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Rick Stroud, The St.Petersburg Times, published 7 September 1992
The chant fell from the top of Tampa Stadium and rolled like thunder down to the field until it clapped against the ears of the fallen quarterback.
Buccaneers fans screamed the name of his replacement and carried on even before the injured starter could be carried off on a stretcher.
But on this play, Vinny Testaverde was merely a spectator, and the feeling was spectacular.
On a crushing tackle that turned the game and symbolized an ironic twist of fate, Bucs rookie Santana Dotson blind-sided Phoenix quarterback Timm Rosenbach and forced a turnover that led to Tampa Bay's clinching touchdown in its 23-7 win Sunday over the Phoenix Cardinals.
Rosenbach suffered a concussion and was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he was admitted overnight for observation. (Related story, 9C.) But the headaches were just beginning for Cardinals backup Chris Chandler, whose debut-taunt appearance in Tampa Stadium was met with a mocking chant from Bucs fans.
Despised by some former Tampa Bay teammates for his outbursts against Testaverde, the deposed Chandler came off the bench and failed in his attempt to rally the Cardinals against the Bucs' suffocating defense.
"We knew they were in trouble because Rosenbach is their leader," said Bucs defensive end Keith McCants. "Any time you take the chief away from the Indians, you're in trouble. We were fired up. Chandler is very talented, and we knew he was going to make something happen. But he probably left some bad tastes in people's mouths when he left here for starting a controversy."
Testaverde put it to rest for good Sunday, passing for 167 yards and a touchdown before 41,315 at Tampa Stadium - the second-smallest crowd for a Bucs home opener.
Although Tampa Bay's offense stalled at times and needed three field goals by Ken Willis, it was good enough to complement a defense that forced four turnovers and held the Cardinals to 181 yards. It was the first regular-season victory in Tampa Bay (1-0) for new head coach Sam Wyche and a marked improvement over the Bucs' lackluster losses in preseason.
The loss could be devastating for the Cardinals (0-1), who were forced to revive an unconscious Rosenbach at midfield after Dotson's hit with 5:29 left in the third quarter.
In addition to the concussion, Rosenbach suffered lower-back pain and a tingling sensation in his right arm. But neck X-rays and a brain CAT scan Sunday were normal.
"It's not a good thing when you lose your quarterback," said Cardinals coach Joe Bugel, who was without Rosenbach all of last season because of a severe knee injury. "It was a pretty vicious hit, but a fair hit."
Dotson, a fifth-round pick from Baylor, dished out plenty of them. In his first pro start, he recorded seven tackles, two sacks and batted away a pass to single-handedly disrupt the Cardinals' offense.
"It wasn't like we won a Super Bowl or anything like that, but we know how important that first win is," said Wyche. "Sometimes you get that first win knowing the odds are stacked a little bit against you because of the history of losing. We had to break that history. That win didn't guarantee anything from now on. We're not screaming Super Bowl, yet. We're screaming bring on the Packers, though. I'll guarantee you that. We're not afraid of them, or anybody else at this point. Of course, we just won. We'll see things differently in the morning."
What the Bucs will see is an offense that couldn't complete some scoring opportunities despite 17 first downs and 268 total yards.
But tailback Reggie Cobb capped a brilliant 80-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge to give the Bucs a 10-7 lead at halftime.
Testaverde made the big play, completing a third-down pass to wideout Willie Drewrey for 21 yards to give the Bucs first-and-goal at the Cardinals' 1.
Willis chipped in with field goals of 40, 45 and 23 yards when the Bucs stalled. But it was Dotson's sack of Rosenbach that set up the clinching score - a 1-yard touchdown pass from Testaverde to tight end Ron Hall.
Even Chandler, who fell into disfavor with the Bucs after going 0-6 in two seasons as a starter and questioning Testaverde's fortitude, was impressed with Tampa Bay.
"They've got better coaching, that's the difference," Chandler said. "That's the difference. They've always had talent. Vinny, myself - none of us could operate in that (old) system."
On the down side, the Bucs played poorly again on special teams and allowed Cardinals running back Johnny Bailey 151 kickoff return yards, including a 63-yarder in the fourth quarter.
"We did not put this team away like we could have," Wyche said. "When we get turnovers, we've got to put that ball in the end zone. Our special teams are not good enough. We won't accept this. We're going to do something about it this week."
Testaverde appeared satisfied just to get the first win of the season behind him. He struggled to complete 14 of 25 passes for 167 yards but stayed interception-free.
"If we can win early in the year with the new changes and the new system, we're going to continue to get better as a team and grow with confidence," Testaverde said.
Certainly, it was a marked improvement over the Bucs' final preseason game, which saw them turn the ball over four times and accumulate 130 yards in penalties.
"That's a cleaned-up football team from what we saw in the preseason," Wyche said. "All you can do in the preseason is ask for fans to hang in there. And there's going to be a lot of things that don't happen when you get to the money games. I told our ballplayers before last night, this is a money game. Don't mess with our wallets."
Testaverde handled the return of Chandler diplomatically: "I really don't have much to say. Except that sometimes you say things that you really don't mean the way they sound. As a quarterback, that can come back to haunt you."
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