Galloway, Hilliard Remain 1-2 Punch
Nick Williams, The Tampa Tribune, published 5 November 2007

Joey Galloway and Ike Hilliard may not receive as much national media hype as Arizona Cardinals receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, but the two veterans were much more effective and productive Sunday in the Bucs' 17-10 win.

Galloway and Hilliard finished with 84 and 70 receiving yards, respectively, with Galloway giving the Bucs a 7-3 lead in the first quarter on a 37-yard pass from Jeff Garcia that, in a way, set the tone for the offense the remainder of the game.

Fitzgerald and Boldin recorded 95 and 40 yards in receptions, respectively, but outside of Fitzgerald's 47-yard catch on the Cards' second play from scrimmage, neither did much against Tampa Bay's secondary. "We got some points early in the game and our defense held them down for such a long time, it gave the offense a chance to get a few more points to win the game," Galloway said.

On the touchdown catch, Galloway outmuscled free safety Terrence Holt for the ball, and then zipped to the end zone. "I have to look at it on film ... everything happened so fast," Galloway said. "I saw the guy go by and next thing I know ... touchdown."

In the team's 24-23 loss to Jacksonville last week, Galloway had six catches for 115 yards and a touchdown. He currently leads all Tampa Bay receivers with five touchdowns. Hilliard, who has averaged six catches per game over the last five weeks, had seven Sunday. His longest catch, an 18-yarder from Garcia, earned an important first down on a third-and-5 play with 5:15 left in the fourth quarter.

"I just happened to be in the situation where I wasn't a primary guy," Hilliard said. "Jeff Garcia is just going through his progressions or he's running for his life and I happened to find a soft spot and he felt comfortable throwing it. It feels good to be a part of a few plays and keep some drives going."

Garcia, who completed 18 of 28 attempts for 196 yards, said the offense is starting to develop an identity, thanks to the production of Galloway and Hilliard. "I think we do whatever it takes to move the chains and it doesn't always happen the same way," Garcia said. "Yes, we have shown the big play ability with Joey down the field and him making great plays and getting the ball in the end zone, and Ike, he's steady. He's the guy who is very dependable in short-yardage situations. He just has a great feel for the game. He's a coach on the field."

Hilliard said the offense is capable of putting more points on the board. "I think we left a lot of points on the grass," he said. "We had great opportunities to put up a lot of points and unfortunately we didn't. We missed a few plays, I dropped a third-down ball, we didn't get the ball in the end zone, we shot ourselves in the foot with a few penalties here and there and on special teams we missed a field goal."

Jon Gruden said there's always room for improvement. "To be a great team, we're going to have to make all the plays all the time," Gruden said. "I'm not going to be negative or anything like that, but this is the National Football League and to win games, you have to make plays when they're there to be made."