Like a broken-down jalopy, the Storm is strewing parts along the road as it sputters toward the end of what could be its worst season.
Tampa Bay (3-7) entered Sunday's game at Chicago with 19 active players after it was discovered late Saturday night that offensive/defensive lineman Darion Conner has a low blood count and possibly a bleeding ulcer.
By the end of the 51-36 loss that pushed the Storm to the brink of playoff elimination, Tampa Bay was down to 16 players.
Backup quarterback Pat O'Hara wrenched his back before the game and was unavailable to play.
Matt George, the most consistent of the seven kickers Tampa Bay has employed the past two seasons, likely was lost for the season after breaking his collarbone in the first quarter. George was blocked from behind while chasing a blocked extra point.
Emergency kicker Clif Dell did not make the trip, because the Storm opted to dress eight linemen and seven wide receivers/defensive backs. As a result, Tampa Bay tried for two after its final five touchdowns, and receiver/linebacker David Saunders and defensive specialist Jonathan Ordway split kickoff duties.
Defensive specialist Tramain Jones left with a concussion after taking a knee to the helmet while making a tackle in the first quarter. He is expected to return Sunday against Austin.
With so few available players, receiver/defensive back T.T. Toliver found himself on the field for all 97 offensive, defensive and special teams plays.
News was no better on the home front, where fullback/linebacker Basil Proctor is scheduled to have surgery on his injured wrist after spending the past two weeks on injured reserve. Proctor, an eighth-year player in his third season with the Storm, likely has played his last game in Tampa Bay.
"He's all done," coach Tim Marcum said.
CHEAP SHOTS: The game featured more than the usual late and unnecessary hits, including one that caused Marcum to exchange words with Chicago lineman John Moyer.
Marcum was incensed after Moyer pushed Storm quarterback Shane Stafford from behind after Stafford had handed off to fullback Andre Bowden on a two-point conversion attempt. Stafford confronted Moyer after the play and was shoved back to the ground.
Marcum yelled, "Get him out of here," to the officials, then approached Moyer, who was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct. Asked what he said, Marcum responded, "I don't know what I said to him. I was pretty upset."
Marcum also was displeased with what he called a "clip" that led to George's injury and Chicago fullback Bob McMillen kicking Tampa Bay linebacker Umar Muhammed after Muhammed tackled McMillen.
"They get guys thrown out, that's the type of team they are," Marcum said. "But you've got to be able to play with them. However they want to play, that's the way you've got to play."
The Storm was not without fault. Lineman Kelvin Kinney laid a helmet-to-helmet hit on Chicago quarterback Raymond Philyaw while Philyaw was on the ground after throwing the ball away and received an unnecessary roughness penalty for grabbing McMillen's facemask and jerking it back and forth after an extra-point attempt.
Marcum said he thought Kinney tripped before hitting Philyaw but added, "If he hit him after that, it should have been called."
BACK IN THE FOLD: The Storm re-signed offensive specialist Freddie Solomon for two more seasons, keeping him in Tampa Bay through 2006.
FAMILIAR FACE: Former Storm defensive specialist Corey Sawyer, who signed with Chicago as a free agent during the offseason, had a team-leading six tackles and an interception, and he returned a blocked extra point for two points.
TURNING HEADS: Orlando quarterback and former Buc Joe Hamilton was named offensive player of the week after completing 16 of 23 passes for 171 yards and four touchdowns in the Predators' 57-24 victory over Southern Division-leading New Orleans. He also rushed for 20 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown.
OFF THE AIR: The Storm's May 2 game at Orlando was removed from NBC's broadcast schedule. It likely will not be televised anywhere else.
THE LAST WORD: At the conclusion of Sunday's telecast on NBC, play-by-play man Tom Hammond turned to analyst Pat Haden and asked, "Do we count Tampa Bay out now?"
