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Bucs

Need good reason for a Super season? Take your pick

By GARY SHELTON
Published December 12, 2005

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Why not the Bucs?

Why not now?

Even in a success of a year, even in a snarl of a conference, no one has taken them seriously. Until Sunday, the Bucs had been one of those nice little teams having a nice little season, but once the playoffs began, the popular theory was that they were going to disappear like last year's calendars. For a while, Carolina was the flavor of the month, and then Chicago, and now Seattle. The Bucs? If the NFL had a poll, they would be listed among "those teams also receiving votes."

Why not a bye?

Why not a playoff game at home?

Suddenly, the questions-you-didn't-expect-to-ask have changed. That's what the Bucs earned for themselves in Sunday's surprisingly lopsided 20-10 victory over Carolina. Tampa Bay not only won its biggest game since its Super Bowl victory, it stood up to the neighborhood bully. And in so doing, it achieved a measure of legitimacy that had been previously denied.

Why not a division title?

Heck, why not a run at this Super Bowl?

The expectations also change now. No longer does Tampa Bay look like yesterday's franchise trying to build tomorrow's team. No longer does it look like an outsider trying to wrangle a party invitation to the playoffs. After a victory this impressive, in the back yard of their personal persecutors, the Bucs look like contenders. They look legit.

If there was one place the Bucs did not figure to win, if there was one team they did not figure to beat, it was this one. To Tampa Bay, Carolina had turned into that mean kid who took everyone's lunch money back in fourth grade. Most of what the Bucs had lost since their Super Bowl season was scattered around this field.

Sunday, that all changed. It wasn't merely that the Bucs beat Carolina; it was the manner in which they did so. Their offensive line, embarrassed by the Panthers the last time the two played, showed some punch of its own. The quarterback, who looked over his head last time, was cool and efficient. The running back, still hobbling in the last meeting, ran for 112 yards. The secondary, vulnerable in the last game as it entered a three-game funk, looked punishing this time.

In other words, the offense looked old enough and the defense young enough. Ronde Barber visited greatness again, and the offense closed out the kill with a 10-play, five-minute scoring drive.

So why not the Bucs?

Why not something special?

"Why not?" said tackle Kenyatta Walker. "We made a statement. This was a Super Bowl game for us right here. This was a playoff game."

"Why not?" said quarterback Chris Simms. "I haven't understood why we haven't gotten more mention all year long."

"Why not?" said cornerback Barber. "You hear things like "they've got a young quarterback' or "they've got a young running back' or "they have an old defense.' But as long as we don't use that as a crutch, why not?"

Why not? Before Sunday, there seemed like a lot of reasons. Even in victory, the Bucs seemed to wrestle a lot on top of the cliff, and to a lot of us, it seemed they were always one step from a fall.

Remember how ugly the season looked at 5-3? Remember how overwhelming a three-game road trip in December looked? Remember how fluky several of the Bucs' victories appeared? Remember how the offense seemed to get lost at times?

In summation: The Bucs have won four of their past five, they are 2-0 after two legs of the playoffs, and the victory over Carolina was 100 percent fluke-free. Not only that, but the offense looks as if it matures a year every week.

"I think we're watching these young cats grow up," Barber said.

Seems like it, doesn't it? For the Bucs, that has been the bright spot of the season. Over the past month, as coach Jon Gruden has gotten a clearer idea of what is fair to ask of his young players and what is not, the turnovers are down, the penalties are down, the efficiency is up and the fourth quarter seems to belong to them.

Remember last season? (I know, I know. You are trying to forget). The worst part of last year is the Bucs were awful with players who were never going to get better. This year, with Simms and Cadillac Williams, with Alex Smith and Dan Buenning, with the rest of the offensive line, it's hard not to imagine what this offense could grow into. Who knows? Maybe

someday, the Bucs will be able to cure Michael Clayton's invisibility.

The thing is, the Bucs aren't about 2007 anymore, the same as they are no longer about 2002. Sunday's game was a sign that this team has a chance to do something in the present tense.

Oh, Seattle is going to be hard to catch, but at 9-4, the Bucs have the same record as the Bears, the Giants and the Panthers. None of those guys look like juggernauts, either.

The thing is, the Bucs have been perfectly happy to live under the radar, in the weeds and beneath the shadows of other NFC contenders. Bad news: After this game, they are sure to have a little more attention.

"Don't do it," cornerback Brian Kelly said. "Keep dogging us out."

Okay, here goes: The Bucs remain impossibly young, and there is still heavy lifting to do, and winning on turnovers, third downs and fourth quarters is a lot to ask. Still, there is a pot to be won, and suddenly, Gruden's cards look worth keeping.

Why not the Bucs?

Why not this year?

[Last modified December 12, 2005, 04:02:52]