BUCCANEERS KEY PLAYER: SMITH HAS LOTT TO BE HAPPY FOR.Byline: Chris Wiley Staff Writer SAN DIEGO San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. - Dwight Smith For the Major League Baseball player, see . Dwight Smith (born August 13, 1978 in Detroit, Michigan) is a professional American football player currently with the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL. went to his postgame news conference wearing an Oakland Raiders This article is about an American football team. For other uses, see Raider. The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in the city of Oakland, California. jersey with the number 42 on it, a tribute to Ronnie Lott. Smith, a reserve defensive back for Tampa Bay who had two interceptions for touchdowns in the Buccaneers' 48-21 victory on Sunday in Super Bowl XXXVII Super Bowl XXXVII was the 37th championship game of the modern National Football League (NFL). The game was played on January 26, 2003 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California following the 2002 regular season. , figured it was the least he could do to pay tribute to Lott, whom he credited with helping inspire him this season. ``Ronnie Lott came and spoke to us when we first got out of training camp,'' Smith said. ``He made me feel we could go to the Super Bowl. And since we were here, I thought it would be no better honor than to wear his jersey.'' Smith's performance on Sunday was worthy of Lott and the other great defensive backs who have played in the NFL's biggest game. The second-year player from the University of Akron Enrollment in fall 2006 was 23,539 students.[1] The school offers more than 200 undergraduate degrees [2] and 100 graduate degrees [3]. The University's best-known program is its College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, which is located in a set a Super Bowl record by returning both of his interceptions for touchdowns, helping the Buccaneers Buccaneers can refer to:
Smith's first interception came late in the third quarter. He read Gannon's eyes and stepped in front of a pass intended for Jerry Rice and raced 44 yards for a touchdown give the Buccaneers a 34-3 lead. Then Smith put the finishing touches on Tampa Bay's dominating defensive performance, taking an errant Gannon throw and returning it 50 yards for the Buccaneers' final score with two seconds left. ``My interceptions just sealed the deal,'' Smith said. ``Any time you can get Gannon to make a mistake it's big because he's such a professional.'' It was a dream come true for Smith, who is Tampa Bay's nickel back when the opposing offense goes to a three-receiver set. ``This is my first year playing in the (defense), and I got a lot of writeups after the preseason that (Tampa Bay) had done a bad job by letting Donnie Abraham go, and they didn't know if I could fill his shoes,'' Smith said. ``So I just wanted to come out and play football and make plays.'' Abraham left the Buccaneers to join the New York Jets ``That's where I made my name, is on special teams,'' Smith said. ``I still do all that. I do whatever the team needs me to do. I'm 24, I can run around all day long.'' Smith intercepted four passes during the regular season, and had another interception against the San Francisco 49ers ``A Super Bowl championship, and two interceptions for touchdowns? I couldn't ask for anything else,'' Smith said. ``I'm just glad to be blessed.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: SMITH |
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