All Bucs bask in glory of `Perfect Afternoon' Hubert Mizell, The St.Petersburg Times, published 17 November 1997 New England needed Paul Revere to shout "Red Shirts Are Coming!" It wouldn't have helped. In a smashing rewrite of history, the erstwhile-awful Bucs evolved into a Big Sombrero war machine that burned, strangled, embarrassed and universally devastated the Patriots on Sunday. "It's not a fluke," said New England safety Lawyer Milloy. "They're a scary team to play. This one was 100-percent Buccaneers. They have a great coach in Tony Dungy. I wish we were playing like them." Be still the Tampa Bay heart. Amassing respect, even envy. Tampa Bay fate has taken an extraordinary U-turn. It's now for sure. Bucs have arisen from the NFL graveyard. For a 22nd-year franchise with a sickly 109-229-1 history, this morning's 8-and-3 record is a wow-wow beauty. Even as Dungy looks ahead to loftier heroics, saying that "eight wins was not our goal." Long before dusk, it had become "The Perfect Afternoon." Every domino tumbling in Tampa Bay's favor. As though a Dungy dream from Saturday night had blossomed into smashing Sunday reality. Bucs chalkboard coaching fantasies coming to unbelievable life. All across the landscape... Sold-out stadium. Glorious 64-degree sunshine. A marquee opponent 10 months removed from Super Bowl XXXI. Shown on local television, allowing all to witness in a hungry-for-glory Tampa Bay neighborhood. Noooooo contest. "From the first snap, we were knocking people off the ball," Trent Dilfer said. "As quarterback, I have the best seat in the house. I can hear the difference when our offensive line is in control. It's so loud, so violent. At times when we haven't been so dominant, it's more of a pitty-pat. This time, smash-mouth." In their banged-up past, one of many sins for which Bucs have been infamous was winning just often enough to inflate citizen hopes. Titillating fans to come in heavier numbers to the Dale Mabry ballpark. Drawing 60,000-plus. Only then to ghastly flop. I've lost track of how many times. Building everybody up, then letting them down. Constantly proving to be the "same old Bucs." No same old anymore. The Bucs kicked so many New England butts, booted them so hard, that pewter cleats would be worn to happy nubs. Fully documented case of Patriot abuse. Then, even when the 27-7 verdict became final, Tampa Bay's joy kept on coming. Elsewhere, fellow NFC Central contenders Green Bay and Minnesota were taking unexpected plunges. When news of a 41-38 Packers loss to Indianapolis hit the Tampa Bay locker room, there were fresh batches of smiles and high-fiving. "The Perfect Afternoon." While the Bucs defense was harassing quarterback Drew Bledsoe, gagging running back Curtis Martin and destroying tight end Ben Coates, there was clock-swallowing artistry by Tampa Bay's offense. Dilfer's season of effectiveness continued, but the more memorable smacks came from 248-pound fullback Mike Alstott. Among all the popular Bucs of this turnaround season, Stotty is the most hurrahed of the Sombrero darlings. Patriots would be run over, around and through by the Purdue pile driver. "It's awesome to watch from up close," Dilfer said. "You can see it in Mike's eyes. When he gets rolling, Alstott rips and bangs to turn 3 yards into 6. Now he's turning 5-yard runs into 11." Not even Bucs flaws would matter. If they hadn't fumbled twice and stalled at the 1-yard line and messed up a field-goal attempt, it could've been a massacre by 40 points. Maybe more. Check the final statistics. Conclusive stuff. Impressive. But for a more definitive perspective on Tampa Bay's lopsided control, let's check the numbers with 4:21 remaining in the first half. Even as the Bucs led by a mere 7-0, the Pats at that juncture had been outpassed 147-11 and outrushed 64 to minus-5. Tampa Bay had 12 first downs, New England none. Bucs had controlled the football 20:44 to New England's 4:55. "I was furious as we left the field at halftime," Dilfer said. "We had overwhelmed the Patriots. Our defense stonewalled them. Our offense was controlling the football, making nice yardage. "I felt a lot better when we returned for the second half and the domination continued." It never stopped. Paul Revere never showed up. Neither did any of the Patriots.