Johnson Possesses Unique Ability

As much hype as there has been about the added dimension Keyshawn Johnson brings to Tampa Bay’s offense, the only thing that looked different in Sunday’s Buccaneers-New England game was the Patriots’ new, darker blue uniforms.

The Buccaneers’ sideline might be a little more interesting (Spike Lee cheered while wearing a Tampa Bay cap), but the team is still run-oriented, still reluctant to throw long, still at its best when the defense is on the field.

Even with new offensive coordinator Les Steckel, the Buccaneers haven’t changed from Coach Tony Dungy’s conservative philosophy.

“I wouldn’t expect them to,” Johnson said. “Just because they got me they’re going to go to the run and shoot?”

No need to go to anything drastic when the old way still works. Special teams were the only weakness in Tampa Bay’s 21-16 victory over New England at Foxboro Stadium.

Karl Williams fumbled while returning the opening kickoff, which led to a Patriot field goal. And New England’s Troy Brown returned a punt 66 yards for a touchdown.

The only points truly scored against the defense came when Drew Bledsoe threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Terry Glenn with 3:01 left in the fourth quarter.

All that did was make it interesting, because the Patriots weren’t about to score again on the Tampa Bay defense.

With Warren Sapp presiding over regular gatherings of the defensive line in the Patriot backfield (producing six sacks), middle linebacker Derrick Brooks controlling everything between the numbers painted on the field and the secondary shutting down any deep threats, the Buccaneers had New England in check all day.

That hardly comes as news for Dungy’s defense.

However, it was a little surprising that after trading two first-round draft picks to the New York Jets for Johnson and signing him to an eight-year, $53.5-million contract, the Buccaneers are using him as a possession receiver.

Facing double-coverage for most of the game, Johnson caught only four passes. But he accumulated 64 receiving yards.

And it’s worth noting that each of his catches was good for a first down.

“Ain’t nothing new, is it?” Johnson said when that stat was relayed to him. “That’s why they brought me here, to help move the chains. That was one of the things that I’ve done well in my career here playing in the NFL.”

Wide receiver Jacquez Green had Tampa Bay’s big gain of the day, spinning away from Antonio Langham to turn a short pass into a 34-yard play.

Most of the time the Buccaneers did their work on the ground. Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott each had 16 carries. Dunn gained 56 yards, Alstott 54.

Alstott scored two short touchdowns, which were disappointing only because he didn’t have to knock anybody over to get to the end zone. The rest of it was typical Tampa Bay.

“Ball control, run the ball, pound it at you,” New England linebacker Willie McGinest said.

“Get it to third and short. Throw the short pass, get the first down. Tampa Bay has the type of offense where they want to win games 10-3, 17-10, you know? Ball control.

“[Johnson] is a down-the-field threat, of course, but I don’t think Dungy’s going to change his whole philosophy because of one player.”

It could be that the only change in philosophy is Johnson’s, from just give me the damn ball, to just give me a Super Bowl ring.

“There’s going to be other chances,” Johnson said. “and other times that they’re going to try to get me the football, try to get me the ball on the reverse or do other things with me, try to spread me around to utilize my talents as much as they can.

“The running game worked perfect for us. We ran the ball, we were able to put points on the board, we were able to get good yardage. That’s no problem with me. I was able to get my catches and able to block.”

Johnson is willing to do whatever it takes to win, from absorbing hits by linebackers while running pass patterns over the middle to throwing himself to the ground in an attempt to lure a pass interference penalty. (It didn’t work. Nice try, Keyshawn.)

Of course, he can still talk.

Every time you looked up, he was explaining his take on things to anyone on the field: coaches, officials, teammates, opponents. At one point, he even sat on the bench and had a discussion with Sapp when Sapp rested for a series.

Perhaps discussion isn’t the right term. It seemed as though every time Sapp was talking, Johnson was talking. It’s shaping up as quite a contest, this battle between Johnson and Sapp, the Irresistible Quote and the Un-muteable Object.

While Johnson was giving interviews in the locker room, Sapp could be heard loudly griping about a Boston newspaper story that said the Patriot line neutralized him in their last meeting.

“Had me hot,” Sapp said. “I didn’t want to eat.”

Meanwhile, when a reporter asked Johnson how the Patriots shut him down, Johnson responded: “I don’t think they necessarily shut me down. My other guys were able to get involved, I was able to make catches on third down. I was allowed to do things, so I wouldn’t necessarily call it a shutdown. That’s not the word that I would let you use. Nice try. It doesn’t trick me; I’ve been in New York for a while.”

It would seem to be that’s where the Spike Lee connection came in, but Lee said he has been a fan since Johnson was at USC.

“Glad you came up, my man,” Johnson told him.

“No problem,” Lee said.

Whether he’s running pass patterns or running his mouth, Keyshawn Johnson is always worth the trip.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at his e-mail address: j.a.adande@latimes.com