Long Gone
Marty Strasen, The Tampa Tribune, published 1 December 2003

Warren Sapp was the voice of ESPN's ``Sunday Conversation'' minutes after the Bucs' 17-10 loss at Jacksonville. Too bad the interview was pre-recorded, or Sapp could have recited Tampa Bay's 2003 NFL obituary, instead of just starring in it for three-plus hours. Mathematically, the Bucs remain alive for the playoffs. Truthfully, they do not. The calendar tells all. December. And Tampa Bay has not won back-to-back games since being crowned Super Bowl XXXVII champion. There are few reasons to expect that will change by season's end. What were the chances?

It was a 2-9 Jacksonville team that delivered the final dagger - the one that reduced the last four weeks of the season to determining the Bucs' position in the 2004 draft and sorting out which changes are forthcoming in the offseason. There will be significant ones. What were the chances?

Just three months ago, this looked like a juggernaut. A convincing win in Philadelphia in the season opener had everyone wondering if anyone could stop the defending champs. Now, we have answers. Stupid penalties can stop them. A lack of focus can stop them. Poor starts and lousy finishes can certainly stop them. Injuries can stop them, too.

Consider the team the Bucs fielded by the end of Sunday's game. Keyshawn Johnson was in a faraway zip code. Joe Jurevicius was on the sideline with a troublesome knee. Jason Whittle, signed as a free agent to help the offensive line, was again reduced to spot duty on special teams. Charles Lee as a No. 2 receiver? A nice opportunity for Lee, perhaps, but no way for a team to get back to the Super Bowl.

The Bucs defense might be healthier physically, but this group no longer merits mention among the best of all- time. It's not even among the elite defenses in the NFL this year. Sapp's stint on SportsCenter was the most air time he got Sunday night. His play, as has been the case for most of the past two seasons, was nothing special. When the Bucs needed a lift in 2002, someone like Derrick Brooks, Ronde Barber, Anthony McFarland or Simeon Rice provided one. Often, it resulted in points. Usually, it devastated an opponent.

This year, it goes more like this: Barber's apparent game- turning interception with 3 minutes to play gets overturned in the replay booth by a few blades of grass under the ball. Jacksonville, which failed to eclipse 10 points in each of its previous two games, had both a 100-yard rusher (Fred Taylor) and 100-yard receiver (Jimmy Smith) against the once mighty Bucs defense.

Smith torched the Bucs secondary in the early going. Once Tampa Bay tightened its coverage and forced the Jags to earn their yards, the Bucs' Tim Wansley pulled up lame on a deep route and gave Smith a freebie with 10 minutes remaining. Fittingly, it turned out to be the winning score - the points that broke the collective back of the defending Super Bowl champs.

Now, the questions that require attention over the last four weeks don't involve the Bucs' back. They involve their heart. The answers won't come easily, and they certainly won't be found on SportsCenter.