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BUCS COLUMN

Wade Is Big Daddy For Bucs' Bouncing Baby O-Line

By MARTIN FENNELLY

Published: Dec 9, 2007

His legs were cramping. For the first time this season, he couldn't go. He struggled from the field in New Orleans late in last Sunday's game. He was in the locker room getting an IV as the Bucs went for it on a crucial fourth-and-1.

You never notice a football center, or appreciate him, until he's missing.

The kids he is helping raise on the Bucs offensive line were stunned.

Wade! No-ooooooo.

"The old man in the middle, he's our savior," Bucs left tackle Donald Penn said. "When he cramped up, we were saying over and over, 'Wade! No-oooo. No-oooo. Where you going?'"

He means that much, whether we know it or not.

With Matt Lehr at center, the line made the blocks and Earnest Graham made a first down. The Bucs' winning drive lived.

"I heard nobody out there in their crowd making noise," Wade said. "I couldn't see a TV in the locker room . But I knew we'd done the job."

And that was enough.

The Anchor

Even if this season wasn't a winning one, the Bucs offensive line would be a silver lining. It's not a punch line anymore. It's punching back.

It has allowed just 23 sacks, better then the league average. The Bucs rank 12th in the NFL in rushing. Graham has a shot at 1,000 yards. Bucs runners are averaging 4.30 yards per carry. If the season ended today, it would be the best average in franchise history.

All this from one of the youngest lines in the league. Three starters - Penn, right guard Davin Joseph and right tackle Jeremy Trueblood - are second-year players. Left guard Arron Sears is a rookie.

"Oh, we're young, hungry dogs," Penn said.

Then there's the center.

The anchor.

"Without [Wade], I don't know where we'd be," Trueblood said.

Funny, but the Bucs tried to replace the 32-year-old Wade in training camp. They tried Dan Buenning at center and brought in Lehr.

Wade won the job.

"Every year my back will be against the ball," the 10-year veteran said. "I'm not a Pro Bowler, I can't walk in and they say, 'Hey, John's here.'"

Well, John's here.

"It seems every year, regardless of the competition, he's the last man standing," Bucs offensive line coach Bill Muir said.

Not that we notice, you know, until he's missing.

It's the lineman's life, yes, but center goes beyond even that.

There's no more anonymous position in sports.

He sees the world from between his legs. The world doesn't see him.

But here's the only player other than the quarterback to touch the ball on every snap. Here's John Wade, who has been a center since he was a kid, coming to the line, pointing to the defense, barking calls to his linemates, calling protections, deciding where the play will go, all in the few seconds before hell breaks loose.

Ever watch him?

You're not alone if you don't.

"Winning games makes it glamorous for any offensive lineman," Wade said. "If I never get in the paper, that's fine if we're winning games."

Eating Up This Season

He says it's a tight group. They go to dinner as a unit once a week. They switch the restaurants.

"We can't keep cleaning the same place out of meat," Wade said.

He grinned.

"I can't say enough about these guys, how hard they've worked."

They can't say enough, either.

"He's like a coach out there," Joseph said.

"He's the old father, the old grandfather in the huddle," Penn said. "He'll cuss you out, let you know what you're supposed to be doing. If I say something to the ref, he'll come grab me and say, 'Don't talk to the ref.' He's our daddy."

Extra meat, hold the glamour.

John Wade has recovered an NFL fumble and forced one.

He last ran with the ball about 25 years ago.

"It was fourth or fifth grade," he said. "In practice, I missed a block or something. Coach gave me the ball and told everybody not to block so I could see what it was like.

"Funny though, I hit it straight up the middle. I almost took it to the house. Somebody just clipped my back heel."

Earnest Graham went for 2 yards on that fourth-and-one.

"Matt [Lehr] did an outstanding job," Wade said.

And the Bucs won.

We noticed.