Sports: Gramatica, Mare riding hot streaks

Gramatica, Mare riding hot streaks

By ROGER MILLS

TAMPA -- Considering that the Bucs and the Dolphins have excellent defenses and conservative offenses, and stress the running game, two players who could factor heavily into Sunday's game are kickers Martin Gramatica and Olindo Mare.

When the teams met in the preseason, Mare kicked five field goals, including a 42-yarder with nine seconds left to give Miami a 15-13 win.

"You've got two outstanding kickers, guys who don't miss very often," Bucs coach Tony Dungy said. "I think it will be a day when both of the those guys will have to have good days."

Gramatica has made 16 straight field goal attempts, tying a club record, and has five from 50 yards or more. Mare has made his past 11 field goal tries.

"What's gong to be valuable is both the kickers because both of them are excellent kickers," Bucs defensive tackle Warren Sapp said. "Mare and Martin do an excellent job for both ballclubs. So it's going to be a big game for field positioning, so special teams will really play a part in this."

WEBSTER FOCUSED: Rookie middle linebacker Nate Webster, a Miami native who played at the University of Miami, said he's not getting caught up in distractions commonly associated with returning home.

"For guys like myself, I can't afford to slip with the veterans that we have on this defense," said Webster, who had four tackles against Dallas on Sunday and has 24 overall. "They're not going to want to hear it. I want to be able to contribute. I think a lot of times you can get caught up in worrying about tickets and stuff like that."

Webster said he has no tickets for the game and hasn't pursued the matter much.

"I had headaches trying to get four or five tickets for the preseason game," he said. "Next year maybe I'll try to worry about that. But for now, I can't think too much about that."

TIGHT (END) PROTECTION: With defensive ends Trace Armstrong (15.5 sacks) and Jason Taylor (13) raising Cain for quarterbacks all season, this may not be tight end Dave Moore's big game. A lot of Moore's time, and Patrick Hape's, could be spent helping the offensive line.

"I'm sure we'll have to use our tight ends a little more," Dungy said. "We want to chip those guys. Obviously, you've got in this game three or four of the top eight sack guys in the NFL (Sapp and Marcus Jones have 13.5 and 13, respectively), so I think you're going to see some attention paid to all four of those guys."

DAD'S WATCHING: Over and over, Dungy and the players have said that they can't afford to pay attention to what other teams are doing, particularly during games. But Sunday, guard Frank Middleton spilled the beans on Dungy's son Eric, 8, who was telling players the scores of other games during the Cowboys game. Dad is likely to have a chat with him.

"I guess from what I read, we have a little guy that is doing the scoreboard watching for us," Dungy said. "I'm going to have to school him up on not to tell the players."

INJURY REPORT: Wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson (neck strain), guard Frank Middleton (shoulder bruise) and running back Aaron Stecker (knee strain) returned to practice Thursday and are expected to play. Cornerback Donnie Abraham (hip flexor) and defensive end Chidi Ahanotu (knee) did not practice. Both are probable for Sunday's game.