QB Brad Johnson and the Bucs felt euphoria swing quickly to disappointment Sunday in Tennessee
Special to NFL.com, by Brad Johnson
We're 2-2 coming off a tough overtime game against Tennessee in which we played very average football, especially in the first half.
The offense really came alive with seven minutes to go. We went into a two-minute mode, tied the ballgame up and pushed it into overtime. We won the toss, but unfortunately started in a hole at our nine-yard line. Tennessee shut us down and got good field position as a result. They made a couple first downs and kicked a long field goal to win it. We went from a euphoric feeling to one of the worst feelings ever.
We had drives of 79, 97, 80 and 62 yards for touchdowns, so we're doing some good things offensively. We need to improve when we have a short field. Certain things, like penalites, have kept us from getting in field-goal range or scoring a touchdown. As a team, we need to take advantage of those opportunites.
Keyshawn (Johnson) and I have developed a good rapport with each other. He has really made some plays for us ... he's had 31 catches in four games. Jacquez Green is making some catches too. He had eight catches in our first game (against the Cowboys)in the second and third games, he was kind of taken out of it with different coverages. But he came back with six receptions last weekend.
Our running game has struggled. We only had 24 yards on 17 carries, which isn't good. We got down early against Tennessee and went into passing mode. It's great to have Warrick Dunn back and we're hoping he'll provide a spark.
Defensively, we've played well in many respects. We're doing a great job on first and second down, but have struggled a bit on third down and that has hurt us.
We've lost two ballgames that came down to the final play. I feel like we're a really good football team that just hasn't capitalized on its opportunities. We've got the next two games at home and need to get back on the winning track. Next week, we play Pittsburgh and it's a pivotal game for us. Then we've got a big divisional matchup against Minnesota. If we can get those, we're 4-2 and right back in it.
(As told to Christine Stewart)
