Bryant nursing bone bruise

Bucs WR Antonio Bryant is unsure when he will play again because of a knee injury.

Bryant, who missed Sunday's loss at Buffalo, has a bone bruise. Doctors have no prognosis for when he will be able to play, Bryant said.

The injury is unrelated to the preseason surgery he had to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.

"I'm trying to put myself in a position where I don't have to be on and off it during the week," Bryant said. "We'll definitely let it heal completely. It's not necessarily anything with the surgery. The surgery went well.

"It's just a bone bruise, a bone colliding with another bone. You can't heal a bone bruise."

Bryant said the pain in his knee was initially sharp, but now is dull.

Last season, Bryant caught 1,248 yards and seven touchdowns, prompting the Bucs to put their franchise tag on him. He had two receptions for 29 yards in the opening loss against Dallas.

Bryant hopes to play Sunday against the Giants at Raymond James Stadium.

"I feel better, regardless," Bryant said. "I want to play. I just don't want it to be something that lingers. I'm going to go out there and get the proper medication to deal with the pain, regardless. I just don't want to keep it lingering."

In other injury news, Coach Raheem Morris said C Jeff Faine (triceps) will not play this week.

Looking for a positive

There were not a lot of bright spots for Tampa Bay's defense against Buffalo, but CB Elbert Mack tried to find a positive among the miscues that led to Bills RB Fred Jackson's career-high 163 rushing yards.

"Everybody is just playing fast," Mack said. "We had a lot of friendly fire going on (Sunday). A lot of our own teammates were hitting each other. That's a good sign. That's a good thing when you've got a lot of people flying around hitting each other.

"We weren't actually hitting the ball carrier, but we were in the area trying to get to him. It's just unfortunate that he broke a few tackles and he's a good back. Good backs are going to do that."

Falling behind too early

Tampa Bay's formula for offensive success was to use the running abilities of Cadillac Williams, Derrick Ward and Earnest Graham to set up the passing game.

That has been easier said than done.

Tampa Bay has been outscored 23-0 in the first quarter during its two losses, forcing QB Byron Leftwich to throw more than Morris would like.

Leftwich attempted 50 passes against Buffalo, while the Bucs rushed 19 times.

"That's not how we want to play football," Morris said. "We don't want to throw the ball around 50 times. To only have 19 rushes is not our winning formula. There's no secret behind that.

"We forced ourselves into a situation where we had to."

Top 5 offense

Greg Olson might not have been the first choice for offensive coordinator, but his offense ranks fourth in the NFL. Olson was promoted after Jeff Jagodzinski was fired 10 days before the season.

"We've done a good job on offense," Morris said. "We were about three or four plays away on offense."

Tampa Bay has 803 total yards of offense, trailing New Orleans, Dallas and Baltimore.

Personal milestones

Tampa Bay LB Barrett Ruud (20), LB Geno Hayes (16) and S Sabby Piscitelli (16) each set a career high in tackles against Buffalo. ... Kellen Winslow's 10 receptions for 90 yards and one TD was among the best performances by a Bucs TE in nearly 13 years. Jackie Harris had five receptions for 96 yards against Denver on Sept. 15, 1996, and 10 catches for 122 yards on Nov. 26, 1995.

Anwar S. Richardson