Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 5, 2001
TAMPA -- Midway through Thursday's practice, coach Tony Dungy had to stop the workout and gather his players at midfield to voice his displeasure over their lack of focus.
What caused it was a altercation between rookie left tackle Kenyatta Walker and veteran defensive end Simeon Rice. Each had hold of the other's face mask and did not let go for several seconds despite attempts by coaches to break it up.
"You don't exactly want to have to stop practice on the Thursday before you play Green Bay," Dungy said. "You generally wouldn't think you'd have to do that in Year 6 of the program. If this was 1996, you might have to.
"It was the whole tenor of practice, not just that one incident. I just didn't think we had the focus that we needed. We're just a little bit off. Hopefully, we'll regain that. Thursday is when you'd really like to be sharp. Wednesday you're going to have some little errors because of some new things and seeing a team for the first time in a week. You like to build through the week."
NO PLACE LIKE HOME: The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 postponed the Bucs' home opener Sept. 16 game against the Eagles. They have not played a regular-season game at Raymond James Stadium since the 38-35 Monday night win over the Rams Dec. 18.
The reality dawned on receiver Keyshawn Johnson and cornerback Brian Kelly a few nights ago.
"We were driving (near the stadium) and looking at the little red lights blinking on and off and I said, "Dang, we haven't played in this stadium since like (December),' " Johnson said. "It's a long time. It's pretty crazy."
Sunday's home game against the Packers could be a particular relief to the offensive line, which has had to battle crowd noise in both games.
"It's going to be great to get out there and actually be able to hear what the center is saying and what the guard is saying and actually hear the count and not have to look at Brad and see whether he is shaking his head," right guard Jerry Wunsch said of quarterback Brad Johnson. "I'm looking forward to it."
But Dungy warned the team complacency could be dangerous: "I think it will be (nice), it will be a pick-me-up for our guys. But I cautioned them (Wednesday) that you can't just say that, because we're at home, everything will be all right. If we play the way we can play, I think our home field will be an advantage."
WHAT'S UP WITH GIBBY?: Second-year safety David Gibson finished training camp second on the depth chart to Pro Bowl player John Lynch. But Sunday, Gibson was inactive in favor of rookie John Howell.
It was a surprising move, designed to give the Bucs more punch on special teams.
"It's extremely difficult because I had expectations of being one play away from getting in there and proving my play, which I thought I had already done on special teams," Gibson said. "It's tough mentally, but all I can do is bust my butt every day in practice and show the coaches that I'm not going to let this get me down. It's one of those things where I have to come to work every day and fight and as soon as my opportunity comes, I can't blow it because it may not come very often."
THE GODFATHER: The relationship between Lynch, wife Linda and Marcus Edwards, son of former Bucs defensive backs and now Jets coach Herman Edwards, is the subject of a NFL Films Presents special on ESPN. Marcus is a freshman defensive back at South Florida.
The special, which airs five times on ESPN or ESPN2 over the next five days (beginning at 7:30 tonight) is The Mastermind and the Godfather. The Lynches are Edwards' "surrogate family in Tampa." "Obviously, he is facing different challenges and issues at this stage in his life," said Lynch, who is Marcus' godfather. "Herm has done a great job raising him, so Linda and I are just there to keep him on the right track."
Marcus Edwards, 19, is redshirting this season and spends a number of weekends at the Lynch house. Lynch said he won't hesitate to be firm with Marcus. "I would feel it's my duty," Lynch said. "Herman and I were close friends, but if I wasn't doing my job on the field, he would let me know. It's the same thing."