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Roy Cummings, The Tampa Tribune, published 8 January 2006
They might not have even been here were it not for a few controversial calls going their way. There was that reversal of an apparent Marcus Pollard touchdown in the Lions game; the incomplete pass call on an apparent touchdown by Roddy White in the second Falcons game; and the favorable call on Mike Alstott's 2-point conversion in the first meeting with the Redskins.
Still, Bucs players, coaches and fans alike may forever feel as though their playoff fate was negatively altered by the call that was made on what proved to be the signature play in their 17-10 loss to the Redskins at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday. Just as they did in the White incident, officials ruled that receiver Edell Shepherd failed to make a catch when the ball squirted out of his hands after his knee, legs and butt had touched down in the end zone at the end of what seemed to be a game-tying 35-yard pass play.
The Bucs challenged the critical fourth-quarter ruling, but in citing a rule that states a player must complete the play by maintaining control of the ball after he hits the ground, officials upheld their original call and deemed the play an incomplete pass. "I'm not an official but my thing has always been - two feet in, ball in your hands, knee down, it's a touchdown," Bucs nose tackle Chris Hovan said. "Now, I just don't know anymore. But you know what, you can't pin a loss on one play like that. That's not what professionals do. There were a number of times in that game where we could have turned it around. We just didn't get it done."
The Bucs got it done defensively. Their solid play against the run and their steady harassment of Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell resulted in the 'Skins gaining just 120 total yards.
That's the fewest yards ever allowed by the losing team in an NFL playoff game. However, in the wake of their first home playoff loss since 1979, few Bucs defenders found any solace in the achievement. "One hundred and twenty yards of offense? I've never been involved in anything like that in my life," Hovan said. "But you know what, they're stats. They're just stats, and stats aren't going to get us to Chicago."
Chicago is where the Bucs would have gone Saturday for a second-round playoff game. Now, instead of spending the week prepping for that, they'll pack their bags and contemplate their futures.
For some, such as Alstott, a decision on whether to return for another year must be made. Others will have such decisions made for them. Almost everyone, though, will spend the offseason wondering, "What if?" "I thought you had to make a football move and have a body part, like your knee or something, down in the end zone," Shepherd said. "I thought I did that, so I thought it was a catch."
Jon Gruden thought roughly the same thing, saying he believed Shepherd had "both hands on the ball in the end zone." But as critical as the call was to his team's chances, he didn't think it decided the game's outcome. What did determine the outcome, Gruden said, were the two takeaways the Redskins got in the first quarter, when they turned a Chris Simms interception and a Cadillac Williams fumble into touchdowns.
Linebacker LaVar Arrington scored the interception, picking off a Simms pass on a first-and-10 play from the Bucs 20 just 8:54 into the game. He returned the ball to the Bucs 6. On the next play, Clinton Portis ran 6 yards for the score. The Bucs appeared to be recovering rather well from that scenario when linebacker Marcus Washington stripped Williams of the ball on a first-and-10 play four minutes later.
Washington recovered the ball at its own 34 and advanced it 7 yards before he fumbled himself. Safety Sean Taylor recovered that fumble at the Redskins 49 and then ran 51 yards for the touchdown that gave Washington a 14-0 lead. "They really did [hurt]," Gruden said of the turnovers. "Before you know it we're down and those games have not been the kind that have really spelled success for us."
The Bucs were 2-3 in games in which they lost the turnover battle this year. The Redskins, meanwhile, have been living off takeaways lately. During their regular-season ending five-game winning streak, they produced 17 of them. "The turnovers were a big deal," Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said. "Earlier in the year we were on the short end of them and it really cost us. In these last six games, it's really flipped around for us. I'm really proud of that."
Gruden walked away from Saturday's loss pleased with a flip of his own. He drastically flipped around the offensive side of his roster this year, and it led to a flip of fortune.
After a 5-11 finish last year, the Bucs went 11-5 to reach the playoffs this year, despite using several rookies and first-year starters on the offensive side of the ball.
The play of one of those players - Simms - allowed the Bucs to keep Saturday's game close. But too many others failed to play at the level they played at during most of the season and that proved costly, Gruden said.
In particular, Gruden said, it was the Bucs' inability to beat the Redskins at the point of attack that hurt them most. That slowed their running game and forced the Bucs to go to more of a ball-control passing attack. Simms managed that attack well, completing 25 of 38 passes for 198 yards. But he was sacked three times and intercepted twice on a day when his usually effective rallying effort fell short. "We moved the ball well, except for those first three series," Simms said. "We battled but we just didn't put enough points on the board."
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