LANDOVER, Md. - As everyone knows, at such an advanced age, the game can pass you by.
The reactions can be a little slower, the eyesight a little weaker, the body a little more fragile.
Such was the case in Sunday's much-anticipated comeback of 63-year-old Redskins coach Joe Gibbs against the Bucs.
The retro approach just didn't work.
Not for the Bucs' aging offense. The ageless Gibbs, on the other hand, did just fine.
Clinton Portis rushed for 148 yards - including a 64-yard touchdown on his first carry as a Redskin - and John Hall kicked two fourth-quarter field goals in a 16-10 win over the Bucs.
The victory, before 90,098 at FedEx Field, made Gibbs' return to the sideline after an 11-year absence a triumphant one.
But the collection of over 30-year-olds who made up the Bucs offense had trouble recapturing their glory days, resulting in the worst offensive showing under coach Jon Gruden.
Tampa Bay was held without a first down until the second quarter, rushed for 30 yards, its fewest since 24 on Oct. 14, 2001, against the Titans, and committed two turnovers against a relentless array of Redskins blitzes.
Free-agent running back Charlie Garner, 32, (11 carries, 25 yards) was ineffective behind a rebuilt offensive line, and receiver Joey Galloway (one reception, zero yards) dropped a potential touchdown in the end zone while pulling a groin. And for the first time, a team quarterbacked by Brad Johnson, who turns 36 today, and coached by Gruden failed to score an offensive touchdown while being held to 169 net yards, the fewest in the Gruden era.
In fact, the Bucs' only touchdown came when cornerback Ronde Barber scooped up a botched handoff from quarterback Mark Brunell to Portis and returned the fumble 9 yards for a tying touchdown with 4:44 remaining in the third quarter.
"Is that any different from any other season?" Barber said of the disparity of the offensive and defensive performances. "We pride ourselves on being a defensive football team. Bring in all the free agents, all the coaches or whatever you want. This team has been built on defense."
It was the Bucs defense that nearly stole the game from the Redskins.
Portis took advantage of the Bucs' overpursuit on the Redskins' third offensive play of the game and turned it into a 64-yard touchdown run. But on his next 19 carries, the Bucs held Portis to 42 yards.
"You're not going to go through the whole game dominating a defense that good," Portis said. "It's not going to happen. It's not going to happen in the NFL. Every now and then, you might catch the defense out of position, like we caught them on the touchdown run, but you're not going to dominate them the whole game in the NFL."
What was dominant was the Redskins defense under new coordinator Gregg Williams. The Bucs' first three possessions resulted in two punts, a sack, a fumble and 10 net yards.
Safety Matt Bowen, who had two of the Redskins' four sacks, beat the blitz pickup by fullback Mike Alstott, 30, and forced a fumble recovered by Cornelius Griffin. The play led to the first of three field goals by Hall, a 20-yarder, and left the Bucs trailing 10-0.
Tampa Bay's only score by the offense, a 47-yard field goal by Martin Gramatica, was set up by Frank Murphy's 54-yard kickoff return.
But those points came with a heavy price. One play earlier, Galloway made an adjustment on a deep ball from Johnson before dropping it in the end zone. He remained on the field for several minutes with trainers and spent the rest of the day on crutches.
Galloway, 32, aggravated a groin strain that forced him to miss the final two preseason games. He is expected to miss several weeks.
The Bucs clawed back into the game on Barber's tying touchdown. Brunell (13-of-24, 125 yards) tripped over the foot of center Cory Raymer, who had just replaced starter Lennie Friedman.
"It was foolish on my part," Brunell said. "I got tripped up, and then I tried to get it to Clinton. And you know what happened after that. It was a big mistake."
But the biggest mistakes belonged to the Bucs offense. With the game tied 10-10 in the fourth quarter, Johnson was under pressure by tackle Jermaine Haley when he tried to hit 38-year-old receiver Tim Brown over the middle. But he never saw linebacker Antonio Pierce, who intercepted the pass and returned it 16 yards to the Tampa Bay 39. The turnover led to Hall's winning 30-yard field goal.
"When I read Cover 2, in the past, I probably would've just hooked that thing up and not tried to get behind that linebacker," Brown said. "But that's something Brad and I hadn't been through. So I was like, "I've got to get to the other side of that guy.' And the guy had dropped coverage, come back and made the pick. Certainly, there's going to be things like that."
Maybe so. But the Bucs' last three offensive plays resulted in sacks. And failing to score an offensive touchdown isn't a good sign of things to come.
"You also understand that sometimes you don't make the cut," Gruden said. "But you've got to clean your clubs off. You've got to go home. You've got to go back out on the range and hit some balls. And by God, you've got to keep swinging. And that's what we're going to do."
