Bucs defense gives up gaudy numbers The Tampa Tribune, published 10 October 2011 It started with Alex Smith lobbing a 26-yard touchdown pass to Delanie Walker. By the end of the day, Kendall Hunter was breaking off a 44-yard run during garbage time. The numbers told an ugly, ugly story on Sunday. Tampa Bay entered the game ranked ninth in the NFL in points allowed with 77 – 19.2 per game. That number was blown up in a 48-3 San Francisco victory in which the Bucs defense allowed 418 yards, 7.2 per play. Smith looked like one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL, completing 11 of 19 passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions for a 127.2 passer rating. Seventh-year 49ers running back Frank Gore looked four years younger, carrying 20 times for 125 yards and one touchdown. "If we don't play together as 11 on every play, that stuff happens," Bucs defensive tackle Roy Miller said. "We'll have to take a look at the film and see what happened, but it's a reality that we have to get better. That was the ugliest game I've been a part of." Added safety Sean Jones, "We definitely left a few plays out there. We basically got beat in every phase of the game. The best thing about this game is it's over with." With two of their next three games against NFC South division leader New Orleans (4-1) and quarterback Drew Brees, Tampa Bay needs to make sure Sunday's performance was just an aberration. "You don't really explain it," coach Raheem Morris said. "You evaluate the tapes. You see what happens, going through factual thoughts. And that's what we'll do. We'll go back and find out what went wrong. We'll go back and try to detail them, try to get better. There are a lot of men that are going to be accountable tomorrow." San Francisco won the opening toss and deferred. When the 49ers got the ball, they went 50 yards in four plays – three of them completed passes by Smith – for the touchdown to Walker. That was a harbinger of things to come as the 49ers scored again and again and again. San Francisco scored on seven of 11 possessions, punting once, fumbling once and ran out the clock twice. Seven 49ers receivers caught passes and six caught multiple passes. Tampa Bay missed countless tackles, allowing small plays to become big plays. "To be successful in this league, you've got to tackle," Jones said. "That's a fundamental thing that everybody has to do. We're going to go back and look at the film. We're going to take this as a learning tool and just try to get better from it." San Francisco didn't do anything surprising, Morris said. "They did the same stuff – the same passes, the same runs, no different," he said. "They just came out physical and out-played us. It was a great job by the 'Niners."