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Trying to block out the pressure

It doesn't get any easier for the Bucs' offensive line as it has to protect Brad Johnson from the Freak and Superman.

By RICK STROUD

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 11, 2001

TAMPA -- If you think the Bucs' offensive line struggled with the no-name pass rush of the Green Bay Packers last week, consider what might occur this Sunday with sackmeisters nicknamed Superman and the Freak.

Titans defensive ends Kevin Carter and Jevon Kearse are arguably the most dangerous tandem of pass rushers in the league and could not have appeared on Tampa Bay's schedule at a worse time.

The Bucs are reeling after yielding five sacks to the Packers in a 14-10 win -- three by Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, the NFL sack leader with nine.

Biamila particularly took advantage of rookie left tackle Kenyatta Walker, who gave up a pair of sacks, was called for holding, illegal procedure and a personal foul -- just in the first half.

Walker will draw Kearse, who has moved from the left side to right defensive end. The Freak, who had 26 sacks in his first two seasons, is warming up with two in his first three games.

Carter, aquired in a trade from St. Louis, has yet to duck into a phone booth and emerge as his alter ego, Superman. In the past two seasons, he has had 27 sacks. But he's still looking for his first sack this year and hopes to get it against right tackle Jerry Wunsch.

"My biggest thing is I don't want to help nobody's stats," Walker said. "I don't want to put anybody in the Pro Bowl. That's my new thing.

"Everybody knows I'm a rookie, but I'm a rookie starter. And I've got a lot of pressure that I have to deal with. This is the game. This is Week 4. We've got 16 games. This is a learning experience. It's a soap opera."

If anyone can relate to the daytime dramas Walker is experiencing, it's Wunsch, who has had his own personal demon in the form of Packers future Hall of Fame defensive end Reggie White.

"You can't let it get to you," Wunsch said. "You've got to put it behind you and move on. If you don't, that's when you start struggling. First, it starts with a series of plays. Then all of a sudden, you're into bad games and then you're into a season."

If anyone should be familiar with Kearse, it's Walker, his former teammate at Florida.

But the two rarely went man-to-man in pass rush drills. Kearse was a linebacker while Walker played right tackle.

"We had a conversation about Jevon Kearse. I asked him, 'Who got the best of the one-on-ones when you were in Florida?' " Bucs coach Tony Dungy said. "But (having a bad game), happens with young guys. It happens with a lot of rookie players. You're not going to have great gains every time out. You want to have them more often than not. We still have a lot of confidence in him."

Walker said he is looking forward to the challenge.

"That's going to be fun," Walker said. "You've got Kevin Carter over there and all these Florida players. I look at this game. I don't look at who's really over there. I've got a lot of technique I have to work on personally. I don't care who is over (there). It's going to be a big name every game. Every time I play, there's going to be somebody over there who's fast or this and that."

It's not as if the Bucs are not going to provide help to Walker or Wunsch. Tight end Dave Moore likely will help double-team one of the Titans pass rushers. The Bucs also likely will use a running back to chip block on the other.

"We don't plan on Kearse just running wild out there," Dungy said. "They have a bunch of guys that can get after the passer. That's kind of their hallmark and what they live by. We've got to do a good job and alleviate that."

One way to slow down any pass rush is to be successful running the ball.

Last week, Ravens running back Terry Allen rushed for 108 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown in a 26-7 win over Tennessee.

Walker said he has put the Green Bay game behind him and is ready for redemption.

"It just got ugly for me. I had to go back in the locker room and regroup and come back out there and play. We won the game. I lived to see another day," Walker said.

"I look at it like I'm not intimidated by anybody. (Kearse) is a good athlete. He's a good player. But I practice against good players. That whole defense is good. Jevon is a hell of a player. But all those guys are. Who knows who's even going to be on me. They switch them a lot, and all of them are good players. You look at this team, and they're 0-3. But don't be thinking this team is not good. They're just having a bad time."

According to Bucs offensive line coach Chris Foerster, the Titans have more than just their pair of bookend pass rushers for the Bucs to worry about.

"We struggled as a whole," Foerster said. "I think whether it's Kearse or Carter, they've got six or seven guys who are all good rushers. They all rush the passer well. They all play the run well. They're a pressure defense, and they have a lot of guys in the box. We've got to be prepared for the pressure. We've got to be prepared to handle the blitz. We've got to be prepared to handle the one-on-one matchups and the added thing of the crowd noise. It's a team that's 0-3 and desperate for a win. It all adds up to having to take care of business. We play games like this all the time.

"You have to be able to batten down the hatches, take care of the tackles and throw the ball on time."

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