Waiting game begins as Bucs' season ends Don Banks, The St.Petersburg Times, published 26 December 1994 Their 1994 season now past and their future uncertain, the Tampa Bay Bucs today begin preparing for what could be the most eventful off-season in franchise history. With the club's ownership situation in limbo, contingent on the outcome of the sale process, the Bucs' front office must navigate a course that is neither too far-reaching for a potential new owner nor too shortsighted to compete in the NFL's ever-changing off-season arena. "It's (a) different (situation). It's definitely different," Bucs general manager Richard McKay said. "But we have tried very hard in our meetings with the scouts and the other people in the office to just say: `Hey, we're on a path where we think we're getting better. We can't lose any momentum.' " The Bucs closed out their '94 schedule on Christmas Eve with a day that rated a huge success for the franchise's viability but a definite downer in terms of on-field performance. With the first Tampa Stadium sellout crowd in more than two years in the books and 65,076 looking on, the Bucs went belly-up against playoff-bound Green Bay, losing 34-19 in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated. Tampa Bay trailed 28-6 at the half. The loss took some of the luster off Tampa Bay's late-season charge, a rally that included the club's longest winning streak (four games) in 15 years. With their 6-10 finish, the Bucs extended to 12 their string of seasons with double-digit losses. The Rams, a team reportedly headed for St. Louis, rank second in the NFL with five straight double-digit-loss seasons. Key dates that will fast approach for Tampa Bay this off-season include Jan. 17, when all clubs must designate six unprotected players for the Feb. 15 expansion draft, and the start of the free-agency signing period Feb. 17. But how aggressive an approach can Tampa Bay take in free agency with so many unknowns regarding who will inherit the cost of that stance? While the three-man trust that operates the team has not set a deadline for a sale, it is believed an offer must be received by early February at the latest in order to allow the club to be competitive in 1995. The most obvious area of speculation surrounds the future of Tampa Bay's starting quarterback, Craig Erickson. Having just completed his third season, Erickson qualifies for restricted free agency, meaning the Bucs have the right to match any offer he receives. But whether they will be able to afford it under the NFL's salary cap is the question. Having given No. 1 pick Trent Dilfer an eight-year, $16.5-million contract this summer, the Bucs might find Erickson's price too steep. "Free agency involves two parties, the team and the player, and that's different than what we had in the past," McKay said. "Clearly we would like Craig Erickson to be a part of this organization. I don't think there's any question of that. We don't control our destiny with respect to that; there's another party there. So we're going to have to wait and see how it plays itself out." Erickson, who started 14 of Tampa Bay's 16 games this season, all but predicted after the Green Bay game that he's not leaving. "We'll see what happens," Erickson said. "I don't anticipate any drastic changes. I really don't. I think that all things said and done, I'll be with the Bucs." Sam Wyche and team trustee Steve Story will head for a short Bahamas vacation this week, but once the new year dawns, Wyche and the team's scouts will attend all the major collegiate all-star games and the Feb. 9-13 Indianapolis scouting combine. "You have to get out there and do your work. You've got to get ready," McKay said. But for what? McKay admits he gave in to the lame-duck mentality immediately after the team went up for sale. "I would say three days after the announcement you had that little bit of a sense of (lame duck)," he said. "But after that, you move forward. You don't get caught up in the idea that, geez, everybody's going to be fired and so on and so forth. I don't necessarily think that's true, so I'm not going to get in the mind-set of worrying about that."