The twenty-one unanswered points may be what we remember as the moment this season’s hopes hit the skids for us, but I have another moment in mind: the moment Lane Kiffin took the job at Tennessee.  Nobody doubted for a moment that Monte was leaving the Bucs.  No one with any heart can fault him.  What a great opportunity for father and son.  But the timing - well, look at the calendar, Bucs fans.  It times out perfectly with the moment the wind got sucked out of the Buccaneers defense.  You can’t make any other case.

What did I see out there?  A defense that only showed up to play on one or two San Diego possessions.  I saw no pressure on the QB.  It looked exactly like it looked against Jake Delhomme and Matt Ryan - Philip Rivers with enough time in the pocket to make a cell phone call to ask his college buddies if they’d ever seen such an inept pass rush.  Don’t talk to me about the Wilkerson sack.  That sack occurred because all of the Chargers receivers were worn out.  They’d run so far and so fast that they were bent over catching their breath, and the guy blocking Wilkerson said, “Alright already!”  They call it a coverage sack.  In this case it was an exhaustion sack.  New term the NFL should adopt.

I saw a defense that let their opponents routinely off the hook when they had them in third and long.  Third and 10.  Third and 14.  Third and 18.  Those are the times when offenses run a “give it up” draw play to allow their punter another couple of yards.  Not the Bucs opponents these last three weeks.  Third and long has become bread and butter for our opponents. 

I give you this: I saw some heart from a couple of guys.  Jeff Garcia gave us the nose off his face, for crying out loud.  Clifton Smith showed up to confirm his Pro Bowl selection.

Here’s the deal: We all become Eagles fans now.  No, I’m not kidding.  The town that boos Santa Claus - we’re there.  Because if Donovan and crew can’t beat the Cowboys, it won’t matter what happens in our game.  One other thought - that game, the Raiders - if the Bucs can’t muster enough heart to put a whooping on the Raiders, God help us!

Then there’s this, my final thoughts.  I’m not sure we have any business in the playoffs this season.  We had the Division Title in our hands - controlled our own destiny, as they say.  We lost it.  We had the playoffs in our own hands - destiny, and we coughed it up.  Now we’re hanging on by a Terrell Owens sound-byte.  If we somehow back into the playoff picture, does anyone think that we’re going on the road to win three games in a row?  Not unless our bloodied QB and Clifton Smith can start on the Defensive Line.

What did you see out there?