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Gruden's Words Prophetic

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By IRA KAUFMAN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 23, 2008

Updated: 09/23/2008 12:13 am

TAMPA - There were 14 penalties called in Sunday's slugfest at Soldier Field, but it seemed like referee Tony Corrente's crew could have thrown 14 flags just for personal fouls alone.

Right from the start of Tampa Bay's 27-24 OT victory at Soldier Field, players from the Bucs and Bears pushed and shoved each other after the whistle.

When the final gun sounded after 158 offensive snaps and three hours and 31 minutes of intense play, two weary teams left the field.

"That's not an easy place to play, and I didn't realize that until Sunday," said Bucs TE John Gilmore, who spent his first six pro seasons with the Bears. "We knew that was the type of game we were in for. You felt the energy; the crowd was into it and we knew this was going to be a 12-round fight. Coach Jon Gruden even told us the night before that it's going to be a fight and it's going to go the distance."

Gilmore's sore body told him that Sunday's matchup proved to be a battle of attrition. Then he was informed about the workload of Tampa Bay's tight ends.

"When I looked at the reps, I had about 30, Jerramy Stevens had 40 and Alex Smith had like 49," Gilmore said. "That's a lot of reps, man. Chicago got up, we got up, they came back and then we came back. It was a heck of a football game."

INJURY UPDATE: Gruden said FB B.J. Askew and DT Ryan Sims suffered hamstring injuries and both will be evaluated to gauge their status for Sunday's home game against the Packers.

According to Gruden, rookie CB Aqib Talib (hamstring) is closer to returning than veteran WR Joey Galloway (foot). Both missed the game at Chicago.

There's a chance G Davin Joseph, sidelined all three games with a broken foot, could make his season debut against Green Bay.

MOMENTUM BUILDER: MLB Barrett Ruud, who topped the Bucs with seven tackles and intercepted Kyle Orton in the end zone to thwart a second-quarter threat, said the defense experienced a full gamut of emotions.

"That was a big win, especially going from thinking it was over to coming all the way back," Ruud said. "That was the cool part. It was frustrating for a while because we knew they shouldn't be driving on us like that."

Orton got hot in the second half as the Bears marched 86 yards, 59 and 59 again in three consecutive possessions, exploiting the right side of Tampa Bay's pass defense.

"From midway through the third quarter to midway through the fourth, we didn't play well on defense," said Ruud. "We shouldn't have given those points up, but as quick as that happened, our offense came back and sparked us. After that, we were confident. We didn't think they would get another first down against us."

EXTRA POINTS: Brian Griese's 407-yard effort marked only the second time during Gruden's tenure that the Bucs won when they passed for more than 300 yards. Tampa Bay beat Minnesota 38-24 in 2002 with Brad Johnson throwing for 313 yards and five TDs ... Griese's 71.3 passer rating through two games is an exact match for Jeff Garcia's mark in the Week 1 loss at New Orleans ... Green Bay's rushing defense has been abysmal, with foes averaging 5.7 yards per attempt.

Ira Kaufman

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