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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 10, 2007

Sunday's Best
Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin joked that defensive end Greg White went from being the best player in the Arena Football League to tops in the NFL, and after another standout performance, he might be onto something. White, a first-year player who was with the Orlando Predators last season, had three sacks, three quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles in Tampa Bay's 28-14 road loss against Houston.

Houston Not South Enough

Texas might be a part of the South, but Houston ought to petition for a move from the AFC South into the NFC South. That's because the Texans have a 3-1 record against NFC South opponents this year. If Houston was actually in that division, it could currently be in contention for a playoff spot with a 6-7 record. The Texans have defeated Carolina (34-21), New Orleans (23-10) and now Tampa Bay. Their only loss was against Atlanta, 26-16. Houston is 0-4 in its own division, but its three division opponents (Indianapolis, Jacksonville and Tennessee) all have winning records and may be headed for the playoffs.
Team Stat
Tampa Bay's defense struggled to get off the field when it had to as Houston converted 10 of 17 third downs (59 percent) compared to the Bucs' 3 of 13 (23 percent).

By The Numbers

4 - times Bucs quarterback Luke McCown was sacked 9 - receptions by Andre Johnson for 82 yards and one touchdown 35:06 - Houston's time of possession vs. Tampa Bay's 24:54 45 - yards on a kickoff return by the Bucs' Micheal Spurlock 97 - yards on a kickoff return for a TD by the Texans' Andre Davis 116.6 - passer rating for Houston QB Sage Rosenfels
Casual Friday
Despite Tampa Bay's loss to Houston, there are still plenty of good reasons to wear a Bucs jersey to work Friday. Tampa Bay can clinch a playoff spot if Atlanta beats New Orleans tonight, or if the Saints win, by defeating the Falcons on Sunday at home. Either way, those jerseys will be worn as NFC South Division champs, or with confidence Tampa Bay can make the playoffs this weekend. Here are some jerseys to consider wearing Friday: 20 - Ronde Barber (10 tackles for Tampa Bay's reliable star) 34 - Earnest Graham (has rushed for a TD in five consecutive games) 84 - Joey Galloway (had six receptions for 87 yards) 91 - Greg White (arguably the best player on defense)

Locker Room Talk

"He made some unbelievable tight throws. He looked like Joe Montana. Sage is not supposed to be that good." - Kiffin "We are going to take care of all of those scenarios later. We didn't play well enough to win. The goal is not necessarily to just qualify for the playoffs. The goal is to win a championship. We have to play better than that to do that." - Bucs coach Jon Gruden "Four-game win streak, or one-game win streak. It really doesn't matter. We just didn't get it done. Everything we did today was unacceptable." - Bucs DE Gaines Adams "I think, offensively, we know in our minds we cannot perform like that once we enter the one-and-done season playoffs. It's just best to put this one behind us. We know how we played. It's not acceptable by any means, offense or defense or special teams." - Bucs WR Michael Clayton "It's definitely not our best day of executing on offense." - Galloway "We got to get off on third downs. Period. They had 18 first downs at one point when I looked up there. It was ridiculous. Even with only 258 yards, or whatever it was, giving up that many first downs is losing football for us." - Barber "We played a great football team today, and we had to do three things. We had to play great defense, and we did. We had to take advantage of every offensive opportunity we had to score points, we did that, and we had to make a big play on special teams, and we did that." - Texans coach Gary Kubiak Anwar S. Richardson

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