| Tampa Bay TE Dallas Clark celebrates after scoring a touchdown, but the Bucs still wound up losing a close one to the visiting New Orleans Saints 35-28. (US Presswire) |
The Bucs got off to a hot start on Sunday afternoon and looked like a team ready to get back to .500 with plenty of momentum. Instead, they lost another close game, falling 35-28 to New Orleans at Raymond James Stadium.
Offense: B+
It's tough to find too much fault in an effort that ended with 28 points, 513 yards of offense and gave Tampa Bay a chance to win in the final moments. But the offense didn't score for a span of almost 40 minutes of game time, from the early stages of the second quarter until only 4:10 remained in the game. The offense spoiled a drive that included a 95-yard pass from QB Josh Freeman to WR Vincent Jackson, failing to score any points when the Saints' defense stuffed four straight runs. Has anyone ever heard of a drive that included a 95-yard play not ending in points? If the offense had kept rolling after its strong start, the Bucs would be 3-3 right now. Instead, they are 2-4. Previous game's grade: A-
Defense: C-
New Orleans scored five touchdowns and did so on drives covering 80, 80, 79, 72 and 95 yards, respectively. Yes, the defense had a couple of nice stands in the second half, forcing a pair of three-and-outs and getting the ball back to the offense for a chance to send the game to overtime in the waning moments. But for the most part, the secondary looked suspect as Saints QB Drew Brees dissected it with relative ease. A poor stretch starting late in the first quarter and going until halftime ruined the momentum the team's offense had generated. When you have a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter, you rarely expect to go to halftime down 28-21. Yet the Tampa Bay defense allowed that to happen, leaving receivers open far too often. Previous game's grade: A+
Special Teams: C-
PK Connor Barth missed a field goal for the second straight game. The punt and kick return units were uninspiring. P Michael Koenen didn't pin the Saints inside their 20-yard line on any of his punts and averaged only 42 yards per boot. The field goal block team was called for a crucial personal foul penalty that extended a Saints drive, ultimately resulting in a New Orleans touchdown. It wasn't a performance that was bad enough to lose the game for the Bucs, but it certainly didn't help them in their attempt to win it, either. Previous game's grade: C
Coaching: C
Whether it was coached to do so or not, the field goal block unit's personal foul for using "disconcerting signals" in an attempt to draw the Saints into a false start penalty was costly, and a sign that coach Greg Schiano's team still lacks discipline at key moments. The offensive play-calling after Jackson's 95-yard reception was suspect, to say the least -- from the fact the team didn't continue to run left behind star OG Carl Nicks to a fourth down run by Freeman that never had a chance. One of the NFL's worst pass defenses showed no signs of improvement, either. Previous game's grade: A
For more from Tampa Bay Bucs blogger Patrick Southern, follow @CBSBucs on Twitter.