Possibilities Now Seem Endless For Bucs Martin Fennelly, The Tampa Tribune, published 11 December 2005 Even Super Bowl rings lose their shine if you lose enough. The Buccaneers had done so 20 times in two seasons, so many times that this 8-4 start came with a nagging question. Are they for real? "We're answering," the historic Ronde Barber said. How could the Bucs have been better Sunday? A resounding 20-10 victory. The real deal. Now it's the Carolina Panthers with the losing streak in this series. It's the Bucs who moved into a tie atop the division, the Bucs who control their fate. The team so many counted out before the season, and during it, seems more than playoff worthy. It appears playoff bound. "Lots of things seem possible," Barber said. For real. You thought it as yet another Barber interception saved the day, like last week in New Orleans, or like three years ago in Philly. You thought of it as Barber made history, becoming the first NFL cornerback with 20 picks and 20 sacks. You thought about Bucs possibilities as they dispatched demons, maybe not like 2002, but enough to make grown Bucs howl after silencing Carolina and Carolina's stadium. Jon Gruden even wheeled an old Bucs pal, The Rock, into a team meeting this week. Remember him? The Bucs played harder than Carolina. They played better defense, better offense. They blocked better, passed better, ran better, tackled better. They hit harder. Will Allen has the Steve Smith bodyprint and ESPN highlight to prove it. The Bucs were better on third down. They were better on most downs. Their veterans were better. Their kids were better. Chris Simms was pinpoint perfect. Cadillac Williams barreled to another 100-yarder. And late in the first half, before Mr. 20-20 made his pick, sack and history, a blur of a Buc, second-year safety Allen, raced over the middle. Allen's radar detected Steve Smith, about the only Panther to show up Sunday. Smith went for the ball. Allen aimed for Smith. The hit thundered throughout this game and maybe an entire league. "I think it quieted the place," Allen said. Smith lay senseless. We all began to come around. For real. How could you not think that watching the Bucs defense? It was a world away from the shredding Carolina handed down in Tampa last month. Smith wasn't the only one to feel the pain. Nose tackle Chris Hovan anchored a Bucs defense that punished all comers. The Panthers had won those battles the past few times. "We sent a message to their offense," Bucs cornerback Brian Kelly said. "Don't come over the middle. A guy will lay you out. DeShaun Foster was running high, running hard early. We put some hats on him, took a little fight out of him." How could you not wonder about Bucs possibilities while watching Simms? Behind remarkable protection, Simms kept hitting on third down. There was the sealing Bucs scoring drive, set up by Barber's drive-killing interception. Simms steered. Cadillac dropped anchor in the end zone a second time. Up the middle on third-and-9 from the 10, no less. "Our young quarterback and our young running back controlled that game in the fourth quarter," Barber said. Everything in control. Within reach. Two games into the fateful December road trip, the one that was supposed to break the Bucs. Two wins. Derrick Brooks bubbled like a kid. Two long years of losing have given way to Saturday's trip to the Super Bowl factory in Massachusetts, a date with those three-time world beaters, the Patriots. No one will pick the Bucs in that one, either. "I've been waiting on this game for two years," Brooks said. "I'm more jacked up about this game than any other game this year. I relish this opportunity, playing the two-time defending world champions. Last team to win the Super Bowl besides them was us." For real.