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Buccaneers vs. Eagles
NFC Title 2003: The Vet’s Last Hurrah
By Joe de Wolk (intro by Mike Oseroff)
 Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will march into their house of
horrors, a place otherwise known as Veterans Stadium, and try to chase away
the ghosts of failures past against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship.
This game will be the final ever played at the Vet, and both teams will be trying
to wave goodbye to it on a good note. Both teams are two defensive powerhouses,
but they both must provide an offensive spark as well, or have their seasons
flushed down the drain. The Bucs will return to the Vet having lost their past
four games there by a combined score of 89-35, and having scored a grand total
of one offensive TD in those games. Meanwhile, the Eagles will try to do what
they couldn’t last year in St. Louis: win the NFC and advance to the Superbowl.
Led by Defensive Player of the Year Derrick Brooks, Tampa’s stifling D
must provide QB Brad Johnson an opportunity to get into rhythm, while Philly’s
QB Donovan McNabb will try to find holes in Tampa’s line and finish them
off one more time.
For The Philadelphia Eagles:
1. Blitz, Blitz, Blitz
The Eagles have maintained awesome defense all year long, due in major part
to defensive coordinator Jim Johnson’s surprising blitz formations that
tend to scare the hell out of a quarterback. And, as has been well publicized,
Tampa Bay’s biggest weakness is its offensive line, and it must be exploited
by the Eagles D. If the Eagles can get to the quarterback, they can keep the
Buccaneer receiving corps who are mediocre at best down for the count, since
the Bucs have no running threat (unless you count Mike Allstot’s fumble
per 35 carries). If they can knock starter Brad Johnson out of the game, maybe
they can have some fun with walking tackle-bag backup QB Rob Johnson. Sack Brad
Johnson, win the game.
2. Drop the Duce
Duce Staley is the key to scoring points for the Eagles in this game. Tampa
Bay's famous “Cover-2” defensive scheme has provided the best pass
defense in the league by a mile, and the Eagles average receiving corps are
not likely to light it up. However, the Bucs psuedo-weakness on defense is getting
run on (where they ranked seventh overall), especially right up the gut, and
away from speed demon end Simeon Rice. If the Eagles give Duce enough carries
to run effectively, they can easily outscore a struggling Tampa Bay offense
by scoring points, and dominating the clock.
3. Hold Down the Fort
The Eagles home, otherwise known as The Vet, is on its last legs. In fact, the
2002 NFC Conference Championship game will be the last game played there no
matter what, as it will be destroyed after this season. The Eagles have to take
to their field with pride and defend its honor for its last 60 minutes of life.
A Buccaneer win on Sunday will go down in NFL history and enshrine the 2002
Bucs for the deed. If the Bucs come out strong in the drunken, wild atmosphere
that Philly is famous for, the crowd as well as the Eagles might never recover.
The key here is to maintain home field advantage the whole game, keep the crowd
interested, and fight with pride.
For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
1. Get Pumped
The Buccaneers have a history of being eliminated from the playoffs by the Eagles
at the Vet. In their last three playoff games (before last Sunday) they had
not scored an offensive touchdown. The Bucs need to overcome history and get
real pumped up for this game in order to not go down early. They have the recent
momentum with the dismantling of my 49ers in which they set a franchise record
for points in a playoff game. The offense rolled, and it needs to keep rolling.
If the Bucs get intimidated early by QB sacks or an early deficit, they will
be in trouble.
2. Get Your Defense off the Field
This team is all about the defense, and while the offense is not incompetent,
it is going to need a good amount of possession time to score enough points
to beat Donovan McNabb and Co. Keep Duce Staley out of the game, and do not
let the Eagles control the ball for long drives, or even short, time consuming
drives. Tampa Bay quarterback Brad Johnson, with his touchdown/interception
ratio lying at an impressive 22/6, is their best offensive weapon. Putting the
ball in his hands is the easiest way to win this game.
3. The Real Gramatica
Would the Bucs be nervous if this game rested on the foot of place-kicker Martín
Gramatica? Absolutely not. Although his brother, Arizona Cardinals place-kicker
Bill Gramatica, might have a knack for shanking field goals, Martín has
been Mr. Consistent all year long. With such a stingy defense and such a mediocre
offense, it would not be surprising if Gramatica gets a couple field goals in
to keep the game close. Martín was 5 for 6 from 50+ yards, 7 of 8 on
kicks under 30 yards, and 14 of 15 on 30-39 yarders, but only 6 out of 10 from
40-49 yards. If the Bucs are to win, The Real Gramatica has to come up big in
the clutch, and not miss any kicks.
— Joe de Wolk is a senior in high school.
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