Bucs no closer to ending Pack rule Hubert Mizell, The St.Petersburg Times, published 14 September 1998 Up here, where the skyscrapers are silos and Kenneth Starr will never be as famous as Bart Starr, the contemporary Packers remain decisively better than Tampa Bay's championship wannabes. By far more than 23-15. Working in uncharacteristic Florida warmth at Lambeau Field, quarterback Trent Dilfer suffered a fumble hat trick and Mike Alstott kept going nowhere, and though Tampa Bay's semi-resurgent defense showed renewed pop, there was insufficient magic to rescue the Bucs from their 0-for-the-'90s sleep in Wisconsin. It's up to 0-9. "We're now a veteran team, so there are no excuses for not playing better," Tampa Bay safety John Lynch said. "We've gone through the ebbs and flows, as the Bucs were becoming more competitive, but it's no fun at this point. We expect to be better. We should be better. It's painful to be 0-2. We know we're better." September began with a 31-7 smearing in Minnesota. Sunday's episode at Lambeau was a 23-0 home-team romp until a 95-yard Jacquez Green punt return ignited a face-saving surge that trimmed the deficit to eight. How good/bad is Tampa Bay? In preseason, I wondered if the Bucs weren't getting fat in assessing their prospects. Making it two weekends deep into last year's playoffs was impressive, but many media and public forecasts had Tampa Bay challenging for much higher prizes, even Super Bowl XXXIII. Eight players from Tampa Bay went to the Pro Bowl. Deep inside, had the Bucs begun to believe they were suddenly the NFC equal of the Packers or even NFL king Denver? What about Dilfer? Could No. 12 have figured, after a Pro Bowl trip, that he had become a full-fledged member of a high-plateau QB club that includes Brett Favre and John Elway? Probably not, but at 0-2, the theme seemed worth pursuing. "I don't think so," said Lynch, the smash-mouth defender from Stanford. "I don't believe that's the problem. Guys aren't complacent. Nobody's loafing. But, at times, it is easy to forget what got you there (to the second round of playoffs). We've got to play our hardest and our best to attain that level." Tampa Bay's defensive line had been punchless in the opening flop at Minnesota, but the second Sunday brought memorable production. Sacking the extraordinary Favre four times. Holding runners from Green Bay to 1.8 yards per carry. "That's not too shabby," Lynch said, "but we're still not creating turnovers. Our defense played better this time, but we didn't have to do much to improve on Minnesota." Tony Dungy, a defensive professor, was not so impressed. He attributed a more effective Tampa Bay pass rush to Green Bay blocking schemes. "We rushed well at times," Dungy said, "but the Packers did not keep receivers in to help with blocking, like Minnesota did. So we should do better with one-on-one matchups in the line." Favre was not permitted a world of opportunities, but the three- time league MVP would take ample advantage. Forty-one seconds after Dilfer's first fumble, No. 4 threw a 10-yard touchdown. When the Packers seemed stagnant at 16-0, he whipped Tampa Bay's pass rush and its secondary on a 38-yard scoring throw to Antonio Freeman that sweetened the difference to 23-zip. "We've got to play smarter," Sapp said. "We're not capitalizing. We're still a pretty good ballclub, but we've got to prove it." In regard to the Dilfer fumbles, the flamboyant defensive tackle said, "We can't keep giving up the ball at point-blank range against Favre. Brett is the best. Damn good. We can't do anything about 0-2 now, except go on. Do better. We lost to both Green Bay and Minnesota last season and still earned a home playoff game. We're not on the outside looking in." There'll be more heat than mere Tampa late-summer sunshine Sunday when the Bucs open Raymond James Stadium against Chicago. An 0-3 start to a season of such lofty expectations would send many fingers in search of the panic button. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't glad to finally get a home game," defensive lineman Brad Culpepper said. Lynch added that after five exhibition games on the road and the downtrodden 0-2 start at Minnesota and Green Bay, "it will be good to hear people who're on our side. But nobody on our team should think it's going to be easy against the Bears just because we're coming home. Nothing comes easy in this league." Especially against the Packers.