Gramatica Learns Cold, Hard Facts

Martin Gramatica knows what it’s like to kick at Lambeau Field now.

The Pro Bowl kicker shanked a 40-yard field goal with nine seconds left Sunday, and Ryan Longwell kicked a 22-yarder with 8:29 left in overtime, giving the Packers a 17-14 victory over Tampa Bay.

“You have to hit it perfect in this climate,” said Longwell, who was snubbed for the Pro Bowl despite having better statistics than Gramatica.

Gramatica was downcast, saying, “I let the team down when they needed me most.”

The Packers (9-7) closed their injury-riddled season with a December sweep of their NFC Central opponents despite the benching of wide receiver Antonio Freeman for missing team meetings Saturday.

But they also needed losses by St. Louis and Detroit to get into the playoffs. The Lions obliged, but not the Rams.

Tampa Bay (10-6) plays at Philadelphia next Sunday in a wild-card game.

Despite forcing four turnovers, the Buccaneers failed to stop two streaks after Gramatica’s miss spoiled what would have been their first victory at Lambeau Field since 1989.

The Buccaneers are 0-19 when the temperature at kickoff was 40 or below, and Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre has never lost in 27 home games when the reading was 34 or below.

“We’ll take a chance on Gramatica any time,” Warren Sapp said. “He just missed the kick. He’s human.”

The Buccaneers didn’t have to contend with Freeman, but they couldn’t escape the cold--the temperature at kickoff of 15 degrees with a wind chill of minus-15 was the sixth-coldest game in Packer history--or halfback Ahman Green, who caught nine passes for 78 yards and rushed 27 times for 74 yards and two touchdowns.

Favre completed 20 of 42 passes and with Freeman bundled up on the sideline, the three remaining receivers accounting for only five catches.

Freeman’s replacement, Donald Driver, made difficult catches for gains of 10 and 13 yards on a 48-yard drive that ended with Green running untouched through an enormous hole for a three-yard touchdown on Green Bay’s second series.

Driver dropped three passes after that, and neither team could muster anything until Green’s spinning two-yard touchdown run made it 14-0 in the third quarter.

Tampa Bay quarterback Shaun King had never even seen snow in his life, but he warmed up after the Buccaneers fell behind, 14-0, and drove them on three second-half scoring drives to tie the game, then set up Gramatica for the field goal that he missed.