Tight NFC deepens Bucs' distress

By JOANNE KORTH
Published November 17, 2004

TAMPA - One look at the NFC standings makes the Bucs' loss to the Falcons that much worse.

Other than Philadelphia, which improved to 8-1 with a victory against Dallas on Monday night, and Atlanta, which leads the South at 7-2, no team has distinguished itself. Six teams are 5-4, four 4-5.

"There is a lot of hovering going on out there," said Bucs coach Jon Gruden, whose team remains a wild-card long shot at 3-6. "You see all of the scores and it deepens the pain for not being able to gain ground and certainly some more momentum."

The Bucs made it hard on themselves by falling behind 17-0 early in the second quarter. They rallied to 17-14 in the third quarter, but failed to convert fourth and 1 in the fourth quarter. Gruden opted to go for it rather than have Martin Gramatica attempt a 45-yard field goal that could have tied it.

One play after running back Michael Pittmen was stuffed at the line of scrimmage on third and 1, he was thrown for a 2-yard loss on a toss on fourth down. Three plays later, the Falcons scored to take a 10-point lead.

"It could have been a miraculous comeback, one of the best comebacks in Bucs history if we could have converted a play here or there and maybe run that football again," Gruden said. "But sometimes, the closer you get, the further away you are. We got what we deserved."

DILGER DELIVERS: Veteran tight end Ken Dilger has been a favorite target of quarterback Brian Griese. In the five games since Griese replaced injured Chris Simms, Dilger has 17 catches for 188 yards and three touchdowns.

"We would like to utilize him more and more," Gruden said of the 10th-year pro. "He's a guy who does a lot of things that go unnoticed. He's a guy who can lay on the nose. He can block the point of attack, come out in motion, handle defensive ends. He's obviously one of our deep threats right now. He's making a lot of plays down the field, which is good for Ken Dilger. He's a good man."

Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens went back to describing touchdown patterns instead of explaining sideline confrontations.

One week after a dismal performance at Pittsburgh resulted in Philadelphia's first loss of the season, the Eagles were their usual selves, winning easily and getting along just fine.

McNabb threw three of his four TDs to Owens as the Eagles improved to 8-1 with a 49-21 win against Dallas, their sixth victory by a double-digit margin.

"It was a nice, character win," Eagles coach Andy Reid said.

After opening the season with a franchise-best seven straight victories, the Eagles were dominated in a 27-3 loss to the Steelers. During the game, cameras caught Owens giving a frustrated McNabb an earful on the sideline. Both players insisted the wide receiver merely was trying to encourage the disheartened quarterback in the animated, one-sided conversation.

So after McNabb and Owens connected for a 59-yard catch-and-run TD in the first quarter against the Cowboys, they mocked the incident by playfully arguing on the sideline.

"Last week I was trying to get him up and the media said I was getting at him, but that never was the case," said Owens, known for his sideline tirades in San Francisco. "We were just trying to have some fun with it."

The Eagles did lose six players to injury, and up to three might miss Sunday's game against Washington.

Backup running back Reno Mahe is out with a sprained ankle. Defensive end Jerome McDougle has a sprained knee and is unlikely to play, and linebacker Nate Wayne might miss the game with a strained hamstring.

Linebacker Mark Simoneau, defensive tackle Corey Simon and guard Jermane Mayberry also were hurt but should be available.

BROWNS: The team waived disgruntled running back James Jackson to make room for rookie running back Adimchinobe Echemandu on the roster. Jackson ran for 554 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games as a rookie in 2001 but has lost playing time to William Green and Lee Suggs since.

STEELERS: Coach Bill Cowher wants on-the-edge linebacker Joey Porter to pull his punches, even if it means walking away from a confrontation. Cowher said Porter's pregame fight Sunday with Browns running back Green can't be condoned, even if Porter was provoked, and Porter plans to apologize to teammates for it. Porter and Green were fined $10,000 each by the NFL for their fight.

Information from Times wires was used in this report.

[Last modified November 17, 2004, 00:03:19]