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Wide Right: White Would Look Good In Pewter

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 22, 2007

Sunday's Best

When you see a guy like Detroit defensive end Dewayne White dominate like he did Sunday, it really makes you wonder what he could do in a Tampa Bay uniform.

Oops, he once was a Buccaneer.

White, who signed with the Lions as a free agent in the offseason, showed why Tampa Bay never should have let him go by recording three sacks, eight tackles and defending a pass during Detroit's 23-16 victory.

Top 5 Reasons Tampa Bay Lost

5. There were more plays overturned in the first quarter than cars in Detroit after a championship victory.

4. Seven players missed curfew hanging out at the Detroit Shock team hotel.

3. Lions officials would not allow Tampa Bay to bring a large pirate ship into Ford Field to remind the Bucs of home.

2. Tampa Bay never received its 'Handling Detroit Fans For Dummies' book written by Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson.

1. Detroit coach Rod Marinelli lit a fire under his players, and for once in this city, it was not the buildings burning.

Team Stat

Tampa Bay was able to move the ball with ease against Detroit, amassing 422 offensive yards, but could only score 16 points from that dominating performance.

By The Numbers

2 - Fumbles lost by Jeff Garcia

3 - Sacks by Tampa Bay, equaling White's output.

7 - Penalties by Tampa Bay

35:50 - Minutes Tampa Bay had possession

92 - Receiving yards by Ike Hilliard

191 - Rushing and receiving yards by Bucs running back Earnest Graham

316 - Passing yards by Garcia, plus two touchdowns.

Casual Friday

First the University of South Florida football team loses to Rutgers. Then Tampa Bay loses to Detroit. Talk about a rough week for area football fans.

However, all is not lost. When Casual Friday rolls around this week, here are some jerseys you are safe to wear without ridicule from the bean counters in accounting.

7 - Garcia (clearly Tampa's success rides on his shoulder)

19 - Hilliard (Tampa Bay's most reliable receiver)

34 - Graham (finally showed why he is in the NFL)

Locker Room Talk

•'We had lot of yards and not enough points, largely due to our mismanagement. Give the Lions their due. They played well, but we had too many penalties and mistakes.' - Bucs offensive line coach Bill Muir

•'We were kind of sitting back, and that is something that we have to improve. We do a great job when we're at home, but we have to improve on the road. We have to take that same intensity into different stadiums and play well.' - Bucs linebacker Cato June

•'Penalties hurt us a lot. Turnovers hurt us the most. If you take those out, it's a different ballgame.' - Bucs guard Davin Joseph

•'The main thing with Jeff Garcia is that he moves around a lot. He shakes it down and everything, and we just read the quarterback's eyes and our front four does their job on that rush. I think if we do that, we're going to be successful, and that's what we did.' - Detroit linebacker Ernie Sims on stopping Garcia

•'I'm proud of our team and the way they competed until the end of the game. We had some breakdowns that are obvious to everybody.' - Bucs coach Jon Gruden

•'Yeah, we will look back on it. Hopefully, it won't matter, but we'll look back on it if it is and say that's one that got away. One that we gave away.' - Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber

Anwar S. Richardson

WIDE RIGHT

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