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INSIDE THE NFL

The Bucs' About-Face

by Peter King

Posted: Wed September 17, 1997

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The Buccaneers, who haven't finished with a winning record since the strike-shortened 1982 season, are 3-0 and, after their 28-14 win over the Vikings on Sunday, the only undefeated team in the NFC. But Tampa Bay's turnaround actually dates back to last season, when the Bucs won five of their final seven games and embattled quarterback Trent Dilfer started producing, particularly on third down. "I'm determined to be the best third-down quarterback in the NFL," he says. Through three weeks Dilfer has the league's third-best quarterback rating on third down. Here's how Dilfer's numbers as a starter have changed since the Bucs fell to 1-8 with a 13-10 loss to the Bears last Nov. 3.

	W-L	Comp. Pct.	TDs	Int.	Third-down QB rating
The Old Dilfer	8-19	.522	10	33	57.0
The New Dilfer	8-2	.607	10	6	78.6

Issue date: September 22, 1997