Gruden's Offense? Offensive Joey Johnston, The Tampa Tribune, published 1 December 2003 Just past halftime, the haze descended upon Alltel Stadium. On television, it probably looked like some fog was rolling in off the St. Johns River. Actually, it was just smoky remnants of an electrifying fireworks show, meant to celebrate the 10th anniversary of awarding an NFL franchise to Jacksonville. Or maybe it was a long-overdue tribute to the Bucs offense. The haze. The fog. Certainly not the fireworks. Not on this dismal Sunday night. The Bucs were pathetically punchless during an inexcusable 17-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Punchless and hopeless. Tampa Bay's defense hung in there for a long while, finally snapping when Jaguars wide receiver Jimmy Smith raced past Bucs cornerback Tim Wansley for the winning touchdown. It was bound to happen. Tampa Bay's offense provided no margin for error. It gained 221 total yards, the second-worst performance of Coach Jon Gruden's 31-game era. In the first quarter, the Bucs had 3 yards. Three! By halftime, the total was up to 69. For the first time this season, quarterback Brad Johnson failed to throw a touchdown pass. He led just two decent drives. One resulted in Tampa Bay's only touchdown, a 5-yard run by Thomas Jones. The other produced nothing - Martin Gramatica was wide left on a 45-yard field goal attempt. The rest? Three-and-out. Three-and-out. Missing open receivers. Dropped passes. Penalties. The obligatory holding call on Kenyatta Walker. You know the drill. We've seen it trickling throughout the season. Sunday night, we got it all at once. At the worst possible time. ``We're struggling, obviously,'' Gruden said. The Bucs offense was suspect much of last season, too. It had no running game, no real speed at receiver, shaky continuity on the offensive line. Johnson somehow held it together in a Pro Bowl season, making the right moves at the proper times. Super Bowl XXXVII temporarily patched up deficiencies. It was supposed to get a lot better this season, once Gruden's intricate system kicked in full steam. Sunday night, the offense looked a lot worse. Johnson's stats were pedestrian at best - 21 of 38 for 156 yards. His first-quarter floater was intercepted by Jaguars linebacker Mike Peterson, a turnover that led to Jacksonville's first touchdown. Johnson again took a pounding as the Jaguars blitzed at will. He seemed off rhythm all night - from the first play (when he slipped) to the final drive (when his last two passes were batted down at the line by Jacksonville's John Henderson). Johnson's best accuracy was reserved for a few postgame comments. ``We just couldn't get it done,'' Johnson said. ``This season hasn't gone the way we wanted it to. I don't know what the standings are, but obviously this hurts. Regardless of what happened around the league, we came in thinking it was about us.'' Indeed, it was all about the Bucs. And they laid an egg. Keenan McCardell, making his Jacksonville homecoming, was the lone bright spot with eight receptions for 74 yards. But he didn't shine for long. Nobody did. ``It's frustrating when you know you have the better team,'' McCardell said. But good teams don't kill chances with critical mistakes. In the third quarter, Michael Pittman raced for a 21-yard gain to the Jacksonville 27-yard line, nearly breaking it all the way. Wide receiver Charles Lee was called for holding on cornerback Rashean Mathis. TV cameras captured a patented Gruden sneer. The field position advantage was negated. The Bucs eventually lurched back to the 27, where Gramatica missed his field goal. ``It was a [bull] call,'' Lee said. ``I got my hands on the guy and pushed him. Pittman ran by me. The ref called holding on that? What kind of call is that?'' Answer: This season, a typical one. Whether justified or not, penalty flags have killed whatever good has been accomplished by Tampa Bay's offense. What's that ahead? Is it the smoke? The fog? The haze? No, it's just hard to see things getting much better.