Bucs have plenty of growing up to do Martin Fennelly, The Tampa Tribune, published 4 January, 2016 Siege the golf clubs. Seriously, did anyone out there think Sunday would turn out different? After early flashes of life, and one last Jameis Winston touchdown lunge, the Bucs schlepped to the offseason with their fourth straight loss, a 38-10 human sacrifice at the hands of Cam Newton and playoff-bound Carolina. Way to show up. The Panthers looked like a team that deserved to be 15-1. The Bucs looked like a team that deserved to finish 6-10, good for dead last in their division for a fifth consecutive season. Questions? There are loads, and we’re not remotely convinced Lovie Smith possesses all the answers, but this offseason is about the search for them, for help on defense, up front on the pass rush and back in the secondary. Gee, where have we heard that before? And it’s about finding more helpers for Jameis Winston, winners. It’s about cutting down on mistakes after a record number of penalties and penalty yards. It’s about Jameis cutting down on mistakes, too. And it’s about not wasting all this offense next season. Winston joined Newton and Andrew Luck as the only rookie quarterbacks to throw for 4,000 yards. Doug Martin rushed for 1,402 yards and Mike Evans had 1,206 receiving yards. The offensive line, once a big, fat worry with two rookie starters, handled the job more often than not. Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter brought new life to Bucs play calling. In terms of yards, this was the most productive offense in Bucs history. And they were 6-10. A waste. Lovie’s defense wasn’t up to it. It sure wasn’t Sunday, shredded by Carolina again. The Bucs will have to go through Newton and the Panthers to get where they plan on going. Sunday showed that this is going to be a long journey. Carolina finished last season on a winning streak that fed into this near-perfect regular season. The Bucs finish as an 0-4 falling brick. At least Lovie went for it down there at the goal line before halftime, none of this field goal garbage. The Bucs were in a 24-3 hole. What did it matter at that point? Granted, I don’t lean on Austin Seferian-Jenkins in that situation. Then again, Evans was too busy fussing with Panthers corner Josh Norman. Evans was ejected at the end of the game for jawing at officials. This guy needs to grow up. The futile effort commenced once the Bucs jumped to that big 3-0 lead. After that, it was a blur of Newton celebrations, all those Carolina fans being handed touchdown balls by giddy Panthers, who later took group selfies on the sideline. The Bucs were 6-6 at one point. They wanted to break through. Not getting it done after hitting 6-6 hurt. “I was ready to jump off my roof into the pool if we got over .500,” Bucs GM Jason Licht said earlier in the week. The disappointment is real, and maybe it’s what this team needs to remember when it goes back to work. “I think the arrow is going up,” Licht said. “We were playing relevant football in December, right up to Christmas, but the missed opportunities at the end ... the team needs to grow. The team shoots itself in the foot. It’s inexperienced and it’s just a lack of mental toughness. We just need to mature.” There were some very good things inside of this season, some actual steps forward. It still wasn’t enough, not from 6-6, at least. For all that offense, the offense often came up short at critical points in losses, not making yards when they were needed. That’s part of getting over the top, part of being a playoff contender, part of trying to get around Carolina. Jameis vs. Cam might one day be a rivalry, but the rest of the Bucs have to catch up first. Lovie gets his hall pass to 2016. Jameis and six wins saw to that. Not that the honeymoon is back on. Not for Lovie, not for anyone at One Buc Place. “These fans are hungry — ‘hungry’ isn’t a big enough word,” Licht said earlier in the week. “They’re deserving, and they haven’t had a winner in a long time. I can see where they’d be very upset with all of us. I don’t blame them for it. But we’ll get there.” Jameis gave fans a taste here and there. They’re starving for something more.