The Pride Is Back, Minus The Bling Martin Fennelly, The Tampa Tribune, published 17 October 2005 They're dropping like flies. They're soaring like Eagles. One falls, another rises. It's mid-October and they've won as many games as they did all last season. They have won more than any other team in the National Football Conference. It's hard to know where to start with the team that trounced the Miami Dolphins, 27-13. So hard that it's hard to say they're finished even if they lose their starting quarterback. They're a bunch of 1 o'clock workers, not ready for prime time, or so the TV schedule makers said. Who wanted the Bucs? Who picked them? So they're loving the view from 5-1. "You want to come from nowhere," Simeon Rice said. A few years ago, the Bucs were everywhere on their way to San Diego. Fame was their friend. "We danced in streets of gold," Rice said. "We had the platinum rings, the bling bling." The bling bling? Forget it. He's rolling. So's his team. We could start at the top, with the best defense in football. Or with the star running back, Cadillac Williams, on the sideline again. We could start with Brian Griese, who went down in the second quarter. We could start with the men who replaced them. And all the men who joined them. What's possible for this team? Good things? Great things? You can talk about a charmed existence or struggling opponents. All we really know is that this season is six games old, the bye week is next and the Bucs could use the rest. They're battered, but they've only been beaten once. How far they can go without Griese is a real question. Chris Simms might have to answer. And fast. And you know Jon Gruden can't wait to listen. "Anybody have Rich Gannon's cell number?" But look how far they've come already. "It's pride," Gruden said. "We lead the league in pride through six weeks." Bucs pride, the same kind that once made trophy parades, was all over the field at Raymond James Stadium. The downstate Dolphins and their defense were in town -- defense and their suddenly twin running threat, Ronnie Brown having been joined by Ricky Williams, who the NFL legalized for this game. The Bucs passed their test. They didn't lose a second game in a row. Gruden and his coaches outcoached Nick Saban and his coaches. The Bucs defense outplayed the Dolphins defense. The Bucs offense outplayed the Dolphins offense. Anything else? The only pall was cast when Griese, looking sharper than he has in weeks, had his left leg rolled up on by Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas. Griese waved off the medical cart, but it still looks ominous. An MRI was performed. More tests today. But red lights can wait for today. Sunday was for blue collars. You knew it as Simms, playing for the first time since last season's finale, came in and got the job done. You know that had to impress Gruden. "Yes, I'm trying to reach Jeff George." You knew it when Bucs linebacker Shelton Quarles went down early after being the first player this season to tackle the smoke-free Ricky Williams. It was a lower back bruise. Quarles stayed down a while. His face contorted with pain. He returned a few plays later. Yes, that kind of day. The kind of day when Will Allen subbed for Jermaine Phillips at strong safety -- and returned a fumble forced by Greg Spires for a touchdown. The kind of day when Joey Galloway was all over the place again. Griese's near constant obsession caught nine balls, including one for a touchdown on the opening drive that set the tone. If this keeps up, these two will get an apartment together. It was the kind of day that came with four sacks. The kind of day when the Bucs offensive line opened holes for 180 rushing yards. The kind of day where the Caddy sat, but Earnest Graham rushed for 50 yards, more than Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown combined. The kind of day where 7-0 became 10-3 became 13-6 became 20-6 became 27-6 became Bucs fans leaving with hopes for a playoff season stamped on their faces like the sun. A day for Michael Pittman. Cadillac couldn't go. Michael Pittman was originally questionable, with a pinched nerve in his sore shoulder. Gruden was ready to sit Pittman, too. But Pittman went. And went. And went. On Caddy, Ricky and Ronnie Day, Mikey Pitt ran the show. He rushed for 127 yards, 57 on one play, good for a touchdown -- and probably a fine. Pittman started celebrating early and Miami's Jason Taylor clipped his heels. Gruden ought to pay his fine for him. "For him to really stick himself in the batter's box today and force himself in the lineup is really, in a lot of ways, amazing," Gruden said. Six weeks down. Ten to go. What about this season? On one hand looms Griese's knee. On the other looms Cadillac's foot. The Bucs nonetheless stand at a threshold. It's in their hands more than it ever has been since the Super Season. They travel to San Francisco in two weeks with Cadillac having rested nearly all of October. Even with Simms, they have a shot at the postseason. And Gruden is 100 percent behind him. "How old is George Blanda, anyway?" "Winning five games has never been a goal," Gruden said. "I thought we were a hell of a lot better than five wins last season. We lost some games that will go down on my tombstone. Who cares about last year? Who cares about how many games we've won?" The Bucs are making NFL headlines again. Not the kind Gruden's first Tampa Bay team did, but who could? "It was star-studded," said Rice, who contributed a sack and a forced fumble Sunday and was his usual cosmic self. "It was Hollywood in this locker room. It's not as much anymore, but it's still blue collar. Even in those old days, we still had blue collar. We just had glamour and glitz with it. ... That's over and done with. We understand there's no prime-time games for us. We've got to dig. We're at the construction site. We're hard labor." The sign at the site says 5-1. Who needs bling bling? Pride will do for now. "It's pride. We lead the league in pride through six weeks."