Advertisement

A few Bucs banged up after bruising win

 
Not quite six: Bucs wide receiver Vincent Jackson makes a catch that was initially ruled a touchdown but was overturned by replay during Sunday’s game against the Bills. The reversal was right “by the letter of the law,” Bucs coach Greg Schiano said Monday.
Not quite six: Bucs wide receiver Vincent Jackson makes a catch that was initially ruled a touchdown but was overturned by replay during Sunday’s game against the Bills. The reversal was right “by the letter of the law,” Bucs coach Greg Schiano said Monday.
Published Dec. 10, 2013

TAMPA — Sunday's 27-6 win against Buffalo was a physical game for the Bucs, who have starting offensive linemen Jeremy Zuttah and Davin Joseph recovering from shoulder injuries suffered in the game.

Coach Greg Schiano said Zuttah is day to day, and believes WR Vincent Jackson (hamstring) is okay. He didn't update Joseph's status.

Zuttah and Joseph collided in the second quarter pursuing S Jairus Byrd on an interception return. Both returned on the following possession, but were out at the end of the game as the Bucs, leading comfortably, went to backups.

Rookie DL William Gholston, who had a season-best 1.5 sacks, is going through protocol to evaluate for concussion symptoms after hitting his head Sunday.

NOW YOU KNOW: If you were confused by the replay reversal that took a touchdown away from Jackson on Sunday, Schiano was right there with you.

"Interesting," Schiano said Monday of the decision to overturn Jackson's catch at the back of the end zone. "Sixty thousand people probably needed an explanation on that one, because I wasn't really happy myself, but I understand it now and I did have an idea of the rule but wasn't 100 percent sure, so it was good it got clarified."

Schiano said he was told that "if you're going backwards, then it's got to be whole foot (in-bounds), it it's toe-tap sideline or going forward than it's toes only and it doesn't matter the rest of the foot." He said he agrees that the reversal was correct "by the letter of the law."

Schiano said on his radio show that he would support the NFL shifting its replay responsibility from on site at each stadium to one central league office in New York, where all replays would be reviewed, much like the NHL does with scoring plays. He prefers that to both the NFL and the NCAA model, where a replay official in a booth makes decisions on challenges and replays.

IMPERFECT SCORE: RB Bobby Rainey's 80-yard touchdown Sunday was the longest run in Bucs history, and Schiano said the offense pulled it off despite missing the assignment on blocking the Bills' leading tackler, rookie LB Kiko Alonso.

"We didn't exactly get it perfectly," Schiano said. "Alonso is unblocked and Rainey puts a stiff-arm on him and just drops him, he beat that guy one-on-one. Sometimes, your back's got to handle it, either make him miss or you stiff-arm him like that and Bobby did and then it was a foot race and he outran everybody."

Rainey rushed for more than 4,500 yards at Western Kentucky, but his longest run there was 59 yards against Kentucky in 2010.

Asked if he was prouder for not getting run down on the play or the stiff-arm, he said it was not getting run down. He's familiar with this week's opponent, the 49ers. He was on injured reserve with the Ravens last season when they beat San Francisco in the Super Bowl.

Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene

Subscribe to our free Sports Today newsletter

We’ll send you news and analysis on the Bucs, Lightning, Rays and Florida’s college football teams every day.

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

Greg Auman can be reached at auman@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3346.