Carolina Blues Roy Cummings, The Tampa Tribune, published 7 November 2005 You certainly can't blame this one on a lack of focus. As far as we know, every Bucs player showed up on time for every team meeting and practice. You can't blame it on overconfidence, either. To a man, the Bucs talked this week as if their previous seven games had been nothing more than exhibitions and this game was the first in which they'd truly be tested. Nor can you really blame it on the quarterback. Chris Simms had an interception returned for a touchdown and took some sacks, but for the second week in a row he had no run support and very little pass protection. "We just got beat by a better football team today," Simms said in the wake of a 34-14 loss to the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium that looked an awful lot like the 15-10 loss a week ago at San Francisco. After running for just 43 yards against the 49ers, the Bucs gained just 44 yards rushing against Carolina. And after losing the turnover battle at San Francisco by a 3-0 margin, they lost it Sunday 4-0. Even the sack totals were the same. Just as they did last week, when Simms made his first start of the season, the Bucs allowed their quarterback to go down five times, including three times early in the second half. By then, the game had already been decided, thanks in large part to a 61-yard Chris Gamble interception return that allowed the Panthers to take a 24-7 lead. But it wasn't just Simms' mistakes or his inability to avoid sacks that allowed the Panthers (6-2) to pull away and eventually drop the Bucs (5-3) into third place in the NFC South Division standings. As they have been at various times this year, penalties were a big part of the problem. During one momentum-killing second-quarter series, right tackle Kenyatta Walker was whistled three times for false starts. Third-down efficiency was an issue, too. The Bucs converted just four of 12 third-down chances, and while the Panthers weren't much better, third down was where they hurt the Bucs the most. A 13-yard Kris Mangum reception on third-and-7 set up the Panthers' first score; an 18-yard Steve Smith reception on third-and-12 set up the second; and a 62-yard Ricky Proehl reception on third-and-10 set up the third. "We played pretty well on first and second down, but third down was where they really hurt us," defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said. "In particular it was the third-and-longs that we had trouble with." Offensively, the Bucs had trouble on every down. On first and second down, they gained just 85 yards on 35 plays and turned the ball over three times. And that was before their approach became more predictable than Rush Limbaugh's vote. Jon Gruden chalked those problems up to poor run blocking and pass protection, saying Simms showed marked improvement from last week, especially early Sunday. "I thought he did a better job," Gruden said of Simms, who completed 25 of 42 passes for 259 yards and a touchdown, that coming on a perfectly thrown 50-yard pass to Joey Galloway in the end zone. "I thought he started quite well. He [completed] 10 of his first 13 throws and had a couple of pretty good drives, one [of which] was stopped by a [Cadillac Williams fumble] and one that was stopped by [Walker's] penalties. He showed growth." The same cannot be said for the rest of the offense. For the second week in a row the line failed to open holes for the running backs and didn't consistently provide Simms with time to pass. The protection was solid in the early going, but after the Bucs fell behind by a couple of scores the Panthers gained an obvious edge and made the Bucs pay for it. "When you're down 24-7 and they know we're not going to be running the ball a whole lot, they can tee off and get some cheap ones," Simms said. "Against a tough defense like that, when you're down 24-7, it's tough." It doesn't get any easier for the Bucs. They host the Redskins on Sunday, then travel to Atlanta (6-2) to face the division co-leader. And there's a good chance they're going to have to play those games without left tackle Anthony Davis. Davis went down just before halftime with what was called a sprained right knee. He never returned, and his status for the rest of the season is uncertain. Todd Steussie replaced Davis, but he had a difficult time keeping Panthers end Mike Rucker out of the Bucs' backfield. If Steussie continues to struggle, the Bucs may move rookie Chris Colmer to that spot or possibly re-sign Derrick Deese. Deese was ticketed to start the season at left tackle, but a bothersome foot injury cost him most of the preseason and led to his release just before the start of the season. No matter what the Bucs do, they have to do it soon, Gruden said. "They got us with a three-man rush, with a four-man rush; this is a very good front Carolina has, and they got us," Gruden said. "We did not do a good enough job. Our inability to get anything going running the football hurt us, and I think it's two weeks in a row now that our longest run has been 6 or 7 yards. Combine all that and it was a tough day for us."