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Proud Bucs Defense Hurt By Big Plays

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By IRA KAUFMAN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 8, 2008

NEW ORLEANS - A decorated cornerback gets his foot tangled up with a receiver. A rookie corner misses an assignment. A 10-time Pro Bowl linebacker has to leave in crunch time due to a strained hamstring.

You get the ugly picture for the Bucs defense Sunday, when New Orleans rolled up 438 yards and burned Monte Kiffin's proud unit repeatedly with big plays in a 24-20 triumph that left Tampa Bay players hurt and frustrated.

"Every game is so crucial in this league, every week is the biggest game of your life," veteran defensive end Kevin Carter said after the Bucs saw three leads evaporate in the noisy Superdome. "I know we're better than that. I know it's early, but we have no choice but to eliminate these mistakes."

Facing the NFL's top-rated pass defense of 2007, Drew Brees threw for 343 yards and three touchdowns, including four completions of 26 yards or more.

David Patten opened the scoring by getting behind first-round draft pick Aqib Talib on a 39-yard scoring catch just 3:13 into the game.

With the Bucs ahead 13-10 late in the third quarter, Devery Henderson hauled in an 84-yard touchdown - marking the longest completion against the Bucs since Kiffin arrived as defensive coordinator in 1996.

"I caught his back foot and it's too bad because I was in great position," said veteran corner Ronde Barber. "Give them credit, it's not like Drew's a bum. Three big plays changed this game."

The final act in the trilogy was a fourth-quarter swing pass to running back Reggie Bush, who made a nice catch on a looping pass from Brees that was slightly overthrown.

With linebacker Derrick Brooks watching from the sideline due to a strained hamstring, Bush eluded safety Jermaine Phillips with the kind of dazzling cutback move that defined him as a Heisman Trophy winner at Southern Cal.

Bush dove over the right pylon to complete a 42-yard scoring play for the final points with 7:38 remaining.

"Guys like Bush and Henderson can do that to people," Kiffin said. "We've contained Reggie Bush pretty well in the past, but not today. In the first half, we really played good ball. We had Brees off balance, but they got us on a couple of big explosion plays."

Opposing quarterbacks averaged only 5.99 yards per pass attempt against the Bucs last season, but the Saints averaged 10.2 yards every time Brees dropped back Sunday and he was sacked only once in 32 attempts.

Bush ran 14 times for 51 yards and added 112 yards on his eight receptions while new tight end Jeremy Shockey contributed three key third-quarter catches.

"We just weren't tackling like we normally do," said middle linebacker Barrett Ruud, who led all players with 10 stops. "We've got to shore up our angles and eliminate those big plays. It's all correctable. How many times do you see Ronde beat? Not very often. We missed Derrick a lot because he's always a presence out there. We expect to see the Don Brooks back next week."

Reporter Ira Kaufman can be reached at (813) 259-7833 or ikaufman@tampatrib.com.

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