Tampa Bay Buccaneers Show Their Split Personality in Nail Biter Win over Colts

Warning: this 2011 version of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is not for the faint of heart or the impatient.

This 2011 version of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has a split personality; there are the good Buccaneers and the, well, not-so-good Buccaneers.

You got a lot of both Monday night.

First things first, the Buccaneers played well when they needed to and pulled off a 24-17 win, a win they needed with the nation watching on Monday Night Football.

They needed this one, badly, because this was a Colts team without Peyton Manning, which is like taking the engine out of a race car. Remove the engine and you have a soap box derby entrant.

This one started the way you didn't want it to, you know, one of those patented Buccaneer slow starts. It was so very hospitable of them to spot the Colts 10 points in the first half with a 45-yarder from Adam Vinatieri, then that ridiculous 87-yard pitch and catch from Curtis Painter to Pierre Garcon, considering the pass went seven yards and then Garcon ran 80 with hapless defenders, including Aqib Talib, unable to tackle him.

What that flapdoodle did was put Painter ahead of Manning in the Indy record books, longest TD, longer than anything Manning ever came up with—by one yard.

Thank goodness the Bucs came to and managed to close the gap at halftime after an 81-yard drive that was capped off by one of those monster QB sneaks that Josh Freeman produces.

It was 10-7, but it was an ugly 10-7. The Bucs racked up nine penalties on their way to 64 yards in no-nos, on their way to 106 yards of the bad stuff. The Bucs also found ways to squander 16 points. Connor Barth had a boink off the uprights, then Rejus Benn found out the hard way that when you're out-of-bounds, you can't come back in bounds, catch a pass then scamper 62 yards for a touchdown.

At least Benn had the TD dance down pat.

The first 30 minutes were simply an early statement by now-analyst, former Buc coach Jon Gruden, coming back to haunt the Pewter Pirates: "They make too many penalties, too early in too many games."

Chucky nailed that one. Of course, we've all seen it by now, no reason Chucky shouldn't.

The second half was more of the same but there was good mixed in, namely LeGarrette Blount, well, blounting, bulling, bashing and bludgeoning his way through the Colt defense in a very old-school, smash-mouth manner. He had Gruden drooling and basically going nuts.

As good as that was, the defense hadn't seen enough of Garcon and basically allowed him another prime-time dash, one for 59 yards. Hey, let's make Painter look like Peyton!

The penalties continued to grow and add up, and at one point there with 11 minutes to play in the fourth, the offense decided to try on back-to-back 15 yarders just to let Freeman see what 3rd-and-31 looks like.

You get the picture.

Fortunately for the boys in red, they got their act together, put together another Josh Freeman-led fourth quarter rally and beat a bad Colts team.

"This is a clutch performer!" Gruden gushed.

Josh was clutch, Blount was a butt buster who went for 127 on 25 totes with a masterpiece of a 35-yarder for a touchdown.

Being 3-1 is so much better than 2-2, and things will only get tougher from here.

"They are young and sloppy, they're a year or two away," is what Hall of Famer Steve Young said after the Bucs won, 24-17.

Yeah, they're young, big deal, and yeah, they can be pretty darn sloppy. The young can stay, the sloppy has to go.

What had to thrill you was the ground attack that wore down Indy; the Bucs outrushed the Colts 192-66 and had the ball nearly 40 of the 60 minutes.

What won't cut it are the mistakes and slow starts. Not with better teams looming. Better not screw up like that in 'Frisco next week or Harbaugh's suddenly 3-1 49ers will do what they did to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Better get more of the good stuff, more of Blount butt-busting, less of Freeman looking lost, get rid of those ridiculous penalties, and for goodness sakes, stop it with the horrible starts.

There we go again.

Forgot about the disclaimer.

This team is not for the impatient, or the nervous, or the faint of heart.

Is it?