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Roy Cummings, The Tampa Tribune, published 10 November 2003
There they were, sitting pretty once again Sunday with their hands wrapped around their opponent's throat, the only thing separating them from victory being a tight squeeze. The Bucs used to relish this moment. They used to seize it. Not anymore.
For the fourth time this season the Bucs lost their grip, but it wasn't just the division-leading Carolina Panthers that slipped through their grasp. In dropping a 27-24 decision at Ericsson Stadium, a lot of hopes and dreams began to slip away as well. This is a team that sauntered into the season with aspirations of winning a second consecutive NFC South Division title on its way back to the Super Bowl. The chances of doing that now, though, are slim. At 4-5, the Bucs are three games behind the division- leading Panthers with seven to play. Making matters worse: Carolina has the edge in the first tiebreaker with a 2-0 head-to-head record.
That means the Bucs will probably have to earn a wild- card berth to get into the playoffs, and that's far from a sure thing. After all, the Bucs are one of five NFC teams with a 4-5 record. Not only that, but several teams ahead of or tied with the Bucs - such as Green Bay, Philadelphia and New Orleans - appear to be teams on the rise. That's something the Bucs can't claim.
Their loss Sunday marked the first time since Jon Gruden took over as coach that they lost two in a row, but it wasn't the first time the Bucs' defense has failed to slam the door on an apparent victory in the game's waning moments. They did the same a week ago in losing to the Saints and they did it a month ago in losing to the Colts. The difference Sunday was the Bucs had the Panthers where they wanted them. By shutting down their running game, they had put Carolina in a situation where quarterback Jake Delhomme would have to win the game.
Somehow, he did. During a drive that began with 2:36 remaining, Delhomme hit on passes of 10, 12, 29 and 22 yards to move his team from its 22 to the Bucs' 5. Then, with the Bucs' defense seemingly reeling, Delhomme calmly took the snap and fired a pass to Steve Smith, who caught the ball a yard into the end zone to complete the rally. The Bucs tried to piece together a desperation drive of their own, but the last of three personal foul penalties against left tackle Kenyatta Walker and three consecutive incomplete passes from quarterback Brad Johnson ended the threat. ``I don't understand it; that's two weeks in a row now,'' Gruden said. ``We've had games in our pocket this year and we've been mugged. I've got to give credit to our opponent, but obviously we've got to look at how we can better put our people in position to deliver big plays.''
The coaches thought they had done that. They spent a good portion of Thursday's practice working on their two- minute defense, and it wasn't just the usual drills. Instead of working against second- and third-teamers, Gruden had his first-team offense go against the defense. ``I don't understand it,'' defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said. ``We have some young guys in there, sure, but that's not it. I mean, one of those young guys [Tim Wansley] had two interceptions. And it was different than last week because they needed a touchdown to beat us this time. I mean, I thought we were sitting perfect.''
Kiffin wasn't the only one who could hardly believe what happened and unsure how to correct the situation. ``We felt like we had the game won,'' linebacker Derrick Brooks said. ``All we had to do was carry out our assignments, just like we'd been doing all day. But we didn't, and I don't know why. I wish I had the answers.''
Ronde Barber had one answer. He said the 66-yard third-quarter touchdown pass from Delhomme to receiver Ricky Proehl came as a result of a communication breakdown between himself and safety John Lynch. Barber also took responsibility for some sloppy tackling that allowed the Panthers to rack up some early yardage. Those mistakes aside, though, the Bucs played well, he said. He pointed to Wansley's two picks, one of which was returned 23 yards for a touchdown, and the fact Carolina gained just 78 yards on 31 rushes as proof the Bucs were on for most of the game. ``We just aren't finishing,'' he said. ``I mean, nobody's really beat us, except maybe for San Francisco, so when you think about it, we could be 8-1 instead of 4-5. We're beating ourselves.''
That they are, and not just on defense. Special teams were a problem again Sunday and penalties helped derail several drives. ``Those are big infractions,'' Gruden said. ``They were drive killers.''
Penalties didn't kill all of the Bucs' drives. A Johnson interception that resulted in the Panthers' first score killed one. But there were a few that lived long enough to spawn points. One such drive ended with Johnson hitting Keyshawn Johnson on a 23-yard pass that cut the Panthers' lead to 20-14 with 10:19 to play. Another ended with Brad Johnson hitting Keenan McCardell on a 39-yard pass that gave the Bucs a 21-20 lead with 4:44 remaining. Martin Gramatica added a 39-yard field goal for a 24-20 lead with 2:41 to play. ``That situation right there, we relish that,'' linebacker Shelton Quarles said. ``That's where we want to be. But for some reason we just didn't make the plays we need to make to win the game. We just didn't get it done.''
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