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The St.Petersburg Times, published 29 October 2007
If there's one thing the Bucs have been able to count on this season, it's that quarterback Jeff Garcia was not going to throw an interception. No sir-ee.
Sure, he plays with reckless abandon and tosses his body around like a crash test dummy. But Garcia has protected the football as if it were a family heirloom, so the game and the season always felt safe in his hands. That ended Sunday.
Garcia was intercepted three times, including one that was returned for a touchdown, in the Bucs' 24-23 loss to the Jaguars. When Aaron Glenn stepped in front of Joey Galloway on a hitch route during the second quarter and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown, it ended a streak 217 passes without an interception dating to last season.
That wasn't the only decision Garcia might be regretting this morning. Needing a field goal to win and facing third and 10 from the Jacksonville 45 with no timeouts, Garcia overthrew an open Ike Hilliard near the end zone.
The low-percentage gamble proved costly on the next play. Hilliard could not control a pass that bounced off his hands inside the Jaguars 30 when he was hit by cornerback Rashean Mathis, and the ball was intercepted by former Florida safety Reggie Nelson. Hilliard took the blame for the Bucs' third loss in the past four games.
However, there were plenty of fingerprints on the collapse that dropped Tampa Bay to 4-4, a half-game behind Carolina (4-3) in the NFC South.
"We end up losing the game because I didn't make the play," Hilliard said. "It's that simple. It's nobody's fault but mine. I get paid to make those plays, and that's part of the reason they brought me here. Now it's something I have to deal with the rest of the week until I get another opportunity to play. Jeff put it right on me. He hit me right in the chest. I just didn't catch the ball."
Garcia finished 19-of-41 for 267 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. The second pick came when he was hit by defensive tackle John Henderson. But make no mistake, the Bucs threw this game away in every other way possible.
Coming off a Monday night loss to the Colts, the Jaguars won despite putting the handcuffs on quarterback Quinn Gray, who became the first of seven signal-callers to win their first NFL start against a Bucs defense led by coordinator Monte Kiffin.
Gray entered the fourth quarter having attempted only 10 passes, completing three for 44 yards. The Jaguars opened the game by running on 15 of their first 16 plays.
In fact, Gray's biggest play came in the third quarter, when he fumbled in his own end zone but recovered and crawled out to the 1 to avoid a safety.
But Gray managed to drive the Jaguars 53 yards in the fourth quarter for the go-ahead score, throwing an 8-yard touchdown to Matt Jones, who made a one-handed catch over Phillip Buchanon with 11:37 to play.
"He's 1-0 as a starter," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. "Obviously, we did things to minimize the burden that was going to be placed on him. We knew we wanted to play to our defense, run the ball at them, be deliberate. We knew we had to get after Jeff Garcia. He had been red- hot."
But Garcia struggled to connect with receivers under the Jaguars' blitz scheme. Glenn's interception return put the Bucs in a 17-3 hole midway through the second quarter.
"We got into a position where based upon coverage, I checked to an alternate play. He just did a great job of jumping the route," Garcia said. "It was a three-step drop, throwing a hitch outside. I turned t o throw, and he's driving the route. He cuts in front of Joey and makes a great play. Would I like to have that one back? Of course, I would've. It gave them seven points. It created a larger hole for our team to have to find a way to climb out of. "
Behind Garcia, the Bucs rallied for 20 unanswered points. On the possession after Glenn's interception, Garcia hit Galloway for a 58-yard touchdown.
Matt Bryant hit a 22-yard field goal just before halftime, and newcomer Michael Bennett took a lateral from Garcia and raced 19 yards for a touchdown to give the Bucs a 20-17 lead.
Maurice Stovall blocked Adam Podlesh's punt to give the Bucs terrific field position at the Jacksonville 30. But the Bucs were forced to settle for Bryant's 42-yard field goal.
Gray, 28, finished 7-of-16 for 100 yards but took advantage of the Jaguars' powerful running game (44 rushes, 133 yards).
"Anybody can get back there and throw the football the way he threw the football. Anybody can," cornerback Ronde Barber said of Gray. "We have to make plays. There's no doubt about it. Two drives in particular, they just ran it down our throat, and that's what we can't do in a situation like this."
For the second straight week, the Bucs lost a game they dominated, outgaining Jacksonville 385-219. The margin could have been wider. There were dropped balls by Bennett and Galloway and the overthrow to Hilliard on third and 10 on the final possession.
"It just needed to be a little bit shorter, and he would've been celebrating in the end zone," Garcia said of the late throw to Hilliard. "That's the way the game went. There were a couple of plays where I wish I could've made a little bit better throw, and that's disappointing on my behalf. Because I expect to be as perfect as possible."
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