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Kick-return game still needs help

By RICK STROUD

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 12, 2001

TAMPA -- There have been nearly 1,500 regular-season kickoffs received in Bucs history without a return for a touchdown, perhaps the most dubious record for a franchise that never set the bar very high.

Whether the Bucs take one to the house is not the issue, but the kick-return game needs to reach NFL standards so it doesn't have to rely on a touchback for good field position.

Coach Tony Dungy would like to have one returner for the season.

"We'd like to settle on who the best person is for the job and tailor our return schemes for that guy," Dungy said. "And we'd like to figure that out so we could work on it. Whether it's the same guy doing both or two different players, I really don't have a preference. But we need to know who's going to be back there so we can work on what they do best."

A year ago, NFL Europe MVP Aaron Stecker was impressive returning kickoffs in the preseason.

But he lost a gear when the regular season began, then the Bucs went to the committee approach.

"I don't know that it hurt us. But I think Aaron got a little fatigued and we thought that was going to happen going through the whole NFL Europe season and training camp," Dungy said. "He's a lot fresher this year. I don't think it hurt us, per se, other than the fact we went back and forth between a lot of different guys."

This season, Stecker has competition. Receiver Frank Murphy and rookie cornerback Dwight Smith will compete for a return spot and always trustworthy Karl Williams is a favorite of Dungy's as the punt returner.

"We'd like to see Frank, we'd like to see Dwight during the preseason." Dungy said. "We're going to try and give Karl a chance to reshow what he can do. I would suspect early on we'd look at the young guys and see Frank and Dwight quite a bit."

RYAN EXPRESS: If you'd spent the past three years in Siberia or at least with the Cardinals, you'd swear quarterback Ryan Leaf is as he appears: a humble, friendly, polite professional who works hard and keeps his mouth shut.

People in San Diego who paint a much more messy picture should've seen Leaf on Saturday.

After missing three days of practice to attend the funeral of his grandfather in Montana, Leaf had some good moments in the Dolphins scrimmage.

After the workout, he visited with family and friends, then signed autographs for 20 minutes, posed for a half-dozen pictures and was the last player to leave practice.

"I'll tell you what, Coach Dungy is an unbelievable man," Leaf said. "My parents were just really worried my coach wouldn't let me (attend the funeral). But they don't know what kind of man he is. They do now. That's what they were worried about. A lot of coaches wouldn't have let that happen, but it was something I needed to do.

"I flew all day Wednesday and buried him and flew all day (Friday). That's a trip, now."

LONG SHOTS: Sure, you pay full prices, but preseason football is a lot like going to Rolling Stones concert and not hearing Satisfaction.

But if you know what to look for, you can stay awake all the way into the third quarter.

The best battle on the field is for special-teams jobs. Rookies and undrafted free agents have a legitimate chance of making the roster if they can make an impact on those squads.

"It's not hard to get my attention, if they're doing the fundamental things and they're running hard and blocking well and knowing who to block, that's what gets my attention," Dungy said. "We've had a lot of young guys do that from the time I've been here. It sometimes takes them a little while to understand what gets the coach's attention.

"I told the guys the first day. Like the drill we did today where you line up outside on punts and you're getting doubled, that's a tough job. It might be the toughest job in football. If we can find a guy who can do that, consistently get down and beat the double team, he's going to be on the team. I don't know where we're going to find that spot, but if he does that, he'll be here."

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