Lions Lament Calls They Didn't Get

By IRA KAUFMAN ikaufman@tampatrib.com

Published: Oct 3, 2005

TAMPA - A pair of wounded Lions tried to remain calm Sunday when discussing the zebras.

Two critical calls went Tampa Bay's way in Sunday's 17-13 triumph, including an overturn of Joey Harrington's apparent 12-yard touchdown pass to tight end Marcus Pollard in the right corner with 13 seconds remaining.

The Bucs had been 0-14 since 2003 when losing the turnover battle, but the Lions failed to exploit a plus-3 turnover differential and then took issue with the officials. Coach Steve Mariucci appeared most disturbed by a second-quarter interception that was reversed by a holding call against corner Andre' Goodman.

"That was huge in the game, huge," Mariucci said of Goodman's apparent pick at the Bucs' 45 with the Lions leading 10-3.

Goodman and intended receiver Ike Hilliard engaged in some early contact before Hilliard stumbled on his own and Brian Griese's pass sailed into Goodman's arms. He returned 18 yards before fumbling and fellow defensive back Terrence Holt recovered at the Tampa Bay 27.

"They said I held him Hilliard at the line of scrimmage," Goodman said. "I don't see how I could have played it any better. You can't take it back and you can't control the way the refs call the game. I kind of took it personally because it was my first pick of the year."

The Bucs retained possession and tied the score at 10 when Griese found Michael Pittman for a 41-yard scoring pass with only 72 seconds left in the half.

On the game's final drive, Pollard, signed as a free agent from the Colts in the offseason, made a sliding reception that triggered jubilation on the visitor's bench.

When the play was reviewed upstairs, Pollard was ruled out of bounds.

"I'm thinking it's a touchdown," Pollard said. "I don't need to see a replay. If you're asking me, it's a touchdown. As soon as I got up, I'm signaling touchdown. When it went to review, I'm just praying at that point."

Pollard's prayers weren't answered and Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said there was never a doubt.

"It was clear-cut," Kiffin said. "The guy was out of bounds. Fortunately the people up there got it right."

Two more failed pass attempts sealed a bitter loss for Detroit, which played hard coming off a bye week but fell to 1-2.

"Hey, I dropped a deep ball early that should have been a touchdown," said wide receiver Roy Williams, the target of Harrington's final throw. "We ran the ball well but just couldn't get it down the field. We kept checking down to the backs. All I know is Goodman didn't even touch that guy. At the worst, we would have been up 13-3, but the ref says Goody's holding. There's nothing we can do. Hey, it's the NFL."