Galloway only getting better with age

By STEPHEN F. HOLDER
Published December 5, 2005

	[Times photo: Carrie Pratt]
	With five catches for 75 yards and a touchdown against the Saints, Bucs wide receiver Joey Galloway, 34, reached 1,075 yards this season and bettered his career high by 26. Photo gallery | Bucs forum Bucs hotline: 866-371-9605 What did you think of the Bucs' performance?

BATON ROUGE, La. - When receiver Joey Galloway is approached with questions regarding his startling statistics, he often reacts by sticking an index finger in each ear to tune out the numbers talk.

Well, at this rate, the numbers will soon be impossible to ignore.

Galloway, 34, surpassed his career-best mark for single-season yardage, increasing his total to 1,075 yards after catching five passes for 75 yards and a touchdown against the Saints. Galloway's most prolific season was in 1997 when he posted 1,049 yards for Seattle.

Not bad for a guy in his 11th season. And who knows what the rest of the season will bring? The Bucs have four regular-season games remaining, giving Galloway a chance at Mark Carrier 's franchise single-season record of 1,422 yards.

Galloway continued to show his connection with quarterback Chris Simms as the two hooked up for their fourth touchdown in Simms' six starts. With 4:44 left in the second quarter, Galloway blew by Saints cornerback Fakhir Brown and caught the ball on a slant, shook a tackle and walked into the end zone.

"I'm one-on-one with the corner and I think it's my job to win that battle," Galloway said of his 30-yard score. "Simms is playing above anything I think we planned at this point. I don't know what he saw (on the touchdown), but he did tell me he got hit. If he did, he made a tremendous play."

It was Galloway's 14th touchdown in 17 games and eighth of the season, tying the franchise record for a receiver.

NO APOLOGY NECESSARY: Right tackle Kenyatta Walker was able to find humor in his false start in the second quarter. The ball was snapped on the play because players didn't hear the whistle, and the play resulted in an interception by Darren Howard , who tucked the ball and returned it to the end zone. But the play was ruled dead before the snap.

That made Walker something of a hero.

"They probably won't say anything to me about that one," Walker said of his coaches. "I was over there arguing with the ref saying, "I jumped, I jumped!' Things happen for a reason. If I didn't jump offside, it would have been a touchdown."

NO FIELD OF DREAMS: The Tiger Stadium turf was not a big hit among the Bucs. With the turf having been used for both LSU and Saints games, the field was in poor condition.

"It was like quicksand out there," defensive tackle Chris Hovan said. "It was pretty bad."

Saints players have spoken out about the turf, also, which is part of the reason many prefer to play in San Antonio, where the team moved after Hurricane Katrina.

"It was a tough surface," cornerback Brian Kelly said. "I mean, nobody has an advantage because we're both playing on it, but it was definitely something we weren't used to, even though in December, you're going to see some bad turfs."

FIRST DOWN - SORT OF: Though it ultimately didn't hurt them, the Bucs were a bit surprised to see the Saints credited with a first down on a third-and-8 play on their final drive. Aaron Stecker caught a short pass from Aaron Brooks but appeared to be stopped slightly short of the 20-yard line where the first-down marker was.

But with the clock winding down and the Saints in a hurry-up offense, officials didn't stop to measure or double-check their spot of the ball.

"I was right there," cornerback Juran Bolden said. "He looked short to me."

Linebacker Derrick Brooks made the tackle and agreed.

"But they were in that two-minute offense, so they just had to get the ball lined up and go, I guess," he said.

Ronde Barber intercepted Brooks two plays later, thwarting the Saints' efforts to tie.

MISC.: Coach Jon Gruden became the first Tampa Bay coach to reach .500 in road games. Gruden is 15-15 with the Bucs. The victory was Gruden's 75th as a coach, postseason included. ... Backup middle linebacker Barrett Ruud , who has played almost exclusively on special teams, took some snaps in Shelton Quarles ' place in the second and third quarters in an effort to give Quarles a rest and give the offense a different look. ... Josh Bidwell had a punt of 50 or more yards for the 13th consecutive game.

[Last modified December 5, 2005, 03:00:29]