By GARY SHELTON
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 14, 2001
TAMPA -- You have to hand it to Brad Johnson. The guy sure is a quick study.
Johnson, the Bucs' latest flavor at quarterback, has been in town for what, about 15 minutes? And already, the guy seems to have mastered most of the dance steps that playing quarterback for Tampa Bay requires.
First, you stumble.
A little later, you bumble.
Then, when no one expects it, you fumble.
Haven't we seen this before? Isn't this the way Trent did it for all those years? And Vinny and Steve and Craig? And Chris and Casey and Shaun? And just about everyone else who ever lined up on the south side of a center for the Bucs?
One game, and Brad Johnson does not have you at hello. Against the Dolphins, in his debut, Johnson played down to his ancestors. Somewhere, you get the idea that Jack Thompson is calling Gary Huff to talk about old times and game plans gone wrong.
If it is true that a thousand-mile journey begins with the first step, let history note that Johnson's started with a stubbed toe. He made his debut as quarterback for the Bucs and, to be honest, the new boss played pretty much like the old bosses.
The only way it could have been worse is if Johnson had decided to move his own furniture again.
Three drives. Nine plays. One first down.
Four passes. Two completions. Eighteen yards.
Three sacks. One fumble. Two handoffs.
Total offense while he was on the field: One yard. Quarterback rating: 62.5. Punchline factor: Priceless.
And what it meant, aside from the sour taste, was this:
Nothing.
Oh, the noise level will increase today. Of course it will. Given the height of expectations, given the nature of fans, given the number of reported Dilfer sightings against the Dolphins, no time is ever too soon to debate quarterbacks and their relative warmth.
Johnson had the audacity to look like the newcomer he is, and Shaun King, last year's fallen idol, came off the bench and dared to look a tad better. Then there is Joe Hamilton, running on the Scott Milanovich ticket. Gentlemen, start your conspiracy theories.
Then get over it.
If there is one comfort you can take from a forgettable performance, it is that it was, after all, forgettable. Johnson is the Bucs starter today. And tomorrow. And, barring injury, in the opener against Dallas. This was just a lousy practice.
"You have to take it with a grain of salt and move on," Johnson said. "We never really got it going. We'll get it together."
It is never easy to take comfort when the first thing you see is a lousy performance and the first thing you hear is a plea for patience. Johnson needed to provide a clue, a shape of things to come, and everyone would have gone away happy. A deep completion. A long drive. Something.
Instead, Johnson never had a chance. That's not unusual for a Bucs quarterback, either. The team lined up wrong. The Dolphins somehow discovered secret passageways through the offensive line.
The Bucs were so inefficient, it was as if someone had moved New Orleans, this year's Super Bowl site, a thousand miles farther west.
"We didn't give (Johnson) a lot of opportunity," Bucs coach Tony Dungy said. "If we don't play better around him, we're going to make it tough on him." Oh, it would have been better on the fans if Johnson had been better on the field. Had his first pass, a 24-yarder caught by Keyshawn Johnson, been in bounds, fans might have breathed easier. Had a 6-yard first-down pass, again to Johnson, not been negated by penalty, then onlookers might have found some hope.
Instead, the Bucs, and their fans, received a clear message not to expect too much too quickly. Offense has always moved like a glacier around here. There is no reason to believe a cure has been discovered simply because a new gunslinger has come to town.
At the risk of adding perspective -- and who around here has any use for that? -- Johnson will be fine. Once he can get through a series without wrestling with a defensive lineman, once he has enough time so his accuracy and decision-making can be seen, you'll see the reasons the Bucs signed Johnson.
The Bucs believe that before the season is done, and hopefully before it begins, Johnson will bring order to their offense. He is accurate, calm, mature -- whoever said things like that about a Bucs offense before?
They believe he will grant the team a sense of confidence so that, even in the bad times, the offense will not retreat into a shell as they have in seasons past. They believe he will be accurate underneath, capable throwing long, and that he will force the defense to play honest for a change.
It would have been nice to have seen some of that, any of that, on Monday night.
On the other hand, take a breath. Sit down. Calm yourself. It's only Aug. 14.
Heck, give the guy till at least Thursday.