Bumbling Bucs make it harder than need be

By JOANNE KORTH
Published January 2, 2006

TAMPA - The Bucs won the NFC South championship Sunday by beating a New Orleans team that won three games all season. But nothing about the 27-13 victory came easy.

That's not Tampa Bay's style.

"We refuse to win games easy," quarterback Chris Simms said. "That is the truth."

Two touchdowns nullified by penalties, confusion on the goal line, a deep pass that was dropped and a short pass thrown off target in the red zone were among a variety of miscues that conspired to keep the Bucs from clicking. As is their habit, they found a way to win.

But in the playoffs, such mistakes are rarely forgiven.

"We're not perfect," coach Jon Gruden said. "But we'll play hard and we'll make the corrections and our players will open their eyes and listen and do the best they can to get better next week."

Tampa Bay had several chances to put the game out of reach, but seemed its own worst enemy.

Early in the third quarter, with the Bucs looking to add to a 17-10 lead, receiver Joey Galloway dropped a pass down the sideline, an uncharacteristic mistake.

Also, the Bucs were called for five penalties in the period, plus two personal fouls that were not assessed. Dewayne White's unnecessary roughness on a special teams play was offset by a Saints penalty and a roughing-the-passer call against Greg Spires was declined to accept a facemask against Ronde Barber.

For the game, Tampa Bay was penalized 10 times for 107 yards.

Leading 17-13 early in the fourth quarter, Simms missed what he called "the easiest throw in the history of the Buccaneers" to a wide-open Mike Alstott on third and 5 from the Saints 8. Simms rushed his mechanics and threw behind Alstott.

Rather than take a two-score lead, Tampa Bay led 20-13 after Matt Bryant's field goal.

"If I had hit the ball to Alstott in the flat it's a pretty convincing victory and it doesn't have to come down to the situation it does there at the end," Simms said. "But if we can take some positive things from it, it's that we've played in a lot of close games like this the whole year and come playoff time, if it's a situation like that, I don't think we'll be fazed one bit."

On Tampa Bay's next possession, Simms threw a 44-yard touchdown to Galloway, but the score was nullified by a holding penalty on guard Sean Mahan.

"We had too many penalties," Gruden said.

The Bucs might have known it would be another one of those days when Michael Pittman was dragged down at the end of a 64-yard run at the New Orleans 1.

Thinking Pittman had scored, a member of the extra-point team ran onto the field and reported as an eligible receiver. But it was first and goal. Alstott scored on a 1-yard run, but the play was called back for illegal formation.

On second down, Simms threw a 4-yard touchdown to Galloway.

No harm done.

But it didn't have to be that hard.

[Last modified January 2, 2006, 02:30:25]