He's got some big-play receivers. He's going to test the secondary, I can guarantee that."

But the biggest test for the Bucs will be blocking rookie defensive end Julius Peppers and tackle Kris Jenkins. Both wreaked havoc with the Bucs offensive line in what might have been its worst performance of the season.

"I think we ran the ball against Carolina, but because of lack of execution we didn't get to run the ball that much," center Jeff Christy said. "Up there we went plus-8, then minus-4, plus-4, then minus-1. That's just not consistent. At times we ran it well, at times we didn't look like we knew what we were doing.

"Then in the pass rush, they ran some line stunts and were getting off the ball pretty good. We simply weren't on our game. We have to learn from it. We can't go one on one on every snap. We have to be on our assignments, and if I make a call, we have to live with the call and block the call."

According to Gruden, the best way to slow the Panthers pass rush is to put your offense into position to convert on third down.

"You have to have good success on the early downs, in my opinion. You get behind in the down and distance, you're in for a long day against this team," Gruden said. "They're very talented. They've got a lot of schemes, they use a lot of different looks in their nickel package and in their base package to generate pressure. But I think that's the key, success on first and second down."

Gruden is 4-0 after the bye week, his team should be rejuvenated and Carolina is on a six-game losing streak. Playing the Panthers for the second time in three weeks could be an advantage for Tampa Bay.

"In some ways it can help, in some ways it can hurt you a little bit," Gruden said. "Do you repeat some of the things you did well? Do you sugar it up a little bit? You've got to think about some of those things. But nothing ever stays the same. You never know how the game is going to go.

"We do have some familiarity, not only with their scheme but their personnel, and they have the same familiarity with us. It's the same for both teams."