Post-game wrapup

Just a few stray points to make now that (my portion of) the paper has been put to bed.

As for the injuries, Alex Smith says he'll be all right. X-rays were negative on his left ankle, though he was wearing a nice-sized boot on it after the game. He said he thinks it's just a sprain, although he seemed to be in a lot of pain when coming off the field.

As for defensive end Patrick Chukwurah, the outlook isn't as rosy. He was in a great deal of pain after the game and told me there was some possible ligament damage in his left shoulder. He said X-rays showed there was no bone damage, but the MRI he expects to have on Monday might show other damage in the joint. We'll keep you posted.

And one other point I learned after the game from Jon Gruden was that Jeff Garcia was at it again. On the late 28-yard pass Garcia threw to Hilliard that helped set up the game-winning field goal, Garcia audibled at the line of scrimmage. Gruden said the play was called with the expectation that the Titans would do one particular thing, but they ended up giving the Bucs a different look that surprised Garcia. But in his typically poised fashion, he did what he had to do and the Bucs came away winners.

One nitpik though: the Bucs got very conservative once they got that 10-3 lead, and it almost came back to bite them. The threw just eight passes in the second half prior to the last drive, when Garcia had six pass attempts. I totally understand the Titans are a very, very formidable defense and aren't going to let you run your offense as you please. But it's something I'd like to run by Gruden in Monday's press conference.

Gruden was critical of the defense's play on third down, with the Titans converting 9 of 16, some of them very long. That's two weeks in a row that we've seen that problem.

On a positive note, it was good to see Michael Clayton make an appearance. He made a couple tough catches, with his 39-yarder bailing out Garcia who was under pressure and setting up Matt Bryant's early 23-yard field goal.

Did I miss anything, whether good or bad? Feel free to havve your say.

Comments

[TF]

I don't think you missed anything, and we all see the weakness of the pass rush, and the running game. Just happy to get a win, and also the Cowboys lost so the bandwagoner DR who still hangs out at this bucs blog even though she "likes the Cowboys now" is probably in a fetal position hugging his Romo fathead.

[Tom]

Stephen,

In addition to your point about Garcia using an audible on the big 28 yard play...Garcia had no chance to audible in Indy. Plus, this shows how well he knows Gruden's offense. I think any great QB should be able to have a few plays in his head that he can go to when he gets to the line. You should take what the defense gives you.

Ike Hilliard is such a valuable player in this offense. He seems to always know the present situation, like getting out of bounds or reaching for the marker.

I know what you're saying about us being a little conservative and I agree to a certain extent. We had an opportunity to go for a FG. But I was comfortable playing the field position game at that point. Especially the way our defense was playing and Collins as a QB. Hindsight, I guess.

I am really proud of this team bouncing back after last week. Tennessee is no joke and this should show the doubters that the Bucs are a solid team.

[L Man]

I'm glad you brought up Gruden's conservative play calling, because I was screaming at my wife about it as it was going on. After the go-ahead touchdown, why not show some of that "offensive genius" to burn some clock and give our defense some rest?

It's utterly ridiculous.

Jeff showed at the end that he can make plays, so why not turn that on when we can put a game away. I'm officially sick of Jon Gruden's nonsense. His defense won him this game today. Period.

[John P]

Easy analogy about the play calling:

Gruden called plays like Bruce Gradkowski was under center after they took the lead. Very reminiscent of 2006. I find it funny that Gruden stopped to critique the defense but not his own offense after running less than 50 total plays for the 2nd straight week. The defense isn't good enough to be left on the field constantly without some kind of break from the offense.

I'll say this about the play calling in Gruden's defense though: He can't be faulted for thinking Kerry Collins would fall flat on his face - and not be able to lead a comeback drive. I didn't think he'd do it either.

[aaron]

congrats to michael clayton for having a good game. his # wasnt called often but when it was he responded. good for him, it was great to see.

[DR]

TFS, after a weekend of football, those are your insightful comments? Good God, you're a pathetic loser!
Good win for the Bucs against a solid team, but the Bucs are desperate for a RB and pass rusher. Garcia is 37 years old and the weight of this team is completely on his shoulders. Not sure how much longer that can last.

[Tom]

Even after beating the Titans, you guys are riding Gruden. Unbelievable! You guys are non-stop whinos. L Man, what level of professional sports have you coached? I guess we should and could do anything we want to the Titans defense with a 3rd string RB, right?

You guys were complaining about how you wanted "Mr. August" as your featured back and now you have him. How does Caddilac look now?

There was one play which was a draw on 2nd and 20 that was questionable. Other than that, we played a very smart offensive game. Their defense was playing zone to protect the pass all day. They were daring us to run! Why start taking chances when you're defense is playing well and Collins is the QB? C'mon people, enjoy the freakin' win!!

[Julian]

John P

The D deserved to be called out. They would have run more plays if they could have gotten a stop on 3rd down. Everyone needs to get off Gruden some. We win and you blame him for something and they lose and you blame him. I know he has had a couple rough years but come on people be fair in your assement

[John P]

Julian,

Wasn't riding Gruden, or blaming. But I gotta believe that the offense put a hell of a strain on the defense by having the ball under 7 minutes on 5 possessions in the second half. Be a little objective bud. The defense, for its part, couldn't get a pass rush late in the game. They were getting worn down and it was obvious.

Like I said before, God bless Garcia. He pulled them out of the fire at the end.

Where are all the Monte Kiffin bashers this week, by the way?

[Tom]

John P,

The Titans came out in the 3rd quarter with a 7 minute drive. We go 3 and out on the next series. So it didn't start out that well. We were kinda lucky that Young went out. They were starting to feel it on offense.

[Done-G]

Hey L Man, I've been officially sick of people making stupid comments like yours. The defense won Gruden this game? Are you stupid? Wasn't it the defense that let the back-up QB for Tennesse go 80+ yards to tie the game up at 10? Wasn't it the defense that couldn't get off the field on many 3rd and longs? Oh yea, who was that on our defense that drove the Bucs down the field in less than 80 seconds to allow a game winning FG? Btw, who is that kicker on our defense that kicked two FG's, one being the game winner. I'm still waiting for you to tell that Jeff Garcia and Matt Bryant play on the defensive side of the ball because they are the ones who won this game for us. The defense played great but they are expected to do so. This was a team effort but without Jeff Garcia, this team would be finished.

[DR]

What L Man is trying to say is that most defenses would have broken down in the amount of time that they stayed on the field. Yeah, they gave up long 3rd down conversions, but when you make a stop and get off the field and the offense goes 3 and out, the offense isn't getting the job done. The Titans only scored 10 points, thats a defensive win on any team. The offense better score more than 17 to get credit for a victory.

[DR's gay]

Hey DR, how 'bout dem boys? They like us, couldn't compete against the NFL's "elite" teams...(Indy and NE)

NE scored 48 on your bums, hahahahahaha....you got your butts female dog slapped. HAHAHAHA!!!

[Chris Lau]

I think you were pretty much right on all your points regarding yesterday's game. I was very happy to see Michael Clayton come up with a couple huge catches in the first half and even happier to see Ike Hilliard continue to make huge plays. What Jeff Garcia has done this season is remarkable and my opinion is we will become a team that passes to set up the run. Gone are the days where we constantly see 8 in the box because if other teams do that, Garcia will go right over the top and make defenses pay.

The defense did what it had to do to win the game but I just wish we could get off the field on 3rd down. If we can start doing that watch out.

[TF's Gay Lover]

Oh you guys missed it when me and TF gots so excited about the sucs, i mean bucs, hee hee, winning the football game. There was so much tackling and those tight uniforms, oh my, i was so overwhelmed. TF put me to bed like a true gay gentleman would.

[DR]

Oh man, the 'Boys lost to the Pats, we must suck! Man, you're such an idiot its amazing! Have your parents killed themselves yet?
The 'Boys and Pats will meet again this season. The 'Boys didn't get slaughtered by any means. They certainly didn't get man handled by a terrible Seahawks team. Super Bowl goals for the 'Boys are realistic. As for the Bucs, its pigs flying, hell freezing over.

[DR's an Idiot!]

First off, I never said losing to the Pats must mean the 'Boys suck. And you saying "The 'Boys didn't get slaughtered by ay means" just shows how stupid you really are. YOU GAVE UP 48 POINTS. YOU LOST 48-27. THAT'S GETTING "SLAUGHTERED" YOU IDIOT!!! Put down your kool-aid long enough to realize when your 'Boys get thier butts kicked VERY handedly. DR you're a freaking joke!

[Tom]

DR, what game were you watching? The Cowboys got destroyed. It wasn't even close! If it wasn't for the defensive touchdown, the score would've been a lot worse. The leaky Cowboys defense gave up 448 yards!!!!

The Cowboys are the most overrated team in the NFL. They couldn't beat the Saints for last place in the NFC South. Do you remember the beat down the Saints gave Dallas last year.

This is the beginning of the end for the Cowboys. Look for TO to start crying and wreck that locker room. The Cowboys will finish 6-10.

[48-27]

Team Stat Comparison

1st Downs - NE 28 Dallas13
3rd down efficiency - NE 11-17 Dallas 4-11
4th down efficiency - NE 2-2 Dallas 0-0
Total Yards - NE 448 Dallas 283
Passing - NE 373 Dallas 186
Comp-Att - NE 31-46 Dallas 18-29
Yards per pass - NE 8.1 Dallas 6.4
Rushing Yards - NE 75 Dallas 97
Rushing Attempts - NE 29 Dallas 15
Yards per rush - NE 2.6 Dallas 6.5
Penalties - NE 5-50 Dallas 12-98
Turnovers - NE 1 Dallas 1
Fumbles lost - NE 1 Dallas 0
Interceptions thrown - NE 0 Dallas 1
Possession - NE 38:15 Dallas 21:45

Hmm....Just by looking at 1. Time of possession 2. Score 3. Total Yards 4. 1st downs.....I WOULD SAY THAT DALLAS GOT THIER BUTTS SLAUGHTERED!!!!

[DR]

Wow, must we forget that the Cowboys were beating the Pats 24-21 in the 3rd quarter? Comparing the 'Boys to the Saints is a JOKE! The Bucs couldn't beat the 'Boys on the 'Boys worst day! You guys are clowns!
I'll bet my life the Cowboys won't finish 6-10, you're an absolute moron! The Cowboys will be the #1 seed in the NFC and be the favorites.
Great offense against the Titans! You gotta be proud that the Titans gift wrapped the game and gave it to you. Earnest Graham may be as good as Marion Barber's left toe. I can get more yards than that worthless bum Graham. Just wait until the 'Boys defense is finally healthy. The Bucs gave up 30 points to the Colts who weren't even trying. the Bucs would give up 60 to the Pats, easy, especially with that joke of a defensive line-if you want to call them that.

[Tom]

You can say what you want DR. The Bucs have their issues, there's no denying. But to get your @$$ whipped like the Cowboys did on their home turf is despicable! The Cowboys are definately pretenders.

It's just a matter of time before TO starts to act like the chump that he is.

[DR]

Tom, you're still banking on a TO meltdown and say the 'Boys are pretenders; you just don't know football. I'd rather be 5-1 with a 4th quarter loss to the Pats than be 4-2 with losses to the Seahawks and Colts. The seahawks are horrible and you guys got embarrassed by them.
The 'Boys lost by 21 pts but did anybody see that last minute TD by the Pats and Brady celebrating? But that kind of class is expected from a bunch of cheaters. Brady wasn't man enough to answer the media's question about it either.
Just so you jokers know, a slaughtering is what the 'Boys did to the Bucs last year, when the game was over in the 1st quarter.