Saints top Bucs in home opener

The New Orleans Saints topped the Bucs 24-20 before a sellout crowd on Sunday.

The loss, coupled with wins by the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers, pushed the Bucs into sole possession of last place in the NFC South after one week of NFL action.

But it's no time for panic.

The Saints combined some legitimate big plays for which I will offer no excuses with some hometown luck. A potential Buccaneer defensive touchdown was ruled out when Reggie Bush's apparent reception (catch, two feet down as to run, hit, fumble) was ruled an incompletion. One pass reception by Reggie Bush was perhaps enabled by a offensive lineman pulling down Bucs defensive end Gaines Adams. And Bush's game-winning TD should not have been ruled a touchdown, as Phillip Buchanon forced his foot out of bounds at about the four yard line.

Would the Saints have scored anyway on that drive? Probably, but you never can tell, especially after a play as in last year's game where the Saints tried a risky handoff late in the game while leading, lost the ball and then lost the game.

And on the Bucs last drive, a late pass to Galloway could have easily been ruled interference as the defender put his hands on Galloway's chest and impeded his attempt to go back for the underthrown pass. Galloway didn't squawk about it, but I don't often see him complain about interference in any animated manner in any case.

But this is not a "The Bucs shoulda/woulda/coulda won!" rant. The officials blew a few calls. That's going to happen over the course of the season. The Saints made enough legitimate plays so that grousing over the imperfections of the officials would be unseemly. The good news is that even though the Saints are pretty good, the Bucs gave them a very tough game in the Superdome.

Quarterback Jeff Garcia looked, well, rusty. A number of throw did not end up where intended, and it is easy to imagine that some of the timeouts could have been better used if the offense was in better sync.

I was disappointed in the Bucs' pass rush after the flashes it showed in preseason. The Saints historically protect Drew Brees pretty well, so we'll see how that pans out.

The Bucs protected Garcia poorly, which helped lead to some of his errant throws.

The defensive secondary showed that it will come up with big plays. Yes, Ronde Barber was beaten by Devery Henderson on that early bomb. I don't think Aquib Talib was mostly to blame for the Saints' first touchdown, however. Before the ball arrived, one could see the safety cruise by toward the sideline at a totally inappropriate angle. By my read, the safety had deep responsibility so Talib would have been expecting help there. Even so, he nearly defensed the pass with his leaping ability. I think it was Tanard Jackson who was drawn in with a Brees pump fake, setting up the strike to David Patten. Sabby Piscitelli came through with a handful of big plays--it will be tough keeping him out of the lineup.

The Bucs' run game looked pretty good with Earnest Graham and Warrick Dunn toting the rock--but you have to wonder if Michael Bennett could have broken one of the big running plays for a score. The passing game was only fair, owing to the scant protection Garcia received along with Garcia's lack of timing with his go-to receivers.

Another plus: Special teams coverage was mostly brilliant, and Dexter Jackson showed some good things in the return game when he wasn't busy voluntarily falling to the ground as tacklers approached.

So. Oh-and-one and in last place with the Falcons coming to town next week. I expect Garcia to have improved his command of the offense (timing!). We'll see if the Bucs can shut down budding star Michael Turner of the Falcons and then test the pass rush against rookie QB Matt Ryan.