Deep threats are little threat John Romano, The St.Petersburg Times, published 18 September 1989 The official count on no-shows at Tampa Stadium on Sunday was 2,178. That does not include four Tampa Bay wide receivers who were missing from the Buccaneers' game plan for most of the afternoon against San Francisco. Tampa Bay's crew of wide receivers, considered a strong point the past two seasons, was virtually ignored during the first half as the majority of passes went to the running backs. Even when Bucs quarterback Vinny Testaverde started throwing deeper in the second half, the results were not terribly impressive. “They were giving us the short stuff,” Testaverde said. “I wasn't on target and there were some dropped balls.” Danny Peebles and Willie Drewrey did not catch a pass all day. Bruce Hill had one catch for 7 yards and Mark Carrier had five for 86 yards - all in the second half. “We were not on today, to say the least,” said Peebles, who is still looking for his first NFL regular-season reception. “San Francisco has a good secondary, but we had a vast number of opportunities and we did not take advantage of them.” San Francisco was allowing the Bucs to run short routes without much pressure, according to Hill and Peebles. So Testaverde went that direction early in the game. “It's not like he went short the whole game,” Hill said. “Vinny is real good at taking what the defense gives and they were giving the short passes.” When Testaverde did try to go long-distance, the connection was not always there. It was a combination of bad passes, dropped passes, good coverage and bad routes. “Every play was off by a foot here or there. Maybe we might have cut our routes short on some plays, but it always seemed like we were just that far from making the catch,” Peebles said. “Bruce and I were alternating and each time we came to the sideline, we'd hope that it would finally work out for the guy on the field.” Carrier was the one Buccaneers receiver to have an impact on the game. And even that was hard-earned. His longest reception of the game, a 25-yarder, came on a fluke play during Tampa Bay's only touchdown drive. A pass to Hill was batted in the air and Carrier, who was in the vicinity on another route, dived backward to snatch the ball inches above the ground. Carrier caught three passes for 56 yards on that drive, including an 18-yard touchdown reception. The third-year receiver said Testaverde was making the right decisions early in the game. It was just a matter of time before the passes started coming his way, Carrier said. “You should never be frustrated. As a receiver you should be competitive, and I do want the opportunity to do something,” Carrier said. “But I can't be frustrated because I'm still out there concentrating on what I should be doing.” The Bucs may not have been frustrated while the clock was running, but afterward it was a natural emotion. Especially considering the way the passing game worked in the season-opener against Green Bay and during most of the exhibition games. “The timing has to be perfect in the passing game. Up until now it had been perfect. I was spoiled by the preseason,” Peebles said. “For Tampa Bay, with the receivers and quarterback we have, it's unreal to play a game like this one.”