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Anwar Richardson, The Tampa Tribune, published 19 October 2009
Clifton Smith was physically unable to talk after his team's 28-21 loss to Carolina. Special teams coach Richard Bisaccia chose his words carefully when asked about the hit Carolina special teams player Dante Wesley made on Smith before halftime.
"First thing I'll say is, I don't feel like I'm cooled down enough to give you an answer," Bisaccia said. "The other thing I'll say is, I'm glad he's all right and hopefully we'll determine when he'll be ready to go back in and play. It's just some bad ball right there."
Smith sustained a concussion and did not return to the game. He could not speak because of a throat injury, and his playing status for Sunday's game against New England is unknown.
Twenty seconds before halftime, Carolina punted. Smith was in position to field the punt and had not signaled for a fair catch, but Wesley launched his body into Smith prematurely. Wesley was penalized for interference with an opportunity to catch and was ejected from the game.
"I know the kid and I know the kid's character and I know he would never do anything like that intentionally, anything cheap," Carolina coach John Fox said. "It's unfortunate, but it happens. He'll learn from it."
Wesley's hit spawned an altercation between Bucs and Panthers players, and though they were separated, Smith's teammates continued fighting for him after the game. "I just thought it was unprofessional," Bucs defensive end Stylez G. White said. "It doesn't belong here. He didn't belong here today. It was good that he got kicked out."
"Everybody was (ticked), man," Bucs running back Earnest Graham said. "I mean, outside of football, that's our friend out there. The guy lunged. That's not cool, man. That's not cool."
"It was a dirty play," Bucs safety Tanard Jackson said. "It was handled correctly. Whatever the league does from there, it's on them. Personally, I think it was a dirty play."
Wesley faces a possible fine and suspension, but Sammie Stroughter had the best answer in the third quarter. Stroughter, Smith's replacement, returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, tying the longest return in team history. Smith returned a kickoff 97 yards against Kansas City in 2008.
"All I remember was Coach Rich yelling, 'You better not let the kicker tackle you.' It's one of those things that kept on repeating in my head," Stroughter said. "Coach (Bisaccia) always talks about not riding an emotional roller coaster. ... When you see somebody take a cheap shot on him like that, it hurts.
"You just got to stay even keeled and be thankful. I'm sorry for him. Hopefully he gets right, but he knows we're behind him."
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