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With its starters on the field in the first quarter, the defense gives up several big plays to a team without its top RB.
By ROGER MILLS
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 14, 2001
TAMPA -- Stop the run. Force the quarterback to throw. Harass him. Win the game.
That's the script the Bucs defense wants written for the 2001 season. After all, isn't that raw meat at the nose of a hungry lion?
Not Monday night.
True, it was just the first quarter of the first preseason game, but the Bucs' first-team defense didn't exactly come home with any awards.
Tampa Bay's vaunted defense, which pledged all offseason to recover some of the glory it lost last season, struggled in the first 15 minutes. And, quite frankly, it was outplayed by the Dolphins.
"Yeah, we've got to get better," safety John Lynch said. "You could see that they weren't going to sit back there and let our rush come. They spread us out and went to some misdirection and screen plays, and they got us on them. I'm sure there were some mistackles in there and we'll address them."
Aside from the rust of playing their first game, the starters really had no excuses. Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Brooks was back after ending his holdout, and middle linebacker Jamie Duncan returned to the starting lineup after missing almost every practice last week with a hamstring injury.
How, then, did the Dolphins, playing without starting running back Lamar Smith, outgain the Bucs 145 yards to 1 in the first quarter?
"I'll tell you what happened," defensive end Marcus Jones said. "They schemed us pretty well. We were hoping that we would get a chance to go out there and see ourselves rush the passer, but they ran some screens and some rollouts to throw us off. It's good football. They have to do what they think they can to win.
"But, we have to man it up every time we get out there. We had some breakdowns, but it's the first of four preseason games."
On Miami's first possession, the Bucs stuffed running back Autry Denson for a 1-yard gain on first down but promptly gave up an 11-yard completion from Jay Fielder to Chris Chambers. It set the tone.
Two plays later, Tampa Bay again had the Dolphins in second and 9, and again the Dolphins escaped.
Fielder lofted a perfect screen pass to Denson, who glided through the well-blocked grasps of a number of starters, blazed 49 yards downfield and would have scored had it not been for the hustle and diving grip of cornerback Ronde Barber.
"We gave up a big pass on the screen, had some missed tackles and bad angles," Brooks said. "It's kind of typical of our defense. We start slow and then get it going. We're going to correct those mistakes and move one." The Bucs showed some of that bend-but-don't-break pride from seasons past when cornerback Brian Kelly jammed Denson at the 1 on third and goal. And when Olindo Mare's 19-yard field goal sailed wide left, the defense was vindicated, briefly.
"We're going to take some positives out of it but we're going to be critical of ourselves," Brooks said. "It's a part of training camp, part of the preseason."
Tampa Bay punted after three plays, and with little time to rest, the defense was back on the field and back to giving up costly yards.
Fielder found Oronde Gadsden for a 9-yard gain on third and 4, then scampered 10 yards on a quarterback sneak to get Miami in field goal position. At the end of a modest eight-play, 23-yard drive, Miami settled for a 41-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead.
"I would be very concerned if we came out today and if everyone were perfect," Brooks said. "I would be very concerned."
Not everyone was rusty. Kelly, who plays almost as many snaps as the starting corners, and backup Jeff Gooch, who once was a starter, made significant contributions early.
Aside from his stop on the 1, Kelly recovered a Gadsden fumble at the Bucs 10. The fumble was caused by a hard hit from Gooch, who also caused a second fumble by jarring the ball from Denson in the second quarter.
"We still feel real good about the way we've been playing as a defense," Lynch said. "You never like giving up yards like that, or points, but there are some good things. We just have to build on those."