Bucs play ugly early and often in loss to Cowboys

By Jeff Dickinson  |   Tuesday, October 28, 2008  |  Comments( 1 )

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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In the world of sports, it has always been said that an ugly win is better than a pretty loss. If that is indeed the case, then what is an ugly loss worth?

It’s worth a lot of head scratching if you’re the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. How a team can lose a game like the Bucs did against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday when it dominates almost every key category in a game leaves one wondering how it happened.

Commentary: Tampa Bay could have put the Cowboys away early. Dallas was again playing without star quarterback Tony Romo. With ancient Brad Johnson filling in for Romo, the Bucs knew that Dallas was going to operate a conservative offense that was designed to play it safe.

Tampa Bay had two first-quarter drives that had gone deep into Dallas territory. Instead of taking control of the game, though, the Bucs had to settle for two Matt Bryant field goals and were only up 6-0.

With Johnson doing next to nothing for the Cowboys, Tampa Bay’s offense just couldn’t muster a running game (only 48 total yards) and quarterback Jeff Garcia couldn’t find the open man when it counted the most. This may be a loss that the 5-3 Bucs look back on and realize that it played a big part in their unsuccessful season.

Fantasy Impact: If you had a Tampa Bay player on your fantasy football team against the Cowboys, you were hurting. Previous fantasy contributor Earnest Graham was totally ineffective, only rushing for 42 yards on 17 carries. Wideout Joey Galloway made his long-awaited return from injury, but he didn’t contribute much (three catches for 38 yards). Garcia didn’t hurt any fantasy owner, but he also didn’t help by failing to throw a touchdown pass.

Fan Pulse: Fans are frustrated at the play-calling and lack of offensive production against the Cowboys. A team like Dallas that was struggling offensively offered the perfect recipe for a Tampa Bay win. Things will only get tougher for the Bucs in the second half of the season.

Injury Report: Safety Jermaine Phillips went down against Dallas with a fractured forearm and might miss the rest of the season. He is slated to miss up to six weeks and might not return until the playoffs, if at all. Galloway and running back Warrick Dunn played against the Cowboys, but it was obvious that they weren’t at full strength.
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About Jeff Dickinson

I have been writing and editing professionally for 18 years. I spent the first three years of my career as a sportswriter for a daily newspaper in Alabama and got to cover sports and get paid for it! It was great until I got married and then it wasn't too much fun being away from my wife every ...
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