Game notes and anecdotes The Tampa Tribune, published 24 December 2002 Tempers Run Hot On Both Sides Tampa Bay lost more than the game Monday night. At one point, the Bucs lost their composure. In one second-quarter defensive series, the Bucs were penalized for consecutive personal fouls. Warren Sapp was called for roughing the passer when he fell into Pittsburgh QB Tommy Maddox. Maddox came up limping after the play and ``Monday Night Football'' analyst John Madden said what Sapp did ``wasn't right.'' His infraction cost the Bucs 15 yards. FS Dexter Jackson followed with a penalty for taunting after tackling RB Amos Zereoue. ``I told Zereoue it was going to be like that all night,'' Jackson said. ``Last time I checked it was a man's game.'' A man's game that nearly came to blows before the first whistle. As if clinching the AFC North wasn't reason enough for Pittsburgh to win, a pregame scuffle provided the Steelers with added incentive. WR Keyshawn Johnson said he came out of the locker room during warm- ups and found one of his teammates embroiled in a shoving match. Bucs backup LB Nate Webster and Steelers LB Joey Porter got into a heated argument before the game, a spat that Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher said ``fired his team up.'' ``Webster was the least of our worries,'' Pittsburgh SS Lee Flowers said. ``Don't think you can bully us like that.'' Also before the game, Steelers RB Jerome Bettis pushed Sapp out of the way as the Pro Bowl defensive tackle skipped by him. Turnovers The Bucs lead the league with 27 interceptions and were among the league's best at protecting the ball (nine interceptions and nine fumbles), until Monday night. Tampa Bay turned the ball over three times, leading to seven of Pittsburgh's 17 points. On QB Shaun King's second play from scrimmage, his pass intended for Johnson was intercepted by Pittsburgh CB Chad Scott, who returned the ball 30 yards for a touchdown and 14-0 Steelers lead. Mike Alstott, who fumbled the ball on second-and-goal at Pittsburgh's 7-yard line, leads the league with one fumble for every 49 touches. It's the highest fumble ratio since 1998. Third-string QB Rob Johnson, who entered the game in the third quarter, put together the Bucs' most promising drive to that point before RG Cosey Coleman was unable to contain Steelers NT Casey Hampton, who stripped the ball from Rob Johnson. ``I think the turnovers were the big story tonight,'' Bucs coach Jon Gruden said. Playing time DeVone Claybrooks lined up beside Sapp for the first time Monday. Though he had been active in three previous games, Claybrooks hadn't seen any action. Claybrooks was involved in five different transactions before playing in his first game. He was signed to the practice squad Nov. 6, then bumped up to the 53-man roster Nov. 15. Three days later, the second- year defensive tackle out of East Carolina was cut, only to be re- signed to the practice squad Nov. 20. His last transaction was Nov. 23 when he was added to 53-man roster for the second time this season. Claybrooks was part of the defensive line rotation and finished with five tackles. Ain't that the truth Karl Williams has now played more games as a Buccaneer than any other wide receiver in team history. Monday’s contest was the 101st of his career, surpassing the 100 played by Gerald Carter. Williams also is the Bucs’ all-time leader in punt return yardage. Against the Steelers on Monday, he returned two punts for 16 yards. Defense back on track Despite the game’s difficult start, the Bucs still allowed just 17 points on Monday night, keeping them in position to break the team record for fewest points allowed in the season. Tampa Bay has now surrendered 196 points in 15 games, or 13.1 per game. If they can hold Chicago to less than 27 points, they’ll break the team mark of 223 set back in 1977. More impressively, that original record was set in a 14-game season. The previous Buc record for a 16-game season was 235, set in 1999. Post Game Quotes - Jon Gruden (On the outcome) “We’re very disappointed in the outcome of the game. I want to congratulate the Steelers. We never really got our crowd into the game. The first five minutes were catastrophic tonight. We had some opportunities in the red zone area we turned the ball over and never got going after that.” (On Brad Johnson not playing) “We had a pretty good idea. All week he was listed as questionable. He was unable to perform really on the practice field. Shaun took almost all of the reps. We brought Brad over here early and he just didn’t have the mobility to play tonight. That’s when we went with Shaun King and we relieved him in the third quarter with Rob (Johnson).” (On when Brad might return) “I really don’t know. This is an injury that has been looked at carefully with X-rays, MRIs and things of that nature. The X-rays are negative but there’s just a lot of soreness in there that really inhibits his movement and his ability to throw the football. Until it gets better, we’re not going to have the opportunity to play him.” (On getting what you deserve) "We turned the ball over inside the red zone and we threw and interception for a touchdown. We gave up some uncharacteristic big plays. You pretty much get what you deserve in this business and we got it tonight.” Shaun King (On what good can come from the game) "(I can) come out next week and I will be able to be a lot better. I thought I did some good things tonight. There were some plays I left out there that I wish I could get back. It wasn't a good half of football. (There's not) a lot of football left. I'll get a lot better." (On if he was trying too hard) "I don't think so. I just think we didn't click consistently as an offense. We turned it over a couple of times in scoring position, and when we do that it's tough to win." (On Pittsburgh) "Pitt's a good team. You look at the first seven minutes and we were down 14-0. So, you tip your hat to them. They played well. As an offense, we need to regroup. We need to come back and get a first-round bye. We'll come back and we'll play better next week." (On Rob Johnson) "I think Rob played well. He came in in a tough situation and made some plays, but when we have opportunities to put points on the board, you have to do it."