Bucs fade in Atlanta, lose 13-10 in OT

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came to Atlanta playing better defense than they did on Monday Night Football last week, but the result was still a loss that sank the Bucs to 9-5 on the season with their playoff hopes in peril.

Atlanta played pretty well. The Bucs played OK, especially on defense and special teams by forcing turnovers, but the offense simply did not deliver near the end when it counted.

And, yes, this one is a bitter pill to swallow because it was so close and because the officiating crew once again played a key role. Atlanta defensive ends lined up clearly offside at least three times, including on the play where Bucs center Jeff Faine was called for an illegal snap on third and short. Michael Turner's touchdown run in the first half featured a key block that was also a blatant hold (I might stylize a screen shot of that one to post for posterity), and if that penalty is called it is the type of thing that might turn a touchdown into a field goal. It wasn't all one-sided, though. Tampa Bay was also allowed to line up defensively while encroaching the neutral zone. It seemed the officials could only see illegal blocking while the kicking teams were on the field.

And the game announcers were horrible again, making ridiculous mistakes while trying to come up with something to say. "Matt Ryan carries for the first down," one of the announcers says. Next minute he's affirming that the Falcons are lining up for a second-and-one play (one full yard, not a few inches or a couple of feat). And Brian Griese started out the second half just like he left off the first half--only after a three-and-out had already taken place after the break.

The most painful thing about the game ended up the failure to score a touchdown after Brian Clark's punt block. Brian Griese played decent, but you just can't give up sacks like he did in the situations he did.

I like the quarterbacks on the team pretty well, but right now it's easy to imagine that a different guy might be able to combine the best of Griese (a pretty good deep ball, when he's willing to throw and has time) and Jeff Garcia (avoids interceptions and big losses on sacks).