Loss gives Bucs, fans the gift of perspective Gary Shelton, The St.Petersburg Times, published 26 December 1994 What happened was a shame for the fans. What happened was a travesty for business. What happened was a return to the inglorious shame of yore for the Bucs. But let us keep some perspective here. What happened Saturday, when the Bucs found themselves twisted grotesquely beneath the cleats of the Green Bay Packers, should have happened. This wasn't just a defeat. This was truth in advertising. This was the Bucs, losing 34-19 in a game that wasn't that close, as they really are. Still. If there was a present for the Bucs in this debacle, it was the gift of perspective. Savor it, Tampa Bay, because it is special. Had Tampa Bay won this game, and run its streak to five games in a row, and stopped the seasons of double-digit losses, the temptation would have been self-delusion. Had the Bucs won this game, the entire off-season would have been one giddy conga line. Instead, the Bucs have been granted a jolt of reality that they are the dark cloud inside their own silver lining. They now possess the knowledge that there remains a jump that must be made before they can play with the big teams in the big games. True, they are better than they have been. True, their last month was fun to watch. But they are not yet ripe. There are holes that must be filled and questions that must be answered. "No doubt about it, this game was a little bit of a barometer of where we are," said quarterback Craig Erickson, who was all over the yard. "Green Bay is a good team, and they deserve to be playing next week, but I don't think they're the best team in the NFL. We still have to make up a lot of ground." And someone, somewhere, has a lot of decisions to make. Again, had this team won Sunday, the temptation would have been to declare Wyche the coach for life, chain Erickson to the goal post so he doesn't get away and tell the folks who run the NFL draft, "Thanks we don't need any." The Packers sobered us all up pretty quickly, scoring 28 points in the first half. The Bucs played poorly and they played dumb (such as Eric Curry jumping on an obviously prone Brett Favre). Had the Bucs won, the trust might well have run out and burned its for-sale sign. Looking at a full Tampa Stadium in victory might have convinced the trust that there was plenty of money to be made. As it is, it still isn't hard to picture the trust deciding the conditions are too extreme for a sale right now. Had the Bucs won, Wyche might not only have been retained, he might have received a contract extension. Instead, it is easy to notice how silly he looks spending energy fighting officials and media all afternoon instead of remembering to use a timeout just before the two-minute warning in the first half. Had the Bucs won, the team might have felt compelled to keep Erickson at any cost. Instead, it will be aware of all the throws Erickson missed in the past two games, and it may decide Trent Dilfer is the future after all. (Why this decision was not made in the fourth quarter will baffle most of us for a long time). Had the Bucs won, they might have thought they were on to something with this glorified 4-2-5 defense. Instead, the Packers went through Tampa Bay like it was a skeleton drill. Any defense that matches Martin Mayhew and Charles Dimry into man coverage of Sterling Sharpe is lighting its own fuses. (Question for Dimry: I know cornerbacks have a hard time figuring where Sharpe is going, but doesn't he usually stay in bounds? Why stand 4 yards out of bounds as he catches a touchdown pass?) Had the Bucs won, they could have pretty much taken a pass on the entire free-agent signing period. Instead, it is obvious they need cornerbacks, defensive linemen, a wide receiver, a linebacker. Had the Bucs won, they might have forgotten what this losing business feels like, the way it burns. "After winning four straight, losing really sucks. We can be mad all year," said center Tony Mayberry. That is the ultimate reality of a season such as this one. It shouldn't make a team gleeful that it finished strong. It should make it mad that the numbers added up to 6-10. It should make Wyche vow to address the problems rather than sing about the roadblocks that are crumbling. "We gave it our best shot," Wyche said. And that's the point. A team's best shot should be of a higher calibre.