By ANWAR S. RICHARDSON

arichardson@tampatrib.com

TAMPA - Tampa Bay's flair for winning close Football games this season can be explained by its ability to handle falling behind in those contests.

Bucs opponents have scored first seven times this season. Despite trailing early seven times, Tampa Bay is 6-1 in those games.

Tampa Bay trailed Chicago by 10 points late in the fourth quarter, Kansas City by 24-3 in the first half and Detroit 17-0 after the first quarter. The Bucs remained poised and rebounded to win each game.

Unflappable might be the best way to describe Tampa Bay (9-3) this season, and one thing the Bucs know as they prepare to face Carolina (9-3) on Monday night, their games are not over until the final whistle blows.

"There has been a tremendous amount of resiliency among the entire team, and also a certain fight that never ends," Bucs quarterback Jeff Garcia said. "When you have that type of team, no matter what the situation is in the game, we feel like we're capable of coming back, we're capable of stringing together some drives, we're capable of doing the necessary things that we need to do in order to find a way to win a Football game."

Tampa Bay's flair for the dramatic began against Chicago in Week 3.

Bucs quarterback Brian Griese threw three interceptions, contributing to his team's falling behind 24-14 with 6:38 remaining. Matt Bryant's 35-yard field goal narrowed the deficit to 24-17, and although the game still seemed out of reach, Tampa Bay took over with 1:49 remaining.

Griese drove his team downfield and tight end Jerramy Stevens caught a touchdown with seven seconds remaining, sending the game into overtime. Little did anyone know that Bryant's 38-yard winning field goal in overtime would set the tone for this season.

"Chicago was the big one in my mind," Stevens said. "Once you realize as a team that you can come back and you can put points up, being in that two-minute drill, and get the job done, then you don't worry. You know if you can get the lead, the defense can shut them down."

The Bucs showed their poise again when they erased a 21-point deficit against Kansas City to pull off a 30-27 victory in overtime, and rallied against Detroit to win going away, 38-20.

Players attribute their lack of panic to their belief in Bucs coach Jon Gruden, his assistants and, more importantly, themselves.

"I think we're unselfish. We're very cut-and-dry, do-your-job type of guys," Bucs defensive end Kevin Carter said. "We realize what we've been called and what people think of us. We've been called retread journeymen, a patchwork of guys who are from different places that no one else wanted. There is strength in that.

"I look at myself, I look at Chris Hovan, Ryan Sims, and we've all come from so many different places. When you get a bunch of guys like that, and when you have a bunch of guys in that situation, I think you start building chemistry because you start seeing the value in the experience and you see the collective value in what you can accomplish together. I just think our chemistry works for us that way."

Although Tampa Bay's come-from-behind method has worked this season, the Bucs do not want to test their 6-1 record against Carolina.

The Panthers are 6-0 at home this season, and falling 21 points behind them could be a much tougher assignment than overcoming the Chiefs.

If Tampa Bay does fall behind, however, history shows it will continue to scrap until that final whistle.

"No matter what happens early in the game, we've got to stay poised and stay committed to our game plan, the things that we've been doing to play victorious Football in the end," Tampa Bay linebacker Derrick Brooks said. "We don't care how we get it done. At the end of they day, we look for a W."

(CHART) HE WHO LAUGHS LAST, LAUGHS BEST

Tampa Bay's results when the opponent scores first:

Date Opponent Early deficit Result

Sept. 7 at New Orleans 7-0 L, 20-24

Sept. 21 at Chicago 3-0 W, 27-24 (OT)

Sept. 28 Green Bay 7-0 W, 30-21

Nov. 2 at Kansas City 14-0 W, 30-27 (OT)

Nov. 9 Minnesota 3-0 W, 19-13

Nov. 23 at Detroit 17-0 W, 38-20

Nov. 30 New Orleans 3-0 W, 23-20

Reporter Anwar S. Richardson can be reached at (813) 259-8425.

Photo credit: Tribune photo by CLIFF McBRIDE

Photo: Jeff Garcia walked off the field a winner at Kansas City, even though the Chiefs led 24-3.

Copyright ? 2008, The Tampa Tribune and may not be republished without permission. E-mail library@tampatrib.com