Bucs won't defend their Super Bowl title, but Brad Johnson can defend his efforts.
By RICK STROUD
Published December 28, 2003
[Times photo: Toni Sandys]
Brad Johnson has the Bucs in position for their highest offensive ranking since '84.
Sooner or later, Brad Johnson will be bombarded with questions by this season's Super Bowl winner about what it is to defend a world championship. He has prepared a short answer.
"You enjoy every bit of it," Johnson said. "And you better. The tide can turn just as fast."
In four games this season for the Bucs, it resembled being swept up in a tsunami.
One minute, Johnson appeared to have directed a remarkable comeback, tying or taking the lead late in the fourth quarter. In the next, that effort wasted by a missed conversion or a defensive collapse.
There was the 6-yard TD pass to Keenan McCardell on the final play of regulation against Carolina to tie the score. But the PAT was blocked and the Bucs lost in overtime. Or how about the 30-yard, tying touchdown pass to McCardell with 2:08 remaining against the Saints, only to lose on a last-second field goal? So it went.
The Bucs rallied from 13 points down to four ahead at Carolina and blew it. Last weekend against Atlanta, Johnson threw three TDs in the fourth quarter to atone for four first-half interceptions but lost 30-28 on a failed two-point conversion.
"Legendary," Johnson said. "Leg-en-da-ry. That hurts. I've been a part of games that we've come from behind and won them; I've been a part of these games where we had great comebacks and lost them. There's some legendary moments that are forgotten. But if you stay the course, there'll be some other moments like that and another chance to win some close games."
The reason for Johnson's optimism? By almost every measure except the record, the Bucs offense has improved. In fact, Tampa Bay is ranked ninth overall in total offense. That's no small feat for the Bucs, considering their highest finish was 10th in 1984.
The ranking is also 15 spots higher than last season when the Bucs won Super Bowl XXXVII. In fact, the Bucs averaged 30 more yards rushing and 19 more yards passing than in 2002 while scoring 43 fewer points.
Entering today's game against the Titans, Johnson ranks first in the NFC in passing yards (3,715), completions (341) and attempts (547). He will more than likely extend his streak to eight consecutive seasons of completing at least 60 percent of his passes, tying Joe Montana and Steve Young for the longest such streak in NFL history.
"I thought we did improve," Johnson said of the Bucs offense. "I thought more than anything, two things happened: the penalties, more than anything. And that shows as a team record, it shows at critical times, whether it was the offsides or the personal fouls. And those things were big differences, and you can't look past that."
Many of those flags were dropped on the offensive line, particularly after left tackle Roman Oben went down with a broken right hand. With his line intact, Johnson threw 14 touchdowns and five INTs through his first seven games, 12 TDs and 13 INTs in his past eight.
"The penalties are the asterisk here," coach Jon Gruden said. "That one thing, from an offensive standpoint, that really hurt us was the penalties. And had we eliminated maybe a 15-yard penalty here, maybe Rickey Dudley's 50-yard catch against Green Bay is not reversed, the season might be different in a lot of ways. But I've never seen as much radical roster change, and hell, general manager change, in one season. It can't get any worse, you know?"
The Bucs lost six players who started games on offense to injury, not including receiver Keyshawn Johnson, who was deactivated for the final six games by Gruden.
"It was almost a new lineup every week," Johnson said. "And I think you can get caught up in the who's who and who started for the first time at one position. I said last year, make the read and make the throw. That's the end of the story; don't let something else distract me as a quarterback. And I felt, in general, we did a good job of that."
Gruden, who says he doesn't want to use injuries as an excuse, rattles them off as he would his telephone number.
"Again, in some ways, I'm very proud of some of the things that have gotten done," Gruden said. "You know, when you lose Dudley and (Ken) Dilger, and (Todd) Yoder and (Will) Heller are the two tight ends playing the majority of the snaps early in the year, that's not the package maybe that we had envisioned. Losing Alstott, we had some creative things in mind for Mike. And losing (Joe) Jurevicius and Keyshawn, I mean, there's not many more guys you can lose. And in some ways, we have been very, very competitive."
Johnson isn't the only one whose outstanding individual effort was spoiled on offense. McCardell caught a career-high eight touchdowns - all in Bucs defeats.
"We've been roller coasters the whole way, but Brad played pretty consistent," McCardell said. "He had a bad first half last week, but as a true professional, a true Pro Bowler, a true leader, he comes back and puts us right back in the game. Brad has nothing to be ashamed of about his season. I think he did exactly what Jon wanted him to do.
"A couple plays here or there, a kicked ball here or there, it's a different situation."
