Sports | Bucs
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Key matchups
By RICK STROUD
Published October 9, 2005
BUCS MEETING ROOM
BOTTLE CURTIS MARTIN: The Jets running back missed practice last week with a sore knee, but don't expect him to miss today's game. Martin has started 111 consecutive games, although he could be spelled more often than usual by Derrick Blaylock and Cedric Houston. Martin has just 2.8 yards per carry and has not scored a touchdown. But the Jets will try to establish the running game and take the pressure off 41-year-old quarterback Vinny Testaverde.
PUSH VINNY INTO RETIREMENT: Testaverde is no couch potato, but two weeks ago he was watching the Jets from the comfort of his living room in Oyster Bay, N.Y. He will have a better seat today, but the Bucs are looking at it from a different vantage point. There's a reason Testaverde was snubbed by 32 teams until the Jets lost their top two quarterbacks in a span of seven plays Sept. 25. He still can throw a beautiful pass, but he has no mobility. The Bucs have only five sacks from their defensive linemen and need to bring the heat against Testaverde.
JETS MEETING ROOM
GET GRIESE: Left tackle Anthony Davis is playing with a bum shoulder, and he has struggled protecting the passer. Today he gets to line up against defensive end John Abraham, who leads the Jets with three sacks. Abraham is one of the NFL's elite pass rushers. The Bucs will have to give Davis some help by keeping a tight end next to him, chipping with a running back or both. The Jets will pressure Brian Griese, who has shown a tendency to cough up the ball. He has had 13 interceptions in his past eight games.
TEST THEM DEEP: Testaverde gives the Jets a chance to create some room in the running game in this respect: He can throw deep. Opponents have to respect his arm and the receivers he has in Laveranues Coles and Justin McCareins. The weak link in the Bucs secondary is nickel-back Juran Bolden, who was beaten for a TD in Green Bay by Robert Ferguson and should have been burned by the Lions' Roy Williams, who dropped a touchdown last weekend.
[Last modified October 9, 2005, 01:09:21]
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