The Tampa Tribune from Tampa, Florida • 40

4 BUCS BONUS MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8. 2004 THE TAMPA TRIBUNE TBO.com Get Love CBS BUCS 34. CHIEFS 31 MEDIA Bucs No From A.J .1 w. 4 ft fcl 4 Michael Pittman scored three touchdowns Sunday, including this one in the first Tribune photo by JAY CONNER half. His over-the-top performance helped the Bucs get past the Chiefs.

caving i Since his return, Michael Pittman is giving Bucs By RICK HARMON rharmontampatrib.com TAMPA The Bucs of the past -few years would have warranted CBS' No. 1 or No. 2 broadcast team for the two Tampa Bay games the network televises. But not this year's version. Even playing the hottest team in the NFL didn't excite CBS officials, as they opted to assign Gus Johnson and Brent Jones to the game.

And no high-definition telecast was available. CBS offers three games in HD each week and chose Jets-Bills, Patriots-Rams and Broncos-Tex-ans. Get used to it. Even with the victory, the Bucs will need to string four or five more wins together to get attention. With the remaining games on Fox, don't expect to see Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Cris Col-linsworth anytime soon.

Despite not being the marquee broadcast team and not having many chances to call Bucs games, Johnson and Jones did a good job calling the action. As they should have, they praised the Chiefs but were quick to give the Bucs praise when it became evident the game was going to be close. All the talk about the Chiefs' 101 points in two games early in the telecast quickly was forgotten. Unfortunately, some of the comments about the Bucs were wrong. Jones talked about workaholic Bucs coach Jon Gruden but had his facts incorrect.

"Gruden stays up until 3 or 4 in the morning working," Jones said. Of course, Bucs fans know Gruden comes to work at 3 or 4 in the morning. And Jones used the English pronunciation of Martin Gramatica's first name. But overall, it was a solid effort. And there was no mention of the Bucs never returning a kickoff for a touchdown.

PREGAME HYPE CBS continues to showwhy no one is watching "The NFL Today" pregame show. The cast of Greg Gumbel, Boomer Esia-son, Dan Marino and Shannon Sharpe is competent but the gimmicks surrounding the show are childlike and unnecessary. This week, a spoof of President Bush speaking to Congress about the "State of the Season" was horrible. Actual footage from President Bush's State of the Union speech was used, including a shot of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who attended the address. Equally stupid was the animated segment on midseason awards; given with an Election Day theme.

The cartoon version of Andy Roo-ney from "60 Minutes" was awful and the entire theme was hokey. OH-FOR-3: All three CBS pregame analysts picked Kansas City to win the game. All said Chiefs running back Priest Holmes would be the difference. Of course, Holmes was a difference because he got hurt and didn't get his normal playing time. FUTURE JOB? Jones, a former 49ers tight end, may have a future as a review official.

On both plays reviewed, he was correct on the call after only one replay. with his performance. FOR THE RECORD Michael Pittman broke the Bucs record for longest run and tied the team record for most rushing touchdowns in game Sunday: LONGEST RUNS Year Player Opp. TDs -2004 Michael Pittman Chiefs 78 1997 Warrick Dunn Bears 76 1995 Jerry Ellison Lions 75 -1983 James Wilder Vikings 75 -2000 Warrick Dunn Cowboys 70 -1991 Gary Anderson Bears 64 -touchdown MOST RUSHING TDs IN A GAME 2004 Michael Pittman Chiefs 3 2001 Mike Alstott Vikings 3 2000 Warrick Dunn Rams 3 1998 Mike Alstott Bengals 3 1991 Reggie Cobb 3 would say "enough already" and let Pittman get on with his life arid his season. We can accept that Pittman is dealing with his problem and wish him every success, and certainly people make mistakes.

He made a huge one, and he paid for it. As big as the Bucs are in this town though which means Pittman is big here, too it's worth bringing up every so often, if for no other reason than to put football in its proper perspective. We can appreciate his play and the Bucs need him. No one is saying he shouldn't be allowed to participate. People can cheer his play if they want, and he deserved that Sunday.

As for cheering the man though, not just yet. fans plenty to cheer about "Kenyatta Walker and Cosey Coleman got good blocks, and I thought I'd be able to pick up the hole," Pittman said. "It just opened so big, and I ran through it. It was unbelievable, really." He was in the huddle when it was announced to the crowd of 65,495 that Pittman's run was the longest scoring romp in Bucs' history, so it didn't sink in until he got back to the sideline and someone else told him. He allowed simply that it "felt good" to set the record, but obviously the win was what really mattered.

"We're very positive right now," he said. "Hopefully we can build on this win, win eight straight, and hopefully get a first-round bye." Well, we'll see about that. At 3-5, there's no urgency to print playoff tickets. There's no question the Bucs are playing better though, and Pittman is a big reason why. "The guy never gets tired, tight end Ken Dilger said.

"It's big-time having him back there. With our play-action, if you don't have a running game, that stops the play-action pass. With him running so hard, those plays are working well. "Now you see them bring the safeties up, maybe use an eight-man box on defense And when they do that, we can be more aggressive." He's To Blame It's useless to speculate where the Bucs would be today if Pittman had been available all season. He wasn't, the Bucs lost all three games without him and Pittman knows better than anyone he let his teammates down.

You can understand why some I AMPA The microphones and questions kept coming in Michael Pittman's direction. What did it feel like to be him? Every one wanted to know. That's what happens when you have the kind of game he did Sunday, and Pittman handled the questions as easily as he had handled the cheers coming from the stands at Raymond James Stadium a few minutes before. 4 is was quite a scene to complete quite a day. Pittman ran for 128 yards and three touchdowns and caught two passes for 30 yards more as the Bucs defeated Kansas City 34-3 1 They wouldn't fiave come close to winning without fiim.

All but 9 of those yards came in the second half, including 78 on a romp to the end zone that was a team iecord. His 3-yard touchdown run fiarly in the fourth quarter gave the Bucs the last lead they would need. Ves, it was quite a scene. I But it still felt a little weird to watch tt unfold. Pittman missed the first three games of this season all losses while on suspension.

After he accepted a plea bargain on endangerment charges in Arizona for ramming a car carrying his wife and baby with a Hummer, Pittman spent 14 days in Jail. The NFL then ordered that he miss those games without pay and docked him two additional checks. The punishment was appropriate, and maybe it should end there. He has reconciled with his wife, Melissa, served his sentence, and is trying to make changes in his life. Spend any time talking with Pittman JOE HENDERSON Columnist jhendersontampatrib.com and he can seem like the nicest guy on the planet.

He seems liked by his teammates and coaches, and his impact on the field has been significant since returning. Judging by the cheers as he left the field, the ticket-buying public obviously is more interested in his present than his past. Maybe that's fair. Some things people do in life are hard to get past though, and ramming a car with your wife and baby in it is one of them. Bucs Need Him We talk a lot about role models in sports, but the NFL is a business and there is no question how much the Bucs need him especially with Charlie Gamer out for the season and Mike Alstott on the injured list.

"He's our guy," Coach Jon Gruden said. "Right now we're leaning on him to make plays." The biggest one came on the second play of the third quarter. The Bucs trailed 24-21 and Pittman had 9 yards on seven carries to that point, but before fans really had time to settle back in their seats from halftime, he took a simple toss and sprinted 78 yards to the end zone. interception (with a blitz), and had a pick in Tampa Bay's 34-31 victory against Kansas City. "I try to come out and do all I can.

If I can't make plays or hits in the game, I try to hustle and make my team feel my energy and keep everybody up," Smith said. Smith rose to the occasion when the Bucs needed him most in the first quarter. The Chiefs faced third-and-12 on their 30-yard line when quarterback Trent Green connected with receiver Eddie Kennison, who sprinted past the Bucs' secondary and seemed headed for a touchdown. As Kennison was blazing down the field, Smith began closing in on the receiver. Smith caught Kennison on Tampa Bay's 1 1 -yard line and stripped the bail, forcing a fumble that cornerback Brian Kelly picked up in the end zone and returned to the 29-yard line.

a Eddie he wasn't tried ball," it's want turn just which the chase I' Smiths Actions Vs. Chiefs Speak Volumes i 1 r' Not only did Smith prevent a touchdown, but that turnover also started the Bucs on the way to a touchdown drive and 14-7 advantage. Smith's forced fumble led to 14-point swing. "It's just a hustle play. A guy like Kennison is pretty fast and was probably thinking there anyone behind him.

I just to leap out and strip the Smith said. "I don't know if speed. It's all about want "I'm a guy who feels like I never to give up. I don't want to on the film and say, IDwight gave up and let the guy score a Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said the team practices "pursuit plays" daily, consist of putting players in end zone and forcing them to down a player who is sprinting to the other end zone. The drill teaches them to never give up on a play.

"That was the play of the game. It was one of the greatest plays I've ever been associated with in football," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said. Smith grabbed an interception in the third quarter on another pass attempt to Kennison, but his last big play occurred with 7:37 remaining. The Bucs had a 34-31 lead and Kansas City was on the Tampa Bay 23-yard line. Green dropped back for a pass, but Smith came on a blitz and forced intentional grounding, backing the Chiefs up to the 35.

Four plays later, safety Jermaine Phillips had an interception to end the Chiefs' last scoring opportunity. "When you start out 0-4 you look for any ray of light. To be 3-1 last four games and beat a team like Kansas City keeps your hopes ancLdreams real high," Smith said. BUCS SAFETY MAKES KEY DEFENSIVE PLAYS By ANWAR S. RICHARDSON TAMPA Bucs safety Dwight Smith spoke up this week about wanting to be more involved in defensive schemes.

Smith rarely has the opportunity to play an opponent man-toman in Tampa Bay's Cover 2 defense. When Smith discovered he was not going to cover Kansas City's Pro Bowl tight end, Tony Gonzalez, man-to-man, he voiced his frustration. When it was time for Smith to speak up on the field Sunday, his impact was heard louder than anything said during the week. Smith forced a fumble and an 4 Tribune photo by JASON BI-HNKEN Bucs safety Dwight Smith celebrates after intercepting Chiefs quarterback Trent Green with 9:05 leftVi the third quarter..