By MARTIN FENNELLY | The Tampa Tribune
Published: September 14, 2009
TAMPA - This might be who they are.
They might have their moments.
They might have lots of losses.
Surprised?
We thought these 2009 Bucs could beat the 2009 Cowboys in the season opener. We thought they could just as easily help beat themselves, which they did in a 34-21 loss.
We thought the Bucs might be able to run the ball, and they did. We thought they might be able to move the ball and they did, and then some.
We thought the young Bucs would make mistakes, and they did as they did in the preseason, on and off the field.
We thought these Bucs might have problems with getting a pass rush, and they did. We thought the secondary might give up big plays, and it did, and then some.
We thought there might be some bumps for Raheem Morris in his debut as head coach, and there were, as he fell to puppet master Wade Phillips. Oh, well, just remember, Raheem wasn't built in a day.
Now it's time to shuffle off to Buffalo. Ah, Niagara Falls.
Anybody want to buy a barrel for Sabby Piscitelli?
One game in and the current is already swift.
As inauspiciously as the season began, the Bucs didn't go in the tank, not like That Incredible Shrinking Baseball Team across the bay. No, there were positives.
In fact, the Bucs sometimes looked like winners Sunday, particularly when Cadillac Williams (97 yards) and Derrick Ward were hauling the mail. And they looked fine when Byron Leftwich (276 yards) was on his game. The offensive line didn't allow a sack and made some holes. Michael Clayton rendered Cowboys safety Gerald Sensabaugh senseless after one catch. Ronde Barber often looked 24, not 34.
But this new defense, in Jim Bates' first turn as coordinator, looked lost as lost can be when it counted, giving up three long Tony Romo touchdown passes. The last time the Bucs secondary stopped a meaningful drive, it was Aqib Talib's cab ride.
Poor Elbert Mack was denuded on one touchdown, but the real angel in the centerfold was Piscitelli, the "Human Torch," who pretty much personally coughed up a bunch of Romo's 353 passing yards and two touchdowns, including the 80-yarder that instantly took the air out of the Bucs after they'd crept to within six points early in the fourth quarter.
And you thought Tanard Jackson went up in smoke.
"We can't give up those plays," Morris said.
There was that blocked field goal and that missed field goal. There was that confusion in the secondary just before Roy Williams scorched the Bucs for a 66-yard TD. And when's the last time you ever heard of the Bucs getting 450 yards of offense and not winning?
There was blown clock management to end the first half, which points to coaching.
The Bucs had the lead and the ball and momentum after the two-minute warning. Dallas had only one timeout, so the Bucs could have all but run out the clock. Only they tried two pass plays. Leftwich ran out of bounds on one. To summarize: Three and out. Next thing, Romo to Miles Austin, by Mack, by everyone, for a lead the Cowboys never gave up.
"We would have liked to have handled that halftime deal a little better," Morris said.
And there was another insert-head-in-butt moment from another young Buc. There has been too much of that.
This time around, linebacker Geno Hayes was supposed to get his first NFL start, but he showed up late Sunday to Raymond James Stadium. He was benched to start the game.
"We won't have that problem again," Morris said.
There are already problems enough.
