Monday, 4 a.m.
This is what it used to feel like during the dark years, where every Sunday contained misery, when ordinary was a state of mind.
This is how it used to look, back during those days of bewildered head coaches and befuddled quarterbacks, back when there were footprints across the chests of the players' jerseys, back when underachieving teams played as if they were searching for ways to lose.
This is how it used to happen, with errant passes and dumb penalties and defenses that seemed overmatched, when torment and agony were the major parts of being a follower of the Tampa Bay Bucs. The lacksadalsicle play, the lack of urgency, reminded you teams without nearly as much talent. It was a flashback to the days of Leeman and Lovie, of Ray and Raheem. And it was ugly.
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"That display was very reminiscent of the last one," Bucs' coach Bruce Arians said. (It's) baffling to me after the week of practice I watched these guys have that we could play that poorly. We played with enough passion and energy for about 8-9 minutes to win in this league. We’ve got to show up on Sundays. We’re doing a hell of a job Monday to Friday, but we’re not showing up on Sundays."
The Bucs brought back all the old, aching memories Sunday afternoon with their worst loss in two seasons, a 29-19 egg they laid at the feet of the Washington football team. The Bucs were not strong enough, fast enough or skilled enough to hold off a two-win team with a mediocre quarterback.
Among the disappointments:
-- Tom Brady threw two interceptions(to be fair, one was not his fault) and threw several wild incompletions. His quarterback rating was 30 points lower than that of Taylor Heinicke, his opponent.
"It didn't have anything to do with the receivers," Bucs' coach Bruce Arians said. "It was him.
-- Ryan Succup missed a key extra point.
-- The defense gave up a clinching 80 yard drive that took 19 plays and ate up 10:26. It was like watching a play back-peddle its way into disappointment.
"We pride ourselves on defense," Arians said. "We've lost too mamy games…given up too many leads in the fourth quarter."
-- The secondary saw Heinicke throw 32 times. They forced just six incompletions.
"We ran out of defensive backs," Arians said. "But that's no excuse. You've got to get off the field.'
-- The team had six penalties -- twice the number of Washington.
"It had nothing to do with ability," Arians said. "It’s about execution and being a smart football team. We’re a very dumb football team and that’s reflection of the coaches."
-- The Bucs have now lost consecutive games to Trevor Siemian and Heinicke. Just a thought, but can Tampa Bay outline talk of the playoffs for the immediate future?
“We always talk about teams with good leadership not losing two in a row." Arians said. "I trust our guys. We’ve got a lot of character in there. They’ll get it fixed.
And so it went. The Bucs kept checking down, as if they were repelled by the end zone.
The Bucs are home against the New York Giants on Monday night. The kickoff is scheduled for 8:15 p.m.
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