For a few days there, it appeared Tony Dungy had lost his mind. Or at least flunked chemistry in high school.

	Johnson vs. King
	2000 stats	JOHNSON	KING
	Games	12	16
	Starts	11	16
	Comp	227	233
	Att	364	428
	Yds	2505	2769
	Pct	62.4	54.4
	Yds/Att	6.88	6.47
	Long	77	75
	TDs	11	18
	INTs	15	13
	Sacks	20	37
	QB rating	75.6	75.8
	Rush att	22	73
	Rush yds	58	353
	Rush avg	2.6	4.8
	Rush long	21	19
	Rush TDs	1	5
	4th Qtr Rat	55.0	74.4
	W-L	7-4	10-6
	Win Pct	.636	.625

Add the highly inflammable Ryan Leaf to a mix that already includes the sometimes acidulous Warren Sapp and the ever volatile Keyshawn Johnson? That experiment was sure to blow up the first time Sapp got in Leaf's face in practice – or the first time Leaf overthrew Johnson on a slant pattern.

But now we know the method to Dungy's madness. The Buccaneers head coach had his eye on free agent quarterback Brad Johnson all along.

Johnson gives Dungy the veteran arm he can finally trust to throw downfield on third-and-long to Keyshawn Johnson, the Bucs' major addition last season. Shaun King may emerge as a Donovan McNabb-caliber QB someday, but Dungy isn't willing to devote the 2001 season to find out.

Will Johnson be that great of an improvement over the boy King? A comparison of their 2000 statistics suggests otherwise, with the only significant upgrade being Johnson's seven more seasons of NFL experience.

Johnson, who'll be entering his 10th NFL season, and King both posted passer ratings in the 75 range with King finishing two tenths higher at 75.8. King, however, had a better touchdown-to-interception ratio (18 TDs and 13 picks in 16 games compared to Johnson's 11 TDs and 15 INTs in 12 games) and showed better mobility out of the pocket, averaging 4.3 yards per carry to Johnson's 2.6 and rushing for four more touchdowns with five.

King also performed better than Johnson in the fourth quarter, at least statistically. King's passer rating stayed a respectable 74.4 in the fourth quarter, while Johnson's dipped to 55.0 just below Trent Dilfer's 57.6. Johnson threw one fewer fourth-quarter touchdown but had four more interceptions than King despite playing four fewer games. As for the bottom line (i.e., winning games), both QBs won just over 60 percent of their starts.

Then why replace King with Johnson?

When a talented team like the Bucs fail to live up to expectations, much of the blame falls on the quarterback. King was one of the culprits in the Bucs' roller-coaster season along with offensive coordinator Les Steckel, who has since been replaced by quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen. A new face behind center always brings a fresh start, not to mention new hope.

The 32-year-old Johnson may be nine years older than King. But when it comes to playoff experience, King has faced the pressure of an NFC title game, coming one controversial call away from ending the Rams' title run two seasons ago. As a starter, Johnson has only gotten as far as the divisional playoffs.

Ironically, Johnson lost that game in Tampa against King.

"Shaun is a good player in this league. ... Team-wise, we have to get the job done," cornerback Donnie Abraham said in defense of King a month after the Bucs' 21-3 wild-card loss at Philadelphia. "It's not all Shaun."

Now, the pressure to win a championship is all on Johnson.

Joe Lago is the NFL editor for ESPN.com.