After two consecutive turkeys -- the Raiders' collapse against the Denver Broncos and the Chicago Bears' inept play against the Green Bay Packers -- ABC might finally have a winner for its "Monday Night Football" telecast.
The elements are certainly in place for the prime-time stage, including the subplots. It's Peyton Manning, the NFL's hottest quarterback, leading the undefeated Indianapolis Colts against the defending Super Bowl champion and once-beaten Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who boast the league's best defense.
More than that, it's Tony Dungy returning to Tampa to see if Manning, who threw a franchise-record six touchdown passes against the New Orleans Saints last Sunday, can also find holes in a defense he constructed as the Bucs' coach.
Everyone knows the story by now. Dungy earned rave reviews as a defensive genius during his six years with Tampa Bay -- four of them playoff seasons -- but a lack of offense led to his firing. The Bucs then reached out for somebody with offensive expertise, Jon Gruden, who promptly gave the franchise its first league championship.
As classy and unselfish as Dungy is, that had to be difficult to watch. But now, in a much-anticipated game that comes on his 48th birthday, Dungy is returning to Florida with a Colts team that appears to be far more complete than anything he presided over in Tampa. Moreover, his knowledge of the Bucs' defense and matching wits with Gruden, his more flamboyant successor, makes for great theater. And should the game match the hype, who knows? It might be a preview of the next Super Bowl matchup.
While Dungy might feel betrayed by Bucs ownership, his ex-players still have great respect for the coach. It's no secret many of them were upset when Dungy received the ax and believe he deserves credit for their championship season.
Defensive tackle Warren Sapp, in searching for the proper parallel, compared the coaching switch to changing cooks in the middle of baking a cake, wherein "Jon (Gruden) got a chance to pull it out of the oven and put icing on it, and we lit the candles. So we got a beautiful cake. That's what I liken it to."
Sapp, a 1995 first-round draft pick from the University of Miami, told Tampa Bay beat writers that the team didn't begin to progress until Dungy arrived in 1996.
"It wasn't a professional organization, by any stretch of the imagination, when I got here," Sapp said. "When we got a structure (with Dungy) and knew where we were headed, we started (winning).
"I hold him special because he took me out of purgatory. I like to say he took the chains off me and allowed me to become the player I am today. I owe everything to him."
Dungy is downplaying the focus on his relationship with the Bucs.
"I hope the game doesn't turn into a sideshow," he told the media covering the Colts. "Playing on Monday night. The defending champions. We're 4-0. That should be the story line but probably won't be."
Dungy said his primary aim is "to demonstrate whether we're a championship-level team or not" and not show up or detract from what Gruden achieved in his first season with Tampa Bay.
"Jon is all football. He's done a good job," said Dungy, who has started a major defensive turnaround in Indianapolis. In 2001, Jim Mora's final year as coach, the Colts gave up 486 points, fourth-most in league history. Last season under Dungy, they allowed 313 points, including a 41-0 first-round playoff loss to the New York Jets.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/7543552p-8485087c.html
The elements are certainly in place for the prime-time stage, including the subplots. It's Peyton Manning, the NFL's hottest quarterback, leading the undefeated Indianapolis Colts against the defending Super Bowl champion and once-beaten Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who boast the league's best defense.
More than that, it's Tony Dungy returning to Tampa to see if Manning, who threw a franchise-record six touchdown passes against the New Orleans Saints last Sunday, can also find holes in a defense he constructed as the Bucs' coach.
Everyone knows the story by now. Dungy earned rave reviews as a defensive genius during his six years with Tampa Bay -- four of them playoff seasons -- but a lack of offense led to his firing. The Bucs then reached out for somebody with offensive expertise, Jon Gruden, who promptly gave the franchise its first league championship.
As classy and unselfish as Dungy is, that had to be difficult to watch. But now, in a much-anticipated game that comes on his 48th birthday, Dungy is returning to Florida with a Colts team that appears to be far more complete than anything he presided over in Tampa. Moreover, his knowledge of the Bucs' defense and matching wits with Gruden, his more flamboyant successor, makes for great theater. And should the game match the hype, who knows? It might be a preview of the next Super Bowl matchup.
While Dungy might feel betrayed by Bucs ownership, his ex-players still have great respect for the coach. It's no secret many of them were upset when Dungy received the ax and believe he deserves credit for their championship season.
Defensive tackle Warren Sapp, in searching for the proper parallel, compared the coaching switch to changing cooks in the middle of baking a cake, wherein "Jon (Gruden) got a chance to pull it out of the oven and put icing on it, and we lit the candles. So we got a beautiful cake. That's what I liken it to."
Sapp, a 1995 first-round draft pick from the University of Miami, told Tampa Bay beat writers that the team didn't begin to progress until Dungy arrived in 1996.
"It wasn't a professional organization, by any stretch of the imagination, when I got here," Sapp said. "When we got a structure (with Dungy) and knew where we were headed, we started (winning).
"I hold him special because he took me out of purgatory. I like to say he took the chains off me and allowed me to become the player I am today. I owe everything to him."
Dungy is downplaying the focus on his relationship with the Bucs.
"I hope the game doesn't turn into a sideshow," he told the media covering the Colts. "Playing on Monday night. The defending champions. We're 4-0. That should be the story line but probably won't be."
Dungy said his primary aim is "to demonstrate whether we're a championship-level team or not" and not show up or detract from what Gruden achieved in his first season with Tampa Bay.
"Jon is all football. He's done a good job," said Dungy, who has started a major defensive turnaround in Indianapolis. In 2001, Jim Mora's final year as coach, the Colts gave up 486 points, fourth-most in league history. Last season under Dungy, they allowed 313 points, including a 41-0 first-round playoff loss to the New York Jets.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/7543552p-8485087c.html
