Another one slips away
Michelle Kaufman, The St.Petersburg Times, published 1988

If there was one minute of Sunday's game that best depicted why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn't beat the New Orleans Saints, it was the fifth minute of the second quarter. In those 60 seconds the Bucs twice blew a touchdown that could have been the difference in the 13-9 loss.

The first time, Kerry Goode's nine-yard scoring run was nullified because of a motion penalty on Dan Turk. The second time, Goode admittedly misplayed a catchable Vinny Testaverde pass and watched it bounce off his shoulder pad out of the end zone. Goode was playing in place of starter Lars Tate, who was benched early in the second quarter after he “blew some assignments,” coach Ray Perkins said.

Testaverde was sacked on the next play, and the Bucs had to settle for Donald Igwebuike's 35-yard field goal. The four points they lost would have forced the game into overtime, and on a day the Bucs played the Saints even (or better), there's no telling who would've won. Instead, the Bucs went home losers for the third time in four weeks. The Saints improved to 3-1.

I'm sick of feeling this way after a game,” said nose tackle Curt Jarvis, who had the Bucs' sole sack of the day. “We fought like crazy out there, and still came up short. We've got to win when we get this close. We've got to make the plays when they count most.”

Testaverde, who completed 14 of 33 passes for 230 yards with one interception, said, “It's hard to feel good when you lose. It's one thing to know you're right there, knocking on the door, and it's another if you open it. They made a play here, a play there. We need to make big plays like that, too.”

There were at least four plays in addition to the two near-touchdowns that could classify as game-breakers: A 15-yard roughing-the-passer penalty on Robert “Pig” Goff early in the game gave the Saints a 21-yard gain on third-and-9 from the Bucs' 43 instead of a 6-yard gain. Had he not hit Bobby Hebert's helmet with his hand, New Orleans would've faced fourth-and-3 from the 36, and more than likely attempted a 53-yard field goal. Instead, the Saints scored the game's only touchdown on the drive.

A questionable call gave Saints cornerback Van Jakes an interception instead of a pass-interference penalty. Perkins called it a “blatant” interference, a comment that could cost him up to $1,000 if the league decides to fine him for criticizing the officials. Jakes returned it 39 yards, and New Orleans got a field goal out of it. The fingertips of Saints nose tackle Tony Elliott got in the way of a Testaverde-to-Ron Hall pass on third-and-6 from the New Orleans 17. Once again, Tampa Bay settled for a field goal, this one a 35-yarder.

The final coffin nail was hammered in with 1:49 left in the game. Hebert connected with Lonzell Hill for 17 yards on third-and-12 from the Bucs' 11, crushing the Bucs' hopes of getting the ball back. Three kneels later, the Superdome crowd of 66,671 had the victory it wanted. It didn't matter that the Bucs' offense outgained the NFL's third-ranked offense 296 yards to 186 yards, or that its defense held the league's top-scoring team to 13 points.

Nor did it matter that the Bucs had more first downs (19-18) and more successful third downs (7-of-15 to 5-of-14) than the Saints. “A win is a win is a win, and a loss is a loss is a loss,” said Bucs safety Mark Robinson. “We need to convert close games into wins. We're right there, but we have to take advantage of every opportunity we get.”

The Bucs had a chance to put together a drive with 3:36 to go in the game, but managed only 22 yards in three tries. Perkins called a punt on fourth-and-8 from the Tampa Bay 43 with 2:15 remaining. He said it was an “easy” decision to make because his defense had been impressive all day. Testaverde said he understood the coach's decision, but still stayed on the field “as long as (he) could” to let Perkins know the offense wanted one more shot.

As usual, the Bucs started the game at half speed. They let the Saints score on their first drive, the fourth time in four games the Bucs' opponent has done so. New Orleans had scored on a 5-yard Hebert-to-Hill pass and a 28-yard field goal by Morten Andersen by the time the clock ran out for the first quarter. The Bucs have now been shut out 54-0 in the first quarter. “We played fine after we settled down, but once again we gave things up early that ended up hurting us late,” said cornerback Ricky Reynolds, who led the secondary with three passes defensed and an interception.

“This week, we talked about playing tougher in the first quarter,” Robinson said. “Stats don't lie. You can only get kicked in the face so many times before you say, `Hey, stop that.' We just didn't do enough.”

Lack of a pass rush has been another Bucs weakness, but they did something about it against the Saints. Instead of rushing just three men, as had been their custom, the Bucs sent four, five and six men in pursuit several times Sunday. The difference showed. Hebert, who led the NFL with a 72.2 percent completion rate going into the game, often hurried throws against the Bucs. He finished the day with 16 of 28 passes complete for 159 yards and a touchdown with one interception. “Even when their quarterback took five steps he had someone in his face today,” said linebacker Chris Washington. “All the blitzing really made a difference. You have to do that. You can't just sit back and let them throw.”

Despite the loss, the Bucs said the team is much more confident than it was three weeks ago. “We used to go in on third downs and we didn't know what was going to happen,” Washington said. “Now, we expect them (the other team) to get off the field.”

The next team expectation is a Bucs victory over Green Bay at Tampa Stadium next Sunday. “We'll kick butt next week,” Robinson said. “I know it.”