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TAMPA — Accountability was one of the buzz words in the Bucs locker room Monday, a day after their 24-0 loss to the Giants, dropping them to 0-3 heading into Sunday's game at the Redskins.
"The biggest thing for everybody on the team is kind of (to) look at themselves and be accountable to themselves right now," LB Barrett Ruud said. " … Because obviously when you lose three games in a row, finger-pointing starts and you're saying, 'Why isn't this working?' But in reality, you just basically have to be accountable to yourself and find out, 'What can I do better?' and 'What can I be more detailed on?' And I think if everybody does that, it'll lead to better results."
Ruud said there were a few positives to take from the loss, including the tackling. "I thought it was better," he said. "We still missed a few tackles — and they had two really good backs (Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw). You have to give them credit, also. Obviously the tackling isn't where we want it to be, but it wasn't as bad as it was (in a Week 2 loss) at Buffalo."
Aside from Bradshaw's 38-yard run to set up the Giants' second touchdown, Ruud thought the Bucs did a better job limiting the big plays that haunted them against the Cowboys and Bills. "It was frustrating — they methodically beat us, but we made 'em go the hard way every time," he said. "They had one breakout run, (so) we've gotten rid of the big plays this last game. But still, there were way too many third-down conversions (and) way too many long drives."
The bottom line, said coach Raheem Morris, is "it has to be everybody self-evaluating. It has to be everybody getting back into the lab, finding out what you can do better to win a football game."
More changes to come?: Josh Johnson's promotion to starting quarterback might not be the only change. "We'll evaluate. That was the major one," Morris said. "The other ones, you might see other ones, more people getting more playing time. It doesn't necessarily have to be a switch in the starting lineup."
One non-personnel change involves practice, Morris said, with shorter periods that "keep my physical tempo throughout practice and throughout the day. … I might be off the field a lot faster this week, but it's going to be a lot more physical play, a lot more physical work done in pads with men going against each other."
Overall assessment: Having watched the game tape, Morris said, "It was just as ugly as it was (Sunday). There's no doubt about that. … As far as the game tape, as far as our play, as far as our developing as a team, you have to stay that (Sunday) was a step back."
Miscellaneous: Morris mentioned three plays he wasn't pleased with Sunday. Two occurred on Tampa Bay's first drive: G Jeremy Zuttah's false start on the second play from scrimmage, followed by TE Kellen Winslow's failure to square his shoulders and push for a first down on a 4-yard reception on third and 5. Morris said he felt CB Aqib Talib should have intercepted a pass on the Giants' first drive. Instead, it wound up as a 12-yard completion to Steve Smith at the Bucs 30, leading to a touchdown. … Injured C Jeff Faine (triceps) is making progress. "There's improvement, actually," Morris said. "He's getting better fast, a lot faster than we thought. I'm getting positive reinforcement from our trainer."
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