Rules back refs on Bucs' noncatch

By STEPHEN F. HOLDER
Published January 8, 2006

TAMPA - Sometimes the details get in the way of a good story.

Like the one that appeared to be unfolding when Edell Shepherd snagged an apparent 35-yard touchdown from Chris Simms with 3:03 left Saturday. The score and point-after would have tied it at 17.

It had all the makings of a good story. But, ah, the details.

The catch wasn't a catch. According to NFL officiating guidelines, when a player is going to the ground while in the process of making a catch, contact with the ground can cause an incomplete pass.

Contact with the ground cannot cause a fumble. But when possession is yet to be established in the opinion of the officiating crew - as was the case with Shepherd - the rule is different.

Ah, the details.

Asked if he thought he caught the third-and-10 pass, Shepherd said, "Definitely." And did the ruling make sense?

"No, not at all," Shepherd said after the 17-10 loss. "I had just told Ike (Hilliard) I was about the win the game. I went out there and I did it. But somebody else thought otherwise."

That somebody was the officiating crew, headed by referee Mike Carey, who reviewed the play when the Bucs challenged the incompletion call. Carey then walked to the center of the field and gave a lengthy explanation of the ruling, though it still left many Bucs coaches and players perplexed.

Making the situation more ambiguous was the fact that Mike Pereira, the NFL's director of officials, told Bucs officials after the game that there is no corresponding rule in the NFL rule book. It is more a caveat to the rules governing possession during a catch.

The play was a source of frustration in the locker room, where players were struggling to cope with the highs and lows of the situation.

"You know, I haven't taken any referee classes lately," tackle Kenyatta Walker said. "They made the call. That's just the game."

Said coach Jon Gruden: "I got several different explanations, but the bottom line is it was all for naught."

There was, however, one way to ensure the rule didn't come into play.

"When something happens, you learn from it," Shepherd said. "Next time, I'll squeeze the life out of that ball. It won't hit the ground."

The play was a microcosm of Shepherd's season. He had been mostly a nonfactor until he was thrust into action in the injured Michael Clayton's absence against Washington on Nov. 13. That night, Shepherd caught a 30-yard pass from Simms with 58 seconds left, running the same route. Fullback Mike Alstott won the game with a two-point conversion.

But Shepherd also had some valleys, like the one he experienced when he fumbled the overtime kickoff against the Falcons on Dec. 24. The Bucs won after the Falcons had a field-goal attempt blocked.

It has been a learning experience for the third-year player out of San Jose State.

"That's how you get better," Shepherd, 25, said. "I accept failure and I just bounce back up and go for it next time."

Unfortunately, next time will come next season.

[Last modified January 8, 2006, 00:45:14]