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Roy Cummings, The Tampa Tribune, published 27 December 2004
The list of problems that continues to plague the Bucs is long, and as Jon Gruden likes to say, well documented. They're also correctable. Most of them are, anyway.
This one is not: The Carolina Panthers aren't going anywhere. Like the Bucs, the Panthers are a charter member of the NFC South. That means they'll play the Bucs twice a year for years to come, and a lot of those meetings will have playoff implications.
That's a problem for the Bucs, because the Panthers appear to have them figured out. Their 37-20 victory over Tampa Bay at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday provided further proof of that. It was the Panthers' fourth victory in as many outings against the Bucs (5-10), who were officially eliminated from playoff contention before Sunday's kickoff as a result of New Orleans' victory against Atlanta.
Tampa Bay struggled once again to run the ball, struggled once again to hold on to it and players seemed to acknowledge their problems stretched beyond their own locker room. ``They've kind of zoned in on us and gotten our number,'' Ronde Barber said of the defending NFC champions, who remain alive for an NFC wild-card berth.
``They're going to be a stitch in our side for a lot of years to come. We've got to find a way to match 'em, because they've definitely taken over the dominating role as far as playing defense the way we used to in this league.''
The Bucs' defensive game plan was and still is based around stopping the run. Their objective is to shut down the running attack and turn their opponent into a predictable, one-dimensional passing team. The Bucs haven't done that consistently for nearly two years, though, and they didn't do it Sunday either. They allowed the Panthers to roll up 141 rushing yards on 36 carries.
The Panthers, meanwhile, limited the Bucs to just 46 yards rushing. And the fact that 30 of those yards came in the second half didn't keep the Panthers from achieving their objective of making the Bucs offense one-dimensional. Although they spent most of the game proving their belief that they could throw on the Panthers, the Bucs' penchant for the pass proved problematic in the end as tackle Kindal Moorehead picked off a Brian Griese pass and returned it 17 yards for the game-sealing touchdown.
Coming with 4:48 to play and the Bucs trailing by 10, Moorehead's pick didn't just end all hope the Bucs had of staging a comeback Sunday, it guaranteed the Bucs will finish this season in last place in the NFC South. ``When you're one-dimensional it makes for a tough day,'' said Griese, who had a pretty good day otherwise, completing 30 of 41 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns. ``They never really had us off-balance or anything,'' Griese added. ``I mean, even when they knew we were going to throw the ball, we were still able to move it pretty well on them.''
Griese moved it real well in the first quarter, completing nine of 10 passes for 99 yards, 22 of which were gained on the first of two touchdown passes to rookie Michael Clayton. Moving the ball is one thing. Holding on to it is another, and as they have done all season the Bucs struggled to do that Sunday. Griese turned the ball over three times, twice on interceptions and once on a fumbled handoff attempt.
Each of those turnovers led to Carolina (7-8) touchdowns, and a botched punt attempt by the usually sure-handed Josh Bidwell late in the first half allowed the Panthers to produce a field goal that gave them a 17-7 halftime lead. ``Some of these errors are just inexcusable,'' Gruden said. ``I don't like the feeling of being knocked on my you know what. And I don't think our players do. But I am confident that we'll find a way out of the darkness.''
Even if they do, the Panthers will still be there waiting for them. That used to be a problem for just a select few Buccaneers, such as right tackle Kenyatta Walker. But, as Walker pointed out, that's no longer the case. ``It's not about me and Julius Peppers anymore,'' Walker said, referring to the Carolina defensive end who had become his personal nemesis. ``It's bigger than that now. We have to break this thing we've got with the Panthers. We've got to because it's sickening to me.''
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