Improved effort not enough for Bucs Ira Kaufman, The Tampa Tribune, published 7 December 2009 All week long, Raheem Morris vowed Sunday's matchup would be a test of pride. As it turned out, pride arrived about 10 minutes late. Tampa Bay's first-year coach kept reminding his defensive players that Carolina had embarrassed the Bucs for 566 yards on the ground in the previous two meetings. But despite the absence of leading rusher DeAngelo Williams due to a sprained ankle, the Panthers opened a 10-0 lead with two long drives fueled by the power running of Jonathan Stewart. "We kept trying to make arm tackles on a guy you can't arm tackle," defensive tackle Chris Hovan said after a 16-6 setback that dropped Tampa Bay to 1-11. "Missed tackles will kill you in this league and we had a bunch of 'em today in that first quarter." The Panthers, missing standout left tackle Jordan Gross, ran on 12 of 17 snaps in going 64 and 65 yards, respectively, on their opening two possessions. But after yielding eight first downs and 132 yards in the first quarter, Tampa Bay's defense noticeably stiffened. The Panthers (5-7) were limited to only seven first downs and 177 yards the rest of the way - and 66 of those yards came when Matt Moore found Steve Smith behind Elbert Mack, who was filling in for injured Aqib Talib. "We regrouped after missing all those tackles early," said linebacker Geno Hayes, who turned a second-quarter deflection by safety Tanard Jackson into his first career interception. "I think I missed three tackles myself in that first quarter. We had to bow up to stop them on the ground ... and that's exactly what we did." Despite Josh Freeman's flurry of giveaways, the Bucs trailed only 13-6 until Smith's longest catch of the season set up John Kasay's third field goal. "Our defense played outstanding," Bucs center Jeff Faine said. "What can I say? For us to throw five interceptions and still be in the game is a credit to those guys on defense." After Carolina averaged 6.8 yards per carry while rushing for 89 yards in the opening quarter, Tampa Bay's defense cut that productivity rate in half. In the final 45 minutes, the Panthers ran for 68 yards in 20 attempts, a 3.4 average. "We really didn't make too many adjustments," Bucs defensive end Stylez G. White said. "We just tackled a lot better. Going back to the Tampa 2 gives us a chance to win games and it also gives the defensive guys a chance to make plays." For the second consecutive game since Morris demoted Jim Bates and assumed control of the defense, the Bucs won their share of the physical battles up front. "I think they're a good defense," Carolina center Ryan Kalil said. "They're doing some new things from the last time we saw them (Oct. 18) and I saw some new stuff today. They got some good stops on us, but it's nice to know we can still run the ball with DeAngelo out." Despite another solid effort, Tampa Bay defensive players had to deal with their 15th loss in the past 16 games. "I know we played a more physical game after missing all those early tackles and I know it's tough to win when you turn the ball over five times, but we didn't do enough on defense," Bucs safety Sabby Piscitelli said. "Whatever it takes, we have to do more."