Gimme 5

By JOHN ROMANO, Times Columnist
Published September 17, 2007

Talk of the town

Five topics suitable for inane debate on talk radio.

1. Upon further review: A week ago, I suggested the Bucs had given you no reason to trust in better days. On Sunday, they did. For the first time in a very long while, they won a game you might not have expected. They dominated a scoreboard, and they showed no obvious weaknesses. On Sunday, they became a viable contender in a vile division.

2. Deep thinker: Jeff Garcia has four completions of 40 yards or more in his first two games. The Bucs went 11 games last season before getting their fourth such completion.

3. Quid pro quo: Plenty of empty seats at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday. Perhaps fans are emulating the new salary philosophy of the Glazers and have decided to come in under the attendance cap.

4. Fresh and nasty: Perhaps the way the defense gets back to its old self is by getting younger. Greg White and Jovan Haye got their first career sacks on Sunday. Barrett Ruud, in the seventh start of his career, forced two fumbles. Tanard Jackson, in his second NFL game, had five tackles. Maybe they are not the names from Tampa Bay's glory days, but the snarl did sound familiar.

5. You looking at me? For a guy supposedly on the endangered coaches list, Jon Gruden was fearless on Sunday. The Bucs could have sat on a lead at the end of the first half, but Gruden came out firing. The offense went 65 yards in 36 seconds to take a 21-0 lead and essentially step on the throat of the Saints.

A list of five

Five surprising facts about the Saints.

5. Passed on Peyton and Eli Manning but did draft Bobby Hebert's son.

4. Drew Brees wasn't wearing panties.

3. On a worldwide mission to spread peace, harmony and get their keisters kicked.

2. Secretly videotaped themselves on the sidelines.

1. Game plan designed by Brownie.

Five (cautious) cheers for the offense

1. The offensive line did not give up a sack and did not have a holding penalty. I'm not sure the last time that happened, but I'm guessing it was not during Kenyatta Walker's lifetime.

2. Say hello to B.J. Askew, your new fullback. Askew provides some needed pop as a lead blocker, so it seems the Michael Pittman-as-a-fullback experiment lasted about as long as a campaign promise.

3. Two games in, zero interceptions. That's slightly better than last year's pace of six.

4. Death to the swing pass. Tired of seeing pass after pass thrown to a running back while behind the line? Apparently, Garcia feels your pain. Only two of his completions were to backs.

5. Luke McCown was moved behind Bruce Gradkowski on the depth chart after his first four passes as a Buc. Congratulations! You've been Gruden-ized.

Five super picks

Checking out the best bets for Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Ariz.

1. Patriots: Bill Belichick and Paris Hilton - giving homemade videos a bad name.

2. Colts: Hard to argue against a 32-7 record since the start of 2005.

3. Packers: I suppose somebody has to win the NFC.

4. Steelers: Is Mike Tomlin this season's Lovie Smith?

19. Bucs: Maybe I was wrong about the Bucs. Or maybe New Orleans is awful.

Final five words

God bless short, baldingquarterbacks.

[Last modified September 16, 2007, 22:01:14]