Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Ship Is Leaking Badly

This Buccaneer frigate of Captain Raheem Morris is leaking badly. It is listing mightily as it pulls back into port here in Tampa after getting shot apart in Buffalo on Sunday.

It is leaking because it cannot defend itself. That was painfully evident in the 33-20 defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Bills.

It was clear that things weren't going well from the start. The Bucs trailed 17-0 faster than Morris could say, "these young Tampa Bay Buccaneers are fighters!"

The Bucs fired their offensive coordinator before the season started but now they'd better ask defensive coordinator Jim Bates to stop the bleeding, stop the water that is pouring into the good ship Buccaneer.

This defense made someone named Fred Jackson look like the second coming of Adrian Peterson. Jackson hit the Bucs up for 163 yards rushing.

Can somebody please tackle someone?

And speaking of tackling, perhaps Raheem The Dream needs to have a rules clinic for his players this week. Buccaneer defenders latched onto the face masks of assorted Bills players FOUR TIMES to set the pace for a penalty party that would see the Bucs get slapped for 112 yards!

Real pirates pride themselves on cheating and devious methods.

In the NFL, they have to play by the rules.

Raheem's fighters indeed tried to fight their way out of that early hole and seemed to get back in the game when it was 20-14. But as this game wore on, this team was getting beat physically and mentally.

The secondary remains vulnerable. Even the boisterous one—T.O.—got in on the action when he beat Aqib Talib on a 43-yard catch that doomed these Buccaneers for the second week.

T.O. could have had another one, too, had a long pass from Trent Edwards not gone right through his hands earlier in the game.

These same Buccaneers that ran for 174 yards last week against Dallas, chalked up 57 on Sunday.

"We want to be a running team, they took us out of our game," lamented Morris. "We played catch-up the whole day."

That catch-up mode forced quarterback Byron Leftwich to put up more than 50 passes and that just flat out isn't going to cut it for this football team. You're talking a depleted receiving corps that left Antonio Bryant back in Tampa.

Sure there were moments from Kellen Winslow and Maurice Stovall but Michael Clayton, Sammie Stroughter and the rest simply couldn't do enough.

Neither could Leftwich, who was assaulted all day, beaten and knocked around like an aging boxer. To his credit, he kept getting up, and taking more from the Bills pass rush.

Tough son-of-a-gun, at the least.

"They beat us. They played better than us," Lefty said afterwards. He was fortunate to be coherent with the beating he took.

While Buffalo's pass rush came hard and often, Tampa Bay's defensive line was very stoppable by a young, depleted Bills offensive line.

And that's no good.

Gaines Adams was a no-show, as if that surprises anyone.

Yes, the boat, this Pirate ship commanded by the youthful Morris has a ton of leaks.

The treacherous waters of the NFL are rushing in.

It hasn't sunk yet, but it's listing, it's in trouble and it needs all hands on deck to start bailing water.

Morris' predecessor—Jon Gruden—had two favorite sayings he used to throw around.

"It is hard to win games in the National Football League," he'd tell us.

Raheem Morris, Jim Bates and the rest of the coaches and players are finding that out firsthand.

And this one: "You get what you deserve in the NFL."

These Buccaneers got themselves a loss on Sunday.

They're 0-2 and now face the New York football Giants this coming Sunday at Raymond James.

And thus far, these Bucs have gotten what they deserve.