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Allergy to end zone wearing on offense

By ROGER MILLS

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 1, 2001

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MINNEAPOLIS -- One receiver said the team doesn't throw enough into the end zone. A veteran tight end said the offense simply is not sharp enough. And the team's most productive offensive weapon, a now-injured running back, is unclear on what to do.

But Jacquez Green, Dave Moore and Warrick Dunn know this: Tampa Bay's offense is woeful deep in its opponent's territory.

And after two games, it's beginning to bother the team.

"We have to take shots into the end zone," said Green, who did his part with 54 receiving yards on three catches. "Most of the time we get down there, teams put eight men in the box and we get stuffed and then we're second and long. We have to throw the ball in the end zone more. When we get down the field we work so hard to get there, and then we had to settle for a field goal? It's demoralizing to us."

Added Dunn: "Right now, I can't put a finger on it. It's strange. It's frustrating a little bit. (We) work so hard to get down there, then we self-destruct. We have opportunities and are not taking advantage of them."

In the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys, the Bucs offense didn't show the killer instinct it has the potential to unleash, managing 263 yards, one field goal and one touchdown.

So after a 21-day layoff, a span players and coaches said was used to fine-tune the offense, the Bucs again looked allergic to the end zone.

Field goals, Green said, weren't going to do it.

"Nope, not against the Minnesota Vikings, that's for sure," he said.

True, Dunn did manage an exciting 6-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that gave the Bucs a temporary lead. True, Tampa Bay only had three possessions in the first half, moved the ball downfield on two of those and finished with 331 total yards.

But in the end, it was the inability to capitalize on ground gained and the penchant for running an agonizing negative play that cost the Bucs scores, and this time a victory. In this season's two games, the Bucs have been inside their opponent's 30 eight times and come away with two touchdowns and four field goals.

"You have to score touchdowns. You can't score field goals," new offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen said. "We have too many good players and too much character. I'm going to trust we're going to keep the faith for 16 weeks. They were writing the Vikings off yesterday and today they are back in it."

Sunday's first possession was eerily similar to some last season. Taking advantage of a Derrick Brooks interception, Tampa Bay marched to the Vikings 4 and had three shots at the end zone. Dunn was stuffed in the backfield on the first carry for a loss of 2 yards. Two incomplete passes later, kicker Martin Gramatica was running out on the field to salvage some pride.

The early setback, Moore said, set the tone.

"We know that and it's unfortunate," Moore said. "We weren't able to capitalize on opportunities. We moved the ball consistently, but once we got there we stalled."

Looking ahead to this week, when the Bucs prepare to face another offensive machine in Brett Favre's Green Bay Packers, some players already were suggesting ways to prevent stalling.

"What we need to do is execute a little bit better, run sharper routes, got to be on the blitzes more," Moore said. "We have to be sharper, on top of things a lot quicker."

Green said the offense has to quit being shy.

"I think we tighten up and try not to make a mistake and get conservative instead of trying for the end zone," he said. "We can't settle for field goals."

To add insult to injury, when the Bucs defense produced its second turnover of the game, a fourth-quarter interception of Daunte Culpepper, the offense not only failed to put the game away, it came up with a crucial holding penalty that took the team out of Gramatica's range.

Quarterback Brad Johnson said he preferred to look at the positive things the offense did.

"I felt like we moved the ball well," he said. "From that standpoint, there's nothing we can do about it.

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