Garcia Drops the Ball (Literally) in Defeat
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by Nejoshi
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Beat Article #1
Sitting tied atop the division with the idle Panthers, John Gruden’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers squad had an opportunity to gain a leg up in the race for the division title. Encouraging starts from the Buccaneers and the Detroit Lions made their matchup in Week 7 an important game in the NFC playoff chase. However, a turnover-riddled performance resulted in a disappointing 23-16 loss for the Bucs (4-3) and put them in second place in the NFC South as they prepare to host Jacksonville (4-2) next week. Throughout Tampa’s promising 4-2 start, the team was led by Jeff Garcia and his incredible skills at managing the game proficiently. The stats aren’t as flashy as Brady’s stats, but they are damn good; 7 TD passes, zero interceptions and a 106.2 QB rating. Most importantly, however, was his ability to avoid costly turnovers that would add a substantial amount of pressure to Monte Kiffin’s young defensive unit. With Garcia leading the Bucs with his efficient play, and the defensive finally looking rejuvenated again, it looked like this team had the potential to match its more successful predecessors of the past decade.
The Buccaneers’ encouraging start to the season was dealt a blow to the face in its loss at Ford Field on Sunday. Everything Tampa did well in its first six games went awry. Jeff Garcia committed his first two turnovers of the season, and both led to Lions touchdowns. The second fumble, extremely deflating, came with Tampa Bay sitting one yard away from cutting an early 10-point deficit down to two. Instead, Detroit capitalized on the gift, driving down the field to go up 23-7. The drive was capped by a dazzling run by rookie Calvin Johnson; it may have been the first play of the career where you were like, “Wow, that’s why he’s the number two pick!” Many more are in store.
Tampa Bay would not go down without a fight, staging a rally during the late stages of the fourth quarter. Despite the two fumbles, Garcia was on his game once again, completing 37-45 of his passes for 326 yards – all season highs -- to go with his seventh touchdown pass of the season. Garcia led two fourth quarter scoring drives late in regulation to close the Bucs to within seven, but it wasn’t enough. Garcia’s two fumbles would prove to be the difference in the defeat.
Even though the loss denied Tampa Bay a shot at first place, there are a number of things they can build on in the coming weeks. Earnest Graham had absolutely no problems having the offense run through him. He ran for 92 yards while compiling a solid 4.8 yards per carry. That would have been more than enough, but his 13 catches for 99 yards were icing on the cake. Who needs Cadillac Williams or Michael Pittman when you got Graham? The Bucs may have just traded for Michael Bennett, who played well in limited action, but Graham’s performance will certainly give him several more looks in the game plan for next week’s game.
In addition to having its best offensive output of the season (422 yards), Tampa Bay’s defense did well to stifle the Lions. Johnson’s TD run was the costly breakdown of an otherwise solid performance that subdued Detroit’s explosive passing attack. Jon Kitna threw for a very pedestrian 147 yards, with the rookie All-American Johnson leading the Lions with only 37 yards receiving. Detroit managed to run the ball for a brutal 6.1 yards a carry for a total of 131 yards, but they were still out gained by nearly 150 yards. Tampa Bay’s defense just couldn’t get the turnovers like Detroit did, and it cost them dearly.
Next week’s showdown with the Jaguars should be quite heated as it will be a defensive struggle with both teams coming off difficult loses. Tampa Bay, most notably Garcia, will need to clean their game up in order to compete. The Bucs are going to have to play more like the error-free team of the first four games if they wanna surpass last year’s win total next week.
Record: 4-3
Next Week: vs. Jacksonville, 4:15 ET, CBS
