Ricky's back but Dolphins lose on the road again Alex Marvez, The Miami Sun-Sentinel, published 17 October 2005 Ricky Williams didn't live up to the hype surrounding his return to the Dolphins, but the play of the tailback's teammates was even more disappointing Sunday in a 27-13 loss to Tampa Bay at Raymond James Stadium. The same problems that have plagued the Dolphins (2-3) in two previous road losses -- excessive penalties, costly mistakes and poor third-down play on offense and defense -- continued even with Williams playing for the first time this season after serving a four-game drug suspension. Williams gained just 8 yards on five carries and had a team-high six receptions for 22 yards as the Dolphins used him with and without Ronnie Brown in the backfield. Brown's rushing performance (nine carries, 22 yards) was just as dreadful against the NFL's top run defense. "I'm not disappointed in what [Williams] did," Dolphins coach Nick Saban said. "I didn't think he had a chance. It wasn't like he made the wrong cuts or did the wrong things." Said Williams, who hadn't played in a regular-season game since December 2003 after a yearlong retirement: "There wasn't any rhythm on offense, and to be a good offense you have to have a certain rhythm. Because of penalties and dropped balls, we really couldn't establish the offense at all." But it's not like the defense did much to help matters against a Tampa Bay offense missing starting tailback Carnell Williams (inactive/foot) and quarterback Brian Griese, who injured a knee in the second quarter. Michael Pittman became the first running back to gain more than 100 yards against the Dolphins this year, finishing with 127 on 15 carries, wide receiver Joey Galloway (nine catches for 96 yards with one touchdown) was brilliant on third downs and Chris Simms (6 of 10 passing for 69 yards) was serviceable in place of Griese. "They didn't run the ball the way we wanted them to without their marquee runner supposedly," said defensive end Jason Taylor, whose playing time was limited because of a foot injury suffered on the game's first series. "You've got to give them credit. I think we did a good job of playing the run at times. It was just the big plays that [really hurt us]." The biggest plays happened in an 86-second span late in the third quarter when the Buccaneers broke open a seven-point lead. On a third-and-1 from the Tampa Bay 43-yard line, Pittman juked Taylor in the backfield and then cut back inside. Linebacker Channing Crowder and safety Lance Schulters failed to stop Pittman, who ran for a 57-yard touchdown. "We had three guys miss the tackle, two that could have had him behind the line of scrimmage," Saban said. "It was a short-yardage situation. That's not what we need to do." The same could be said for the inability of right guard Rex Hadnot and center Seth McKinney to pick up a stunt by Tampa Bay defensive end Greg Spires on their subsequent possession. Spires sacked quarterback Gus Frerotte, forcing a fumble that was returned 33 yards by safety Will Allen for a touchdown that gave the Buccaneers a 27-6 advantage. Frerotte also lost a fumble when sacked and stripped by defensive end Simeon Rice in the fourth quarter, with defensive tackle Anthony McFarland's recovery with 5:21 remaining ending the best chance for a comeback. "It's not like they were drilling me," said Frerotte, who was sacked four times in a 21-of-43 outing for 267 yards. "They go after the ball. When you're ready to throw it and you're in a vulnerable position, bad things can happen." The Dolphins surrendered 180 rushing yards as Tampa Bay (5-1) controlled the clock for almost 36 minutes. The Buccaneers converted eight of 17 third downs, with the Dolphins successful on just three of 14. And the Dolphins committed nine penalties for 60 yards with another six fouls declined or offsetting. Frustration was more evident in the locker room after this loss than following previous road defeats against the New York Jets and Buffalo. Middle linebacker Zach Thomas was so upset his team surrendered a touchdown drive on the opening series for the third consecutive road game that he suggested trying to lose the toss on every coin flip. Thomas criticized teammates for not putting enough effort into pregame preparation. "We're definitely going to be running our tails off because of today," Thomas said. "We just got outplayed. They really dominated us." "Right now we're not playing with poise and confidence in what we're doing," defensive end Kevin Carter said. "We've got a tremendous team here, a lot of talent. But we're not believing in ourselves and believing in what we're doing and the coaches and everything else. It's a tall order to get everyone on the same page. We have to get that back."