Did That Game Really Happen? It’s amazing what an “I don’t believe that” last second victory play can do for morale. Players hugged and piled on, coaches invaded the field, commentators and writers wet their pants, and Donovan McNabb puked - it all happened last Sunday as Matt Bryant lined up somewhere south of Miami and aimed for the Pirate ship in the North End zone of RJS, and the rest is now history; glorious kick, great moment and a real lift for all Buc fans everywhere. Back to reality though as 62-yard winning last second field goals are like coherent comments from Wayne Rooney – you tend to only get one of them in a lifetime. Clear through the euphoria of last Sunday and what do we now know about our Bucs? Well we still have a defense that can make the big play but also can collapse at any moment; we tackled like a girls' netball team on Westbrook’s TD and that has too often been the case this season. We may have found a QB keeper in Mr Gradkowski though he now apparently has a list of pass plays shorter than a pee wee team, and is being kept on a very short leash by Jon Gruden purely and wisely for his own protection. Buccaneer Bruce’s job, which he is doing exceedingly well by the way, is to simply not lose us the game. Our offensive objective is to protect the ball over and do the basics placing more and more onus on our defense. A few things I think 1. I think I hope Ronde Barber has a much longer career plan than his twin. Stay around for a good while yet Ronde, Sunday afternoon showed why you are still one of the top five in the business in your position. 2. Did everyone else hear Gene and Hardy’s description of the last 33 seconds of last Sunday’s game? If not, do your best to get hold of it somewhere, as it’s completely biased brilliance with a final reaction of two out and out fans from the booth – you could even picture them hugging and high-fiving in the booth! 3. I think Matt Bryant has kept his long range leg well hidden these past few years. At least we now know that given acceptable conditions, the opponents 40-yard line now represents field goal range for our offense. You wouldn’t have given a prayer for his chances when he lined up but that thing was good from 65 yards if it was needed – awesome job. 4. I think I never believed I'd see the day that God in cleats (Derrick Brooks) whiffed an easy tackle in such a key situation. Lets hope the legendary number 55 ensures this never happens again. 5. Hey John the Eagles fan from Lennair in Orlando, who I met at the York Show two weeks ago – hope you're reading this as promised! Trust you enjoyed the game last Sunday from the sideline, and hope you had a good view of Matt’s kick going straight down 11th Avenue! 6. I think I wonder if any Bucs UK members at the game last Sunday, went for a celebratory drink with Phil Jones afterwards? If they did I bet they are still recovering. 7. Enjoyed Jon Gruden’s post game interview last Sunday, when he genuinely came across as completed knackered and emotionally drained, and Im not surprised. Ecstacy to agony to unbridled joy in the space of about five minutes – that’s why this is the greatest game on the planet. 8. Love the way Gene Deckerhoff now ritually shouts “Fire the Cannons” whenever a Buc gets in the end zone – they should play that over the loud speakers at RJS before setting the things off. Gene quite simply is a hoot to listen to, and his announcement that “Matt Bryant is my Hero!” meant his legend reached new levels last Sunday. Can’t wait for more this weekend, it’s the best three hours on the radio anywhere. 9. I think I'm still crying for my Mets – best team in the National League from April to September and then a heartbreaking loss one game short of the World Series, losing as our best hitter watches the final pitch go past. One word sums it up, bollocks. 10. I think I was sorry though not surprised to see BK go on IR this week. That could be it for one of the cornerstones of our Superbowl team, and if it is I tip my hat to his contribution over the years. A few years ago this formula almost won the Superbowl in 1999, but unfortunately that defensive unit and the current one do not stack up and that’s why we are still looking at a 4-5 win season in my book – sorry to pee on everyone’s parade but thats how I see it. If we are ever in a situation that Bruce is throwing the ball 35 times plus in a game, then you know we are behind the 8 ball. What we can do is stand back and admire a truly memorable showing for Ronde “Donovan’s safety valve” Barber, who has made a career out of pickpocketing the Eagles and breaking their hearts, either via interception and return, or sacks and strips on his speed of light corner blitz. A game for the ages for number 20 was almost taken away from him, but thanks to a great kick-off return by Mr Bicep and Matt Bryant’s supersonic leg, he was able to flash that smile and enjoy the praise he deserved for two truly game changing plays. One of the other key factors of last weeks win was our ability to persevere with the running game and establish some headway. Im sure I read that we are 8-0 when Cadillac carries the ball 20 times or more, a stat that illustrates how much establishing a running game directly relates to our successes and failures. We’ve seen Cadillac for nearly a season and a half now and its clear he gets better as the game goes on and the defense wears down. Unless we are down by two scores or more, feeding Cadillac in the 4th quarter should be option number one when we line up on offense. On we go this week and up to New York to face the G men. Its not a bad time to catch them coming off a Monday Nighter on the road, and I do believe we can keep this one close. However I do not have the faith that we can keep Eli Manning and company quiet for all four quarters, given our current defensive propensity to kick ourselves in the arse at in-opportune moments. I'll be a misery guts and go for the Giants here 27-20 as I don’t think we have it in us to beat a winning team on the road at present. Lets hope I’m wrong. Nod of Acknowledgement to - The Big Gay Orange Pirate for posting a link meaning I could watch last Sundays game – cheers fella. One request though, please bring back Big Gay AL as your avantar on the messageboard. Sports News Story I No Longer Give a Toss About – Baseball World Series. St Louis vs Detroit? Monkey tennis. Thanks to the Mets sad demise in game 7 last week I am more likely to tune in to the Serbo-Croatian Lizard racing on Eurosport than a World Series yawn fest devoid of hitting and any characters at all. And no there is absolutely no bias in this whatsoever ….. honestly. Get in the Real World Award - Shawn Merriman. Yeah yeah, of course we believe that your urine sample was spiked/artificially contaminated/mixed up with Diego Maradona’s etc etc, yawn. Naturally I also believe that those forearms that you have that are the size of basketballs were sculptured solely in the weight room and without any illegal supplementation at all. I also believe in the tooth fairy, Father Christmas and Lord Lucan’s continued prosperity somewhere in Tasmania.