Signs of decay are all around Bucs - NFL

Rome wasn't destroyed in a day. It didn't come crashing down in tremendous chunks of marble. No, it decayed.

Which brings us to the Buccaneers. They remain capable of beating any team in the league at any site. Their pass rush is world class. The resourcefulness that won them a championship last January remains evident.

But as was the case with Rome, decay is all around.

The Bucs haven't had the muscle to back up their heart, blowing fourth-quarter leads in two of their five losses, including one to the Panthers, their most bitter rival, last Sunday. They also had a late meltdown against the Colts and could have defeated Carolina in Week 2 by kicking an extra point. It was blocked, and the Bucs lost in overtime.

The Bucs have been run on by every opponent that has committed to the rushing game, with the exception of the Panthers on Sunday. Going into Week 10, 16 defenses had held their opponents to a better average gain per rush than the Bucs, who had allowed 4.1 yards. Last season, only two teams were better in this category than Tampa Bay, which held opponents to 3.8 yards per carry.

It's no mystery why the Bucs' defense has been slightly out of sync. Gone from last year are strongside linebacker Al Singleton and free safety Dexter Jackson. Significant players who have missed blocks of time with injuries include linebacker Shelton Quarles, strong safety John Lynch, backup safety Jermaine Phillips and cornerback Brian Kelly. The Bucs subsequently have been lining up players who otherwise would be saloon doormen or insurance salesmen. Dwight Smith was forced to start at four different positions in four games.

"Kelly was a big loss because he was their cover corner," Panthers receiver Muhsin Muhammad said after lake Delhomme passed for 277 yards against the Bucs. "He was in all their coverage schemes and allowed them to do a lot of different things coveragewise. In their scheme, they didn't rely on Ronde (Barber) to cover a lot. Now he's got to cover. Now they're limited."

Without ideal personnel, the Bucs were forced to rely on Lynch in man-to-man coverage on the Panthers' game-winning drive. Lynch was trying to cover Muhammad when he made a 22-yard catch to the Tampa Bay 5.

At times, the secondary tackling has been inefficient. I counted five missed tackles by defensive backs in the open field Sunday. There have been games in which tackles Warren Sapp and Anthony McFarland have been driven back, allowing running backs to get past them before linebackers could reach their gaps. And when the Bucs have had to play from behind, opposing offenses have gone big and created mismatches against Tampa's smallish front.

The "new car" smell is long gone from the bus that Sapp is driving. The Bucs have played their "Tampa 2," or cover 2 defense so well, that virtually everyone in the NFL has copied it. That hasn't helped the Bucs because offenses have become much more familiar with it. "We've seen it so much that we feel we have an idea of what to do against it," one NFC head coach says.

The Bucs' running game actually is better than it was a year ago because Michael Pittman has improved and coach Jon Gruden has gotten more mileage, or at least yardage, out of a nice package of misdirection plays.

But there are issues with the passing game, despite the numbers the Bucs have put up. The Bucs' blocking always has had holes, and injuries have made those holes wider. Right tackle Kenyatta Walker has been forced to play left tackle, and he committed two personal fouls and one unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Carolina (a fourth penalty, for holding, was declined). "He's garbage, he's horrible," said Carolina defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, who still was spitting fire after the game.

Last year, many of the Bucs' big plays in the passing game came against the blitz. This year, opponents aren't blitzing the Bucs as much because they don't have to. Defenses are able to get to quarterback Brad Johnson with four men. He even was sacked by a three-man rush against San Francisco. "If you can cover at all, you can beat their offensive line with four," says one defensive coordinator.

Offensive linemen who can't keep pass rushers away from the quarterback and receivers who struggle to get open are a dangerous combination, like a ventilation system that's sucking smoke into a room in which the windows and doors are locked.

Aside from Keenan McCardell, who has played very well, the Bucs' receivers have been heard more than seen. Keyshawn Johnson actually has had a couple of decent games recently, but three coaches and two personnel men used the same two words when asked about him: "Can't run." At 31, "he's a step slower," one personnel man says. Before Sunday, Johnson averaged 2.7 yards after the catch, which ranked 160th among receivers with at least 10 receptions, according to STATS Inc.

Quarterback Brad Johnson has done a nice job of making the most out of the situation. But he has had to come off his receivers and check down frequently. That explains why 39 percent of the Bucs' passes have been caught by running backs, compared with 32 percent a year ago.

Alone, none of these problems is insurmountable. And we should point out the Bucs had some problems at this point a year ago.

But decay is growing, and opportunity is shrinking.

For up-to-the-minute NFL news, including injury updates, roster moves and much more, go to foxsports.com, keyword: NFL.

M@IL BONDING

DAN POMPEI ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS

Do you think sentiment is building toward changing the rules regarding overtime? Stanley Giddings, Chicago

Stanley: The reason overtime rules weren't changed a year ago is head coaches weren't motivated enough to change them. So far this season, I don't believe there has been enough outrage or disgust with the current format to generate change. In order for the NFL to adopt new rules, we'd have to see some critical games decided on the first possession of overtime between now and the end of the season. Then, maybe coaches would start jumping up and down about the injustice of the current system.

E-mail: dpompei@sportingnews.com.

SPEED READS

* You have to give quarterback Jake Delhomme and the Panthers' offense credit for their last-minute comeback against the Bucs last Sunday. Delhomme kept his poise, protected the ball and executed when it counted. I didn't think he was capable of it, and I was wrong.

* The Chargers should have stuck with Drew Brees at quarterback and allowed him to work through his funk. What was the point of switching to 41-year-old Doug Flutie--so they can finish 4-12? If Brees isn't capable of being a starting quarterback in the NFL, then the Chargers need to find that out this year so they can make alternate plans for next season. Right now, that can't be determined.

* The recently released book, The Gridiron's Greatest Linebackers, is worth a read. Author Jonathan Rand ranks the top 25, which is sure to stir debate. Some personal quibbles: Junior Seau, at No. 25, is way too low. Chuck Bednarik, at 13, is too low. Dave Wilcox is too high at No. 10. And Ted Hendricks is too high at No. 11.

INSIDE DISH

By DAN POMPEI

Even though the Chargers could end up with the worst record this season, coach Marty Schottenheimer is not believed to be in any kind of danger of losing his job. Schottenheimer has been in San Diego for only two seasons, so it would be a little early to fire him. And there's another reason he's secure: The Chargers, who have subpar revenue streams because of their old stadium, would owe Schottenheimer close to $5 million for the remaining three years of his contract.... Panthers RE Mike Rucker can attribute some of his 11 sacks to a "hump" move he learned from former teammate Reggie White. The hump, which is executed by swinging an arm in a pendulum motion to move the blocker, was White's signature move, and he executed it better than any player. Rucker doesn't have White's size and power, but he has been able to use it to get blockers offbalance and create space.... Just when it looked as if Cowboys LG Larry Allen had made peace with coach Bill Parcells and gone back to being a dominator, the future Hall of Fame player has hit another slippery slope. A combination of poor performance, an inability to recover from down to down playing in warm weather and a knee injury has him back in Parcells' doghouse. The next step for Allen could be a new team, but it won't be easy for the Cowboys to cut him. Purging Mien before June 1, 2004, would mean a salary-cap hit of $8.23 million next season. If they waited until after June 1, the Cowboys would be hit for $2.06 million on next year's cap and $6.17 million in 2005.... There's a chance 49ers CB Jason Webster will return this week from the leg fracture that has kept him out all season, but he won't get his starting job back from second-year man Mike Rumph. San Francisco coaches are thrilled with Rumph's progress. Rumph has played the long ball well and added an element of physical play to the secondary. Webster's best chance of returning to the lineup would be in 2004, if Ahmed Plummer takes a free-agent hike.... One priority for Jaguars coordinator Bill Musgrave was to install an offense that would be easy for players to pick up. Based on early returns, his plan is working. Despite rookie QB Byron Leftwich's problems with ball security, he understands the offense. The Jaguars didn't have to scale back any game plans when Leftwich took over for Mark Brunell. And WR Troy Edwards was able to make significant contributions quickly after being picked up in late September.... It's looking more and more like this will be WR Ed McCaffrey's last season with the Broncos. He's 35, and he never really came back from breaking his leg in the 2001 season opener. McCaffrey has lost some of his short-area quickness and ability to separate. That said, he still has the size, strength, hands and savvy to help the Broncos win a game or two down the stretch with a clutch performance.... The Saints need DE Darren Howard back badly, and nobody will benefit more when Howard makes his expected return this week than fellow DE Charles Grant. Why? Grant has been getting all the chipping, banging and double-team attention usually reserved for Howard. As a result, Grant has been effective in spots but inconsistent.

DAN POMPEI

dpompei@sportingnews.com

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