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Bidwell Feels For His Friend Bryant

Tribune photo by CLIFF MCBRIDE

Josh Bidwell has special empathy for close friend Matt Bryant and Bryant's family.

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 26, 2008

Updated: 09/26/2008 02:14 am

TAMPA - Bucs P Josh Bidwell returned to work Thursday, but without K Matt Bryant, his close friend.

Bryant has missed the last two days of practice following the unexpected death early Wednesday of his infant son, Matthew Tryson, who was 3 months old.

"It's extremely difficult to be around this situation, but I couldn't imagine a better response from supporters, to be honest with you," Bidwell said. "To try to walk one of your best friends through something that is your worst nightmare is pretty hard to do. Pretty surreal, but he'd be there for me and do exactly the same things I've done."

Funeral arrangements for Bryant's son have not been announced.

It is unclear if Bryant will play Sunday, but the Bucs' contingency plans include possibly using S Sabby Piscitelli as their kicker.

"He's our backup kicker right now," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said of Piscitelli after Thursday's practice.

The Bucs are also contemplating signing another kicker, but Gruden said the plan is to wait until the last possible minute to make a call on that.

Tampa Bay special teams coach Richard Bisaccia said Bryant is welcome to return whenever his kicker is ready.

"If Matt wants to come back to work, he'll come back to work," Bisaccia said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Matt and his family right now. There will be a time for football."

In lieu of flowers, the Bryant family is asking donations be made in Tryson's name to the March of Dimes, 405 N. Reo Street, Suite 105, Tampa, FL 33609.

GESTURE NOT AN ISSUE: It appears the talk about TE Jerramy Stevens' gesture after his touchdown reception Sunday was just that.

An NFL official said Stevens will not be fined for making a chopping motion with his right hand toward his inner thigh. The NFL reviewed the play and looked into the gesture, but didn't find anything offensive about his celebration.

Stevens called the move an "inside" thing with the players.

SECONDARY LAGGING: There is a good reason Tampa Bay's secondary should be a bit concerned.

After having the NFL's second-ranked pass defense in 2007, Tampa Bay is currently 27th heading into Sunday's game.

More alarming than where Tampa Bay's defense is ranked this season (26th overall) is which quarterbacks had success against its secondary.

New Orleans veteran Drew Brees completed 23 of 32 passes for three touchdowns and an interception against Tampa Bay, and although Atlanta rookie QB Matt Ryan struggled against the Bucs, Chicago's Kyle Orton completed 22 of 34 passes for 268 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Now, Tampa Bay's secondary will face Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has performed well this season.

"We've been good the past two weeks about not giving up the big play since Opening Day against the Saints, where they got a couple of big passes on us early," Bucs S Tanard Jackson said. "When you're down statistically, it shows you're giving up more plays. That's always been harped on in our room, which is not to give up the big play. We've got to continue to work on that."

Green Bay has several receivers with big-play potential.

Greg Jennings leads the team with 19 receptions for 373 yards, Donald Driver has 15 catches for 166 yards, and Rodgers has completed 64 of 99 passes for 796 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.

"If you look at him, he's learned under one of the best," Tampa Bay S Jermaine Phillips said of Rodgers. "He's learned a lot of little tricks of the trade. At the same time, he's only started three games in the NFL. This is his fourth.

"Yeah, he's getting confidence with each start. He's going to be challenging. He's a quality guy. We're going to go out there and treat him like we treat anybody else and try to get after him."

INJURY REPORT: FB B.J. Askew (hamstring) and WR Joey Galloway (foot) sat out, G Davin Joseph (foot), LB Derrick Brooks (hamstring) and DT Ryan Sims (groin) were limited in practice, and CB Aqib Talib (hamstring) fully participated in practice.

Anwar S. Richardson

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