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Rick Stroud, The St.Petersburg Times, published 16 December 1991
For those Buccaneers rooters who couldn't get out of bed in time to make it to Soldier Field on Saturday (and he knows who he is), here's some of the action you missed from the Chilly Bowl against the Chicago Bears. Quarterback Jeff Carlson completed every pass he threw in the first half for the Bucs. Okay, maybe two of them went to Bears, but the other one was a perfect spiral to his own receiver.
Tampa Bay's offense crossed midfield at will - three times in one possession. Too bad those darned sacks and penalties kept pulling them back. It also was a record-setting performance by the offensive line. So what if the mark they tied was the most sacks allowed in a season (56) in club history? The result was Chicago's 27-0 win over Tampa Bay, which gave the Bears a half-game lead over the Lions in the NFC Central Division race and locked up a playoff berth. The Lions play at Green Bay today. The loss clinched the worst season for Tampa Bay since 1986.
For the Bucs, who were forced to play with starting quarterback Vinny Testaverde resting his injured back at home in Tampa, it was another very long day. "I don't think it could get much worse," said Carlson after his first pro start. "Before this whole day, you've got hopes and dreams going through your head and then grim reality starts taking shape."
Carlson completed just 8 of 18 passes for 76 yards, threw three interceptions, was sacked four times and lost a snap that sailed over his head. The Bucs were held to just 106 total yards - their lowest output in years and the lowest in the NFL this season. Chicago rushed for 182 yards and four touchdowns while controlling the ball twice as long as Tampa Bay (40:08 to 19:52).
More than a fourth of that came on the Bears' opening drive, a marathon march that traveled 80 yards in 16 plays, took 10:38 off the clock and included six first downs. Brad Muster took the ball into the end zone on a 1-yard run. Two more of the Bears' touchdowns came from running back Mark Green, who had his best game as a pro. He ran 2 yards for a second-quarter touchdown and 1 yard for a score in the third period.
"I'm not pointing fingers, but you can't play this game without the other side of the ball," said Bucs linebacker Jesse Solomon. "I don't know, but I don't think our success was very good on the other side of the ball. You can't leave the defense on the field the whole ballgame. We're hurt. Bitter. Embarrassed. Those are some of the things I'm feeling. We've got something wrong."
Start with the Bucs' offense. Carlson was thrown into an impossible situation. At game time, the wind chill was minus-6 degrees with gusts up to 40 mph. Remember, this game also meant something to the Bears, and they proved that D wins in the Windy City. On the Bucs' first possession, Carlson watched a third-down snap from center Tony Mayberry get caught in the northwesterlies. The Bears' Steve McMichael recovered it at the Chicago 16-yard line.
Amazingly, the Bucs' defense pushed Chicago out of field-goal range and eventually took over on downs. But it didn't get easier for Carlson. On his next try, he was intercepted by defensive end Richard Dent to set up the Bears' second touchdown. Dent also recorded three sacks. And so it went.
The Bucs would sneak across midfield, then turn and run the other way as Carlson got sacked for losses of 5 and 10 yards. "That's a tough situation for a young guy to step into and have to be able to perform and make some things happen," said Bucs coach Richard Williamson. "It was a hard day for him, I know that. We just never got anything going to give him any confidence."
In fact, so bad was Carlson that, at the start of the fourth quarter, his numbers read 2-of-6 for 22 yards and two interceptions. "In general, it was a difficult day," Carlson said. "I don't know if they tried to protect me and let me throw a couple of screens, but I never really threw the ball upfield too much. We tried to run on first and second down and on third-and-8, we threw it. That makes it tough sometimes. I'd like another chance at it, to see if we could open it up and get things rolling.
You know who I felt like was (Brad) Goebel, when we played the Eagles and all they did was hand the ball, hand the ball, throw a screen. Do you remember? That's how I felt."
One can only imagine how Testaverde felt because he elected not to accompany the team to Chicago on Friday when it was determined he was unable to play. Solomon took exception with Testaverde's absence.
"Vinny's one of our leaders. I'm not a doctor, but evidently he must be diagnosed with a real terrible, terrible (back) not to make the trip because you definitely need all your leaders present, especially at a time like this," Solomon said. "You want to look over at some of the guys, and if they're not playing, they're encouraging you to do the best you can. "
The Bucs wrap up the season next Sunday at home against Indianapolis in a game that might determine which pick the Colts use to select the first overall player in the draft - theirs, or the one the Bucs traded to them. "Your pride is always hurt," said Bucs defensive end Keith McCants. "You look and see we're 2-13, and that's not going to get it. We're a better ballclub than that. It's obvious something's wrong somewhere."
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