Derrick Brooks felt like he played well enough this season to earn his 10-consecutive Pro Bowl nod.
Though voters felt otherwise, Brooks showed why he should be in Hawaii early in the fourth quarter. Brooks picked off Cleveland quarterback Derek Anderson and returned it 21 yards for the touchdown.
It was Brooks’ eighth career touchdown, including the playoffs, and his first since the 2003 season against Washington.
What’s up with the Bucs kicking game?
They open the game with an offsides penalty and kick the ball out of bounds. An extra point was blocked and on the ensuing kickoff, Matt Bryant’s kick traveled all of 34 yards.
If any play summed up Tampa Bay’s season, it was the Bucs’ offense’s final play of the first half.
Wide receiver Ike Hilliard ran an out route and quarterback Tim Rattay threw to the inside of the end zone, where Cleveland cornerback Daven Holly was waiting. Holly picked off the pass.
So instead of at least a 9-0 lead heading into the locker room, the Bucs have to settle for a 6-0 lead.
The Bucs didn’t waste Jermaine Phillips second interception of the game.
Unlike his first pick, Tampa Bay capitalized on his second with Matt Bryant’s 24-yard field goal to give the Bucs a 6-0 lead.
So much for Jermaine Phillips effort.
A Tampa Bay safety finally gets an interception this season, but the Bucs offense failed to capitalize. After four consecutive carries by fullback Mike Alstott helped get the Bucs into the red zone, Alstott failed to convert on fourth-and-1 from the Browns nine-yard line and Cleveland got the ball on downs.
Here’s some help for Bucs tight end Alex Smith - I’m holding up three fingers, the president in George W. Bush and you are in Cleveland.
Smith got jacked up by Browns cornerback Ralph Brown. Brown leveled Smith on a third-and-six play during the Bucs second possession, causing Smith to drop what would have been a first-down reception.
The Browns are good at one thing - kicking the ball into the end zone for touchbacks.
In their opening drive, Cleveland lined up for a 44-yard field goal attempt, but delivered a pooch kick instead. Unfortunately, the trick play backfired because the ball rolled into the end zone for a touchback.
A punt from the Bucs 42-yard line on the Browns second possession also found its way into the end zone.
Rookie wide receiver Maurice Stovall is proving to be a big target.
Stovall picked up two key first downs in the Bucs opening drive that culminated in Matt Bryant’s 23-yard field goal.
Stovall is starting in place of Ike Hilliard and in one drive, already has two receptions for 45 yards.
Starting defensive end Dewayne White was injured on a third-and-10 play at the Bucs 27-yard line.
White suffered bruised ribs after he pressured Browns quarterback Derek Anderson into throwing an incomplete pass. He will be replaced by rookie defensive end Julian Jenkins when the Tampa Bay defense takes the field again.
The Browns will be without several starters today.
Quarterback Charlie Frye’s injured wrist has him sidelined, so second year Derek Anderson will start in his place. Wide receiver Dennis Northcutt will start in place of Braylon Edwards, who isn’t inactive but was on the injury report this week.
The defense is without three starters - defensive end Alvin McKinley, linebacker Andra Davis and cornerback Leigh Bodden. Defensive end Nick Eason, linebacker Chaun Thompson and cornerback Ralph Brown will start in their place.
The current temperature in Cleveland is 40 degrees, but with no sun and a slight wind, it feels like the mid 30’s.
Cloudy skies will prevent that temperature from getting much warmer, so when the Bucs kickoff, it will be as cold as it was when they faced the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier this month.
Some players are sporting knit hats while they warm up and the Bucs coaches are bundled up in their cold weather gear.
Backup running back Michael Pittman will start in Cadillac Williams place against the Browns.
Williams is one of the Bucs eight inactives and did not make the trip to Cleveland because of a foot injury he sustained in the third quarter against Chicago.
There is one other change to the Bucs starting lineup. Rookie wide receiver Maurice Stovall will start in place of Ike Hilliard. Hilliard is healthy, but Stovall will get his first NFL start to see what he can do.
The other Bucs inactives are Luke McCown (emergency quarterback), cornerback Alan Zemaitis, center Nick Mihlhauser, tackle Donald Penn, tight end Doug Jolley, defensive end Charles Bennett and defensive tackle Jon Bradley.
Build Off Momentum From Last Week
That three-touchdown rally the Bucs put together in the fourth quarter against the Bears last week was something. Though it didn’t produce a win, it surely erased a lot of bad feelings and no doubt left the young players on the offensive side of the ball feeling good.
That said, it won’t mean a thing if the Bucs don’t follow up and produce this afternoon.
Cleveland doesn’t offer the same kind of challenge the Bears did, but any foe is a formidable one for an offense still trying to find its way. The Bucs have such an offense, but they found a near-winning formula last week in Chicago.
All that’s left now is to develop some consistency. That may be difficult to do, but the confidence they need to spark such a run should be in place.
Stick With Running Game
Tim Rattay and the Bucs had a lot of success throwing the ball against the Bears last week, but they’re not going to win consistently if they try that tactic every week.
The Browns have a secondary that’s vulnerable to deep passes and the Bucs should take advantage, but they should use those passes to soften the defense and set up the run game.
The Bucs’ offensive line is supposed to excel at run blocking, so look for a lot of runs from Michael Pittman in place of Cadillac Williams, who did not make the trip because of a foot injury. If weather conditions allow it, the Bucs should mix in an occasional run to the inside with FB Mike Alstott.
That should keep the Browns off-balance and give Pittman a chance to break off a big gainer.
Defense Must Tackle Better
You might not have noticed, but in the weeks leading up to the game against the Bears, the Bucs took a little climb up the league’s defensive rankings. The reason for the improvement was improved tackling.
The Bucs have always prided themselves on being superb tacklers and after an uncharacteristically slow start in that area, they regained their form during the middle portion of the season. Their tackling slipped a notch against the Bears, though, and the Bucs can’t let this problem fester.
The Bucs won’t finish strong without a sound tackling effort from their defenders, so the first thing they need to do is get all 11 players rushing to the ball carrier again. That will give them the support they need should someone miss a tackle.
Put Pressure On The Quarterback
The inability of the Bucs’ front four to adequately pressure the passer has been a real problem. It has forced them to use a lot more blitzes, but those blitzes are starting to have some effect.
The Bucs are getting to the quarterback more often these days, and it’s imperative they get to either Derek Anderson or Charlie Frye today. Both are young quarterbacks who struggle to read and react to blitzes and both have a tendency to hurry their throws and make bad decisions when pressured.
The Bucs can force some turnovers if they can get to the QB, so they need to make good use of blitzers such as LB Ryan Nece and CB Ronde Barber. A well-designed blitz package is sure to confuse the Browns and give the Bucs a defensive edge.
Bucs cornerback Juran Bolden said there are no moral victories in the NFL. And I agree.
There isn’t an MV column next to the Wins and Losses columns. But the Bucs left Chicago with more than a loss. They left with an affirmation that this team, despite its struggles all season, hasn’t given up.
“The one thing I can say, it shows the character of this team that there’s no quit in this team,” Bolden said. “I think everyone probably turned the channels once they saw the score was 21-3 at halftime, but we sucked it up and went out and played.”
Those that did turn the game off, missed one of the greatest come-from-behinds in Tampa Bay history. The Bucs sideline came to life when they erased a 21-point deficit in a little over a quarter of action.
“They showed tremendous grit today and it’s a credit to them,” Coach Jon Gruden said. “I’m more proud of that than I can tell you.”
The Bucs are 0-7 on the road this season. They lost seven of their past eight games, but the resolve of the team remains as strong as if they were in the playoff hunt.
“Today was a perfect example of the character of this team,” linebacker Ryan Nece said. “There’s a lot of teams I’ve seen on tape with the same record as us and to me, it doesn’t seem as if they’re playing as hard.”
A big-strike comeback by the Bucs, at Chicago?
Believe it. Tim Rattay rallied the Bucs from a 24-3 third-quarter deficit to tie it at 31 at the end of regulation.
But a 28-yard Rex Grossman pass to Rashied Davis set the Bears up for a 25-yard Robbie Gould field goal as the Bears escaped with a 34-31 overtime victory.
Rattay, who replaced Bruce Gradkowski late in the second quarter, had three touchdown passes and the Bucs scored more points today than in their previous three games combined. But it still wasn’t enough to prevent Tampa Bay from losing its 11th game of the season.
Stay with TBO.com for continuing coverage.
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