Bucs unable to sustain drives on 49ers
The Tampa Tribune, published 16 December 2013

By going to a hurry-up attack, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers allowed the game to slow down for rookie quarterback Mike Glennon. Tampa Bay’s first five possessions against San Francisco went nowhere Sunday, with the Bucs limited to 30 total yards by the NFL’s No. 4 defense. But with the 49ers leading 17-0 late in the half, Glennon directed an 80-yard touchdown drive that used up only 78 seconds.

Late in the third quarter, the Bucs went to hurry-up mode again and began a 92-yard march, capped by Glennon’s second scoring pass of the day. “We were going up-tempo and feeling good about how we were doing,’’ right tackle Demar Dotson said. “That’s where we had our best success, using the hurry-up offense. It was really working for us.’’

Overall, Tampa Bay’s offense struggled for the fourth consecutive week. The Bucs converted only one of 10 third-down situations and averaged only 3.7 yards on their 50 snaps. Bucs coach Greg Schiano acknowledged that the rare occasions when Tampa Bay sustained drives, it was Glennon running the show. “The only way we moved the ball is when we went to two-minute and no-huddle,’’ Schiano said. “Mike’s the one who controlled the whole operation, moving it down the field against, arguably, one of the top three defenses in the league.”

With the Bucs headed to St. Louis next weekend to face one of the league’s premier pass-rushing defenses, there could be more no-huddle drives in Glennon’s immediate future. “I just know that those two drives we went to the hurry-up offense,’’ Glennon said. “The one at the end of the half was big for us, down 17 to kind of give us some momentum and make it a two-score game. Then the second one put us down one possession.’’