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Rick Stroud, The St.Petersburg Times, published 26 September 1994
Craig Erickson stared at the ground, shook his head and replayed in his mind the ugly interception he threw off his back foot. How he held onto the ball too long until it was finally stripped and fumbled. All the receivers he underthrew, overthrew or failed to see running free.
And on a day when so many of his throws were off target against the Green Bay Packers, the only thing left for Erickson to pass was the baton.
The Bucs' quarterback was replaced in the fourth quarter by rookie Trent Dilfer, the $16.5-million man who made his NFL debut by driving the Bucs within an inch of the goal line.
But Tampa Bay's luckless string of not scoring a touchdown was extended to six quarters Sunday, which told the story in the Bucs' 30-3 loss to the Packers at Lambeau Field.
Quarterback Brent Favre completed 30 of 39 passes for 306 yards and three touchdowns and got help from three Bucs turnovers, which led to Green Bay's first 13 points.
The loss dropped Tampa Bay to 1-3 and two games out of the NFC Central race heading into next week's critical game against Detroit at Tampa Stadium.
But the bad news keeps getting worse: the Bucs will be without linebacker Hardy Nickerson for four to six weeks due to a severe ankle sprain he sustained on the game's first play.
The loss also gave head coach Sam Wyche cause for pause this week when deciding who will start at quarterback. Do you stick with the forlorn Erickson, or make the inevitable move for the future with Dilfer?
"I think Trent is absolutely ready to take charge when he's called on," Wyche said. "We may get back and study that film and . . . go another week where both of them are going to play but Craig starts. And we may go the other way. Who knows?"
Wyche didn't have many answers Sunday, either.
He watched Erickson struggle to complete 7 of 20 passes for 124 yards. He saw him force a ball into the end zone for Mazio Royster on third down that was intercepted. He couldn't bear to look after Erickson held onto the ball too long and was stripped by defensive end Reggie White.
But in truth, Wyche didn't give the Bucs' offense much help with his play-calling.
After picking up two quick first downs while trailing 3-0 in the second quarter, Wyche ordered a reverse to wide receiver Charles Wilson, who couldn't handle a pitch from Vince Workman. White recovered the fumble. The play set up the Packers' first touchdown - a 9-yard pass to running back Edgar Bennett.
"If you can get them flowing (the wrong way), the reverse is a good play," Wyche said. "The problem was, Sean Jones played it like a pass rush. He didn't even play the run. My guess is (Wilson) missed the ball because he saw (Jones)."
Play selection didn't get much better with Dilfer in the game.
He relieved Erickson on the first play of the fourth quarter with the Bucs trailing 23-3 and completed three passes. He also ran for a first down.
Dilfer's 7-yard strike to tight end Jackie Harris left the Bucs inches from the goal line.
But there is a reason the Bucs have not scored a rushing touchdown. On third down, Wyche called a play-action pass to tight end Tyji Armstrong, who never got off the line of scrimmage. Dilfer ate the ball for no gain. On fourth down, Wyche called essentially the same play and Dilfer was sacked for an 8-yard loss by Bryce Paup.
"I should've run it," Wyche admitted. "Both were passes. Honestly, looking at film, we had 10 different passes that we said were walk-ins."
Meanwhile, the Bucs' defense had its heart ripped out when Nickerson went down.
It happened on the game's first play when Bennett took a pitch and Nickerson tried to adjust for the cutback. His left ankle caught underneath his body and the weight of the pileup.
The Packers, who entered the game as the NFL's worst in rushing (averaging 56.3 yards), went right after the Bucs' young linebackers. They piled up 95 yards on the ground and their running backs caught 17 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown.
In fact, defensive coordinator Floyd Peters eventually had to replace Nickerson's replacement - second-year pro Demetrius DuBose - with free agent Jeff Brady.
"They just started sinking," said Peters. "You've got to have a lunch bucket mentality. You've got to show up and work your a-- off if the job isn't going right. This emotional swing has got to stop. If you had Hardy in there, he'd really get p----- off and start smacking people around if they start doing that."
Other than the first drive, Dilfer didn't have much success. He finished 5-of-10 for 73 yards and was sacked twice.
"Honestly, it was exciting and fun and all that," Dilfer said. "Big deal, because we lost the football game. The disappointment far outweighs the excitement of playing."
In contrast, Erickson looked as if he had been told to give his favorite toy to his little brother.
Until now, he had been getting by on guile and guts and watching mountains of film. But Erickson can't get his team in the end zone.
"We're one of the lower teams in scoring points," Erickson said. "That's our job. That's an issue with the team and something we're going to have to look at real hard."
Nobody knows that better than Wyche, who must guard against the impression that by turning over the quarterbacking duties to Dilfer he will be sacrificing this season.
"Listen, we're not out of anything," Wyche said. "This team is not a bad football team. We come back and win, we're 2-3. Then we go to Atlanta and knock those birds off, we're 3-3 and things look a little more rosy. If you're asking if this season is gone, let's go ahead and prepare for next season with a new quarterback, the answer is no. Not yet."
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