Bucs/NFL

National embarrassment

Country sees defense give up Romo's five TDs.

By Rick Stroud
Published November 24, 2006

IRVING, Texas - The final touchdown was a simple slant pass to Terrell Owens, who raced through the end zone and deposited the ball in an oversized Salvation Army kettle.

Talk about a drop in the bucket.

The Cowboys' Tony Romo tied a club record by throwing five touchdowns in a 38-10 win over the defenseless Bucs on Thursday.

But here's the real story: The Bucs waited more than 30 years to play on Thanksgiving Day, and their defense got carved up like the holiday turkey.

For a decade, Tampa Bay's defense has been ranked among the top 10 in the league. But when the nation tuned in to watch the Bucs play the Cowboys, proud players such as Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber were humiliated by their team's performance.

"It was somewhat embarrassing," Barber said. "I think everybody was excited to be the only game on in front of however many people watching us. Unfortunately, they probably all turned it off in the third quarter. Romo threw five touchdown passes, and four of them were into our bread-and-butter defense. He was as prepared as anybody we've played against this year, and he made us look really bad.

"I don't think they did anything we couldn't have defended if we had done our jobs the way we've been coached. It's not so much them kicking our a--. We're kicking our own a---."

The loss dropped the Bucs to 3-8 and officially ended a three-game odyssey in 11 days, managing one victory. The red-hot Cowboys won for the fourth time in five games to improve to 7-4.

In defense of the Bucs defense, it was playing again without several key starters, including Simeon Rice, who was placed on injured reserve Wednesday and will have left shoulder surgery.

Linebacker Shelton Quarles was inactive due to knee and ankle injuries, and defensive tackle Ellis Wyms did not make the trip due to an ankle injury.

Cornerback Juran Bolden managed to play despite a bruised fibula but was ineffective against Romo, who completed 22 of 29 passes for 306 yards while tying Troy Aikman's franchise record of five touchdowns.

"I thought it was (Aikman) out there," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said.

Of course, not everybody was as easily impressed. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells, who rarely praises the fourth-year quarterback out Eastern Illinois, didn't change course Thursday.

"I could've thrown the first two (touchdowns)," Parcells said.

Parcells might be right. Safety Will Allen slipped on the first, a 30-yarder to Terry Glenn in the middle of the Bucs' Cover 2 scheme. Glenn took a quick out and got a block from tight end Jason Witten to score the second touchdown from 2 yards.

After the game, a stone-faced Brooks challenged the Bucs' younger players.

"You asked me if it's rock bottom. I said, 'No,' " Brooks said. "Let's see what we can learn from this. Let's see if these young guys will step up and accept the challenge.

"Anybody can fight when it's going good. Let's see you fight when you've been hit in the face eight times. Let's see how you ... handle it. Let's see how you go down. I'm anxious, really anxious, to see what type of team we've got. Let's see what type of fight we've got in these young players."

That list includes rookie quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, who struggled mightily again to connect on deep passes to Joey Galloway. The sixth-round pick out of Toledo completed just 10 of 20 passes for 120 yards and was intercepted twice, finishing with a passer rating of 29.2.

Galloway had three catches for 71 yards, including a 53-yarder on the opening drive of the game that helped lead to Mike Alstott's 1-yard run and a 7-0 lead.

But the Cowboys found the end zone on five of their first seven possessions, scoring with the ease of a PlayStation game.

Of course, if you believe this stretch of the season has been hard, it's about to get tougher. The Bucs lost guard Dan Buenning to a possible season-ending right knee injury. And Tampa Bay plays three of its final five games in cold-weather climates: Pittsburgh on Dec. 3, Chicago on Dec. 17 and Cleveland on Dec. 24.

As Barber knotted his tie and prepared to leave the locker room, he took a deep breath and shook his head.

"Good thing those young guys are facing this early in their career because this (stinks) for 10- and 11-year guys having to go through a season like this," he said. "But we'll see what kind of testament it is when these guys play the next five weeks, when we have to go on the road in tough conditions.

"You find out about yourself. A lot of veterans know who they are, but these young guys haven't dealt with adversity, real adversity. Hopefully, we find out."

If this keeps up, their holidays could be ruined. Thanksgiving was a downer. And there are still games to play on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

Rick Stroud can be reached at stroud@sptimes.com

[Last modified November 24, 2006, 05:27:57]