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Bucs get away from Bobby Rainey despite strong first half

 
Bobby Rainey runs for a gain during the first half. [Getty Images]
Bobby Rainey runs for a gain during the first half. [Getty Images]
Published Nov. 2, 2014

Filling in for injured RB Doug Martin, Bobby Rainey had a strong first half Sunday, rushing 15 times for 80 yards as the Bucs took a 10-9 lead into the second half against the Browns.

And while the Bucs never trailed by more than six points, they got away from the run in the second half, with Rainey getting only four carries for 7 yards and the team rushing just eight times for 17 yards. The glaring play? A second-and-1 at the Browns' 37-yard line with 2:00 left in the game, when the Bucs didn't run and instead threw the first of three straight incompletions to end their final drive.

"Thought a lot about (running). Probably should have," Smith said after the 22-17 loss that dropped his team to 1-7. "I'd like to have a couple of those calls back."

The Bucs were without Martin, and had hoped to have rookie Charles Sims make his season debut, but kept him inactive to play it safe as he recovers from ankle surgery in August. That left Rainey with a big role, one he handled well, including a 34-yard catch in the first half that was the team's longest play of the day.

"I just do what I do, period. I control what I can control. That's me making plays offensively and protecting the quarterback," Rainey said.

On the opening drive of the second half, the Bucs had a third-and-1 at the Cleveland 40 and turned to backup Mike James, who was dropped for a 2-yard loss, setting up a punt. Another second-half drive saw a pass play out of shotgun on third-and-2, going incomplete at the Bucs' 48 to end another drive.

The Bucs went into the game without fullback Jorvorskie Lane, who was sitting out the second of a two-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance enhancing drugs. They also lost his top blocking replacement, tight end Luke Stocker, to an abdominal injury in the second quarter. Smith said the absences played a role in the dropoff in the running game.

"That affected some of the stuff that we were doing," he said. "I felt like we could do both (run and pass) in the first half, but we weren't able to run the ball as much in the second half."