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Times staff writer Tom Jones looks back at Sunday's Bucs-Jaguars game.
By TOM JONES, Times Staff Writer
Published October 29, 2007
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[James Borchuck | Times]
Collision of the day: Quarterback Jeff Garcia loses his helmet after getting hit by Jaguars safety Reggie Nelson in the second quarter. Garcia got back up while Nelson needed help getting off the field.
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Worst loss
With all due respect, there was no way the Bucs could afford to lose a home game to a team starting a quarterback (Quinn Gray) no one had heard of a week ago who started for another quarterback (David Garrard) no one had heard of three months ago. Last week, we thought the Lions game was the one that might come back to haunt the Bucs. That game was trumped by this one.
Worst record
Before the season, if someone told you the Bucs would be 4-4 now, you might have actually taken it. But knowing they could be (should be?) 6-2, how does 4-4 sound now?
Worst coverage
Long kicks. Short kicks. It doesn't matter. The Bucs should spend a little extra time this week working on a new type of kickoff, one that was missing from their strategy Sunday: tackling the returner before he gains nearly 30 yards. Put it this way: When your kicker is making tackles, you might be having troubles.
Special teams player of the day
Punters get noticed two ways. One, when they totally mess up. The other is if they have an exceptional day. Bucs punter Josh Bidwell was noticed Sunday for the latter, dropping four punts inside the Jaguars 10. Then again, when you're bragging about your punter, you might be having troubles.
Worst drive
Your opponent has a rookie quarterback (Quinn Gray) who has never started a game, and the second time they get the ball, they go on a long 10-play drive and run the ball on nine of those plays. At what point does someone on the sideline think, "Hey, maybe they're going to run. Maybe we should load up the box and stop the run?" Furthermore, how in the world does that team rush for 133 yards with a quarterback who looked more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs?
Drop of the day
Bucs wide receiver Ike Hilliard took a wicked hit, but doesn't he need to catch that ball on the Bucs' last offensive play?
Block of the day
Bucs wide receiver Ike Hilliard deserves all the credit for the 19-yard touchdown by Michael Bennett in the third quarter. But this is something that should drive you nuts. CBS announcer Ian Eagle, who had a pretty good day, said what all announcers feel the urge to say on such plays:
"(Ike Hilliard) ... doing the unselfish act to spring Bennett for the touchdown," Eagle said.
Unselfish? He's a football player. He doesn't have the ball. It's his job to throw blocks. Don't give him extra credit for something he is supposed to be doing.
Biggest drive-killer
Oh, Michael Bennett. New guy in town, looking to make a big impression. He left an impression all right, dropping one of the prettiest passes you'll ever see that would've kept the Bucs driving in the second quarter. He made up for it later with a nifty 19-yard touchdown. But his drop took some steam out of the Bucs at a bad time.
Commercial of the day
I don't know about you, but I think I'm getting in line now for that movie I Am Legend starring Will Smith. That flick looks way cool.
Collision of the day
You have to be a real man to the play in the NFL. Yeesh, Jeff Garcia's scramble near the end of the first half looked like a car crash. The only thing missing was squealing tires. Weren't you waiting for cops to rush the field and lay down flares? Garcia's helmet came flying off, and we wouldn't have been surprised if his head were still in it. The wild thing: Jaguars safety Reggie Nelson, a former Gator, had to be helped off.
"There you see the guts of Jeff Garcia," CBS analyst Solomon Wilcots said.
Amen.
A close runnerup to collision of the day was Nelson smashing into Joey Galloway.
The Gators could've used Nelson throwing those kind of hits against Georgia on Saturday.
Worst call
Bad call against Tanard Jackson for a late hit on the last play of the third quarter. Two guys going a million miles per hour and he hits the Jaguars player who wasn't completely out of bounds. That and the phantom personal foul call on the Jaguars' Reggie Nelson for hitting (or, as it was, not hitting) Jeff Garcia show you how sensitive the NFL is about players getting hurt.
Biggest nonstory
CBS announcers Ian Eagle and Solomon Wilcots kept trying to make an issue out of the Jaguars' go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, questioning why Jon Gruden wasn't challenging whether Jaguars receiver Matt Jones was in bounds. Why Gruden didn't challenge: He would've lost. As much as Eagle and Wilcots wanted to stir up some doubt, it seemed obvious Jones was in bounds.
Most meaningful stat
Team A has 18 first downs, and Team B has 12. Team A gains 385 yards, and Team B gains 219. So which team won? Oh, one more stat you might care about: Team A had three turnovers, and Team B had none. At the end of the day, turnovers remain the most telling stat in football. And the stat that ultimately hurt Team A, the Bucs.
[Last modified October 28, 2007, 23:21:41]
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