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[ Watch The Birdie II, Revenge Of The Feathery Thing (Page 16) ] Week 16 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6) @ Arizona Cardinals (9-5) Strengths The lack of a deep threat means that we'll sit back on defence and try to clog the short zones. We're not a big blitzing team anyway, but we're likely to be even more restrained in this game, relying on a front four that seems to have gotten stronger as the year's worn on to generate pressure without outside help. That's the theory, anyway. - With the Seahawks and Saints winning in the early games to both move to 10-5, this game suddenly becomes close to life-and-death for both teams. If Tampa Bay lose today they're straight-up out of the playoffs, two games behind New Orleans in the NFC South and two games behind both us and Seattle in the wildcard race. By the same token, should we lose what would be our third game in a row, we'll fall behind the Seahawks and Buccaneers and will need to win our last game plus get help from elsewhere in order to sneak into the 6th playoff berth. Crikey. Add in the soap-opera of our rookie head coach Monte Kiffin facing the defence that he helpled to build, and it's no exaggeration to say that this is our biggest game of the season so far. The fans are out in force despite the rain pouring down at Sun Devil. Rain at Sun Devil. There's more proof of God's sense of humour, to go alongside the platypus, Tom Cruise being the most famous actor in the world and the design of human male genitalia. Sorry, if I'm rambling it's because there's nothing much going on. Our offence is great but so is their defence, and our defence isn't great but neither is their offence. Net result - shambly, half-hearted semi-drives that sort of dribble downfield a few yards then implode. The first score is going to depend on who makes the first mistake, and obviously it's us - trying a field-goal right on the limits of Whosamaflip's range that falls short and gives the Bucs the ball back. They manage to get the mix of run and pass right for roughly the first time all game and drive the short field, former Cardinal Michael Pittman putting the tin lid on the drive from point-blank range as the first quarter expires. We're not going to take that lying down, no siree, and respond with a half-hearted semi-drive that sort of dribbles downfield, but doesn't implode. Aaaaahhh... No, instead of collapsing into a feeble punt, this time out great coverage forces Jeff Blake to hang on to the ball for far too long, meaning that he's hit just as he's releasing, meaning that the pass balloons inelegantly up into the air before dropping, with pinpoint accuracy, into Derrick Brooks' hands. Yeah. That'll show 'em. Fortunately, the defence moves mountains to hold the Bucs to a long field-goal attempt, an attempt that they obligingly drill straight onto the left-hand upright. Phew. We can still get but two things going on offence, though, and Jack just left town, so the excitement at the flurry of activity dies with another exchange of punts... oh, hang on, though. Tom Tupa's punt is a bit too long and a bit too flat, the wind drifting the kick a ways left. Terry Fair makes the catch at our 20, looks up, sees the coverage hasn't sealed him off from the sideline...
...and takes off into the gap. In a flash he's through and Tupa is the only Buc with a chance of cutting him off, which is never going to work. 80 yards untouched and thank God we got a big play on special teams, because God knows we could all grow old and die waiting for the offence to sort itself out. TB 7-7 ARI Or maybe not. Tampa punt again, then make the mistake of throwing a corner-blitz at us from Anquan Boldin's side. He hooks into the gap that Ronde Barber has just left, makes an easy catch and picks up 30 yards down the sideline before cover can get to him. A couple of plays later we come out in our trusty 3-wide, 2-halfback set, Anquan and Macca clean out the corners on their side of the field and Travis Minor flares into the empty space. An under pressure Blake finds the back with an ugly but effective jump-shot and Minor trots into the endzone to give us the lead with a minute and a half left in the 2nd quarter.
And, of course, despite having played like turkeys all afternoon and Christopher Reeve having more big-play potential than any of the receivers on their roster, the Bucs fly downfield like we're not even there, the marvellously-named Snoop Minnis getting behind our safeties for a 36-yard TD bomb. Yep, I think it's fair to say that our defence isn't quite the finished article yet. Halftime, TB 14-14 ARI - Two quarters to decide who's going to the playoffs and who's watching them on telly, then. As has been a bit of a worrying running theme in recent games, we still can't establish the run, but sticking with it is setting up the play-action and stopping the Bucs from completely concentrating on our wide-men. We stumble down the field slow, slow, quick-quick slow until on a 2nd and goal from the 9 Anquan Boldin finds the smallest little seam in the Buc zone and Jeff Blake squeezes a bullet pass into the tiny, tiny gap and restore our seven-point advantage. Tampa Bay come back with a deep pass to Keyshawn Johnson (!) but the defence stiffens and holds them to just a long field-goal, and at the end of the third it's a 4-point game. TB 17-21 ARI The defensive game-plan - pressure Johnson with only the front four and drop the other seven back to clog passing lanes and ensure the ball-carrier is tackled short - seems to be holding up by and large, Tampa Bay are forced to punt again and we drive for the comfort-zone score. On 3rd and 17 Jeff Blake launches the best pass of his season so far - inches over Derrick Brooks' despairing leap and between 3 defenders to allow Anquan to make a 23-yard catch. But Brooks gets his revenge a handful of plays later when Blake spills the ball as he's hit in the process of making a pass. The zebras, who're obviously either blind or Oakland fans - rule it a fumble and the shy and retiring Warren Sapp falls on it. Two words, EA. Tuck, and Rule. Gah. Tampa Bay work the short field, 6 plays to go 53 yards, Michael Pittman swerving through traffic for a 22-yard TD run that puts the Bucs back in front with just four minutes to play. Don't tell me that after everything we've been through were going to end up getting screwed by the officials... TB 24-21 ARI Here we go, then. Probably one drive for the playoffs. We've stayed patient, stayed with Shipp and thus far he's utterly failed to repay my faith in him. And he screws me again, going nowhere on first down. Second sees a pass in Johnno's direction batted down and in no time at all we've gotten ourselves into The Official Down And Distance Of The Arizona Cardinals, deep in our own half, down by three with only three minutes left in the game. No pressure, then. Tampa Bay are going to be looking for a slant or a hook to one of our big two, so they're bound to be sitting in a cover-2 zone. So what the hell. We've got fast receivers, we've got a quarterback with a big arm. Let's use them. Let's go for broke. Three wide, Freddie Jones in at tight end. Johnno and Macca take off on streaks down the left side, Jones runs a deep post and Anquan... Anquan's single covered on a fade down the right sideline. Here we go. Neck or nothing. Blake sets his feet and heaves, Boldin turns at the last second to see the ball dropping perfectly over his inside shoulder, up go his hands... ...and he brings in the catch. A delirious roar goes up from the crowd, it's a 38-yard gain, 1st and 10 at the Buc 36 that quickly becomes a 3rd and 1 at the 27, two minutes to play. Surely Marcel can get us one poxy yard? No. He can't. But he can get us twenty-four going over tacklers, around tacklers, through tacklers all the way down to the Tampa Bay 3 yard line.
We milk the clock, we take our time, and Marcel takes two downs to smash his way across the goal-line with just 20 seconds left on the clock. One kickoff and two desperation heaves safely negotiated, and we've finally secured our place in the post-season. Final score TB 24-28 ARI, our record improving to 10-5. [
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