Rock Bottom Roy Cummings, The Tampa Tribune, published 17 November 2003 Jon Gruden, the head coach and master motivator, did seemingly all he could. He turned on a motivational tape and brought in a guest speaker - Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella. He even brought out the rock. Stuck it right there in the middle of the locker room for all to see. How was he to know that what he really needed to do was stick it in the middle of his once-formidable defense? The Bucs did it again Sunday. Their offense rallied and put a game in the hands of the defense, then sat back and watched helplessly as potential victory slipped through. ``We just didn't tackle well,'' defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said after a 98-yard drive gave Green Bay a 20-13 victory and stretched the Bucs' losing streak to three games. ``We just didn't get it done.'' Done. That pretty much describes the Bucs' playoff hopes. At 4-6, they likely need to win their last six games to have a shot at one of the NFC's two wild-card berths. The playoffs, though, are the last thing on the Bucs' minds. After dropping to 1-4 at home for the first time since 1988, their goals are suddenly much simpler. ``Right now we just have to win a game,'' linebacker Derrick Brooks said. ``Right now there is no light in the tunnel. Right now, the real rock pounders have to come out.'' They'll be out early today - guaranteed. Gruden said little to his players after Sunday's loss, but made it clear workouts and film sessions today are mandatory for all. And though he wouldn't get into specifics in terms of position or timing, Gruden also promised that changes are forthcoming, most likely on the offensive line. Just as it was during a 27-24 loss to Carolina last week, that unit was penalized six times Sunday, including twice for false starts, which Gruden blamed on his players' lack of concentration. ``We're not changing the snap count,'' said Gruden, who also saw receiver Keyshawn Johnson get flagged twice for false starts. ``I mean, we've had the same snap count for two years.'' The Bucs have been teaching proper blocking techniques for longer than that, but getting third-year left tackle Kenyatta Walker to apply them remains a challenge. Walker, who was penalized three times last week, once for unsportsmanlike conduct and twice for face- masking, was penalized once again for face-masking Sunday. The penalties kept the Bucs from sustaining potential scoring drives and there is a chance that moving Walker back to right tackle or out of the lineup entirely will be part of any shake-up. ``I've definitely put myself in this hole,'' Walker said. ``But I feel like that [face-mask penalty] was a bad call. They're watching me, so to the fans who think I'm doing this intentionally, that's not true. I mean, to be real with you and honest, that was probably the best game I've had at left tackle. If you watch the three games I've played there, I've definitely made improvements.'' Many will argue that claim, but the Bucs' two biggest plays Sunday - Thomas Jones' 61-yard run in the second quarter and his 51-yard run in the third - came with Jones running to Walker's side. Both of those runs set up scores, a 24-yard field goal from Martin Gramatica off the first run and a 3-yard touchdown pass to Keenan McCardell off the second. That McCardell touchdown - his team-leading seventh - capped the first drive of the second half, tied the game at 13 and gave the Bucs much- needed momentum. The Bucs seemingly built on that momentum when they pinned the Packers at their 2-yard line late in the third quarter, essentially leaving the game in the hands of the defense. Time was when it was safe to do that. Not anymore. A week after Jake Delhomme rallied the Panthers, Brett Favre did the same. Green Bay capped an incredible 98-yard drive with a 1-yard Ahman Green touchdown run up the middle. ``I was feeling great when that drive started,'' Kiffin said. ``I mean, we had them backed up to the 2 and scared of the blitz.'' Favre's third-and-nine pass to receiver Robert Ferguson that went for 23 yards, a third-and-eight pass to Ferguson that went for nine yards and Najeh Davenport's 27-yard run were among the big plays the Packers put together on the drive. ``That's why you have to give the Packers credit,'' McCardell said. ``They made the plays when they had to while we were shooting ourselves in the foot.'' Those shots have knocked the Bucs down and maybe out. They promise they won't stay there. ``There isn't any way we are getting to this point and laying down,'' Warren Sapp said. ``There are too many people with the know-how and who know where we've come from to do that. To get to the point where you win a world championship and then to lay down? No. We have six more ballgames and you can count on it that you're going to get our best.'' Better late than never.