Place an Ad Calendars Classified Forums Sports Weather

sptimes.com Text-only News sections Arts & Entertainment AP The Wire Business Citrus County Columnists Floridian Hernando County Hillsborough Letters Movies Neighborhood Times News Update North Pinellas North of Tampa Obituaries Opinion Pasco County South Pinellas Sports State Tampa Bay TV Times World & Nation  Find your local news section Weekly sections Brandon Times City Times Homes Outdoors Perspective Personal Tech Taste Travel Weekend Xpress Special Sections Arena football Buccaneers College football Devil Rays Lightning Police reports Schools Seniority Subscriber Services Subscribe Renew Help Advertise Place an ad In print Online Market Info Join Us Internships Scholarships Times Jobs Contact us

Bear beats Bucs for big plays

The Bears' Marty Booker has 165 receiving yards and scores on three deep passes.

By DARRELL FRY
© St. Petersburg Times,
published November 19, 2001

Photo gallery Flash gallery Bucs page

TAMPA -- The Bears spent last week figuring out a way to beat the Bucs defense. They studied film, charted tendencies and searched for weaknesses.

What they came up with was this: Throw deep to receiver Marty Booker.

It was that simple, according to the Bears.

Chicago burned Tampa Bay three times Sunday with deep passes to Booker that were strikingly familiar.

They all went for touchdowns, and they all seemed effortless.

Booker, who entered the game seventh in the league in receiving, had touchdown catches of 66, 44, and 28 yards that were part of a career day for the third-year pro from Northeast Louisiana.

In all, he had seven catches for 165 yards (23.6 yards per catch).

"We knew it was going to be ugly out there. We knew there wasn't going to be a lot of 15-play drives against these guys," Bears offensive coordinator John Shoop said.

"We knew that for us to win it, when we got the belt-high fastball, we were going to have to knock it out."

The Bears hadn't been much of a home run hitting team before Sunday. They had completed only two passes longer than 35 yards. In fact, they have returned two fumbles for touchdowns longer than any pass play this season (90 and 69 yards).

Yet they hit Tampa Bay with big play after big play, always using Booker, the team's leading receiver and the new go-to guy with Marcus Robinson out for the season.

With the Bucs leading 6-0 in the second quarter and the Bears offense sputtering, Jim Miller pierced a seam in the Bucs' zone defense, hitting a streaking Booker for the 28-yarder on a post route.

Booker, 5 feet 11, 215 pounds, took a vicious hit from safety John Lynch near the 1 but held on for the touchdown.

In the third quarter, with the Bucs ahead 9-7, Booker caught the 44-yarder that seemed the easiest of the three. Lined up in the slot on the left side, he curled to the outside and hauled in a pass along the sideline.

He was open after Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber, in man-to-man coverage, slowed momentarily. Booker caught the ball at the Bucs 15, then waltzed the rest of the way.

On the first play of the Bears' next possession, they went right back to Booker, sending him streaking down the middle for the 66-yard score.

Again, he exploited the man-to-man coverage, outrunning cornerback Brian Kelly along the hash marks. He caught Miller's perfect pass over his right shoulder at the 34, then barely avoided being tripped before scoring. "We knew they were going to try to do the same thing Green Bay did last week, bring the safety up and blitz the safety off the edge," said Booker, whose best game this season was nine catches for 95 yards against Minnesota Sept. 23.

"That meant there was a lot of three-zone and man-to-man coverage, and we knew we had a chance to work these guys and get open and make plays. We saw that on film, and we wanted to exploit that."

The Bears didn't use much trickery to get Booker open.

He freed himself on his second score by curling to the outside, crossing paths with a fellow receiver.

"We kind of confused them on that," he said.

But his other two scores involved virtually no moves, fakes or disguises -- except for using play-action on Booker's third score.

"We knew once we play-actioned these guys, the safety was going to come down, and it left a big opening in the field," Booker said.

"It was just one-on-one on the outside, and I just wanted to get to the middle of the field."

The three scores were a career high for Booker. So were the 165 receiving yards. It was only the second time a Bears receiver had gone over 100 yards this season.

Booker said the Bucs have a good defense, but beating their defenders wasn't difficult.

"All you have to do is get behind them," he said.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright