2009 December | Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fan Blog

Barth’s FG in overtime lifts lowly Bucs for Saints’ second straight loss

The moment Garrett Hartley’s foot drove through the ball, the Louisiana Superdome crowd erupted and Saints owner Tom Benson raised his arms in triumph.

The presumption was that these Saints, in this magical season, were going to pull out another win in the clutch.

Not so fast.

Hartley’s 37-yarder hooked to the left, and those who’d allowed themselves to celebrate prematurely were sent home soon after in stunned silence.

Carnell Williams rushed for 129 yards and a score, and Connor Barth kicked a 47-yard field goal in overtime, lifting Tampa Bay to a 20-17 upset on Sunday that, for the time being, prevented New Orleans from securing home field throughout the NFC playoffs.

Even in what will go down as the best regular season in Saints history, a franchise long known more for its stumbles than success found a way to make history with a loss. According to STATS LLC, the result marked the first time a 13-win team lost to a team that came in with only two victories.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

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Bucs’ Morris Doesn’t Apologize For Fourth-Down Calls

These are tough times for Bucs coach Raheem Morris. His team is 1-10 and every decision he makes – whether it’s demoting his defensive coordinator or dialing up a fake punt on fourth down while holding a four-point lead in the fourth quarter – is being second-guessed.

Even Morris is second-guessing himself.

“You always second-guess yourself the next morning,” Morris said Monday, a day after two questionable play calls helped the Falcons rally for a 20-17 victory at the Georgia Dome. “During the game, no, you don’t second-guess. But right now, it didn’t work, so yeah, I’m second-guessing myself.”

What Morris and most everyone else is second-guessing are two fourth-down plays in the fourth quarter, one in which Morris called for a fake punt while leading 17-13 with 12:59 to play and another two series later in which he ordered a 51-yard field-goal attempt while still holding the same lead.

Neither play worked. Punter Dirk Johnson’s pass on the fake fell incomplete and kicker Connor Barth missed wide right on the field-goal try that came with 2:34 to play. Even worse, the two failed plays helped give the Falcons a short field for what proved to be a 59-yard game-winning scoring drive.

As much as that has Morris second-guessing himself, he isn’t apologizing for his decisions. Though he admits to looking back on those plays and wondering if he made the right call with them, Morris talked Monday like a coach who would make the same calls again if given another chance.

Click here to read the full article – By Tampa Tribune

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