Abraham likely out 4 weeks with sprain

By RICK STROUD AND ERNEST HOOPER

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 20, 1998

AMPA -- Bucs starting CB Donnie Abraham has a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee and probably will miss four weeks.

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Abraham was injured Sunday against Carolina. A magnetic resonance imaging test Monday revealed no serious ligament damage, and his prognosis is good.

Abraham said he originally feared the worst when his legs became tangled with a teammate's after a sideline tackle in the fourth quarter. "I guess your initial thought is for the worst all the time when something like that happens. Fortunately, it wasn't that bad."

Abraham, who started 34 straight games for the Bucs and has a team-leading 12 interceptions in the past two years, has never missed a game because of injury.

"It comes with the territory," he said. "The sport we play is a brutal sport and it's something we just have to deal with."

Ronde Barber, who served as the nickel back, will replace Abraham in the lineup.

"This is Ronde's second year in the league, so he's pretty much seen everything and seen every receiver we face," Abraham said. "The young corners learn well from the veteran guys, like Anthony Parker. When (Martin) Mayhew and (Charles) Dimry were here, we learned well from guys like that. So they'll do fine."

TIMELY LINE: The offensive line may have had its best game of the season Sunday, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

The line had allowed 17 sacks, but facing Kevin Greene (11 sacks) and a defense that loves to mix its approach, the unit allowed only one sack and generally gave excellent protection to QB Trent Dilfer. The result was a season-high 349 yards of offense, nearly 100 yards above the team average, and Dilfer had his best day of the season, passing for 219 yards.

"We just looked at ourselves and said we were going to play hard every play," RG Frank Middleton said. "We stopped worrying about MAs -- missed assignments -- and said, "If you mess up, we're going to make up for it by going 110 miles per hour.' "

Coach Tony Dungy said he was pleased with the unit but still saw room for improvement. "We still had some mistakes and Carolina kind of forces you into some of those with all the different looks they put forth. But I thought our effort was good and I thought we protected the passer very well. Our run blocking -- when we knew who to get on, we got on them pretty good." There is no rest for the weary. The Saints have 22 sacks, including five Sunday against Atlanta.

"They bring a lot of different looks the same way," Dungy said. "They gamble a lot on defense. ... It's been a little feast or famine for them, but when they put the heat on people who aren't quite sure what they're doing, they get a lot of sacks and create a lot of havoc."