A special mission requiring one returner

The Bucs hope to find one player to return all kickoffs in search of a return for a touchdown. Joe Marciano also hopes to find one punt returner.

By ERNEST HOOPER

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 3, 2000

TAMPA -- In every special-teams meeting at this training camp, Bucs assistant Joe Marciano has been showing film of kickoff touchdown returns from the past two years.

"There isn't a one of them where the guy just runs," Marciano said. "They either gotta make somebody miss or break a tackle. And sometimes, they gotta do that in the same play to score."

Aside from each runner's elusiveness, the returns have at least one other common trait: They don't feature any Bucs.

The Bucs have placed a premium on jump-starting their return units this season, but that's not new. The team has never returned a regular-season kickoff for a touchdown in its 24-year history, and in four seasons under coach Tony Dungy, Tampa Bay has produced only three punt returns for touchdowns.

Unlike past years, the team is hoping to settle on one person to return kicks and one to return punts.

Karl Williams, Jacquez Green and Reidel Anthony are among the veterans who might get a turn on kickoffs Friday night when the Bucs face the Redskins. Even Warrick Dunn has spent time in practice returning kickoffs after averaging 19.5 yards on eight returns last season.

"Hopefully, we'll see a little bit more improvement with the guys that we had, see if they can do what we want, which is get running," Marciano said. "Get running and if it's not there run through somebody."

Although the veterans can't be counted out, Marciano's description best fits two relatively young returners. Second-year receiver Yo Murphy and running back Aaron Stecker have no regard for their body when moving upfield.

Stecker, who spent most of last year on the practice squad before earning NFL Europe offensive MVP honors in June, said he believes his running back skills give him a different dimension than other returners.

"Just imagine like you're a car and you're going to just run it into a brick wall," the 5-foot-10, 205-pound Stecker said. "Especially if you're a little guy. They've got guys now, defensive linemen and linebackers, who are 245, 250 pounds and can run. They come downfield and they're trying to take your head off.

"You just have to have the mentality that you're just going to run full bore. Hopefully, that wall you see coming is an invisible wall and you shoot through it and end up scoring."

Murphy knows all about breaking through the wall.

It was that same reckless attitude that helped him catch the eye of coaches last preseason, and it also resulted in a 93-yard touchdown return on his only attempt against New England.

Murphy earned a roster spot and played seven games in 1999 before being waived in a numbers crunch. He still finished as the team's top kick returner with a 21.5 average. "I just run hard and try to hit the right seam," Murphy said. "It's a big risk position but there's a big return out of it. If you make something happen, it's twice as exhilarating as making a big catch or anything."

Williams and Green are the only players in Bucs history to experience that touchdown exhilaration on punt returns, but Williams might get the job because Green is an expected starter and Williams has impressed coaches with his off-season attitude.

"Some people think that I was just trying to impress them, but if you go back, I've always worked hard in the off-season," Williams said. "The thing I did different this past off-season was I did extra work on my own. I did speed work with a couple of other guys and I really got a lot of rest.

"I kind of took the same approach I took my rookie year: Go all out. The harder you work, the more it pays off."

Williams is tied with Oakland's Darrien Gordon as the league's all-time leading punt returner with a 12.4 average. But last season, he averaged only 7.7 yards. Green was only slightly better at 8.9. With two speedy returners struggling, it's a sign the blockers in front also need to step it up a notch.

Marciano, whose kick coverage units rank among the league's best, knows how difficult it can be for blockers and returners.

But ultimately, he knows the returners need a certain innate ability to make it happen.

He would love to see that ability on display Friday night.

"We're never going to knock everybody down so they can just run," said Marciano, whose goal is to get the ball to the 30-yard line on kick returns. "They can't run to the first tackle and get tackled. All the guys that are good don't. They make them miss or break a tackle."

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

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