Inside The Locker Room: Bucs-Seahawks

In A Nutshell

Tampa Bay added QB Jeff Garcia and LT Luke Petitgout as free agents, switched Michael Pittman to fullback after Mike Alstott was placed on injured reserve, drafted G Arron Sears and started WR Ike Hilliard, but Tampa Bay's offense still struggled to score points in Sunday's season opener.

The Bucs had possession twice within Seattle's red zone in the first quarter but were able to come away with only two field goals.

The Difference

Tampa Bay trailed 13-6 in the fourth quarter, but Garcia was back on the sideline and ready to be reinserted after an earlier hit left him woozy.

Seattle took over on its 30-yard line and began marching downfield. On third-and-5 from Tampa Bay's 34, QB Matt Hasselbeck discovered OLB Derrick Brooks was defending RB
Maurice Morris and exploited the mismatch. Hasselbeck aired it out, Brooks misplayed the ball and Morris caught a touchdown pass that sealed the game.

Sunday's Best

Seattle LB Lofa Tatupu was credited for eight tackles, but you would need a seismograph to measure the intensity of those hits.

Tatupu punished Bucs players with devastating hits on every play he was involved in, with the most serious being a third-quarter blow to RB Cadillac Williams that injured his ribs enough that he was unable to play again.

Team Stat

Last week, Coach Jon Gruden talked about how great Warren Sapp was when he played for the Bucs and said he could be one of the best defensive tackles in NFL history.

Well, Gruden should consider dialing *67 (calling anonymously) and reaching out to see if Sapp is happy in Oakland after his team's defensive performance.

Tampa Bay's defense gave up 343 yards and 17 first downs, plus struggled to tackle its opponents in the second half.

Gruden's Oven

Gruden's hot-seat temperature is 375 degrees (medium high) after Sunday's setback. He lost to a better team, but his offense failed to show improvement.

Locker Room Talk

"Well, I touched my nose a few times and counted down from 10. I didn't miss any numbers." - Garcia, after being dinged in the third quarter.

"I was with him stride-for-stride. I just never saw the ball. I am not making any excuses at all. The rule is 'find the ball.' I was just running with him, covering him and the next time I saw the ball, it was between his legs and he caught it." - Brooks, on covering Morris on his TD.

"When you are facing a good team, you can't make mistakes. You have to put the ball into the end zone. You have to put points on the board and we just didn't do that." - Pittman.

"It happened on a swing to the tight end and I stayed in for one more play. I never had a groin pull before, but it's just football," - CB Brian Kelly, talking about his injury.

"I'll have to watch the film. I don't know who I was getting tackled by, or breaking tackles of. They just have a good defense, so anytime you play against them and you get 100 [rushing] yards, it's a good feeling." - Seattle RB Shaun Alexander.

"I've had a lot of people whistling at me over the years. A different kind of whistle, but that one shocked me. Did I hear it? No. It's loud. There is a lot of noise. No, I did not hear the whistle. The punter apparently heard the whistle because he stopped. And everybody kind of stopped." - Seattle coach Mike Holmgren on Bucs P Josh Bidwell stopping play because he heard a whistle from the stands.

A Look Ahead

Tampa Bay has its home opener against New Orleans at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Saints will look for a better performance after their 41-10 loss to Indianapolis on Thursday night.