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Gimme five

By JOHN ROMANO

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 1, 2001

Talk of the town

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Five topics suitable for inane debate on talk radio:

THIRD DOWNS: Not to suggest the Bucs offense did not come up big on third downs, but you can get a better conversion rate at the Canadian border.

DEFENSIVE LINE: Daunte Culpepper is in the pocket about 80 percent of the afternoon and gets sacked once. We haven't seen production like this since John Cannon and Ron Holmes were on the job.

UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT: Did Miss Manners throw that flag? Without that bogus call against Vikings defensive back Kenny Wright, the Bucs might never have found the end zone.

WHERE WAS MARTIN?: Why not let Martin Gramatica attempt a 53-yard field goal in the fourth quarter while nursing a 16-13 lead? Weather is not a factor in the dome, and Gramatica is 8-of-11 in his career from beyond 50 yards. That is a 73 percent success rate, which, frankly, I like better than the odds of the defense coming up with a big stop.

DERRICK BROOKS: The man plays from sideline to sideline, from whistle to whistle. And if his teammates continue to allow 11- and 12-play drives, he could average 20 tackles a game.

A list of five

Five reasons the Bucs have not thrown a touchdown:

5: The running game is just too darned good to ignore.

4: Do not want to show up Les Steckel.

3: Would ruin their carefully cultivated reputation.

2: They won't let Dave Moore on the field.

1: Pesky NFL bylaws that require the ball to be thrown forward in order to qualify as a pass.

Big easy picks

Checking out the best bets (and the Bucs) for Super Bowl XXXVI in, well, maybe New Orleans:

1. ST. LOUIS RAMS: It is not just that they are 3-0. But they have taken down the Eagles, 49ers and Dolphins along the way.

2. GREEN BAY PACKERS: So the schedule has been kind, but they've still won three in a row. And, more impressively, they have outscored opponents 93-13.

3. BALTIMORE RAVENS: Hard to justify a loss to the Bengals, but the Ravens made an impressive statement with a win at Denver on Sunday.

4. OAKLAND RAIDERS: If not for a last-second meltdown against the Dolphins last week, the Raiders would be in control of the AFC West.

10. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS: Memo to Mr. Tagliabue: It's a darn fine idea to have six wild-card teams this season. In fact, eight or 10 wild-card teams sound pretty good right now.

Five to remember

Five elements that made a difference:

STARTING WITH A WHIMPER: The Bucs open the second half with two unsuccessful runs up the middle. Then from the shotgun, Brad Johnson dumps the ball off to Warrick Dunn on third and long. So much for setting a tone.

BIG DROP: After Minnesota scored its first touchdown, the Bucs drove to midfield before Jacquez Green dropped a third-down pass.

TIMEOUTS: Two early timeouts left the Bucs short-handed on the final drive.

GUTSY CALL: Give Vikings coach Denny Green credit for gambling in the fourth quarter. Instead of declining a holding penalty that would have forced the Bucs into fourth down, he accepted the penalty and trusted his defense to come up with another third-down stop. The Bucs failed on third down and punted.

MISSING BYRON CHAMBERLAIN: Brooks is covering him across the field. Donnie Abraham is coming from behind and John Lynch from in front. Somehow, Chamberlain not only makes the catch, but breaks free to the 3.

Final five words

Whatever it takes to lose.

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