The Bucs were 11-point favorites against San Francisco. Had they held the 49ers to minus-1, they would have at least earned a push.
The way they looked, Tampa Bay might not score 11 points in November. With near-obsessive attention spent monitoring the status of Cadillac Williams, many Bucs fans overlooked the real problem - the guy in front of him.
Through six weeks - during which they amassed a 1-5 record - the 49ers played with what many were saying was perhaps the worst NFL defense of this generation. Philadephia merely hung 52 on them. Arizona (Arizona!) embarrassed them on national television in Mexico.
Maybe it was the Montana-era uniforms they broke out Sunday, but San Francisco looked anything but historically bad against the Bucs.
The same shouldn’t be said for Chris Simms. For most of the game, Simms held onto the ball like it had laces of pure gold. When he bothered to let a pass fly he often short-hopped it to the point that the untrained eye would have sworn he was playing pepper with middle infielders.
Unfortunately for the Bucs, he wasn’t trying to hook up with Jorge Cantu or Julio Lugo. It was usually Joey Galloway or Michael Clayton, people compensated very well to help avoid the offensive morass Tampa Bay finds itself in.
Galloway, of course, gave Tampa a glimmer of hope with his long touchdown catch-and-run. But the fact that Simms threw the ball no more than 5 yards forward - leaving the rest up to Galloway - says everything about Jon Gruden’s confidence in Simms.
The game’s ending was the perfect embodiment of the entire day: Simms, peeling himself off the turf after yet another sack, his outplayed and dispirited linemen standing around him, wondering whether to even bother with another snap (they didn’t, by the way).
It’s not like the 49ers haven’t pulled this before. St. Louis came to town in Week 1 and received the same sort of humbling. Yet there’s something to be said for the psychological effect on a team when it realizes its limitations. That moment came for San Francisco in Mexico City.
This experience wasn’t as bad for the Bucs - they’re not horrendous, at least not at most positions. But the effect could be the same.
There was a faction of the Bucs fan base – a small one, hopefully – that got its wish Sunday. Brian Griese lay on the Raymond James turf, victimized by what Derrick Brooks and others considered a late hit supplied by the Dolphins defense. Thus, by necessity (or divine intervention, some might suggest), backup quarterback Chris Simms was forced into the game with the outcome still in reasonable doubt.
The reaction among those on hand was interesting – the aforementioned Griese bashers seemed almost gleeful; but most fans pulling for the home team seemed to turn ambivalent at best. Was this what we really needed? The Bucs’ fast start seemed almost to happen in spite of the starting quarterback, but was a 4-1 start best maintained by a virtual NFL rookie?
No one can say at the moment how long – if at all – Simms will be in charge by default. The upcoming week, of course, should help the health of both Griese and franchise-in-the-making Cadillac Williams. But what should be beyond question is that whoever’s in the pocket drawing the wrath of fans frustrated with what Tampa Bay chooses to call an ‘’offense,’’ the job of Bucs quarterback will be more defined by what it’s not than what it is.
The reasons for this evident against the Dolphins, just as they are against virtually every opponent. If the Bucs don’t give a game away – as Griese essentially did against the Jets – their defense will almost certainly take it for themselves. And if Williams makes use of what will basically be a three-week layoff by the time the Bucs play again, the expectations on either Simms or Griese will be what they usually are when things are going well. Namely, take this funny-shaped thing, more often that not give it to the big guy behind you, and if all else fails just hang on to it.
It’s true that Simms looked unusually poised when forced into the game against Miami. It’s equally true, however, that he had the advantage of a sizeable lead and a snarling defense on his side. Regardless, Jon Gruden knows more than a little about NFL quarterbacks, and Griese didn’t win the starting job because of his dad.
Gruden, like any quality coach, knows to play to his strengths. And with this current cast, he surely realizes that neither option at quarterback is ready for a leading role.
Vinny Testaverde almost certainly will talk this week about making the most of his opportunity.
The Bucs, hopefully, will talk about how they didn’t do the same.
The Jets, by any measure, are simply not very good. Five weeks into the season, no one really knows if the Bucs are or not. But if they turn out to be, and they’re preparing for an imposing postseason road trip (sound familiar?), they’ll look back at games like this one to understand why Raymond James is vacant in January.
Four trips close against the Jets; four field goals. That’s how this game was lost. It wasn’t the steadiness of the 42-year-old quarterback on the other side; it was the Bucs’ own 30-something quarterback making still more questionable decisions when he was his team’s only hope.
Even without the threat of Cadillac Williams, Tampa Bay handily outgained the Jets. Meanwhile, the Bucs defense was solid as ever and covered for the offense’s lack of finishing power for most of the game. New York had one impressive drive, starting the third quarter, but the defense did enough to punish Curtis Martin and the Jets’ other playmakers (few as they may be) and keep the game winnable.
Brian Griese will be criticized for the Bucs having to settle for the last field goal (that, and seeming confused which team Ty Law plays for now). What might go overlooked, except by Jon Gruden, is that for the offense it was simply a case of more of the same. Given the Jets’ severe limitations on offense, the Bucs could have had control of this game by halftime simply by crossing the goal line on any of their three field goal drives.
They didn’t do it, and New York had just enough reason to believe they could be the team to take that pretty zero off the end of the Bucs’ record.
It shouldn’t have happened. Even with Williams out of the game and Michael Clayton playing with more pain than he’ll admit, the Bucs had enough firepower to win against such a mediocre opponent. Whether Griese can command control of this team when the competition improves – and it certainly will – should tell the real story of 2005.
Bucs coach Jon Gruden could have wanted to see it end like this.
Or could he?
Cadillac Williams’ record-setting start to his NFL career came to a grinding halt against a Lions defense determined to take the rookie running back out of the game. It forced the Bucs to beat Detroit in a manner that previously was the norm prior to this season - hoping Brian Griese can make enough big plays while limiting his mistakes.
The Bucs couldn’t ride Cadillac as they had on the way to their 3-0 start. Part of that was due to the Lions’ stifling defense, which held him to just 13 yards on 11 carries. But more importantly, Williams’ absence came as a result of an injury - a strained hamstring that kept him out for much of the second half.
With Williams out, Gruden had to resort to his pre-2005 game plan. And while it produced a victory, it also provided quite a few tense moments.
Griese had a big day - 22-of-39 for 302 yards and two touchdowns - but he also threw three interceptions, each of which resulted in Lions scores. Pittman had six catches for 96 yards and added 30 yards receiving; and Joey Galloway had an 80-yard TD catch, one of his seven catches on the day for 166 yards.
But the Bucs’ victory was ensured only after officials reversed an apparent game-winning score by Lions tight end Marcus Pollard, who made a sliding catch in the end zone but was ruled out of bounds after the replay showed his knee was on the line as he came down with possession.
That the Bucs were able to manage a 17-13 victory without Williams in the lineup is great news in itself. A .500 finish would still result in 10 wins - almost certainly enough to ensure the Bucs of their first playoff berth since their Super Bowl season. But it came down to an official’s call against a team with a quarterback (Joey Harrington) who has yet to justify his first-round draft status, and it illustrated how important Cadillac Williams had been in the Bucs’ first three games.
Not needing to carry the offense with Williams leading the way, Brian Griese was effective. With Williams taken out of the contest, Griese’s mistakes were magnified - and they very nearly cost the Bucs their first loss of the season.
With questions arising this week about Williams’ workload, and the sprained arch he suffered last week, his departure vs. Detroit serves as a stark reminder of just how important he is to this team and how precarious the Bucs’ season could be if he’s ever out for an extended period.
COULD THE BUCS CHALLENGE FOR A PLAYOFF BERTH WITHOUT CADILLAC WILLIAMS?
The most optimistic of Bucs fans - heck, even Coach Jon Gruden himself - looked at last year’s 5-11 record with a grain of salt.
Sure, the Bucs had trouble running the ball and stopping the run. And yes, there were mistakes, breakdowns on special teams, and inconsistency on both sides of the ball.
All they needed, they said, were a few breaks here and there. Turn a couple of Martin Gramatica misses into points, and receive some good fortune for a change, and the Bucs would be looking at a potential playoff berth instead of a second consecutive losing season following their Super Bowl victory.
So if that’s the case, and if luck indeed can go a long way in making the difference between playoff contender and also-ran, perhaps it’s time the Bucs caught a break.
They sure did at Green Bay.
While Cadillac Williams was making history by breaking Alan Ameche’s NFL record for most yards in his first three NFL games, the Bucs turned to a reserve to preserve the win. Free safety Will Allen, who entered after Dexter Jackson left with a hamstring injury, had two interceptions in the fourth quarter to help the Bucs earn their first win at Green Bay since 1989.
It was a one-point victory in which the margin was a missed extra point by Ryan Longwell - generally regarded as one of the NFL’s most consistent field-goal kickers. The miss was Longwell’s first after 156 straight conversions, and he also missed a 42-yarder in the third quarter that would have pulled the Packers to within one, 17-16.
Any team that can run the ball as well as the Bucs have to open the season has a chance to win. And the defense, once again, came up with big plays at all the right times against a QB (Brett Favre) known for heroic comebacks.
But this time, the Bucs made all their field-goal attempts. There were plenty of penalties, but they didn’t come back to haunt Tampa Bay, as so many did last year.
Heck, even the schedule-makers gave the Bucs a break by having Tampa Bay make its trip to Green Bay in September, where game-time temperatures in the mid-60s felt more like Florida than Wisconsin.
So, maybe it goes both ways. If a few bad breaks could keep the Bucs from having a winning season, maybe a little luck could put them over the top. So far, it seems to be working.
HOW MUCH - IF AT ALL - WILL LUCK COME INTO PLAY THIS YEAR?
When a defense has been as dominant as the Bucs’ unit over the last few years, any questions about its effectiveness, or age, are liable to inspire.
Never mind that the Bucs defeated Minnesota 24-13 in their season opener behind a defense that shut down the Vikings’ run game and forced quarterback Daunte Culpepper into three interceptions. This was a team that appeared lost without Randy Moss, with questionable coaching, and it would be premature to draw any conclusions as to whether the defense could return to Super Bowl form.
So when the Bucs opened their 2005 home schedule against Buffalo, the Bills would provide a more accurate test of just where this defense stands and whether it can return to its past championship form. Despite starting a rookie quarterback (J.P. Losman), the Bills feature one of the best young runners in the NFL - Willis McGahee, who is the type of powerful runner who has exposed the Bucs’ weakened run defense over the last two years.
It’s hard to argue with the results so far.
McGahee was held to just 34 yards rushing, and Losman had only nine completions for 73 yards as Tampa Bay dominated the line of scrimmage in a 19-3 victory. Shelton Quarles registered a safety by pressuring Losman into stepping out of the end zone on a pass attempt, and Buffalo only had eight first downs while being held to 2.8 yards per rush.
The fact the Bucs’ finally appear to have a legitimate run game could be the biggest boost for the defense. Tampa Bay controlled the clock on this hot day, keeping the defense off the field.
Although they may be a year older, the stars of this defense - Brooks, Rice, Barber and Kelly to name a few - appear rejuvenated. The fact they’re now backed by a ball-control offense may have a lot to do with it, but the early returns on the 2005 defense would indicate it’s ready to make a statement - that any suggestion its best days were behind it were premature.
WERE THE CONCERNS ABOUT THE BUCS’ DEFENSE A BIT PREMATURE?
After two consecutive losing seasons following their Super Bowl victory, the Bucs’ goal for 2005 was apparent - establish a run game behind first-round pick Cadillac Williams; rebuild with youth; and return to their former prominence on defense by shoring up their run defense.
So far, so good.
Williams put an explanation point on a dazzling 2005 debut, sprinting 71 yards for a score to cap the Bucs’ season-opening 24-13 victory at Minnesota. Williams finished with 148 yards rushing as the Bucs - who also got two touchdown catches from third-round pick Alex Smith - appeared rejuvenated and shut down one of the NFL’s most potent offenses.
The Bucs limited the Vikings to just 26 yards rushing and intercepted Daunte Culpepper three times - including Brian Kelly’s second of the game to kill a potential game-winning drive with less than two minutes left - as the defense displayed its past swagger and came up with big plays throughout the day.
Throughout the preseason, Bucs coach Jon Gruden insisted this was not a rebuilding year. By getting younger in key areas and playing smarter football, he insisted the Bucs could return to title contention.
Whether Sunday’s victory means the Bucs are on their way to proving Gruden right remains to be seen, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.
IS SUNDAY’S WIN AN INDICATION THE BUCS ARE A LEGITIMATE TITLE CONTENDER?
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