Bucs unable to stop big plays of Big D Joe Henderson, The Tampa Tribune, published 14 September 2009 From the first day it was announced that the Bucs would change their basic defensive approach for this season, we all have known they could be hit with big plays if things didn't work right. Knowing it was theoretically possible is one thing. Seeing defensive backs Sabby Piscitelli and Elbert Mack giving futile chase as Dallas Cowboys receivers sprinted past them for long touchdowns Sunday was far more jolting. It was every fear you had about this secondary's ability to handle this new scheme, wrapped up in a precise storyline frighteningly easy to decipher. Let's just say things didn't work right. It was once, twice, three times a scorching as Dallas quarterback Tony Romo completed touchdown passes of 42, 66 and 80 yards - the last one with 12:43 left in the fourth quarter and two plays after the Bucs had pulled within six points. That was, as you can imagine, quite the topic of conversation in the Bucs locker room after Dallas finished off a 34-21 victory to open the season. Conversation, in this case, was a relative term. It alternated between puzzlement to seething. Defensive tackle Chris Hovan, generally a most pleasant and accommodating man, was on the side of seething. "You ask me all these questions. We don't give up big plays around here - period. You want to know what happened? That's what happened. We gave up the big play," he said. "I'm not going to say names, but since I got here in 2005 the first meeting ... I don't care what defense you play in this league, we don't give up the big play. End of story. We don't do it around here and that (stuff) is going to get fixed tomorrow." He didn't have to call out anyone by name because everybody already knew, particularly in the case of Piscitelli. Now, the secondary was already thin because of Tanard Jackson's suspension and it looked even thinner as this game progressed. "We can't give up big plays doing stupid stuff," cornerback Ronde Barber said. Asked to elaborate on what exactly qualified as "stupid stuff," Barber smiled and said he couldn't do that. He didn't need to. Piscitelli used forms of "communicate" six times in brief remarks that included this statement: "We've got to get our communication right, we've got to each know our assignments, and we've got to communicate. If you're not communicating, you're lost out there on the field." In fact, communication, or lack thereof, seemed to be the word of the day. Mack and safety Jermaine Phillips voiced variations on that theme, which prompted a question about that to new coordinator Jim Bates. He wasn't buying it. "I don't know if it was communication on the back end. They just ran by us and there was breakdown in coverage, which you cannot have," he said. "If you're going to win in this league you've got to eliminate big plays. They're going to happen on occasion to anybody, but three in one game is unacceptable." Barber agreed. "We know what to do. We've been in minicamps, (Coach) Raheem (Morris) got the extra camp because he's a new coach. We've had OTAs, we had training camp - we know what to do, we know how to communicate," he said. "Guys just got to go do their jobs, bottom line." In the old days of Monte Kiffin's Tampa 2, there probably would have been deep help back there, but this is a new approach. It calls for more pressure and risk-taking. If it works, it looks great. If not, you have the sight of safeties chasing after receivers who are pulling away. "We've got to play smart, man. We've got to be a smart defense, do our jobs, let plays come to us - don't try to make them," Barber said. "We beat ourselves, really. I'll give them all the credit in the world; they're a very talented offensive football team. But we have ways to take them away and we had our opportunity. The big plays absolutely destroyed this football team."