Barber schooling

All three of Ronde Barber's interceptions come in Bucs territory, the last on the goal line with 1:20 left.

By RICK STROUD
Published December 5, 2005

	[Times photo: Carrie Pratt]
	From left, Danny Bethel of Tampa, Eric Walker of Daytona Beach and Michael Dearing of Largo cheer on the Bucs. Photo gallery | Bucs forum Bucs hotline: 866-371-9605 What did you think of the Bucs' performance?
	[Times photo: Bill Serne]
	The game, played on the LSU campus, drew an announced crowd of 34,411, about half the typical attendance of a Bucs home game.
	[AP photo]
	The Saints' Darren Howard, a Boca Ciega High graduate, blocks a 43-yard field goal by Todd France, keeping it scoreless in the first quarter.

BATON ROUGE, La. - They will remember the college town. The construction cranes and dangling wires. The beach that doubled as a playing surface.

It didn't have the feel of an NFL game. It didn't sound much like one, either.

Playing before a half-empty Tiger Stadium, it was eerily quiet for much of Sunday.

Except every time Ronde Barber intercepted a pass.

You could hear another jaw drop.

The Bucs cornerback tied his franchise record by picking off three passes in Sunday's 10-3 win over the Saints.

His last interception came at the goal line and prevented a tying touchdown by Joe Horn with 1:20 left.

"Great players are going to play great in December and down the stretch," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said. "He's a guy that has put the Buccaneers on the map.

"I give him a lot of credit for bringing this franchise back with plays like that."

Barber's interceptions kept the Bucs (8-4) one game behind the first-place Panthers (9-3) in the NFC South heading into Sunday's showdown at Carolina.

In fact, Barber could've had four interceptions of Aaron Brooks but allowed safety Dexter Jackson to gain possession of a pass in the end zone in the third quarter.

"Ronde likes to bait quarterbacks," said Brooks, a teammate of Barber's at Virginia. "He likes to make them think they have that throw in there, and he'll turn his head at the last second.

"Actually, I made a comment to him (Sunday). I said, "After all these years, you're still baiting, huh?"'

Barber's second interception set up the game's only touchdown.

Facing a blitz, Chris Simms hit Joey Galloway on a quick slant, and the 34-year-old receiver broke a tackle and raced to the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown.

The Saints' only score came with 46 seconds left in the first half when John Carney's 26-yard field goal cut the Bucs' lead to 7-3.

It was an unspectacular day for Simms, who went 12-of-21 for 123 yards. But he did his job as a caretaker, managing the clock and avoiding turnovers. Simms also got plenty of help from rookie Cadillac Williams, who rushed 22 times for 96 yards.

But the Bucs had trouble putting the Saints away.

A 43-yard field goal by Todd France, signed Saturday to replace injured kicker Matt Bryant, was blocked by Boca Ciega High graduate Darren Howard.

France atoned by converting a 28-yard field goal with 9:37 left.

That was all the points the Bucs needed. Barber's first interception, with 3:09 left in the first quarter, came when he made a one-handed catch at the Tampa Bay 16.

The Saints' final chance ended after Brooks completed six passes. After the last, to Aaron Stecker for 8 yards to the 20, Brooks took a quick snap and ran 10 yards. But tight end Zach Hilton was not set and called for a false start, moving the ball back 5 yards.

That's when defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin took the Bucs out of zone coverage and ordered a blitz, leaving Barber one on one with Horn.

"We ... sat back in cover two and tried to keep everything in front of us, make tackles; definitely don't give up a big play for a touchdown," Barber said. "The first non-two-deep coverage that we called on that drive was my interception. Monte called a man blitz. It was the same play that we knocked the ball free from (Michael) Vick in Atlanta (to set up the winning field goal Nov.20).

"I actually didn't see him throw it. I had man to man. I had my back to him, turned around and looked for the ball, and it was right there."

Barber said he warned teammates the atmosphere for Sunday's game could have an adverse effect.

"The last thing I told these guys was, "Don't let this situation, don't let the lack of fans and lack of attention on this game deter us from doing our job,"' Barber said.

"The biggest thing ... is we're 8-4, regardless of the situation. Division wins help. We've got another one coming up next week against Carolina. Another one in a couple of weeks against Atlanta, and we've got the Saints again at home. Strange how this deal worked out with all our division games at the end of the year. That's going to be all important games trying to make the push for the playoffs."

[Last modified December 5, 2005, 04:55:03]