Bucs Defense Can't Get A Grip On Backs The Tampa Tribune, published 20 October 2003 What ailed the Bucs defense Sunday was simple. About as simple as San Francisco running back Garrison Hearst made it look in the 49ers' 24-7 victory. Hearst repeatedly tore through the Bucs defense, rushing for 117 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. He had help from backup Kevan Barlow, who accounted for 75 of the 49ers' 212 rushing yards. ``We just weren't doing what we're supposed to be doing,'' Warren Sapp said. Hearst and Barlow made it look easy, but Tampa Bay defenders helped make the duo unstoppable. ``The easiest thing for a quarterback to do is turn around and hand it off, and we couldn't stop that,'' Anthony McFarland said. ``They kind of got us out of whack and hit a couple of big plays on us.'' The 49ers took a cue from Carolina's Stephen Davis, who rushed for 142 yards in the Panthers' 12-9 overtime victory earlier this season. ``We wanted to establish the run and dominate up front. That was the plan,'' Barlow said. Hearst and Barlow each had three runs for double-digit yardage, including a long of 18 for Hearst and 20 for Barlow. Entering Sunday's game, Hearst was averaging 4.5 yards per carry and Barlow 4.3. Against the Bucs, Hearst averaged 5.9 and Barlow 5.0. Derrick Brooks didn't credit Hearst and Barlow as much as he faulted one of the team's usual strengths. ``We made them look better than what they are by missing tackles,'' Brooks said. ``Good backs, if you miss tackles, they're going to gain yards, end of story.'' Tampa Bay is generally regarded as one of the league's best tackling teams, but that wasn't evident Sunday. There were a lot of one-armed attempts and uncharacteristic misses. ``They gave us some looks that we didn't necessarily prepare for,'' Ryan Nece said. ``Those are two great running backs and they run hard, but we didn't tackle that well, and when you don't do that, it allows them to get the yards that they did. The standard is set high here. One of the things is tackling that's got to be addressed and it will be addressed and we'll get it done next week.'' The loss made the Bucs 1-11 when allowing a 100-yard rusher since 1999. ``We just never seemed to get going,'' Brooks said. ``For one reason or another, we weren't making our plays when we had a chance to. It seems like every time we lose, that's the case.''