30 Minutes Are Not Enough As Clock Runs Out On Bucs Martin Fennelly, The Tampa Tribune, published 14 November 2006 Thirty minutes. That's what the Bucs are good for, if that, even on a Monday night, under the bright lights, with pride on the line, and against a struggling Carolina team. Thirty minutes. And the rookie quarterback isn't even up to that. But even with two of Bruce Gradkowski's three ghastly turnovers in the bag, the Bucs weren't in the tank. Hey, remember the good old weeks, when Jon Gruden loved how the kid didn't turn the ball over? What was that throw on third-and-1 in field-goal range? And that call? Still they led the Panthers at halftime. And, dream of Gruden dreams, Keyshawn was looking like a goat, his fumble leading to the only points, a Bucs touchdown - a first-quarter touchdown, no less. Then the 30 minutes were up. The clock struck 2-7. Will we even get the 30 next week? How do you not like Barrett Ruud's third-down smackdown of DeAngelo Williams before halftime? Or the energy Dewayne White brought? More to the point, what did any of it matter? They fell apart. They fell apart and lost 24-10. They fell apart from the rookie quarterback on down. Of course: Keyshawn was a hero. He caught the winning touchdown. He caught the winning touchdown after he laid out twice, once for a near catch, once for a near touchdown - laid out more than the man he was traded for, Joey Galloway, did at times on Monday night. Sigh. There's no way out of this Bucs season. True, it didn't seem entirely fair. Ronde Barber rowed, rowed, rowed the Bucs after his first-half interception, for which he and his ecstatic defensive mates were penalized 15 yards for "group demonstration." Where was the penalty on Carolina when Michael Clayton got socked in the stomach? Where was the Oscar for Key for his acting while drawing a fake personal foul off Juran Bolden in the third quarter? It led to Carolina's first points. Meanwhile, back on earth: Why should a 2-6 team ever demonstrate as a group? By the way, three of Keyshawn's four touchdowns this season have come against his old team. It's the same Keyshawn who reportedly was ridiculed at an offseason Bucs fan function by GM Bruce Allen. Allen even showed tape of Key dropping a TD pass … against the Panthers. Sigh. There's no way out of this Bucs season. Just as there's no way around the fact that Gradkowski is fading fast. It's ugly. Rookie ugly. Gradkowksi had three turnovers coming into Monday. He matched that total in a six-minute span. His bad-throw picks in Carolina territory cost the Bucs points before halftime. The second was awful, an underthrown deep ball on third-and-1 from within field-goal range. What was the kid thinking? What was Gruden thinking of giving him that option? Then Gradkowski was hit and fumbled in the third quarter, setting up the winning score. This club is in over its head. And it won't get better. Cadillac Williams fumbled to set up another Carolina touchdown. And don't forget the weekly abominable Torrie Cox-Will Allen moment - Steve Smith burning Cox for 21 yards and Allen throwing in a face mask. The Bucs would sell their bodies to science, only science wouldn't take them. But they weren't alone. Not after the 30 minutes were up. Even Barber stumbled trying to catch Smith on a long touchdown play that sealed it like a coffin. The Bucs were done. Done for good. Group demonstration. Do they have 30 minutes left in them the whole season?