Excuses, excuses
Rick Stroud, The St.Petersburg Times, published 7 November 1994

You might think the 2-7 record and four straight losses would be too much to stomach, but the Tampa Bay Bucs chose something else to bellyache about Sunday. After a 20-6 loss to the Chicago Bears, the Bucs whined about the officiating. They accused the Bears of cheap shots and defended one of their own on charges of headhunting. Four players were ejected and several more needed to be helped to the locker room because of injuries. "At one point, I asked the referee, `Can we play football today or what?' " Bucs linebacker Hardy Nickerson said.

But in all the post-game chatter, the Bucs glossed over the one point that mattered: They couldn't run against the NFL's worst rushing defense. Making his first pro start, rookie tailback Errict Rhett was held to 20 yards in 12 carries against a defense that was yielding 158 rushing yards per game. Meanwhile, the Bears' ground game broke into full gallop, rushing for a season-high 178 yards and holding a 20-minute advantage in time of possession.

But at least half of the 60,821 fans at Tampa Stadium - the Bucs' largest crowd since Chicago appeared at its home away from home in '92 - went home happy. Bears quarterback Steve Walsh passed for 205 yards and two touchdowns, running his record to 4-0 as a starter. But embattled Bucs coach Sam Wyche set the tone in the locker room when he blasted the calls made by referee Gordon McCarter and his crew. "The players are confused in the National Football League," Wyche said. "Not just our team. When can you hit? You play tough football and the officials say that's too tough." Bucs tackle Paul Gruber and tight end Tyji Armstrong and Bears defensive end Alonzo Spellman and linebacker Vinson Smith were ejected.

The Bucs also were penalized for unnecessary roughness when safety Thomas Everett collided with receiver Tom Waddle when he tried to catch a third-down pass over the middle. Waddle suffered a concussion, had his chin split open and did not return. But Everett and his teammates defended the hit, which McCarter ruled an illegal headshot for using a forearm and the crown of the helmet. "I'm not a dirty player. It was a clean hit," Everett said. "What do they want me to do? Hit the guy low and maybe blow out a knee? Or hit up top? Where am I going to hit the guy? What do they want me to do, blow a guy's knee out from under him?"

But two other rulings by McCarter and his crew had a bigger impact on the outcome. On the Bucs' first possession, Gruber tangled with Spellman after he thought the Bears' defensive end went for the knees of rookie quarterback Trent Dilfer. Both players were penalized, but Gruber - who had never been called for a personal foul - was stunned by the ejections. "It was a cheap shot on the quarterback after the whistle," Gruber said. "I was protecting my quarterback. That's what I get paid to do. I couldn't believe they threw me out. I see guys do that every week."

Armstrong, who was ejected two weeks ago at San Francisco and fined $15,000 this season for his involvement in fights, was tossed along with Smith in the fourth quarter. "Tyji was trying to pull away from the guy. The guy has his face mask, and he gets thrown out," Nickerson said. "Gruber is protecting our quarterback. Other teams in the league can protect their quarterback."

Make no mistake, Dilfer needed protecting. Making only his second NFL start, Dilfer completed 13-of-25 passes for 159 yards and was intercepted once. But he failed to get his team into the end zone and struggled against the Bears' blitzing scheme that held Tampa Bay to 2-of-11 on third down. The Bucs' defense allowed Chicago to control the ball for 41 plays and nearly 20 minutes in the first half, but kept the Bears out of the end zone, forcing them to settle for two Kevin Butler field goals.

The Bucs went to the locker room trailing 6-3 after Michael Husted's 33-yard field goal with :30 left capped a 32-yard drive in which Dilfer completed three passes and scramble for 15 yards. Tampa Bay had the ball at the Bears' 38 and 29 to start the second half but failed to score. Rhett was stopped for a 4-yard loss on third and 1 from the Chicago 38, forcing a punt, and Husted missed a 47-yard field goal wide right to end another scoring chance.

The Bears used that field position to march 62 yards in 12 plays for their first touchdown - a 1-yard pass from Walsh to tight end Keith Jennings. Husted connected on a 38-yard field goal to start the fourth quarter, but the Bears went 80 yards in seven plays for the game-clincher - a 4-yard pass from Walsh to running back Robert Green.

Dilfer stood tall under the Bears' heavy pass rush, but was sacked twice and suffered a sprained ankle that forced him to leave late in the fourth quarter. "Dilfer was throwing ducks all day," Bears cornerback Donnell Woolford said. "I should have had three picks. For a rookie, he sure does talk a lot."

According to Dilfer, the blitzes will keep coming as long as teams think they bother him. "Teams are going to come, especially when they look at what happened this week," Dilfer said. "When Chicago didn't come, I picked them apart at times and when they came, we had some problems. I'll bet you Detroit brings the house. I'm going to get them. That's one of my goals. The next team that blitzes me, I'm going to make them pay for it."

Everett's hit on Waddle may result in a fine by the NFL, but it's the string of defeats that have taken a bigger toll on the Pro Bowl safety. "I want to win ballgames. Everybody's talking about that hit, but I want to win some damn ballgames around here," Everett said. "Forget the hit. I'd rather win ballgames than have hits like that.