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| Sunday, November 24, 2002 - 3:15 pm at Raymond James Stadium |
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
| Packers |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
| Buccaneers |
0 |
3 |
11 |
7 |
21 |
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Packers Player Of The Game
In a game where field position was key, Josh Bidwell was called on often. By the end, he'd booted seven punts for 341 yards, an average of 48.7 yards. He had one touchback, and one punt downed inside the 20. But more important than the average, Bidwell provided enough hang-time to allow the Packers' coverage unit to close in for tackles. The Buccaneers managed only 26 yards on punt returns for the entire ballgame, and 17 of them were on one return.
Buccaneers Player Of The Game
With two interceptions, Brian Kelly was responsible for half of Brett Favre's four interceptions on the day. Kelly's first interception set up the Bucs' first touchdown of the evening. His second, with 2:55 remaining in the game and the Packers only 16-yards away from the end zone, protected the Tampa Bay lead. Kelly also made three tackles on the day.
Stat Of The Game
Brett Favre threw four interceptions for the first time in regular season action since Nov. 1, 1999, against the Seattle Seahawks. The only other time he had four interceptions in a regular season game was Nov. 24, 1994, at Dallas. Adding his three picks from last weekend's game against the Minnesota Vikings, Favre has thrown seven interceptions over his past two games, his most ever over a two-game regular season span in his career.
Play Of The Game
Brian Kelly's first interception of Brett Favre was significant for many reasons. For starters, it came on the Packers' first snap after having seen their lead trimmed to 1 point after Martin Gramatica's second field goal of the night. Kelly's 31-yard return gave the Bucanners' field position at the Green Bay 18-yard-line and set up the first Tampa Bay touchdown of the night, not to mention the first and last lead change. But Kelly's interception is also significant because it was during Kelly's return that Warren Sapp delivered a hit on Chad Clifton that knocked the Packers' starting tackle out of the game. It's very likely that Sapp's hit on Clifton will live on in the memories of Packers fans longer than Kelly's interception that made it possible.
THEY SAID IT
GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman --
On game: "The first thing I want to say is I take my hat off to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jon Gruden had his team ready to go and they did a great job. They defended us. We only scored 7 points. We're a better offense than that, but they certainly made us look bad. They played tough defense and they were very opportunistic on offense. They did a nice job moving the football and taking advantage of some of the situations that we put ourselves in. But I take my hat off to Jon, his staff and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
On Sapp confrontation: "In response to after the game, I just went up to Warren (Sapp) and told him I didn't appreciate the lick that he put on (Chad) Clifton and the joviality that existed afterward with a guy laying on the ground and numbness in his legs and his fingers. I just thought that wasn't appropriate for any NFL player. I have a lot of respect for the game and I just didn't think there was a place for that."
On Clifton: "Chad was taken to the hospital . . . He's going to stay overnight in the hospital and we'll further evaluate that. At this present time I know he has a severely sprained hip, and we're going to investigate some other issues as well."
On what Sapp said to him in confrontation: "I don't think you want to hear what he said to me."
On Sapp hit on Clifton: "Maybe I overreacted to the hit. From what I saw it looked kind of cheap, but who knows? The afterthought, the after-reaction when a guy's laying numb on the ground and you -- who are responsible for that to be happy about it -- that bothers me a little bit. And I think the game of football, it should bother the game of football as well."
On if this is best Tampa Bay defense has played against Packers: "They always play us well, I can't pick one over the other. I was excited about the way we started the game and moved the football. The Donald Driver touchdown, I thought we had some things going. I thought we had them on their heels a little bit, certainly they shored things up and they played a whale of a ballgame."
On reason behind Brett Favre's multiple interceptions: "On those interceptions, I'll be honest with you, give them to me, because we got a little too aggressive there and we got away from our plan. That was my fault. I felt like at the end of the half we wanted to get out of the half because we were backed up on the 9-yard-line, and we were very conservative trying to get field position, which did in fact result in a field goal to make it 7-3. We came out in the second half and probably lost some patience there. They were giving us a fair amount of 2-deep coverage, probably should have stuck with the run game a little bit more, so I fault myself for losing patience there."
On Favre: "Brett Favre prepares like a champion every single week of his life and he goes to the next game. As long as he prepared the way he prepares he should have no regrets whatsoever, other than feeling disappointment that we lost the football game, just like every other 53 players and 17 coaches in that locker room."
On if Favre's is showing frustration: "I think he's disappointed, but no I don't think he's frustrated one bit. He's going to come back to work and, trust me, you'll see better days from Brett Favre, I guarantee you that, and the rest of us."
On Marco Rivera playing with an injured MCL: "I can't say enough about Marco. I thought he did a great job of blocking the entire ballgame. Here's a guy that has an MCL, and to be able to play in this ballgame, I thought he did a hell of a job."
On game: "When you come to a good team's home field, that's the way it goes. You had a great crowd, it was great atmosphere to play a football game. It was a hard-fought game up until the fourth quarter when we kind of unfolded there a little bit. But it was a hell of a football game, I'm just disappointed that we didn't have a better showing there at the end of the game than we did, but it was a hard-fought football game by two good teams. Hopefully we'll be able to see one another again sometime."
Donald Driver --
On early success of offense: "That's what we said we needed to do, come out and jump these guys early. In that first drive we did it, and we couldn't get it together after that. We made a lot of mistakes that they made big plays off of."
On offensive struggles: "It just didn't click. They've got a good defense, they played a well-deserved game and they won it."
On offense: "We're going to have to sit back and figure out what we're doing wrong for the last two games. This is all on our shoulders. As a team we lost these games, so we have to figure out what's really going on, how we lost two in a row. Once we come together and realize that, figure that out, then we'll be better."
Brett Favre --
On if some of his interceptions were related to miscommunications: "Yeah, you could say that. First two. In conditions like this you've got to be on the same page. First one I just misread what Terry (Glenn) was doing. Terry wasn't wrong, but he had an option to take it or sit it down at 15 to 20 yards and that's what I thought he was going to do. You can't be thinking, you've got to know. The other one, second one, down in the red zone, it was also to Terry. I think Ronde (Barber) made a good play on it, I thought Terry was going to keep coming on a short slant, but it's over now, got to learn from it."
On Sherman taking blame for loss: "We played hard, that wasn't the problem. From a coach's standpoint on Sundays, that's what you worry about -- 'Okay, I got them ready, now what type of effort will they give?' We gave great effort, so did Tampa, but we just didn't make the plays. We know what type of environment it is here, we know how tough it can be, but it's no excuse. I think it's not a little, but a lot unfair for Mike (Sherman) to take that blame."
On what he said to Sapp after the game: "I just said good job and good luck to you the rest of the season. No, I didn't talk about the Chad Clifton hit, but I know Chad's in the hospital. I didn't see it. I heard it wasn't good."
On frustration over poor performances: "There was rough one down here last year and there was a rough one at Minnesota last year, too. I was frustrated as hell after those games and I'm frustrated now. Not so much frustrated -- I'm frustrated. I'm frustrated. That's the word I'm looking for. I know what type of game it's going to be when we play down here, but that's no excuse and I can play better. I can play better at Minnesota, but it seems like every time I play at those places it's the same old story. I'm sick and tired of hearing it and I know everybody else is, too. Fortunately I don't have to come back here for quite some time. Maybe the playoffs, I don't know."
On if he forced throws that were intercepted: "No I didn't force anything. Maybe toward the end, and got away with some at the end. Hell, we were to a point where you've got to do something."
On impact of recent losses to postseason hopes: "As over my career I look back, the year we lost to Minnesota we won the Super Bowl. You think I was worried about it after we won the Super Bowl? Not really. Not really. A good football team can bounce back, as I think we will. We lost to a dang good football team today. Hopefully we learn from it. But I think we're in good shape. We can do one of two things. We can worry about this one and last week and let it affect us the next five games, or we can win the next five and everyone will forget about these last two. If we win the next five I'm sure I'll be liking where we are at the end of the season."
Terry Glenn --
On first time Favre was intercepted looking his way: "It's actually a read-route and that's probably the toughest defensive coverage that you can give it because I've got an option on that play. Brett has to sit back and wait and see what I decide to do. And they gave us a kind of coverage where I could have done either-or, and it was a matter of him thinking I was going to do one thing and I did the other."
On second time Favre was intercepted looking his way: "I think I probably need to do a better job of getting open. I think Ronde (Barber) played it pretty well. It was just a short slant-route. We've had success on that route pretty much throughout the year and it was a route that I usually win on. Brett threw it inside and Ronde did a good job of picking it up."
On if Favre was struggling: "I really don't look at it as Brett struggling, I look at it as an offensive football team struggling. I can't really speak for the defense, but as an offensive-whole, when things like that happen, it's not just Brett's fault. It's the receivers' fault, the linemen, the running backs. And like I said, when you can't run the football, you can't pass the football, therefore, it's all of our fault."
Vonnie Holliday --
On turnover battle: "Any time in a big game like this, two giant, very good teams going head-to-head, turnovers are going to be major. Coming into this game our game plan, of course, was to win the turnover battle. Defensively we knew coming in, playing them at home in a tough place to play a very good team, we needed to create turnovers and get our offense more chances. As a defense they were able to do that, we weren't."
Marco Rivera --
On Clifton hit: "If it was a cheap shot, I expect more from a guy like Warren (Sapp). I mean he's supposed to be a class player. Hey, you played well. Show your ability out on the field, don't do nothing like that. That's not good."
On Sapp's "taunting" after the hit: "That's not part of the game. When a guy's down and hurt, the last thing you want to do is taunt somebody."
On running game: "We had no running game today. They shut that down pretty good. When knew that was a key for us to come in here and I blame that on myself. I could have done a better job with my run-blocking, but what are you going to do? They had a better day today."
Darren Sharper --
On if recent losses hurt postseason hopes: "No, we don't think so. We win these next five games, we put ourselves in excellent position. I don't know if these guys are going to win-out with the games they have remaining, so it wouldn't surprise me if we still go 13-3 or win each game from here on out, you might see teams have to come through Lambeau."
On Clifton hit: "I didn't get a chance to see it to be honest with you. But from what I hear, from what everyone was saying in here, it was unnecessary. But that's all a judgment call, that's part of football. Was it an interception return? Everyone's free to get blocked. If he blocked him with his head in front then it's a legal play. I don't want to see it happen since a guy got hurt and you might have a judgment call thinking it wasn't necessary for the play, was he blocking for somebody or freeing his teammate up to try and run the ball? But that's all a judgment call."
Mike Wahle --
On Clifton hit: "I didn't see the play. I just know that when the ball was thrown I was locked up on Sapp. The ball was picked off and (Brian Kelly) started running toward my left and (Warren) Sapp was on my left so I kind of locked up on him. The DB cut back and I started running toward the right trying to find and angle. I heard Sapp kind of, he said something like he had maybe found a target. It turned out to be true."
On if Sapp hit was intentional targeting: "He intentionally knocked him on his ass. That's part of football. I didn't see the hit. I don't know if it was legal or not. Obviously we're not too sure about it. It is part of football. I would hope that it was a clean hit, but you never know until you see it."
On offense's struggles: "We came in at halftime, actually we were in good spirits. We were up 7-3, we surrendered that field goal at the end of the half, but we felt like we had controlled the ballgame for the most part. They made some plays and we didn't. We made some good plays in the second half, but they made more. They got a couple turnovers and capitalized. That's usually the story of a big ballgame."
GAME NOTES
End of 4th quarter. Game over.
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On first-and-10 at the Tampa Bay 16-yard line, Brett Favre looked for Donald Driver down the right sideline but was intercepted by Brian Kelly (2:55, 4th quarter). Tampa Bay took over at the 4-yard-line.
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Making good on the Dexter Jackson interception, Brad Johnson completed a 3-yard pass to Ken Dilger to increase the Buccaneers' lead (7:24, 4th quarter). The Buccaneers scoring drive was 3 plays, 2 yards. Time of the drive was 1:18.
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The Packers started with strong field position at their own 40-yard-line, but on first-and-10 Brett Favre overthrew Donald Driver and was intercepted by Dexter Jackson, who returned the pick 58 yards to inside the Green Bay 5-yard-line (8:42, 4th quarter). A personal foul penalty made it first-and-goal at the 2-yard-line.
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End of 3rd quarter.
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The Packers mounted a drive to the Tampa Bay 20-yard-line before Ronde Barber intercepted Brett Favre's third-and-3 pass intended for Terry Glenn (0:25, 3rd quarter). Glenn had a 13-yard catch on second-and-10 earlier on the drive. The Buccaneers took over at their own 30-yard-line after the interception and a personal foul penalty charged to Green Bay.
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Brad Johnson hit Joe Jurevicius in the front-left corner of the end zone for the go-ahead score (5:00, 3rd quarter). The play was initially ruled incomplete out of bounds, but was overturned after an instant replay review. The Bucs then converted on a 2-point conversion try with a pass from Brad Johnson to a sliding Keyshawn Johnson in the middle of the end zone. Tampa Bay started possession at the Green Bay 18-yard-line after the Brian Kelly interception.
The 2-point conversion attempt was the first in a Packers game this year, by either team.
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On first-and-10 at the 30-yard-line, Brett Favre's pass intended for Terry Glenn was intercepted by Brian Kelly and returned 31 yards to the 18-yard-line (7:13, 3rd quarter). Chad Clifton injured his right hip on the play. He was carted off the field and taken to the locker room for X-rays and further evaluation.
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The Buccaneers drove as close as the Green Bay 24-yard-line, but an intentional grounding penalty forced a 51-yard field goal attempt. Martin Gramatica made it anyway, to bring the Bucs within 1 (7:33, 3rd quarter). The Buccaneers scoring drive was 7 plays, 27 yards. Time of the drive was 2:53.
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After a 33-yard Tom Tupa punt, the Packers started their first drive of the second half from their own 6-yard-line (12:02, 3rd quarter).
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X-rays on Paris Lenon's injured right wrist were negative. His return is probable.
Gilbert Brown injured his left ankle on the first play of the second half. His return is questionable.
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End of 2nd quarter. Halftime.
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Starting from their own 41-yard-line, the Brad Johnson hit Keyshawn Johnson for a 39-yard catch-and-run to the Green Bay 20-yard-line. Martin Gramatica booted a 38-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter.
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A 48-yard Josh Bidwell punt and a 10-yard holding penalty helped pin the Buccaneers back at their own 6-yard-line (7:10, 2nd quarter).
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After a Packers three-and-out, Josh Bidwell booted a 54-yard punt that was fielded by Karl Williams. Williams then threw a lateral pass to Dexter Jackson, who was chased down by Torrance Marshall for a loss after the pass. The Bucs started first-and-10 from their own 25-yard-line (10:04, 2nd quarter). Brad Johnson returned at quarterback.
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Tyrone Williams and Keith McKenzie stopped Mike Alstott for no gain on third-and-1 at the Tampa Bay 40-yard-line (11:36, 2nd quarter). McKenzie injured his shoulder on the play and is questionable to return. After the punt, the Packers started first-and-10 at their own 13-yard-line.
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End of 1st quarter.
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On their second possession, the Buccaneers moved the ball to the Green Bay 30-yard-line, but a pair of sacks by Mike McKenzie and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila helped force a punt (1:09, 1st quarter). Tom Tupa's punt was downed at the 8-yard-line.
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Brett Favre found Donald Driver in the back-left corner of the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown pass to put the Packers up early (5:44, 1st quarter). The Packers started from the Tampa Bay 30-yard-line thanks to Na'il Diggs' interception. The Packers scoring drive was 6 plays, 30 yards. Time of the drive was 2:57.
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The Buccaneers drove to the Green Bay 33-yard-line on their opening drive, but on second-and-10, a Rob Johnson pass for Keyshawn Johnson was tipped by Tyrone Williams and intercepted by Na'il Diggs (8:42, 1st quarter). Diggs returned the ball to the Tampa Bay 30-yard-line.
Rob Johnson entered the game for starter Brad Johnson, who was poked in the eye midway through the opening drive. Brad Johnson is expected to return.
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Playing in his 170th consecutive regular season game today, Brett Favre extends the second-longest such streak in team history. Only Forrest Gregg played in more consecutive regular season games for the Packers, holding the record at 187. Also today, Favre extends his NFL record for consecutive regular season starts by a quarterback to 168. That's the longest active streak among NFL players at any position.
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The following Packers players are inactive for today's contest: Karsten Bailey, Barrett Brooks, Aaron Kampman, David Martin, Craig Nall (third quarterback), Jamal Reynolds, Bryant Westbrook, Marcus Wilkins
Returning from injury, Vonnie Holliday and Cletidus Hunt will be in the starting lineup. |
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