Home sweet home sounds oh so good Gary Shelton, The St.Petersburg Times, published 27 December 1999 At a time such as this, you want to get out a map. At a time such as this, when the music is blaring and the fans are dancing, when the players are holding their helmets in the air, when the noise is climbing into the sky, you want to check out the mileage between here and the Super Bowl. This is the time all things seem possible, and all destinations reachable. The Bucs have won again. The playoffs have been attained, Brett Favre has been detained and the Packers defense has been A-Trained. Together, it turned a cool evening at the RayJay into dream time, into a moment to discuss infinity and beyond. But once the emotions wear off, once reality dips into the discussion, the question becomes more a realistic debate. Just how far can this Bucs team go? Answer: It depends on how far it has to go. Not to mention the number of times. It is as simple as this and as complicated. For the Bucs, the hope of a successful playoff run lies on the frozen tundra of Soldier Field. If the Bucs can win there, and claim the bye and the home playoff game that are the spoils, they have a shot to make real noise in the post-season. If they don't, chances are this will be remembered as a nice little season, but not a lot more. By now, we have established this much: The Bucs can beat anyone in the NFL at home. They have won seven straight home games, including second-half comebacks in December against Minnesota, Detroit and Green Bay behind rookie quarterback Shaun King. By the same token, how many times can you trust the Bucs to take this offense on the road? Once? Twice? Put it this way: The Bucs have a chance to steal one game as the visitors. Not two. Still confused? Think of it in terms of mountains. "To go in as a wild-card team, that's a lot higher mountain," defensive end Chidi Ahanotu was saying. "If you're coming in with a bye week, and you've had some rest, and you're playing at home, that isn't nearly as high. Then, if you win that game, you're one game away from the Super Bowl." In other words, going in as a division winner may be an Alp, but going in as a wild-card team is Everest. This is the whole key to the playoffs; play as few as you can, and travel as little. Mention a week off to center Tony Mayberry, for instance, and his eyes glisten. "I would imagine it would be huge," he said. "Not that I would know, having never had a week off for the playoffs." Oh, there are times it doesn't seem to matter. In the fourth quarter of Sunday's game, for instance, when the Bucs chewed up what used to be a pretty good Green Bay team, they looked very much like a team you could envision playing in the playoffs. Other times, when the receivers cannot find the first-down sticks (hint: they're about 4 yards beyond the catch), when the playbook looks to be a short sheet of paper, when King dares to look like a rookie, then you cannot imagine this team getting on enough of a roll, outlasting enough other teams in the the fourth quarter, to pull it off. So, for the Bucs, what are the keys? 1) Play at home. The Bucs play a lot better under cannon fire. If the Bucs beat Chicago, and survive frostbite, they will get a week off to rest, then a game at home. If St. Louis stumbles, the Bucs could even be home for the NFC title game. Historically speaking, it is a huge advantage. 2) Run the ball. There are still times the Bucs struggle to run, partly because other teams know how badly they wish to do so. Still, great running games dare you to stack up on them. Consider that through three quarters Sunday the Bucs had only 2.4 yards per run. 3) Force turnovers. The NFC is filled with high-reward offenses such as St. Louis, Washington and Minnesota. Lately, the Bucs defense - which will be the best on the NFC side of the playoffs - has laid claim to the ball. 4) Turn a few third downs into first downs. Move from a few red zones to a few end zones. The Bucs aren't going to be a great offense, but they have to take better advantage of their opportunities. 5) Get into the fourth quarter. There is something about this team in the late going that makes its teeth sharper. The offensive line gets tougher, the defense getswilder. "We know we're going to win when it's close in the fourth quarter," is the way defensive tackle Brad Culpepper puts it. "When it gets down to crunch time, we just believe we're going to win." On a night like this, other teams believe it, too. Ask Santana Dotson, the Packers defensive tackle who used to earn a check around here. "I think the biggest thing that wins in the playoffs is turnovers and defense, and we saw that from them today. This was a playofflike atmosphere. When you can get that done like they did, you can win some games. And you know, they can run the ball." For the Bucs, however, it comes back to this: A bye week is important. Home field is imperative. If they play here, who would you favor over the Bucs? The Vikings and their 30th-ranked defense? Washington and its 28th? Detroit and its 20th? For the Bucs, the road map seems simple. Win in Chicago, and the Bucs can come home. Come home, and they can go far.