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Bucs leaders agree: Nothing left but to do it

By ERNEST HOOPER

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 22, 2000

TAMPA -- The Bucs were in a huddle, but this one was 33,000 feet in the air instead of on the field.

In the last week of the 1998 season, the players crowded around video director Dave Levy and his tiny television on a flight home from Cincinnati to watch a Cardinals game that held their playoff fate. It was an excruciating time for defensive tackle Warren Sapp and teammates, made worse by the Cardinals winning on a last-second field goal.

With a 13-10 loss to Chicago on Sunday, the Bucs are a step closer to being in a similar situation this season. With a 6-5 record, their margin for error has been erased. And Tampa Bay's leaders know what needs to be done to avoid a fate similar to '98.

"I expect us to run the table starting this week with Buffalo," Sapp said Tuesday on his radio show on WQYK-AM 1010. "And if we don't, we're going to put ourselves in a position we were in '98: on a plane hoping to God somebody makes a play and stops this team from kicking a field goal so we can go play in the playoffs. I think we all know how that feels."

For the Bucs leaders, there hasn't been a more crucial time this season. Not only did the Bucs suffer a surprising loss to the Bears, they lost fullback Mike Alstott for the season and strong safety John Lynch for perhaps one game.

Against that backdrop, coaches and players are saying they have to win their remaining five games. It is a task easier said than done considering the schedule. Buffalo is a '99 playoff team at 7-4. Miami is 8-3 with one of the league's best defenses. St. Louis is 8-3 and the defending NFL champion. And Green Bay is always tough at Lambeau Field.

Lynch said the one thing the Bucs need to avoid is speculation.

"I just think you do everything possible to get ready to play, and understand and get the mind-set, "Let's live in the moment,' " Lynch said. "We've dug ourselves this hole, and we've gotten out of this same hole, and we can do it."

What needs to be said and done by key veterans to keep the Bucs on the right track?

"Just be Derrick Brooks," Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Brooks said. "Let the guys see me staying focused more than ever now. Take each week one at a time and not worry about what's going to happen in December. Keep my mind focused on next week and plan on practicing harder than I've practiced before.

"I don't think we're going to panic. I think we're going to come out and respond well just like when we were 3-4. We came out and put together three wins. We're going to come back and respond well to the situation we're in now."

Ever-confident receiver Keyshawn Johnson echoed Brooks' sentiments, saying that leading by example is most important. Johnson said he doesn't expect teammates to start thinking, "If we lose another game, we're done." Hypothetically, 10-6 may be good enough to make the playoffs. Maybe even 9-7.

Johnson said his style of leadership has another key component.

"Just play better," he said. "What else can I do? Talk to some people, tell them to play better? They know what they've got to do.

"I'm never a person that's going to scream and holler, "Stay confident.' If you can't tell by my attitude, my swagger and the way I walk and talk -- if you don't follow that lead, you're blind. That's just the way it is."

Tight end Dave Moore, who has been with the Bucs longer than any other player, said his teammates have to find the verve they used to win eight of nine and get into the playoffs in 1999.

"It's got to be an attitude of "Whatever it takes,' " Moore said. "You know, we could very well come out against Buffalo and have a turnover in the first half or give up a return on a punt or something like that and be in trouble.

"But our attitude has to be no matter what happens, we have to find a way to win. We did that last year; we found ways to win. We got ourselves in a situation where we were down 10 points or 13 points at the half, but when it came time in the fourth quarter, it was no matter what, we're going to find a way. We have to have that never-say-die attitude back."

The leaders said that if they exude that confidence, the rest of the team likely will pick up on it. Sapp is convinced a now-or-never attitude not only will serve the Bucs well down the stretch, it will be the perfect primer for the playoffs.

"Because we put ourselves in a position where we have to run the table, that'll build the confidence and the momentum of a ballclub that has to go on the road to get it done," Sapp said on his show. "Because that's where we're at. Make no mistake about that, if we run the table to get in, we'll have to go on the road to get it done, so we got to go in with a full head of steam.

"Whatever stadium they let us play in, let's go get it done."

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