This Was Supposed To Be Easy For The Bucs And, Of Course, It Was Joe Henderson, The Tampa Tribune, published 30 September 2002 You could dismiss Sunday's developments with a shrug and no one would blame you. The Bucs had a jolly time, beating the Cincinnati Bengals 35-7 at Paul Brown Stadium, but so what? The Bengals would have to improve immeasurably to be called wretched. What happened in this game is just what's supposed to happen. The Bucs didn't even have to play particularly well to win this one laughing. They put the kind of whipping on the Bengals that can get the losing coach fired, and didn't have to exert themselves too much to do so. The only thing is, as we know, is the Bucs almost never make it easy on themselves, especially when they are expected to. They have a way of turning what should be pleasant afternoons into cuticle- chewers, like they did here last year. Remember? They needed overtime to beat the Bengals, who were just as bad then as they are now. There was no need for Maalox in this one, and that may be the best measure of where this football team is. They finished September with a 3-1 record, shrugging off the disappointment of the opening- week loss to New Orleans to win three in a row. They easily beat the Bengals and Baltimore, two dreadful teams, in just the way you'd hope they would. How refreshing. ``It's going to be a beautiful turn of events to see how this turns out,'' defensive end Simeon Rice said. Taking Care Of Business. You don't judge a game like this by statistics. You judge it by the number of worry lines etched on the participants' faces, and there were none. The Bucs were relaxed, efficient, overpowering at times, and seemed in control even when they fell behind early, 7-0. ``That's one of the marks of a good team,'' safety John Lynch said. ``You feel like you're the better team, and you go take care of it. When you look at teams like the Rams in their Super Bowl years, and when they were supposed to beat someone, they did. And they did it soundly. I think it sends a message to the league, and most important to us. There are so many games in this league that are dogfights. When it comes together like this, it's nice.'' There were some flaws, but so what? Brad Johnson threw his first two interceptions of the year, one of which was returned 51 yards by linebacker Brad Simmons for Cincinnati's only touchdown. Michael Pittman fumbled a handoff to give the Bengals an early scoring chance. But why quarrel? This might have been a bland game against an inferior opponent, but that's just what you want. You like your quarterback to play well? Johnson certainly did, the interceptions notwithstanding. He stood in against the Bengals' assortment of blitzes, got knocked down some, but made the Bengals pay. You've been begging for the Bucs to go downfield, and Johnson did that Sunday. He threw three touchdown passes, none shorter than 22 yards. You want further proof the defense thinks it's 1999 again? You had it on this day. Bucs' defenders harassed Bengals quarterback Akili Smith all afternoon. They sacked him three times, including two by Warren Sapp, and intercepted one of his passes. More important than what they did, though, was the way they did it. ``He called me every bad word in the dictionary,'' Smith said of Sapp. ``He's Warren Sapp, and that's all I have to say about that. He's everything everyone imagined he would be on the football field.'' Sapp just laughed. ``We weren't fearing him at no time,'' Sapp said. ``What was this, his 17th start? [Shaun] King has more wins than he has starts [actually, King is 14-7 in regular season starts], and King's our third quarterback. We were going to take Corey Dillon away, and Lorenzo Neal - take their running game away - and so, `OK, young fella. Let's see if you can beat us.' '' A Relaxing Afternoon. Beating the Bengals this way won't send shock waves around the league. It won't mean a rush on Super Bowl tickets back home. It's just a win against a team you're supposed to beat. But last year, when the Bucs flopped around up here like a beached grouper, you knew something was wrong. Now you watch as things get a little better every week, and you see the swagger and purpose return. You still see mistakes, but there are fewer of those each week. You are beginning to see the possibilities instead of just hearing about them. ``It's all about us,'' Sapp said. ``If we play our game, they can't play with us. Even if we give them seven [points], they still can't play with us.'' It was just an easy win against a team that isn't very good. You don't want to make any more of it than that. But you also know what has gone on before. You remember how the Bucs have struggled on so many Sundays past, turning games that should have been as relaxing as this one into fights for survival. Dismiss this one if you want. It was only the Bengals. What happened was just what was supposed to happen. Maybe, though, that's just the point.