Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : Football Forum (NFL) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JakeStraw who wrote (17701)	1/14/2003 11:03:27 AM
From: Road Walker	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 45644

Gruden on playing at the Vet: Bucs get a final swing at the Vet Before the wrecking ball takes down Philly's stadium, Tampa Bay has one more chance to beat the Eagles at home. By RICK STROUD, Times Staff Writer © St. Petersburg Times published January 14, 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TAMPA -- It's fitting that when the Bucs play the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, it will be the final game at Veterans Stadium. No team wants to see it demolished more than Tampa Bay after its past two seasons ended with wild-card losses at Philadelphia. But before the first wrecking ball strikes the ballpark on Broad Street, Bucs coach Jon Gruden is busy tearing down the belief his team can't win there. "Philadelphia is in America; we're not going across the world," Gruden said. "We're going to try and convey that to our team. We have not played well. We have been beaten decisively by an excellent football team in previous engagements. We're going to play this game. "It's going to be a big theme this week with the media. When you have yourselves beaten decisively at the same site three years in a row, you're going to have to answer some questions the best we can. We're going to go. We're going to get on the plane and we're going to Philadelphia one more time. "I saw Barry Bonds. I sat in Pac Bell Park and watched him strike out three times. He didn't duck the ninth inning. He went up there, he took his cuts in the ninth inning and I've seen him deliver. That's kind of how I look at this situation. You either ask for a pinch-hitter or you take your cuts. That's what we have to do. We have to go take our swings." If you're keeping score, the Bucs have not only lost their past three games at the Vet, including a 20-10 decision Oct. 20, they have failed to score an offensive touchdown. [AP photo] Philadelphia Eagles fans react during ther first half of their divisional playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons. In the two wild-card defeats, Tampa Bay was outscored 52-12. The only touchdown came this season on defense when linebacker Derrick Brooks returned a fumble 11 yards for a score. In its past three trips, Tampa Bay has averaged 7.3 points and its 81 rushing yards against the Eagles this season were the most during that stretch. Turnovers have played a big part in each loss: -- Quarterback Brad Johnson was intercepted four times in Tampa Bay's 31-9 loss in the 2001 wild-card game. -- A year earlier, Shaun King's fumble led to an Eagles touchdown just before halftime in a 21-3 wild-card defeat. -- Earlier this season, Johnson's fourth-quarter interception set up the Eagles' final TD. "It's just been bad things," Bucs safety John Lynch said. "They've gotten leads early, we've allowed them to create the pressure and put it on us. They kind of thrive on that and the emotion they feed off their crowd. And when you put yourself in a bad situation there, it is a tough place to play. "In retrospect, you look back at some of those games and you feel like you were in them. And you had the feeling at the time that you were out of it. That place can make you do that and hopefully that experience of being there before and knowing what kind of atmosphere and environment we're getting into is helpful for us." The biggest reason for the Bucs' boost of confidence is their improvement on offense. Johnson said when his team played the Eagles in Week 7, players were struggling with the terminology and formations of Gruden's offense. But in the past seven games Johnson has played, he has thrown 17 touchdowns and two interceptions while leading the Bucs to more than 27 points per game. "I think you have to realize the environment you're going into," Johnson said. "It's going to be loud. It's the last game at the Vet. It will be cold. The ball sometimes gets a little slick when it's cold, so I think ball control equals job security. It's going to be a great environment to play in. You don't get many opportunities to play in a championship game like this. We wish we could be playing at home, but there would be no greater setting than to win it at Philly. It's obviously the team that beat us the last couple of years, but a lot of guys on this team have not been a part of that. They're playing for the same thing we are. They're playing for a Super Bowl also." Lynch described how the fans treat opponents at the Vet. "They don't really say nice things to you. For some reason, you're able to hear their fans," he said. "They're not as close as some places, but for some reason the volume is more extreme. It's really almost like a college basketball atmosphere. They stand the entire game. They're nasty and throw things at you. But it's kind of fun, too. "My grandmother, who is a great Bucs fan, called last night and she was all for it. She thinks we need to get up there, acclimate to the cold. I know with the NFC Championship Game, you always go a day earlier. We've stayed in some pretty nice places up there, the Ritz-Carlton. But our record hasn't been too good. So if we've got to move to the Motel 6, we'll take it, if that's what they feel can get us a win." The Bucs-Eagles game is an enticing matchup for other reasons. Tampa Bay has the league's top-rated defense and Philadelphia is No. 2. And both teams finished tied with the best record in the NFL, earning them the top seeds in the conference. "I think when we lost that day, you heard us in the locker room saying that we're going to play these guys again," Lynch said of the Oct. 20 game. "We were fighting to have the opportunity to meet them down here. But we've said many times, if you're good enough to get there, you do it whatever way you have to do it. Check back to the Ravens and the Patriots. They had to win in some tough places to make their dream a reality." But no place is tougher for the Bucs than the Vet and Gruden must eradicate that fact before the building and their Super Bowl XXXVII hopes disappear. "We have a tall order," said Gruden, an Eagles assistant in the mid '90s. "Whether it's fitting or not? I just think it's the best two teams in the NFC, head to head. "We're going to get on a plane. We're 13-4. We're coming off a great victory, and by George, we're going to do everything we can to win. It's only a two hour and 12 minute flight, and we're going."