Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Three plays worth another look

A lineman to the Bucs' rescue

You could feel the momentum shift toward the Saints in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. They had cut their deficit to 20-17, and on the ensuing possession, things almost got a whole lot worse for the Bucs. Facing third and 5 from their 30, Jeff Garcia was sacked at the 22 by Jonathan Vilma, who punched the ball loose in the process. It fell to the ground and just lay there in the wet turf. "I thought we were going to get the ball," Vilma said. But as defensive end Bobby McCray lunged for it, Jeremy Trueblood, a 6-foot-8, 320-pound tackle, went airborne, diving over a pile and smothering the ball at the 25. "It was just great hustle, great effort by our offensive line in finding a way to get to the football," Garcia said. "And Jeremy, always hustling, did a great job in that situation because that would have presented them with great field position." Said Trueblood: "I was just blocking my guy (McCray). I could read his eyes. He was the first one who went after it. I thought Jeff was scrambling, so I just gave one final push and turned around. (McCray) missed it, and I just tried to jump for it. I'd have preferred to pick it up. But guys in my position, you see the ball and fall on it as fast as you can."

Vilmaaaaaaaaa!

, The Saints took an early 3-0 lead on Garrett Hartley's 47-yard field goal, which followed a stellar defensive play by linebacker Jonathan Vilma. It occurred with the Bucs facing third and 2 from their 41. Quarterback Jeff Garcia, lined up in shotgun formation, aimed a short pass over the middle to Michael Clayton. The completion went for no gain, but Vilma proceeded to make matters worse by slamming into Clayton and jarring the ball loose. "I hit Clayton and got the ball moving. And instead of letting it drop, I tried to take the ball away from him, and I did," Vilma said. "It never hit the ground." The play, ruled a fumble, gave the Saints a first down at Tampa Bay's 35 and led to Hartley's field goal four plays later. "He made a good play," said Clayton, who caught three passes for 29 yards. "That's just football. As soon as I caught it, he closed and made a great play on the football. He's a heads-up player, and there's nothing really that I could have done better to prevent it." Clayton felt a lot better about the 26-yard reception he made late in the game and the final result. "We're on a roll," he said. "We're playing hard right now, and every week we're getting better and better. And we're peaking when we need to with two division games coming up."

Really long punt, pretty long return

. Clifton Smith was at it again Sunday. One week after changing the course of the game in Detroit — courtesy of a 70-yard punt return for a touchdown and 49-yard kickoff return — the rookie free agent from Fresno State added two flourishes to his resume. With the score 3-3 in the second quarter, the Saints punted from their 11. Glenn Pakulak drilled a 70-yarder that sailed over the head of Smith, who chased after it for a good 20 yards like a centerfielder trying to make an over-the-shoulder catch. As the 5-foot-8, 190-pounder closed in, the ball hit at the 19 and bounced straight up. Smith grabbed it, turned back upfield, avoided a few tackles and dashed down the left sideline for a 42-yard return to the Saints 39. Soon after, Matt Bryant made a 23-yard field goal. "As soon as he kicked it, I saw that the wind carried it pretty far," Smith said. "I didn't want to make a stupid play, so I let it bounce. And it just gave me a perfect bounce. Your instincts automatically take over, but then again, you have to be trained to find certain holes to hit. As soon as I caught it, all I saw was open space. I made about two people miss and had a great block by Adam Hayward and just went from there." Smith later returned the second-half kickoff 34 yards with a face mask moving the ball to the Saints 46. The Bucs cashed in, taking a 13-10 lead on Cadillac Williams' 8-yard run. Smith, 23, is the first Buc to return a punt and kickoff for a touchdown in the same season. "He's the real deal," coach Jon Gruden said. "I said it a couple of weeks ago: 'Clifton Smith, get a ticket if you want to see him play.' He's something else."