LANDOVER, Md. - The last thing the Bucs receiving corps needed was another setback, but that's exactly what it got Sunday.
After dropping a touchdown pass in the back of the end zone, veteran receiver Joey Galloway strained an already problematic groin muscle. He limped off the field and did not play the rest of the game.
Galloway, in his 10th season, missed significant time in the preseason nursing the groin.
He likely won't play Sunday against the Seahawks, and his status for the next few weeks is uncertain.
"(It's) very disappointing," coach Jon Gruden said. "We lose him early in the first quarter and lose him potentially for a period of weeks. It's very concerning. But we've had some setbacks at that position throughout this preseason and this offseason, so hopefully Joe Jurevicius can come back, Charles Lee can return and play next week and the guys who we have continue to get better."
With Galloway sidelined, the Bucs likely will turn the starting position over to rookie Michael Clayton, which will mean increased reps for Bill Schroeder and Frank Murphy. Tim Brown is the other starter. "When Coach Gruden calls (me), I'm ready," Murphy said. The Bucs are without Jurevicius, who will miss the first six games while on the injured list, and Keenan McCardell, who is holding out for a new contract.
"Obviously, (Galloway's) a guy that's capable of making a couple of plays like that during a game like this," Gruden said. "But we've got to rally around the healthy bodies that we do have and do the best we can."
STRONG START: Speaking of Clayton, the team was delighted with his solid debut. Clayton led the Bucs with seven catches for 53 yards, a number of them over the middle and in traffic.
"I was very pleased," Gruden said. "He had a couple of mistakes. Obviously, we got more into a passing-style game with the down and distance, but I thought all in all there were some things we can build on. I thought he caught the ball inside and looked like a physical runner after the catch."
Clayton, taken with the 15th overall pick out of LSU, said he missed a few routes and had the ball batted out of his hands.
"It was something that turned up a notch, definitely," he said of his first NFL game. "I did pretty good. I wish I had made some more of the plays that I didn't come down with, but it was pretty good."
SPECIAL EFFORT: Considering how woeful they were last season, the special teams got off to a rousing start.
Murphy looked like he would break one of the kickoffs for a touchdown. The kickoff and punt teams covered exceptionally well. There were few penalties, punter Josh Bidwell had nine punts for a net average of 35.9 yards and kicker Martin Gramatica looked like his old self, converting a 47-yard field goal.
But, of course, the loss dampened any jubilation over the special teams' efforts.
"Man, it's so hard, it feels like I didn't do anything," said Murphy, who averaged 31.3 yards on his four kickoff returns, including a 54-yarder. "We've got to come out with a win. We have to find it somehow. It's early and a lot of us are trying to get used to each other. But I would give up all of those yards for the win."
SPECIAL Q: After seemingly overpursuing running back Clinton Portis on the Redskins' fourth offensive play from scrimmage, middle linebacker Shelton Quarles recovered remarkably. He was attached to Portis the rest of the way, and finished with 13 tackles.
"I tried to do my job along with the other 10 guys on the field," Quarles said. "I didn't do anything special, other than what was expected of me." OH, REALLY: From the who's-telling-the-truth department come these two takes. According to Portis, Redskins left tackle Chris Samuels told him, "You know, I really don't need any help on Simeon Rice" during the game.
Rice, who had four sacks against the Redskins last season, had a different take: "I was double-teamed the whole game. And (Samuels) is an All-Pro. At some point of the game, I was "Okay.' I was looking for a situation that I could exploit in a one-on-one situation, and there weren't any of those. They were committed to it."
BUCS BITS: The team might have a season-ticket waiting list of 100,000, but no one puts 'em in the seats like the Redskins. The announced attendance was 90,098. ... Newly acquired running back Charlie Garner, who had 25 yards on 11 rushes, did not speak to the media after the game. ... Former Bucs punter Tom Tupa, who was not re-signed in the offseason, looked good hammering seven punts for 347 yards with a net average of 43.7 yards for Washington. He had a long of 58 and put two inside the Bucs 20. ... With Galloway hurt, Schroeder took over the punt-return duties but didn't have a great game, with five for 21 yards.
