By ROGER MILLS, JOANNE KORTH
Published December 24, 2003
TAMPA - They may be out of the playoffs, but when the Bucs returned to practice Tuesday there was no sense that anyone was mailing in Sunday's season finale in Tennessee.
The Bucs insist there is much to play for, starting with pride.
"We're all professionals, we're all going to show up and everybody is going to do their jobs," defensive tackle Anthony McFarland said. "I can't speak for 52 other men, I can only give an honest answer about myself. It's another opportunity to show up and play hard. That's the way I look at it. You play. This is what you signed up for. You signed up for a 16-game season plus the playoffs if you make it. So you play 16 games."
Coach Jon Gruden said he was impressed by the way his team returned to the practice field.
"I tip my hat to them," Gruden said. "These guys like football. They've got a lot of pride and they want to win this game."
One prevailing theme was to ensure the Bucs don't finish with a losing record.
"That's what we plan on doing," linebacker Derrick Brooks said. "We plan on at least sending them (the Titans) to the playoffs on a losing streak. The intensity is going to be there for us. We've got a lot, I feel, to play for just as well even if we're not going to the playoffs. As I said, looking at your record at 8-8 at the end of the year is a lot better than 7-9."
Added safety Jermaine Phillips: "We get paid to play the game. Yeah, we're not going to the playoffs but we still have a job to do. Whenever you have a job to do, you come out and do it the best you can.
"Of course, everybody is down because everybody wants to go to the playoffs. But we're looking at it as we want to go 8-8 and not have a losing season and move on from there. When you end it with a loss, it leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth."
D-LINE SHUFFLE: With defensive end Greg Spires being placed on injured reserve, the Bucs plan to look at a few players in his place Sunday.
Tuesday, tackle Chartric Darby practiced at end and likely will start on the left in Spires' spot, but will split time with rookie Dewayne White.
"You have to take advantage of opportunities because you never know when you'll get another one with this defense," Darby said. "You have to make plays."
A third-year player out of South Carolina State, Darby said he played some defensive end in his first season with Tampa Bay and looks forward to the challenge of chasing the quarterback.
"The end might be the hardest position on the field," said Darby, who has nine tackles and two sacks in backup duty this season. "You're on air, on an island, out by yourself. It's a hard position. The thing you have to adjust is your pass rush. The run aspect, I'll be okay. The pass aspect, I tell you what, it's a long way to that quarterback."
For White, a rookie who has seen little time, the opportunity to play significant snaps is the best way to end the season.
"I just want to make the most of this opportunity that I've got, the plays I'm going to get," White said. "I know what to do. I feel like I've paid my dues as a rookie. The year is almost over, it's more like another season almost."
A second-round pick and the Bucs first selection of the 2003 draft, White has been restricted to mop-up duty and special teams.
"It took the last game of the regular season for my opportunity to really come to the forefront. But I've been working all this time to be a player and a starter in the NFL to able to show what I can do," he said.
FAVRE FANS: Tampa Bay and Green Bay are longtime rivals, but several Bucs said they were glad to see Packers quarterback Brett Favre play well in Monday's victory against the Raiders one day after his father died.
"I'm friends with Brett, friends with his family," quarterback Brad Johnson said. "Your heart goes out for all of them. To have a shining moment like that, I think the angels were out there. I'm real happy for him."
Gruden was on the Green Bay staff when Favre was acquired from the Falcons in 1992.
"Knowing him personally, my heart goes out to him," Gruden said. "He's a class act and a great competitor, somebody I know the NFL is very proud of. That was stimulating to watch him perform to those standards with the mental stress that he was under. His teammates' admiration for him was something special to see."
INJURY UPDATE: Tackle Kenyatta Walker (left elbow) and center John Wade (bruised ribs) sat out Tuesday but are expected to be ready by week's end.
