Banged up already, more injuries pile on
By MATT WINKELJOHN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/25/05
Tampa — To say the Falcons were wounded Saturday would be two sorts of understatement. They were in a must-win situation if they were to keep their playoff hopes alive, and their roster was beat up as well.
After going ahead 24-17 with 4:09 left in regulation, the Falcons lost 27-24 to the Bucs in overtime to fall out of postseason contention, and they had to do it with a patchwork lineup.
Win, and that looks like a noble effort. Lose, and it looks like just another game in the NFL, where everybody has injuries.
"Nobody hung their head, no matter who was injured," said tight end Alge Crumpler, who stayed intact all afternoon. "We dropped a lot of people, but nobody is going to remember that."
Already without right defensive end Brady Smith (dislocated big toe) for the eighth consecutive game and oft-used reserve defensive tackle Antwan Lake (shoulder separation), Atlanta's staff decided before the game not to play starting safety Keion Carpenter (thigh bruise) even though he was taken off the injury report on Thursday. Plus, nickel back and return man Allen Rossum (knee sprain) missed his third consecutive game.
In the second quarter, Pro Bowl cornerback/punt returner DeAngelo Hall was lost with a left shoulder strain, and left guard Matt Lehr's game ended with a calf injury.
No area was more affected than the secondary, where the Falcons frequently deployed three safeties (Ronnie Heard, Antuan Edwards and Bryan Scott), and one of them at times was used as a nickel back.
Bucs quarterback Chris Simms threw two interceptions, but after halftime he completed 18 of 26 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown.
"I believe we played as hard as we did in other games," right cornerback Jason Webster said. "It didn't affect the way we prepared or played."
Austin King subbed for Lehr, and safety/cornerback Omare Lowe replaced Hall in a lot of situations.
Before additional injuries, Todd Weiner (shoulder, elbow and wrist) was alternating at right tackle with a healthy Barry Stokes, and when in the fourth quarter right guard Kynan Forney sprained an ankle, Weiner moved to right guard on a key drive.
It didn't matter in that instance as the Falcons moved 79 yards in 10 plays to score on T.J. Duckett's 2-yard run with 4:09 left in the fourth quarter. That was good for a 24-17 lead, although the Bucs soon tied the score.
Duckett was in the game because starting running back Warrick Dunn's ailing hamstring was fatigued, and he also had a sprained knee.
But the wear and tear showed on the defense on Tampa Bay's final drive in regulation, and in overtime, when the pass rush faded away. The Bucs outgained Atlanta 134 yards to 42 in the extra period, where Tampa Bay had eight first downs to the Falcons' one. Simms completed 6 of 8 passes for 71 yards in overtime.
Rookies Jonathan Babineaux and Chauncey Davis again filled in at defensive end for Smith. Defensive end Constantin Ritzmann — recently signed off Buffalo's practice squad — played some. Edwards played most of the game with badly bruised ribs.
"We played the whole second half without two starting DBs, and we fought our tails off," coach Jim Mora said.
"That's what I expect those guys to do, and that's what we did."
