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For their own good Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin shook his head in disbelief. If there had been a calendar handy, he would have checked it to be sure.
Was it still 2003?
The defense surrendered a winning touchdown drive in the final minutes of Sunday's 21-14 loss at Bank of America Stadium. Quarterback Jake Delhomme drove his team the length of the field without a timeout. And a poorly thrown pass found its way into the hands of a Panthers receiver.
Just like last year.
"It's unbelievable," Kiffin said. "It feels like I was standing here a year ago, the same scenario."
In November 2003, Delhomme led the Panthers 78 yards in six plays with no timeouts in 1:35, including a 29-yard pass to Ricky Proehl that seemed to hang in the air forever. Delhomme capped the drive with a 5-yard scoring pass to Steve Smith for a 27-24 victory. Sunday, Delhomme led the Panthers 73 yards in five plays with no timeouts in 1:28. The touchdown was underthrown, but Keary Colbert made the adjustment to beat corner Torrie Cox on a 40-yard score with 20 seconds left. "They brought pressure," Delhomme said. "I had (Muhsin Muhammad) inside, so I looked for him first. It was fuzzy to me, so I went right to Keary. I wish I would have put more on it and he might have been able to just run underneath it. He adjusted and made a great catch."
The Bucs blitzed on the play, sending linebacker Shelton Quarles and cornerback Ronde Barber, but the Panthers picked up both. That left Cox, the nickel cornerback, in man-to-man coverage with Colbert deep down the left sideline.
"We blitzed and they ran a go route and you've got to be able to cover it," Kiffin said. "He didn't even make a good throw."
Delhomme's pass was underthrown, but as Colbert came back to the ball, Cox lost his balance trying to make the adjustment. The result was an uncontested touchdown for Colbert, who trotted the final yards into the end zone. "He made a play," Cox said. "It was the play to win the game."
Carolina used its final timeout to stop the clock before Martin Gramatica's 37-yard field-goal attempt that would have given the Bucs the lead with less than two minutes left. Gramatica's third miss of the game gave the Panthers hope.
Running the no-huddle offense, Delhomme completed passes of 9 yards to Muhammad, 5 to running back Nick Goings and 15 to Proehl. With a 4-yard run by Goings mixed in, the clock never stopped. "When we have things going, we feel like we have the upper hand," Delhomme said. "When you have an incomplete pass or you have to huddle up or have a clock play, the defense can change defenses and disguise something. When we're in our element, they are on their heels."
Bucs defenders said they were not affected by Gramatica's miss.
"As a defense, we are going to have to take the field, and we knew that," linebacker Derrick Brooks said. "Before going into the last drive, if we scored a touchdown, a field goal or didn't score at all, we knew that we were going to have to take the field. Obviously, we wanted the field goal to be made, but we have to move onto the next play."
Cox, a second-year player who missed all of last season with a knee injury, saw increased playing time the past two weeks as the nickel cornerback. An injury to Mario Edwards put Cox in the rotation full time against the Panthers.
Cox was victimized twice for touchdowns, both by Colbert. Cox's soft coverage and missed tackle allowed Colbert to score on a 24-yard pass in the first quarter. "I don't think they were picking on my inexperience," said Cox, who returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown the previous week against the 49ers. "They probably saw a new guy. They had two plays on me for touchdowns. It happens. I just have to better myself in the next week of practice."
The Bucs sacked Delhomme four times, including twice in the two-minute drill at the end of the first half. But at the end of the game, Tampa Bay's pressure was not a factor as Delhomme got rid of the ball quickly.
The result was eerily familiar.
"Same place on the field, going the same direction - deja vu, wow," Kiffin said. "That's tough; that's really tough. We were really playing hard, rushing and covering. We just couldn't finish it there at the end."
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Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
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