McCoy fractures hand in loss to Rams The Tampa Tribune, published 15 September 2014 Gerald McCoy, his fractured left hand in a cast, labored to get dressed in the postgame locker room. He was almost finished. Then he winced in frustration and turned to Da’Quan Bowers, his teammate. “Can you help me here?’’ Bowers obliged, carefully putting in McCoy’s diamond earring. It had come to that. McCoy acknowledged to reporters that he broke his left hand during the first quarter of Sunday’s 19-17 loss to the St. Louis Rams, but was uncertain about how much time he will miss. The loss included a laundry list of problems, none more pronounced than the injury plagued defensive line. Already without Adrian Clayborn, (out for the season with a biceps injury) and Michael Johnson (out for the game with a severe ankle sprain), the Bucs lost McCoy, their unquestioned defensive leader, in the first quarter. He tried to return, but only lasted one play. “Tried to split a double team … hurt my hand,’’ McCoy said. “I’m going to try and get back. I don’t know (how long I’ll be out). I don’t like watching.’’ McCoy’s defensive-line teammates, although speaking about the next-man-up mentality, were clearly affected by his absence. “That was a tough blow so early in the game,’’ said Bucs defensive end Da’Quan Bowers, who started in Clayborn’s absence. “We definitely have to step it up. I think we all did a decent job of trying to fulfill his duties, but with the caliber of player of Gerald, it takes about four of us to get to his place.’’ “Losing Gerald McCoy, you’re talking about losing the best under-tackle in the game,’’ Bucs defensive tackle Akeem Spence said. “We might not be on the same level as (McCoy), but we’re not too far off. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We don’t have time for that. We’ve got to get better.’’ The Bucs face a short week and a Thursday night road trip to NFC South division rival Atlanta, not the best scenario for an 0-2 team. “The good part is we haven’t been far off, but it’s not good enough to win,’’ Bucs defensive end William Gholston said. “You never dwell on any loss and you can’t dwell on (McCoy getting injured). It’s hard for us to lose him, obviously. I think we put some pressure on the quarterback, but not nearly enough at the end of the game. Had we done that, I think it’s a different story.’’ Instead, it was the same old story. “The way it ended, it never should’ve come to that,’’ Spence said. “We shouldn’t have had to rely on the offense to score. We should’ve put the game away.’’ For Bowers, a former second-round pick who has weathered an underachieving career, it’s an opportunity. Bowers said he didn’t take advantage of that on Sunday. “I think we let it slip defensively at the end,’’ Bowers said. “But if we put decent pressure on them throughout the game, I don’t think it would’ve even been close. That’s the biggest challenge in McCoy’s absence. Backups and bit players must step up into key roles. Supporting performers must become playmakers. “Everybody has got to look at themselves and see what they can do to help this team,’’ McCoy said. “You can’t cry about it or think about it too long. We’ve got another game on Thursday. The guys who are ready to go have got to be ready to go.’’