Bucs' Road Act More Than Half Bad Katherine Smith, The Tampa Tribune, published 24 November 2006 If NFL games consisted of only two quarters, the Bucs might be enjoying a more successful season. At times, they've played great for one half. Or the defense has played well and the offense has faltered. Other times, the offense would do its job and the defense would stumble. At 3-8, Tampa Bay has been unable to get its act together this season, especially on the road. And with five games remaining - three on the road - there is not much time for the Bucs to accomplish that feat. "The challenge on the road is you've got to play a complete game on both sides of the ball," Ryan Nece said. "We haven't done that. Whether it be for a half where one side is playing well or the other side is playing well, we just haven't put a whole game together. On the road, in the NFL, it's hard to be successful in that situation." For the ninth time in franchise history, the Bucs have started 0-5 on the road. Four of the losses have been by double figures, including Thursday's 38-10 setback to Dallas, Tampa Bay's worst road loss this season. "We've played some pretty good teams on the road," Jon Gruden said. "That's had something to do with it." In five road games, the Bucs have scored only five touchdowns. In two of those games, against Atlanta and the New York Giants, they failed to get into the end zone. "If we're going to beat tough teams on the road, we can't let opportunities go by us," Joey Galloway said. Before Thursday's game, the Bucs had won the previous three meetings against Dallas and held the Cowboys to 13 total points, including one touchdown. Dallas nearly tripled that total Thursday. But this Cowboys team is getting better by the week and the Bucs faced them with only three days of rest. Thursday's game capped a stretch of three games in 11 days for the Bucs, with two of those games on the road. "It's a factor," Gruden said of the schedule. "It's never been done before and why do you think it has never been done. It's hard." It may have been too much to ask for the Bucs to be competitive with such a short turnaround, but cornerback Ronde Barber said the schedule isn't an excuse. "It is what it is," Barber said. "We don't have any say over the way our schedule goes. It's what we're called on to do, and we have to go do it. We didn't do it very well." The Bucs have three road games remaining, all in cold-weather cities. First up is Pittsburgh on Dec. 3, then Chicago on Dec. 17 and Cleveland on Dec. 24. Tampa Bay snapped an 0-for-21 streak in weather conditions below 39 degrees in 2002 by beating the Bears in Champagne, Ill. The game-time temperature was 38 degrees. "We get to play the world champions next on the road, in cold weather," Gruden said. "You know how much we like to play in cold weather. We could have a hell of a run in cold weather. We get to try it in Cleveland. Every snap that we line up is a chance for someone to get better."