A long road back
By RICK STROUD
Published December 12, 2004
SAN DIEGO: It might be during the bus ride to Qualcomm Stadium, during the pregame meditation in the locker room or during warmups, but sometime today, the Bucs will close their eyes and remember.
They will remember the week, the dizzying turnaround from winning the NFC title game in Philadelphia to boarding a plane the next morning for San Diego.
They will remember the crush of media, celebrities and parties crammed into the schedule. They will remember the preparation, the feeling of invincibility that carried them through the playoffs. They will remember the nervousness, the excitement, the pageantry, the surreal spectacle, how it sounded, smelled and tasted.
Finally, they will remember the outcome, beating the Raiders 48-21, the confetti, the hugs and the champagne. They will remember the last time they were on this field, when they won the Super Bowl.
"You cannot help that," coach Jon Gruden said. "Every time you watch San Diego on tape and see that scoreboard, you remember playing in that stadium a couple of years ago. But I am not a real deep person. You have some memories, but we are looking forward to going to play a really good team."
Oh, yeah, they have to play the Chargers today, remember?
Only 20 players who have Super Bowl rings, including 13 starters, are expected to be active for the Bucs today. Receiver Tim Brown played for the Raiders then. Now a Buc, he might not see any snaps today.
The winning quarterback, Brad Johnson, and the game's MVP, safety Dexter Jackson, will be on the sideline.
Johnson, who went 7-9 in 2003, was yanked after an 0-4 start this season and is expected to be the inactive third quarterback. Jackson left the Bucs after the Super Bowl, signing with the Cardinals as a free agent. But he was released after a back injury this preseason and has returned, backing up John Howell at free safety and nursing a sore hamstring.
Three hours changed their lives. The next two years have done so as well.
DEXTER JACKSON, SMost valuable player travels a circuitous path in returning to the stadium that changed his life.
Even before Dexter Jackson scooped up the keys to his Cadillac Escalade from the NFL commissioner , he expected to get a lot of mileage from being named the Super Bowl MVP.
Jackson's timing was perfect. His two first-half interceptions of Rich Gannon helped the Bucs build a big cushion. More important, it was his final performance before testing free agency.
"Oh, yes, that was for all the marbles, so everybody wanted to show their best," Jackson said. "Fortunately, I had a better day."
About a month later, Jackson cashed in by signing a five-year, $14-million contract with the Cardinals that included a $2.75-million signing bonus.
Hours after signing the deal, Jackson's wife gave birth to the couple's first child.
"I felt (the Super Bowl) just pushed me over the top," Jackson said.
"Because I had started coming on, I felt like an elite safety. And I went out to Arizona, and I had a Pro Bowl (type) year. So I think I was stepping into my comfort zone at that time."
Jackson had his best season as a pro with the 4-12 Cardinals in 2003 with six interceptions and 105 tackles. But he injured his back during minicamp and played another two weeks before the pain forced him to shut it down.
He said the Cardinals misdiagnosed his injury and only after he sought a second opinion did the bulging disc begin to heal.
By that time, the Cardinals released him.
Now he's back in Tampa, playing for the minimum salary, backing up the free safety position he held for four seasons and trying to work into shape.
"That's why they tell you you're as good as your last game," Jackson said. "Always leave with good game film because you never know. I felt like I went out and was playing great. I had a great year. I had high expectations for myself, and the injury hit me. Then you have to understand the business side. When one wheel gets flat, you put on a spare and keep going."
- RICK STROUD, Times staff writer
JOE JUREVICIUS, WRFor leading postseason receiver, joy of victory outweighs personal tragedy, career setbacks.
Returning to the site of the Bucs' greatest triumph will stir no mixture of emotions for Joe Jurevicius. He will recall the joy and be thankful for it.
"The jubilation that came with winning Super Bowl XXXVII and seeing confetti come down and knowing it was for you, that's what I took off the field," he said.
"We won the world championship, and that's something that not everyone can experience. There are a lot of people who play this game for a long time and don't have an opportunity to do that."
Jurevicius has experienced all manner of pain during the nearly two years since.
During the Super Bowl run, Jurevicius' newborn son, Michael William, battled for his life in a Tampa hospital, born with a rare neurodegenerative disease. An emotional spark for his teammates, Jurevicius led the Bucs with 197 receiving yards during the playoffs, including four catches for 78 yards in the Super Bowl.
Two months later, his 9-week-old son died.
In the third game of the 2003 season, Jurevicius collided with fullback Mike Alstott and sustained a knee injury that sidelined him for most of the season. He had surgery after the season, but that required surgery during the 2004 preseason.
In August, finally, there was good news.
Jurevicius' wife, Meagan, gave birth to a healthy girl, Caroline Elizabeth.
After missing the first six games, Jurevicius started a new ritual before his emotional season debut Oct.24. He scratched his son's first initial into the grass. He caught two passes against the Bears and in a heartwarming culmination of his long, difficult journey, caught two touchdowns Nov.21 against the 49ers.
He saved one of the balls for his daughter.
"She's getting big," Jurevicius said. "Fourteen pounds."
- JOANNE KORTH, Times staff writer
MICHAEL PITTMAN, RBTeam's leading rusher experiences good, bad aspects of spotlight.
Michael Pittman was living a dream. Playing in front of family and friends in his hometown, he rushed for 124 yards in Tampa Bay's victory in Super Bowl XXXVII. The Bucs were world champions, and Pittman was a star.
"It played out like a story," he said. "Everything was perfect."
But it didn't last.
Less than five months later, he was arrested for ramming his Hummer into a Mercedes carrying his wife, son and a babysitter near his suburban Phoenix home.
Pittman ultimately served 14 days in jail and was suspended for the first three games of 2004 for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.
With help from his wife, Melissa, and pastor Randy White of Without Walls International Church in Tampa, Pittman has tried to put his troubled past behind him. He also credits coach Jon Gruden for standing by him when many in the community called for his release. Pittman has taken advantage of another chance and is enjoying the most productive stretch of his seven-year career.
Thrust into a feature role because of injuries to Charlie Garner and Mike Alstott, Pittman has rushed for 662 yards, including three 100-yard games, caught 27 passes for 292 yards and scored a team-high 10 touchdowns.
He also set a franchise record for the longest touchdown run with his 78-yarder against the Chiefs.
"It's about me getting comfortable in this offense and coach Gruden believing in me," Pittman said. "I can't say enough about him believing in me and standing next to me through all the trouble and all the things I've been through.
"This is probably my best year as a professional, catching the ball and putting up big numbers on the ground. But I'm still not satisfied with where I'm at. I'm going to keep pushing to get better every year."
- JOANNE KORTH, Times staff writer
ROMAN OBEN, LTThe Buc-turned-Charger accepts that change comes quickly in the NFL.
Sitting in a hotel room before the 2002 divisional playoff game against the 49ers, Roman Oben turned to Bucs teammate Kerry Jenkins and issued a whimsical but prophetic warning.
"I said to him, "We better enjoy this because two years from now, they will say we s--- and they will try to get rid of us.' " Oben said. "We laughed about it then. But you see that happen all the time around the league." One season after the Super Bowl win, Oben was traded to San Diego and Jenkins was released.
"I'm very realistic about the way this game is," Oben said. "When I signed the four-year deal after the Super Bowl, I knew that the same team that gave me a chance is the team that's going to tell me one day that I'm not good enough for them."
As the starting left tackle for the Chargers, Oben plays his games at Qualcomm Stadium and sits at a locker five stalls from the one he had during the Super Bowl.
"The first preseason game, I walked into the locker room. And the first thing I did was look for the locker where I was in the Super Bowl," Oben said. "It's a little bit different now, but I said this is where we made it happen."
Each game played in that stadium, Oben has the opportunity to relive the experience.
"It was an amazing feeling, and all kinds of things are running through your head. It's not always about the Warren Sapps, Keyshawn Johnsons and John Lynches. It's about guys who bounced around different teams, guys like myself, Ken Dilger, Jenkins and Joe Jurevicius. We all shared in it.
"We all felt certain pride about it."
When he lines up against the Bucs for the first time since being traded in early June, he also will be reminded about how uncertain life in the NFL can be.
"I felt that if we kept it together, we had a chance to do it again," Oben said. "We had that confidence. You figure a team that since 1998 had always been a contender, why shouldn't we be able to at least go back to defend the NFC title? I'm also realistic about that."
- ROGER MILLS, Times staff writer
BRAD JOHNSON, QBBenched starter says emotions of historic victory will come back: "That place will always have a special place in our hearts forever."
Brad Johnson waited on the porch behind One Buc Place after practice last week to present the Silver Sword, given to the teammate who correctly answers the most questions about team history.
Johnson is the defending champion and will be the topic of a question one day: Who quarterbacked the Bucs to their first Super Bowl?
Two years after throwing five postseason touchdowns and hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, Johnson is watching the clock run out on his career in Tampa Bay as the inactive third quarterback.
He went 7-9 in 2003 and was yanked after an 0-4 start this season. Now he sits behind Brian Griese and Chris Simms, the quarterbacks of Christmas present and future for Tampa Bay.
Still, Johnson admits he will feel butterflies today, when the high and low points of his career will intersect.
"Oh, it's going to be (on our minds) on the bus ride going into the stadium and going in the locker room," Johnson said. "I'm not sure which sideline we're on. The difference here is there really won't be as much pageantry out there. It's a different deal.
"But that place will always have a special place in our hearts forever."
Johnson said he didn't realize what the Bucs had done in beating the Raiders 48-21 to win Super Bowl XXXVII until late that night, when he rode away from the stadium.
"Driving out, I said, "Oh, my God! We just won the Super Bowl!"' Johnson said. "I didn't know it. That was the good thing about it. There was only one week in between the (NFC Championship Game against Philadelphia) and we were in the heat of the moment. It helped us because we didn't realize how big it was, maybe.
"It definitely changes your life, at least for a moment. But it's something that's in your back pocket forever."
Johnson likely will change teams after the season. Time will tell, but the Bucs believe they have found their answer at quarterback.
"Mike Holmgren (who won the Super Bowl while in Green Bay) in Seattle, Joe Gibbs now. Bill Parcells. That's why you enjoy it," Johnson said. "And you'd better enjoy as much as you can when you win it. There's no guarantees after that.
"I don't care who you are. We all get the boot."
- RICK STROUD, Times staff writer
TIM BROWN, WRLikely Hall of Famer has new team, new role, new frustrations.
This will not be Tim Brown's first trip to San Diego since Super Bowl XXXVII, when he was a member of the Raiders. He returned to Qualcomm Stadium last season with a keen understanding of how quickly things change in the NFL.
Oakland concluded the 2003 regular season at San Diego, a 21-14 loss that dropped it to 4-12.
"I can remember walking back into the locker room, and we were talking how big the difference was of the feeling we had the year before playing for a championship and the next year playing to stay out of the cellar of the NFL," Brown said. "Talk about how quickly things can change. In this league, that's how quickly it can go bad."
Brown, too, has been on quite a journey since Super Bowl XXXVII.
The likely Hall of Famer, third all-time in receptions behind Jerry Rice and Cris Carter, was told after 16 seasons with the Raiders that his role for 2004 would be greatly diminished.
Determined to remain a productive player, the 38-year-old asked for his release and signed a one-year contract with Tampa Bay, where he was reunited with coach Jon Gruden.
"My status in the football world is probably a little different than two years ago in San Diego," Brown said.
Brown started the first four games of this season and made a triumphant return to Oakland in Week 3, becoming the fourth player in league history with 100 touchdown catches. But during the past two months, Brown has given way to rookie star Michael Clayton.
Brown's streak of games with a reception ended at 179 on Nov.7. Brown recently criticized Tampa Bay fans for booing members of the home team.
And against the Falcons on Dec. 5, Brown was in uniform but did not play.
"It's bewildering," Brown said. "I just try and rely on who I am and what I believe in. My spiritual beliefs help me tremendously during these times because otherwise there would be a couple of outbursts.
"I just try and support whoever is out there as much as I can and try to keep moving on."
- JOANNE KORTH, Times staff writer
KENYATTA WALKER, RTBenching "humbles," helps teach high pick a valuable life lesson
A lot has happened to right tackle Kenyatta Walker.
At times, he lost his composure. At times, he seemed to have lost his game. And eventually, he lost his job.
But today, Walker is no longer lost.
In fact, he has found something that likely will keep him grounded for the rest of his career: professional maturation.
"This is a humbling sport, very humbling," Walker said. "It's full of ups and downs. What I'm learning about the NFL, and being a professional athlete period, is that you're going to have the ups and downs and it's what you're going to do when you're down; how you come out of it; what type of man you are; what type of character you show. "It's not going to be easy. It's not going to be a storybook tale. It's not going to be perfect. You have to be strong. You have to have a strong supporting cast around you. You can't lose faith in yourself."
The 25-year-old former Gator, taken with the 14th overall pick in the 2001 draft, has had to dig deep. He went from starting right tackle in the Super Bowl to the player his home fans would boo to the inactive list for the 2004 season opener. Replaced by Todd Steussie, Walker clawed his way back, outplayed Steussie and has started the past seven games.
"My situation has been a roller coaster, and I think I've been through a lot and shown that I can survive," he said.
Walker returns to San Diego a different player and a different man. Reflecting on the night of the Super Bowl victory, Walker said, "When you got back to the hotel and celebrated a little bit, that's when you started thinking that you can do it again. That's when you think you're a good team and would be right back in the Super Bowl the next year. You definitely think about it. "Honestly, it's over now. It's going to be great when I'm old to say, "Yeah, I did that, and I was there.' But as far as now, it's history."
And what of being back on that field?
"It's definitely not the same," Walker said. "I'm definitely going to look up there and see that stadium and think about my family and how I felt after the (Super Bowl). But once the ball is kicked off, it's the Chargers against the Bucs, nothing else."
- ROGER MILLS, Times staff writer
DWIGHT SMITH, DBDefensive standout of Super Bowl keeps football in perspective.
It was natural to assume that after returning two interceptions for touchdowns during the Super Bowl victory, Dwight Smith's career would leap from the shadows of anonymity.
After all, the charismatic cornerback did something no one else had.
"People always tell you to keep the memories of the things you do great because regardless of what walk of life you're in, anything can change," Smith said. "We can be living a happy life today, and God forbid something happen to you, you may not be able to walk.
"You have to keep those great memories. You never know what happens one day to the next."
Smith has gone on to become a starter on one of the league's top defenses but said, "Football doesn't run my life. That was a good day on the job. But great days for me are when my son is doing great in school, when my grandparents wake up healthy every day. "Football is what it is, a sport and a job. And at any time, it can be taken away. I love the opportunity the Lord has given me to play, but he's also given me a lot of great things like my son and my family. And they are the most important things."
Like everyone in a Bucs uniform on Jan.26, 2003, Smith was confident his team would remain on top.
"Of course, when I was at the University of Akron, I felt we had a chance to play in the championship every year. Your pride as a player and the love and belief you have in your teammates make you believe that you're always going to do it.
"You have to have belief wherever you are, and that's something embedded in us from early on."
But since that Super Bowl win, the Bucs lost safety Dexter Jackson to free agency, moved Smith from cornerback to safety and gone 12-16.
"Playing in there (today) and playing in the Super Bowl are two different circumstances," Smith said. "It's going to be 90 percent San Diego fans. Their logos are on the field. We're fighting for our lives. It's a totally different circumstance.
"I could see if we were playing the Raiders again in San Diego. It would be weird. But our team is totally different from the one we had there two years ago. It's no way one thing affects the other. If you get caught up in things that happened two years ago, it's going to be difficult for you to win."
- ROGER MILLS, Times staff writer
JON GRUDEN, COACHYoungest title winner stays optimistic despite departures of key contributors, quick downturn.
Jon Gruden is always ahead of schedule. He rises at 3:17 in the morning. At 39, he became the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl. Naturally, it was his first season with the Bucs.
But no sooner had he and the franchise arrived together at the top of the NFL than key components began departing.
During the past two years, Gruden has been responsible for more dramatic firings than Donald Trump.
There was Keyshawn Johnson, general manager Rich McKay, John Lynch, Warren Sapp, Keenan McCardell and Martin Gramatica. Super Bowl quarterback Brad Johnson likely will follow at the end of the season.
The team entering Qualcomm Stadium today bears only a slight resemblance to the one that left with the Lombardi Trophy two seasons ago. The Bucs are 12-16 since and trying to avoid a second straight losing record.
"I'm not going to get into these conversations my whole life," Gruden said. "We've lost some good players. It's well-documented; controversial if you want them to be. But the reality is we made some changes, and we've got to prove that we can move forward. We do like the positive signs that we've seen.
"Unfortunately, it's just part of football these days. Even New England, the team that won the first Super Bowl (of its two), has had massive changes on their team. But you just look at every team in the league. They undergo some changes, and some are more drastic than others. I don't think we're the Lone Ranger."
Perhaps not, but there's no masking the direction the Bucs have headed since Jan.26, 2003.
No first-round picks in 2002 and 2003 and no second-round picks in 2001, 2002 and 2004, an unenviable salary cap situation and injuries have played a big part in the struggles. Gruden's handpicked GM, Bruce Allen, also shares some responsibility.
Gruden has been stunned by some of the criticism aimed at his direction.
How long before the Bucs return to the Super Bowl?
Gruden is betting it will be sooner than later.
"We're getting better," Gruden said. "We're encouraged by a lot of things that have happened. Some of these young players have come in and given us not good play, but great play at key positions where we need it. Mike Clayton, Brian Griese, Ian Gold. Obviously, kicker Jay Taylor has uplifted us at a position where we needed help. You couple that with a team that has won five out of eight, and we've got (three extra picks through trades) in next year's draft. Those are good signs. But we're not happy about being 5-7."
- RICK STROUD, Times staff writer