Trent Dilfer has never been one to make excuses, but he's running out of them anyway.
He's also running out of time.
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| The Bucs put some heat on Trent Dilfer by bringing in other quarterbacks. |
Dilfer's contract status, the growing expectations of Tampa Bay fans, the increasing impatience of Buccaneers coaches and his own inconsistent play have conspired to turn this into a make-or-break season for him.
If he quarterbacks the Bucs back to the playoffs after last season's disappointing 8-8 record, the team will probably hand him a $4 million check
that will kick in the final two years of his contract. If he doesn't, Dilfer's sixth season at Tampa Bay likely will be his last.
And if that's not pressure enough to heap on Dilfer, then consider this. For the first time since he was selected with the sixth overall pick in the
1994 draft, he has real competition for the starting job.
After Dilfer regressed in 1998 and the team missed the playoffs, fourth-year coach Tony Dungy decided to quit coddling him and start pushing him. The young Bucs are ready to win now, and Dungy tried to light a fire under Dilfer by trading for Ravens backup Eric Zeier and drafting promising Shaun King in the second round. Previously, Dungy had been careful not to sign a backup who could challenge Dilfer, but this year he had to battle for his job.
"It's not necessarily Trent playing himself out of it," Dungy said early in training camp. "Somebody has to be playing better, and that's the bottom line. Who's playing the best? Who gives us the best chance to win? That guy will be the quarterback. I think if you're a coach and you don't play the best people, you're sending a message to your team. You can't do that."
Since Dungy's arrival in 1996, the Bucs have ranked 29th, 30th and 27th in passing. With all but one of their 22 starters returning, the Bucs' biggest
task is to upgrade their unimaginative offense. If they do, they could become the NFC Central's third different winner in as many years.
"We didn't play well as a team last year as we can, but the fact is we were No. 2 on defense and No. 4 in rushing (offense)," Dungy said.
"Obviously, we've got to throw the ball better."
Dilfer, whose 64 consecutive regular-season starts represent the second-longest current streak in the NFL behind Brett Favre, has responded to Dungy's challenge -- first verbally, then with his actions on the field.
"I know what I can do," Dilfer said. "I proved it. There are things I still have to prove, but every time I step on the field, I don't feel like I have to show people that I can be a productive National Football League quarterback. I was in the Pro Bowl two years ago. I won a playoff game. Do I still have a million goals to achieve? Absolutely. But it's not like I'm trying to win a spot."
Whether he was trying to win a spot or not, Dilfer authored his best training camp ever. He hit a pothole early, when he threw three interceptions
in a scrimmage against the Dolphins, and another one late, when he threw his only interception of the preseason in the final game.
In between, Dilfer went out and reaffirmed his position as the starting quarterback with some consistent and occasionally spectacular play. But while it was enough to keep Zeier and King on the bench, it wasn't enough to placate Dilfer's detractors. Dilfer can only find that redemption during
the regular season.
"He is a guy who is always going to be under scrutiny until he gets over these barriers, which really for a quarterback means you almost have to go to
the Super Bowl," general manager Rich McKay said. "He understands that."
He also acknowledges that this is a make-or-break season for him with the Bucs.
"It's been talked about that this year is the biggest year in my career," Dilfer said. "And there are so many guys (like that) on the team, contract-wise, and there are the expectations and all that. Yeah, I'm sure there's probably some truth to that. What I've tried to do, especially this year, is focus on one main thing and that's my expectations for myself."
Accordingly, Dilfer brushed off assumptions that the acquisition of Zeier, considered by the Bucs to be the best backup quarterback in the NFL, and
King, who set the NCAA record for passing efficiency while leading Tulane to an undefeated season, has affected him. He insists he's not looking over his
shoulder.
"I push myself hard enough. So, I don't have to be pushed by another player," said Dilfer, who has dropped 12 pounds since last season. "Our
coaches know that. I know that."
Dilfer also knows this. The time is now for him to make the jump from a quarterback who holds his team back to one who pushes it forward. The setting
in Tampa Bay, which in the past might have hindered his development, has never been better. Dilfer has every reason to succeed and no more built-in
excuses to fail.
He has experience. Now 27, he's been a starter since late in his rookie season.
He has a position coach. For the first time since Dungy arrived in 1996, the Bucs have a quarterbacks coach, moving Clyde Christensen over from
coaching the tight ends.
He has more options. Coordinator Mike Shula, accused of running the most simplified offense in the NFL, has diversified this season, with extensive
use of the shotgun formation and multiple-receiver sets. No longer will the Bucs be a predictable I-formation team.
He has more weapons. Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott form the best backfield tandem in the NFL, and youngsters Reidel Anthony and Jacquez Green have emerged as potential big-play wide receivers. If Bert Emanuel can overcome
nagging injuries and a case of the dropsies, Dilfer will have his choice of top-flight receivers to throw to.
No matter how much Dilfer's immediate environment has changed, however, it's still up to him. Although he's thrown a team-record 21 touchdown passes
in each of the last two seasons, he has never completed more than 56 percent of his passes in a season. Dilfer must become consistent and accurate enough
to be a playoff-caliber quarterback. Of course, he's heard that every year since 1995.
"As I evaluated last season, the biggest thing I found was there were times when I couldn't have played much better, but there weren't enough of
those times, and the consistency wasn't there for myself and for the team," Dilfer said. "I think it starts with me, and I'll put the pressure on myself
to play every week the best I can play."
There were signs during the preseason that this might be the year Dilfer finally lives down his reputation as an erratic passer. In the first three
exhbition games, he completed 22 of 39 passes for 361 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. More importantly, he engineered seven touchdown drives
in 13 possessions. Twice in that span the Bucs passed for 300 yards, a plateau they had reached only once before under Dungy. They set a preseason
club record by scoring 45 points against New England.
"I'm throwing the ball better than I have," Dilfer said. "Absolutely. That's something I've worked on very hard and will continue to build on that."
Unfortunately, time is running out. The franchise that gave up on Steve Young, Vinny Testaverde and Chris Chandler is 16 games away from making a determination on Dilfer.
Ran out of town
The popular theory is the 49ers jettisoned perennial Pro Bowler Merton Hanks because they needed the room under the salary cap to complete the trade for cornerback Craig Newsome.
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| 1998 SEASON STATISTICS | | TKLS | SOLO | ASST | SACKS | INTS |
| 48 |
42 |
6 |
0 |
4 |
|
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But the seeds for Hanks' departure after eight years as the 49ers' free safety were sown long before San Francisco stole the still-productive Newsome
from the Packers for a late-round draft choice.
Hanks' demise really began the week of the NFL draft. That's when the Rams traded for halfback Marshall Faulk, the best combination runner/receiver in the league. That's also when the Saints traded their entire draft for Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams, a 230-pound sledgehammer who rushed for more yards than anyone in NCAA history.
In the span of a day or two, the NFC West became the land of the marquee running back. Throw in 230-pound Jamal Anderson of the Falcons, who led the NFC in rushing last year, and you have the premier power-running division in the NFL.
"Merton just isn't built for that kind of football," 49ers general manager Bill Walsh said. "He can do a lot of other things, and he's a Pro Bowl player, so I'm not discouting that. But we really need someone substantial coming out of the middle to take on those running backs. All I'm saying is we may be more effective against the run with a bigger, stronger person playing there."
Second-year man Lance Schulters, who had a strong preseason, is exactly the type of heavy hitter the 49ers are looking for at free safety.
Youth movement hits Green Bay
Speaking of Newsome, his journey from starting left cornerback on a Super Bowl champion to bargain-basement trade bait was quick and -- quite possibly
for the Packers -- painful.
After intercepting a pass in each of the Packers' three playoff games following the 1996 season, Newsome blew out his knee on the very first play
in 1997. He returned in 1998, but had lost a little speed and a lot of confidence, which resulted in a so-so season.
When Packers general manager Ron Wolf drafted cornerbacks with his first three picks this year, it had a dual purpose. It was a response to the
liberties teams like the Vikings and 49ers took with the Packers secondary last year, and it was also a warning shot over Newsome's bow that he needed to
return to his 1996 form or else.
Newsome didn't play poorly during the preseason -- in fact, he was more consistent than any of the rookies -- but he was demoted anyway. A few days
before the final preseason game, Newsome went from being a starter to being the team's fifth cornerback behind right-side starter Tyrone Williams and rookies Mike McKenzie, Antuan Edwards and Fred Vinson.
McKenzie, the surprising third-round pick, will start in Newsome's place. Meanwhile, Edwards, the first-rounder, will be the nickel back and Vinson,
the second-rounder, will be the dime back.
That means Green Bay will have three rookie cornerbacks in its dime defense, a dramatic change from last year, when the nickel and dime backs were aging safeties Pat Terrell and Mike Prior. The new Packers coaching staff likes speed, and if they are feeling any trepidation about relying so heavily on inexperienced cornerbacks, they aren't showing it.
"Last year we went into a situation with veteran guys as backups and that didn't work," general manager Ron Wolf said. "It's talent over experience.
We tried experience last year, and that didn't work. We decided to take the better player."
Perfect redux? Not quite
Does this story sound familiar to anyone?
A new owner takes over on the eve of training camp and his new team, led by a coach who is clearly on the hot seat, goes undefeated during the preseason
and builds up great expectations for the regular season.
No, we're not talking about the 1998 Vikings. We're talking about the 1999 Redskins.
Coach Norv Turner's team started out with a 3-0 exhibition record and looked like they might keep it that way right up until the final minute of
the preseason. But the Redskins' hopes of a perfect preseason came up just short when the Buccaneers' Shaun King threw a late touchdown pass to beat
them in the exhibition finale.
Somehow, we can't see the Redskins matching the Vikings' 15-1 regular-season record, either.
Tom Oates of the Wisconsin State Journal writes a weekly NFC column that appears every Thursday during the regular season.
