Tampa Bay Bucs players, coaches will determine success of quarterback Josh Johnson's debut

His shoulders are narrow, and the load is wide. At first glance, you wonder if he can lift it.

Let's see. All the Bucs want from Josh Johnson, starting quarterback, is this: They need him to stop the bleeding. They need him to move the ball. They need him to save the day. They need him to win a game and restore hope and inject life and silence the critics and sell a few tickets and give fans a reason to pay attention. To sum up, they need Johnson to take a nothing season and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile.

Just that.

For crying out loud, can someone lend the kid a hand?

It is the most popular move in sports, the promotion of a backup quarterback as a season dwindles away. And yet, we look at it all wrong. This week, the question should not be what Johnson can do for the Bucs, but what the Bucs can do for Johnson.

Do you wonder how Johnson will do in his first start? It depends on the defense. And the running game. And the play calling. And the offensive line and the receivers and the special teams.

If the Bucs can be good enough in those areas, Johnson has a chance.

If any franchise ought to know, it is this one. For goodness' sake, the Bucs have trotted out a few other quarterbacks in their time. This is the Bucs' 34th season, and Johnson is their 31st starting quarterback. The bad news? The previous 30 are 7-23 in their first starts. Of the Bucs' first 20 quarterbacks, only one (Steve Young) won in his debut.

Once again, the failures of the past are whispering a few suggestions to Raheem Morris.

1. Run the darned football.

The better the Bucs run, the more pressure they can take off Johnson. They can dictate field coverages, matchups and field position.

The last two games, the Bucs have abandoned the run quickly. That can make Johnson's job tougher. Take Steve Spurrier's first start in 1976. The Bucs averaged only 1.5 yards running the ball, and because of it, they didn't get a first down until their ninth series of the day.

On the other hand, in Young's victory in 1985, the Bucs rushed for 169 yards (60 of it by Young) and beat the Lions 19-16 in overtime.

2. Don't ask for too much from the kid.

Four times in their history, the Bucs have allowed a first-time starter to throw 40 passes in a game. Four times, they have lost.

For Morris, the perfect game to emulate is Shaun King's victory over the Vikings on Monday Night Football in 1999. King threw for only 93 yards, but he hit two touchdowns, and he kept his offense in control. And he won.

On the other hand, the Bucs asked Vinny Testaverde to throw 47 times in his first game in '87. His stats were good, but his team lost.

3. Emphasize ball protection.

The highlight show may not agree, but for a young quarterback, efficiency is better than electricity.

Take the Testaverde game against New Orleans when he threw for 369 yards and two touchdowns. On the other hand, Testaverde fumbled twice in his team's first four plays and threw two interceptions.

4. Emphasize quarterback protection:

Yes, Johnson is quick enough to run away from trouble, but the offensive line is going to have to do a better job than last week when the Giants used it to plow the field at Raymond James.

Sacks are bad enough. There was Mike Boryla's start back in 1978, when the Lions sacked the Bucs seven times for 94 yards, leaving the team with a net of minus-31 yards passing. There was Jerry Golsteyn's start in 1983, when the Lions' William Gay had 51/2 sacks by himself.

Still, there are worse things than sacks. Doug Williams was seven plays into his first start when he suffered a dislocated shoulder. Both Parnell Dickinson and Chris Simms were also injured quickly into their first starts.

5. Tell Johnson that, by comparison, the fire isn't that hot.

Yeah, Johnson has to play on the road against the Redskins.

On the other hand, consider how Trent Dilfer had to start his career. Sam Wyche waited until the team was in San Francisco, playing against a 49ers team that would win the Super Bowl, against a great secondary. Dilfer hit only 7 of 23 passes, and the Bucs lost 41-16.

Then there was Terry Hanratty's first start in 1976, in Three Rivers Stadium against the Steelers. Hanratty hit only 1 of 4 passes for minus-1 yard before he was pulled from the game.

6. Ask Johnson if he learned anything at all from Luke McCown.

All in all, McCown had the finest debut in Bucs history. He hit 29 of 37 passes for 313 yards, including his first 15 in a row. Still, McCown stepped out of bounds for a safety late in the game, and it took a confounding play call by Saints coach Sean Payton before the Bucs could win.

7. How about a little better defense?

If the Bucs continue to give up 400 yards a game, it doesn't matter who is playing quarterback. And would a takeaway kill anyone?

When King won his game in '99, Donnie Abraham returned an interception for a touchdown. When the Bucs won the first start by Simms (who was relieved by Brian Griese after he was injured), Ronde Barber returned a fumble for a touchdown.

8. How about a little better coaching, too?

Say what you want about the players, but the coaching has to be better, too.

This week, I asked Dilfer if he thought Josh Freeman was ready to start in the NFL.

"They can't play Josh yet,'' Dilfer said. "Why expose him to that dysfunction? Their personnel is better than ours ever was, and our offense was archaic. But 86 yards of offense? That's a coaching issue as much as a player issue. Why expose Josh Freeman to those early failures?''

Instead, the Bucs will expose Johnson. Here they are again, looking again to be rescued by their own bench. They're about to ask a lot of Johnson, and they're going to ask it in a hurry.

If he is to deliver, the kid could use some help.