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© St. Petersburg Times, published October 9, 2001
TAMPA -- Now, the Bucs offensive players and coaches turn their attention to a Titans defense that plays more man-to-man coverage than the variations of the cover-two zone seen in the three games so far.
"This is going to be a totally different look," Bucs coach Tony Dungy said. "They force the line of scrimmage and make you go after big plays, but they're not going to let you run the ball and grind it out that way."
It means the Bucs offense, which has one touchdown a game, likely will have to make a couple big plays to win and will have to protect protect quarterback Brad Johnson from defensive ends Jevon Kearse and Kevin Carter.
"They force you to throw some balls downfield," Dungy said. "You get some bump coverage at times, and you have to handle their wide rushers. Carter and Kearse put a lot of pressure on and you have to be ready to handle the blitz.
"You have to make the big plays when they're available. If we get a couple of shots and we're not able to capitalize on them, then it's going to be a long day."
NO NEED TO PANIC: Three games into the season, defensive tackle Warren Sapp has no sacks and Johnson has not thrown a touchdown. This might seem extraordinary considering Sapp had a franchise record 161/2 sacks last season and Johnson passed for 24 touchdowns in 1999.
"I guess I'm not all that surprised about either one," Dungy said. "You feel like they both will come. But both of those guys are playing pretty well. Warren's sacks will come and the touchdown passes will come."
DUNN BACK ALREADY?: Running back Warrick Dunn, who has a foot sprain, has been steadily rehabbing, and there is speculation he might be able to play Sunday in Nashville.
"He's talked about it," Dungy said. "But I still think it's more likely next week. He wants to try to go and is looking forward to getting back. But we'll probably see on Wednesday, in the walk-through, what he can do. We're not going to rush him back if he's not ready."
GETTING IN THE MIX: Shut out for the first two games, receiver Reidel Anthony finally got his hands on a few balls, and he made them count.
Anthony had three catches for 40 yards, including a critical 16-yarder on third and 6 from the Bucs 32. The Bucs scored the winner three plays later.
"The chances I get are slim and none and I understand that," Anthony said. "So, I tell myself going in each week that I need to make a difference. That's my motto every time I'm out there. So I concentrate, do my assignment and make the catch. I was satisfied with (Sunday's effort). I got a couple looks and took advantage of them. I hope it got noticed and I hope I get more."
WORDS OF COMFORT: Standing on the sideline nursing his right knee bruise, second-year right guard Cosey Coleman saw what a difficult day rookie left tackle Kenyatta Walker was having.
Walker had his roughest day as a pro, giving up two sacks and committing two penalties.
Coleman said the best he could do was offer support.
"I told him he has to put that game behind him, immediately," Coleman said. "In the NFL, it's not always going to be pretty. A lot of times, you can let that stuff carry over and that's the worst thing you want to do. One bad play can turn into four or five bad plays. And he has to move past that."
RIGHT CALL: Considering the number of times the Bucs have appealed a call and had it turned down by game officials, one would think Dungy would be hesitant to throw the flag on a close call. After all, two reversals in nine appeals aren't good results.
But that didn't matter early in the second quarter, when officials awarded Packers running back Ahman Green a first down on the 30 when he knee clearly was down on the 29.
"That was one I was very proud of," Dungy said. "There was no way that the guy got the ball to the 30. I knew that in my heart, but I still had to look up to the scoreboard and they showed it nice and big. So I thought, if we don't win this one, we may never win one. ... Probably, if that had gone the other way, we would never have challenged another play again."
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Well, I don't coach the fans. We try to coach the team to be patient. The fans, I thought, did a great job. They were great down the stretch. I have to let you guys coach the fans." -- Dungy on satisfying the patience of the fans.