Well, the Buccaneers' season ends with a whimper as they lose to the lowly Redskins 17-10. Two turnovers gave the Skins a 14-0 lead and the Bucs could never quite overcome the early deficit.
Let me say that you cannot turn the ball over in the playoffs and expect to win. The Redskins made enough plays to win the game. That being said, on both turnovers that resulted in points, I believe the Bucs were jipped on the calls.
For example, on the first interception, the Redskin player was running with the ball toward the end zone when he was tackled and fumbled. The refs said he was down by contact and that the play was not reviewable. My question is, if the person does not have possession of the ball, how can the play be considered over? The player can be down by contact, but since he doesn't have possession of the ball, the play should not be over. A lot of players were on the ground and the play continued. Why? They didn't have the ball. And neither did the Redskin when he landed on the ground.
Secondly, on the Williams fumble, it looked to me that Cadillac's leg was pulled up by the Redskin as he got off the ground, meaning the player was down and the ball would not have been returnable past that point. The refs said they couldn't see it. Maybe they need 106" widescreen HDTV like I do, because it was pretty obvious from my seat at home.
The touchdown that wasn't by Sheppard was disappointing. It appears that the rules were changed this year where a player must have possession of the ball all the way to the ground, instead of just having possession with two feet on the ground. Of course, that is, unless, it is a fumble return where, even if you don't have possession of the ball, you're down by contact.
I know I'm sounding like I whining about sour grapes, but a playoff game calls should be consistent and every call went against the Bucs.
The defense played very well. The Skins could only muster 122 yards of offense, which is pathetic. Yet they didn't have to do any more as we gave them 14 points.
At the end of the day, the Bucs earned the loss. It's a shame because this team will be drastically different this year. Alstott, Rice and Brooks may not be back. Hovan is an unrestricted free agent, Simms is a restricted free agent and many of our key coaching staff will not be back either, including defensive line coach Marinelli and other coaches.
Such seasons like this one are rare to come by and its a shame to see it end this way with a bunch of shoulda-coulda-wouldas. The Redskins made more plays than the Bucs and they got the win. I wouldn't say they earned it, but they got it.
Kudos to Jon Gruden for taking a team in a "building year" to the playoffs with an offense full of rookies. Probably his best coaching effort yet.
This off season will tell a lot about our hopes for next year. Lets hope we can keep some of our key defensive players and continue to build a stronger, complete team.
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2 comments:
A crying shame!! Gruden bit his tongue on many questions asked of him after the game. True enough that in the playoffs mistakes are magnified because it's do or die. But they need to address the 'down by contact' rule. It means a player can fumble after being hit if the referee prefers that solution! If a player gets hit on the way to the ground and loses possession of the ball how can that contact be the end of the play? Yet some referee decided it was over once contact was made and what gets me is IT IS NOT REVIEWABLE! WHY NOT? If referees make mistakes, and they do, why is this call not reviewable? That's what replay is for isn't it?
I still got many more positives out of this season than ever anticipated. It is a young offense. Playoff experience is valuable in setting the stage for next season. Michael Clayton, poorly prepared for this season should rebound. Sheppard will not make the same mistake. Simms should be signed for sure. On defense though things are not as pretty. I know they were #1 at seasons end but they are aging. I don't see equally valuable back-ups in the key positions. I'll stay tuned to Buccaneers.com and the NFL channel during the off season for sure.
I could buy the down by contact call if the whistle was blown and the play interrupted, but the Bucs recovered the ball within a second of the guy being "down" so I think that it shoudl be reviewable. Plus, rules on the field should apply in the end zone. If two feet and control of the ball are a catch on the field, it should be the same in the end zone. The Bucs got calls in their favor against Detroit and Atlanta on the same call, so I guess we were due.
In the end, the Bucs should not have been put in that situation. They have no one to blame but themselves. Its just too bad that the best defense in the league can't go to the next level... they earned it.
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