Bucs Defense Trampled As Panthers Run Amok
By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune
Published: December 9, 2008
When Cadillac Williams ran into the end zone late in the third quarter Monday night, it tied the score and set everything up nicely for the Buccaneers. We've seen it so many times before. Carolina was reeling a bit and complete control of the division was there to be taken.
You may want to avert your eyes at this point.
A team that makes its living on defense forgot how to tackle. A team that is one of the best at stopping the run got humiliated. As they greet this morning following the 38-23 loss to Carolina, they know they were exposed on national television. Carolina ran over them — really, really ran — when it counted most.
"It is embarrassing," linebacker Barrett Ruud said. "You don't get many opportunities to have that national audience and it is by far our worst game. We know we're not that team that showed up here tonight."
You couldn't be sure at times whether Panthers backs DeAngelo Williams (186 yards, two touchdowns) and rookie Jonathan Stewart (115 yards, two TDs) were playing football or training for a marathon. Every time you looked up, one or the other was sprinting down the turf at Bank of America Stadium after running over one or more defenders.
They ran over Ronde Barber. They ran through Chris Hovan. Even Derrick Brooks got juked in open space. Three of Carolina's four rushing touchdowns came in the game's final 18 minutes. The Bucs had given up one rushing touchdown all year.
"We missed tackles all night and I know I had my share," Hovan said. "They're too good to throw a shoulder at. You've got to wrap those guys up."
It's been a while since we've seen the Bucs get physically beaten like they were in this one. Running the way Carolina did is often just a case of want-to and it sure seemed like the Panthers wanted to more than the Bucs. It was a startling wake-up call for a team that came into the game thinking it belonged among the NFL's elite.
"It's very simple. We didn't do a good job with gang tackling and tackling the running backs," Brooks said. "When three guys miss a tackle and someone is out of the gap, you're going to get hit with big plays.
"We're not making any excuses about it. We got hit in the mouth today."
That wasn't the only place they got hit.
The Bucs had allowed only 95 rushing yards per game prior to this. That average will be a little skewed, though, after the 299 yards the Panthers rang up in this one, including 170 in that final blitz. They got 40 the last time these teams played.
"We didn't have the usual type of integrity of tackling that we usually have, that we hang our hat on – getting the ball and being where we're supposed to be," defensive end Kevin Carter said.
"We weren't quite as sound as we usually are and even when we got to the point of contact we didn't tackle well. When you have those things happen against a good team – especially against two of their running backs – those are the mistakes you look at, things you do wrong."
Even with all that, the Bucs were still in it early in the fourth quarter. They trailed 24-17, but had Carolina backed up at its 10 with 10:54 to play. That's the time champions stand up. What they don't do is allow Carolina to cover 90 yards in four plays, all on the ground, to take control of the game.
"They did a good job of blocking us this time," Brooks said. "I'm going to give them credit. We give them credit for breaking tackles and making us miss.
"At the same time, I'm going to recognize our mistakes and what we didn't do. We need to get ready and go back to work and improved our tackling, especially going to play Atlanta."
They'll need help now. Carolina has a game lead in the division and the Bucs have a short week to get ready for that trip to Atlanta and a game that takes on extra urgency.
"I'm not going to do anything but go back to work like anybody else who lost this weekend," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said. "We lost to a good football team. We knew it was going to be challenging coming in here."
The bigger challenge now is getting back up. At 9-4, the Bucs are still in good shape but a loss to the Falcons would throw the whole season into a tizzy. They'll need to come out strong.
They'll need to make a statement, but first they'll need to find their teeth.
They might want to check the bottom of Williams' cleats. If they don't find them there, there, try Stewart's.
They've got to be there somewhere.
Calendar
