Bucs day started bad, got worse Stephen F Holder, The St.Petersburg Times, published 1 November 2005 The Bucs had their first loss of the day even before they took the field. All-Pro defensive end Simeon Rice was deactivated and sent home by team officials Sunday morning for a violation of team policy, causing the Bucs' most dominant pass rusher to miss just the second game of his career. General manager Bruce Allen would not specify the reason for the decision. Rice attended a Fox television production meeting Saturday afternoon, but missed a team meeting Saturday night at the team's San Francisco hotel. The circumstances surrounding his absence from the meeting were not immediately clear, and Rice could not be reached for comment. Although the Bucs could have lost this game even with Rice in the lineup, the decision to take disciplinary measures against one of the team's most productive players left many teammates stunned just hours before the game. Some learned of Rice's absence from watching an NFL pre-game show before arriving at Monster Park. Others were made aware only after the team's arrival, when the starting lineup was juggled to include Dewayne White, who started in Rice's absence. Still, Allen and coach Jon Gruden saw the move as necessary. "We have rules that we're going to set and we're going to stand by them," Gruden said. "They're not real sophisticated. Simeon understands that." Gruden called it "a difficult decision. It was a team matter. ... We regret what happened here, having to send one of our team members home, but looking at it, we would do the same thing again." It was yet another obstacle on a day when nothing went the Bucs' way, but his absence wasn't the ultimate reason for the loss. "It definitely hurts when you're missing a dominant pass rusher like that," said lineman Ellis Wyms, who had an expanded role because of Rice's absence. "You miss him, sure. But we still had opportunities to win. We gave up a couple of runs that we shouldn't have given up. But guys have to step up, and I guess we didn't." This is not uncharted territory for Rice. The three-time Pro-Bowl player missed a team walkthrough at Arizona last season, though he was not held out of action for that offense. It came a week after Rice lashed out at Gruden, saying the team's lack of discipline was a result of the coach's loose leadership. Rice has had two incidents at the Pro Bowl, too. After the 2002 season, he missed a practice leading up to the game, irking coach Andy Reid. The next season, Rice was late to a practice and dismissed by Reid, also the coach that year. Prior to Sunday, Rice had missed only one game in his 10-year career, having played 79 straight since missing the 2000 season opener while with the Arizona Cardinals. His absence in that game was because he reported late as the result of a contract dispute.