Down The Stretch, Mistakes Pile Up In Defeat

TAMPA - Leading by 11 points early in the fourth quarter on Sunday, the Green Bay Packers certainly were in position to keep the Tampa Bay Buccaneers winless in 2009. But a litany of mistakes in all three phases of the game damaged the Packers down the stretch, and that pile of miscues cost them what should have been their fifth win of the season in a 38-28 defeat. "It shows if you don't play well in any phase of the game," cornerback Tramon Williams said, "you're going to get beat by whoever it is." The phase that broke down first in the latter stages was special teams. Right after quarterback Aaron Rodgers scrambled for a 12-yard touchdown to put the Packers ahead 28-17 with just under 13 minutes left, the kickoff coverage unit allowed Tampa Bay's Clifton Smith to return the ensuing kickoff 83 yards to the Green Bay 17-yard line. After Smith broke through the initial wave of pursuit, it appeared linebacker Desmond Bishop and Williams both had a c..