Eagles Didn’t Let Sapp Have His Way

Perhaps the only intriguing matchup in a one-sided NFC wild-card victory by the Philadelphia Eagles over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday involved name-calling and eye-poking between Tampa Bay defensive lineman Warren Sapp and Philadelphia’s offensive line.

Sapp’s name was called infrequently by the public address announcer, , which didn’t pass without notice by John Welbourn, Philadelphia’s left guard. He wasn’t surprised to hear that Sapp was not credited with a solo tackle. Sapp did have five assists.

“No, not at all,” Welbourn said. “We did this to him last year [in a 21-3 wild-card victory], so I don’t know what’s such a big surprise for anybody.”

At one point, Sapp grew so frustrated with Welbourn that he tried poking him in the eye.

“I think when a guy with a big ego gets frustrated, he does stupid things,” Welbourn said.

All the talk didn’t bother Welbourn, who picked up a personal foul for kicking Sapp while Eagle running back Duce Staley was running 23 yards for a first-half touchdown..

It turns out that Welbourn spends his off-seasons in Clearwater, Fla., a short drive from Sapp’s home in Tampa. “I talked to him after the game,” Welbourn said. “I told him I lived down there and he said, ‘Give me a call. We’ll hang out.’”

Tampa Bay drove inside the Philadelphia 35-yard line five times and came away with three field goals and had two passes intercepted .

The Buccaneers’ inability to produce even one big play in the red zone killed their chances. “We had some stuff up the field and we hit a couple,” Tampa Bay Coach Tony Dungy said. “We did check the ball down a lot and we thought we could make some plays running after the catch. Obviously, the interceptions, that’s something Brad [Johnson, Tampa Bay quarterback] hasn’t done all year.”