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Big play day Controlling the tempo will be key to winning NFC title
Posted: Saturday January 22, 2000 11:14 PM
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The St. Louis Rams get you with the big play. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers specialize in eliminating the big play. Whichever team gets its way Sunday will wind up in the Super Bowl. Don't expect something in between, either. The Rams need the quick strikes when they have the ball and takeaways when they don't. The Bucs need to slow the pace on offense, then force the Rams to do the same thing when Tampa is on defense. It provides for a classic contrast in styles that will determine the NFC championship. "We don't want to give up the big play," Bucs coach Tony Dungy said of his third-ranked defense, one that has the talent and speed to slow the Rams' Midwest Express offense. "We would rather be patient and hang in there and make you make first downs. "Defenses have the tendency to want to make things happen. It's third-and-5 and they want to force something, and they line up tight and they get burned. If you make a first down against us, we just line up again. We always want to remain sound. We will take our chances on the next set of downs." The philosophy is the same when the Bucs have the ball. They like to pound away with All-Pro fullback Mike Alstott, throw short passes to the wideouts and tailback Warrick Dunn, and keep the clock moving. Never will that be more essential than Sunday. If the Rams get into a fast-break mode, the Bucs don't have the ammunition to combat it. "We'll go into the game with the same approach," said quarterback Kurt Warner, the NFL Most Valuable Player this season. "Every game, we have to attack the different things the defense is trying to do. "We've hit a lot of short passes in some games if they don't give us the deep stuff. We adjust, and we still make the plays. We'd love to have the big plays, but the Bucs' defense is not one that gives up big plays." What the Bucs defense does so well is get offenses off balance. It didn't let Washington establish a running game with NFC rushing leader Stephen Davis last week. It has the speed to negate NFL Offensive Player of the Year Marshall Faulk out of the backfield, whether it's linebacker Derrick Brooks or one of the backs guarding him. "We have to be fundamentally sound and disciplined and keep the ball in front of us," said Warren Sapp, the league's Defensive Player of the Year. "They pride themselves on the big play. We shut down their running game, and then they turn into a one-dimensional team." Not quite. Even if the Rams are forced to throw, they are so explosive -- especially at home, where they are 9-0 -- and have so much depth they can win that way. Against Minnesota, Warner came out hot, including a 77-yard strike to Isaac Holt and a 41-yard screen pass TD to Faulk in the first quarter. Of course, Minnesota doesn't have a defense to match the Bucs and is not equipped to halt big plays. Tampa Bay has enough speed and savvy on defense to match up well enough with the Rams. But can the Bucs -- or anyone else -- shut down this wide-open, sometimes wild attack for an extended period? "We have great explosion, guys who make plays and make the other guys say, 'Hey, I want to contribute, too,'" Warner said. "And those guys feel they can make the plays, too." St. Louis also has had its share of huge plays on defense. It returned seven interceptions for touchdowns and tied for the league lead with 57 sacks. All-Pro end Kevin Carter led the NFL with 17. "It is an addiction," Carter said of sacks, but he could have been speaking of any kind of game-turning play. "The rush and the feeling of accomplishment in doing what you are trained to do, helping your teammates win games. It's such an addiction because it is an achievement. Just like winning is an addiction."
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