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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
FOXBORO, Mass. -- The dress rehearsal was sloppy, filled with fumbles, penalties and missed assignments.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the New England Patriots 31-21 in
an exhibition game Sunday, and both need to clean up their acts
when they meet in the same stadium in the regular-season opener
Sept. 3.
|  | | Drew Bledsoe went 10-for-18 for 77 yards in one half of play for the Patriots. |
"We didn't go out there with a full package today and neither
did they," Bucs defensive end Warren Sapp said. "We'll wait
another two weeks to come up here and fire real bullets."
The Bucs (2-1) allowed one touchdown on Ty Law's 20-yard fumble
return and another on Kevin Faulk's 58-yard burst up the middle.
The team that lost the NFC title game last season committed nine
penalties.
The Patriots (2-2) were worse with nine penalties, four lost
fumbles, one interception and a blocked punt.
"If we continue to have turnovers and penalties we're not going
to score against anybody," Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe said.
"But we did enough good things today to establish that we can move
the ball against their defense."
His backup, Michael Bishop, did a very bad thing that produced
the go-ahead touchdown.
Midway through the third quarter, he dropped back to throw a
screen pass. He lifted his arm and, with no one touching him, let
the ball pop loose. Jamie Duncan recovered in the end zone for a
17-14 Tampa Bay lead with 5:52 left in the period.
"I'm not going to argue with the call," Bishop said, "but I
definitely thought my arm was going forward."
The Bucs scored the game's first touchdown on another fluke play
when Shaun King threw to tight end Dave Moore. The ball squirted
out of Moore's grasp and was caught by Jacquez Green, who ran for a
55-yard touchdown at 3:07 of the second quarter. Green caught
another tipped pass earlier.
"Our offense is coming around, but we didn't move it as
consistently as we'd like," Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy said. "We
got two big ones on tipped balls to Jacquez, but you can't count on
that every week."
Less than two minutes after Green's touchdown, the Patriots tied
the score on another long play that may have given second-year pro
Kevin Faulk an edge over Raymont Harris and rookie J.R. Redmond in
the running-back competition.
Faulk, used mostly on third downs last season, scored on a draw
play against a defense using several players who allowed the NFL's
fewest yards last season.
"Kevin has had good production in all the preseason games,"
Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "The question with Kevin is,
will he continue to do that if he becomes an every down player?"
New England went ahead 14-7 when Law returned Mike Alstott's
fumble. Alstott, who missed the Bucs' first two games with a sore
hamstring, fumbled when hit by Tebucky Jones. Alstott played the
first half, finishing with 18 yards on five carries, as he started
alongside Warrick Dunn.
"It felt good to have both of those guys in the backfield, but
we need to be sharper," King said. "They were a little rusty."
Martin Gramatica's 36-yard field goal cut New England's halftime
lead to 14-10.
As planned, Fox television analyst Matt Millen served as an
umpire in the officiating crew in the third quarter and part of the
fourth.
"It's the same reads" as when he played linebacker for the
Raiders, Millen said. "You have to be aware of the same things."
Bledsoe was 10-of-18 for 77 yards and left for the last
offensive play of the first half on which Bishop threw a
desperation pass that was intercepted by Shelton Quarles.
King, a second-year pro who started Tampa Bay's last five games
last season, is a key to the Bucs improving on last year's
28th-ranked defense. He was 9-of-23 for 191 yards and was replaced
by Eric Zeier early in the second half.
Zeier hit Karl Williams with a 17-yard touchdown pass as the
Bucs went ahead 24-14 with 2:38 gone in the fourth quarter.
New England drew within 24-21 on Bishop's 32-yard scoring pass
to rookie Shockmain Davis, but Aaron Stecker's 5-yard run restored
Tampa Bay's 10-point lead.
Law faced his former AFC East rival, wide receiver Keyshawn
Johnson, who was traded by the New York Jets to the Bucs after last
season. Johnson caught four passes for 59 yards.
"You get better each week. We got better than we did last
week," Johnson said. "We'll be ready to go when we come back up
to Foxboro."
Law left in the second quarter with a leg cramp that Belichick
said wasn't serious.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Tampa Bay Clubhouse
New England Clubhouse
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