Buccaneer Offense on ‘Automatica’

The Tampa Bay Buccaneer player personnel decision-makers felt Martin Gramatica was a sure thing--that’s why they selected him in third round of the NFL draft this year. And that’s what he turned out to be against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

Gramatica lived up to the nickname of “Automatica” he earned at Kansas State, kicking two field goals of more than 50 yards in the fourth quarter and finishing with four in a 19-10 victory.

“I just wanted to relax and do what I had to do,” said Gramatica, who grew up playing soccer in Argentina and didn’t start playing football until he was a senior in high school in nearby LaBelle, Fla. “I just did my job,”

The 5-foot-8 Gramatica had field goals of 24, 26, 50 and 53 yards as Tampa Bay overcame a 10-0 deficit before sealing the victory with Donnie Abraham’s interception return for a touchdown in the final minute.

The win was the third in a row for the Buccaneers (6-4), who pulled into a three-way tie for the NFC Central lead with Detroit and Minnesota. Atlanta (2-8) has lost four of its last five.

“It’s a six-game season now,” Tampa Bay Coach Tony Dungy said, adding that one of the keys to his team’s chances of finishing on top is getting more from its offense.

The Buccaneers are scoring only 15.8 points a game, and didn’t get a touchdown from their offense for the third time this season.

Tampa Bay had six turnovers in a victory over Kansas City last Sunday and got off to sloppy start against Atlanta. Trent Dilfer’s pass on the third play of the game glanced off Warrick Dunn’s hands and was intercepted by Eugene Robinson, setting up Tim Dwight’s eight-yard touchdown run.

Morten Andersen’s 28-yard field goal made it 10-0, capping a first-quarter in which Atlanta had the ball for 11:30 and Tampa Bay ran seven plays for no yards.