Slap in the face revives Packers
Michelle Kaufman, The St.Petersburg Times, published 4 December 1989

The black felt hat hung on a hook, awaiting its owner. A matching black blazer hung by its side. About a hundred yards from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers locker room door Sunday, a young man and woman waited patiently for their friend. It was an hour after the Bucs' 17-16 loss to Green Bay that nose tackle Shawn Lee finally emerged from the shower to retrieve his clothes and face the world.

He dressed alone. The rest of the team had cleared out a half hour earlier, feeling hurt and cheated. Lee appeared most anguished of all. It was a penalty against him - albeit a controversial one - that broke Buccaneer hearts and injected life in a Packers drive that appeared aborted when Don Majkow ski's fourth-and-16 pass was broken up and nearly intercepted by safety Harry Hamilton with 47 seconds remaining in the game.

Lee was called for illegal hands to the face mask of left guard Rich Moran, squelching the euphoria that had infected the Tampa Bay sideline and most of the 58,120 who showed up for the game. The penalty gave Green Bay 5 yards and an automatic first down at their own 39-yard line. Majkowski completed three of six passes for 32 yards, and a 47-yard Chris Jacke field goal won the game as time expired. “Five seconds went by before I realized there was a penalty,” said Majkowski. “I couldn't believe it. It's the first time in my career that we're getting unbelievable breaks.”

For the third consecutive Sunday, and the fourth time this year, a Bucs game was decided by one point. Last Sunday, the Bucs beat Phoenix 14-13 when Al Del Greco missed a 47-yard field goal with one second remaining. It was the second straight week and the fourth time this season that Green Bay (8-5) won by a point. The loss almost certainly eliminated the Bucs (5-8) from the playoff picture.

After the game, few people talked about the Bucs' miscues: Vinny Testaverde's five interceptions, Rod Jones' bad read on a 55-yard touchdown pass from Majkowski to Sterling Sharpe, and the unusual number of dropped passes. Tampa Bay highlights - a 49-yard Donald Igwebuike field goal into a 20-mph wind, Sylvester Stamps' crafty 21-yard touchdown run, big plays on defense, Willie Drewrey's 55-yard punt return - weren't discussed at length, either.

The topic of the day was The Call. Lee had no comment on the penalty, which was called by umpire Ed “Bud” Fiffick. The umpire, who graduated from Marquette University in Wisconsin, said Lee gave Moran a shot in the face and “stretched back” Moran's head in doing so. Lee's teammates had plenty to say about the subject.

“That was a bull---- call,” exclaimed defensive end Reuben Davis. “We ought to protest the thing. Both teams are down there, battling, and the refs just took the fun out of the game. They took the outcome out of the players' hands. Every now and then, a lineman's hand is going to slip up in someone's face. It's part of the game. That's how I got my eye poked out up there (against Green Bay at Lambeau Field). All day long, they were telling us to keep it clean and not to do the kind of talking that's part of football. Why don't they just play these games on a computer?”

Linebacker Ervin Randle said: “Usually refs are just invisible guys out there, but today they were visible to the point where they determined the outcome of the game. Deep down inside, we know we should have won, but it came down to something we couldn't control.”

Even Bucs coach Ray Perkins, who's careful in his discussions of game officials, questioned the timing and legitimacy of the penalty. “I'm not sure what that call was, and even if someone explained it to me I'm not sure I'd understand,” the coach said. “I'm not criticizing the official, but that's only the second time I've ever heard that called, and I think the flag was late.”

Moran himself was surprised to see the flag. “I had been working against Shawn Lee all day, and he was bull-rushing me all day,” he said. “On that play, the ref was in perfect position to see. We're lucky he was watching.”

Davis said half the defense was already on its way back to the sideline when the flag was thrown. “I'm jumping up and down, and all of a sudden my heart dropped when I heard there was a penalty,” said Davis. “It hurt so bad.”

Linebacker Winston Moss said he figured the game was over when Majkowski threw the incompletion. “Then I turned around and saw they had another chance. It was such a shame after how hard we fought.”

The Bucs' defense held the Packers' No. 4-ranked offense scoreless for 10 straight drives. Eight of Green Bay's 16 marches went 10 yards or less. Odie Harris and Ricky Reynolds had interceptions, Eugene Marve forced a fumble and Kevin Murphy recovered, and Randle tackled Brent Fullwood for minus-1 yard on fourth-and-1 from 4 yards outside the Bucs' end zone.

The only Packer who managed big plays was Sharpe, who caught eight passes for 169 yards and scored both of the team's touchdowns. “We fought our butts off,” said defensive lineman John Cannon. “You've got to give Green Bay some credit, but that penalty was really a shame. Anything I say won't change it, but disgust is what I feel.”

Offensively, the Bucs were less proficient. Four different Green Bay defenders grabbed hold of Testaverde passes - two went to Dave Brown, one to Brian Noble, one to Mark Lee and one to Scott Stephen. Bucs receivers turned into defensive backs, making four tackles. Mark Carrier had two tackles - as many as six of the starters on the Tampa Bay defense. Seven of the Bucs' 16 drives went 10 yards or less. Nine of the Bucs' points were scored by Igwebuike, who hit from 49, 40, and 36 yards out.

Despite the errors, Carrier said the game belonged to the Bucs. “This is a hard loss to swallow,” said Carrier, who had seven receptions for 104 yards. “When I looked over and saw them celebrating, I knew how the Bears and Cardinals felt the last two weeks. The shoe was on the other foot this time, and it's hard to accept. But we're not going to shut up our tents. We have to play to go 8-8. We don't want a losing record. We don't deserve it.”