Beanbag Pass Helps Reverse Bucs' Fortunes Joey Johnston, The Tampa Tribune, published 25 November 2002 The throw was long and true. It was perfectly delivered, under some pressure. In time, the Bucs might consider it the most important toss of their season. After all, it allowed them to surge ahead of the Green Bay Packers and set up Sunday's 21-7 victory. Tampa Bay took control of homefield advantage in the NFC playoffs and might have cleared a nice path to Super Bowl XXXVII. That's a pretty crucial pass. But you'll never find it on Tampa Bay's 2002 highlight film. Because this wasn't even a football. It was a red beanbag. Here was Tampa Bay's game- winning reversal of fortune. The Bucs, trailing Green Bay 7-6 in the third quarter, faced second-and- goal from the Packers 4-yard line. Brad Johnson appeared to hit wide receiver Joe Jurevicius near the end zone sideline for a go-ahead touchdown, with tight coverage from Packers cornerback Tyrone Williams, but the trailing official ruled no catch. Out of bounds. Jon Gruden didn't flinch, sending in a third-down play. He thought it was over. When press-box staffers finally saw the replay TV feed, it seemed clear that Jurevicius had possession and got both feet in bounds. Gruden got that word when the play clock approached 10 seconds. He frantically pressed his replay-challenge button. Somehow, officials weren't getting the signal. Enter the beanbag. Made possible, of course, by the perfectly executed toe-drag. When the replay was shown on Raymond James Stadium's JumboTron, the fans went ballistic. Jurevicius was in! Tampa Bay's sideline erupted with emotion. ``Challenge! Challenge! Challenge! We were all screaming. That was a touchdown!'' Bucs free safety Dexter Jackson said. But Gruden's replay-challenge button wasn't working. The window was closing. That's when Gruden implored his personal assistant, Mark Arteaga, to get the officials' attention. Throw the beanbag! Initially, Arteaga struggled to grab it. Throw it! ``If he didn't get it [beanbag] out of his pocket, we were going to throw him on the field,'' Gruden said. Arteaga was clutch with an Olympic-like toss that shattered all Ray-Jay beanbag records. The replay challenge was on. Bucs players never had a doubt. There was even some physical evidence - a telltale clump of grass, uprooted by Jurevicius' dragging foot. Here's how referee Johnny Grier described the decision: After reviewing the play, the receiver gained control of the ball in the air. His right foot hit down. He dotted the ``i'' with the left foot, maintained possession when he hit the ground. We have a touchdown. A critical reversal of fortune - thanks to the beanbag and that perfectly executed toe-drag. Each day at practice, Jurevicius works on over the shoulder receptions near the sideline. The key: keeping both feet in bounds. It's monotonous repetition. It would be easy to slack off. But receivers coach Richard Mann won't permit that. ``He's a stickler for that toe-drag technique,'' Jurevicius said. ``If you mess it up on the practice field, the film doesn't lie. It has to be perfect. It has to be in your mind on every single catch.'' Whether it's a routine practice drill or a play that decides a game (and maybe the course of a season). ``Upon further review,'' Gruden said, ``I truly thought it was one of the great toe-drags I had ever seen. Plus, Jurevicius has big feet. That makes for an easy review.'' ``Joe had a little pirouette move,'' Bucs defensive end Simeon Rice said. ``Very sweet. Very swan-like. Matter of fact, very Lynn Swann-like.'' Jurevicius said he had one thought when seeing the replay - ``Touchdown'' - but waited until it was official. He raced after the ball, which had been placed back at the line of scrimmage, and spiked it in the end zone. Then he quickly retrieved it for a souvenir sports room that he's planning to enjoy with the son that he and wife Meagan are expecting in February. ``I look at all those sports rooms on `MTV Cribs' and my house looks like a tent in the wilderness compared to those guys,'' Jurevicius said. ``When something memorable happens, I want to keep the ball. And this is one I'll always remember.'' The Bucs will remember it, too. ``I thought Mark Arteaga was one of the great acquisitions we made in the off-season and this throw does nothing but confirm that,'' Gruden said. ``There's a thin line in this league. When the play is there, you need to make it.'' By any means possible. With a beanbag and a toe-drag, if that's what it takes.