Columns

With Bucs, one game in and all our trust has left us

Nobody looks good right now, not even the normally reliable ones on the Bucs.

By By John Romano
Published September 11, 2007

Too much losing over the past few seasons has Bucs fans wondering if the team is actually getting better. Coach Jon Gruden thinks so: "I do see improvement. I think our football team sees improvement. We're a heck of a lot better team on opening day this year than we were last year."
	[Brendan Fitterer | Times]

The consequences of losing are many. It may begin on the scoreboard, but it persists far beyond.

It can cost a franchise revenue and value. It can cost careers and reputations. The collateral damage of losing can be far worse than the initial frustration it produces.

In this case, losing has cost the Buccaneers our trust.

For, this morning, we have none left to spare. Trust got sideswiped in 2003, trampled in '04 and backed over in '06.

And so, when the Bucs lost the season opener Sunday, there was no reservoir of trust to fall back on.

It took only one game to revive your worst fears from last season. The promise, the expectation, the joy of a new season was wiped out just that quickly.

Thus, everyone here is now a suspect.

One game in, and you wonder how Jon Gruden and genius ever came to be in the same sentence.

The great offensive overhaul of Tampa Bay is now in its sixth season, and still there is no expressway to the end zone. The Bucs have 20 offensive touchdowns in their past 17 games. Gee, imagine how bad it would be if the Bucs hadn't recently used first-round picks on a running back, a receiver and an offensive lineman.

One game in, and you wonder if Cadillac Williams borrowed Rocco Baldelli's vitamins.

No one should doubt that Williams is hurting this morning and will have a legitimate excuse if he is sitting out Sunday's game against the Saints. But it would mean Williams has missed five of his first 34 NFL games. For comparison's sake, LaDainian Tomlinson has missed one of his first 97 games.

One game in, and you wonder what the fuss was about when Bill Muir was hired.

His reputation was that of an offensive line Svengali. And in 2002, he coaxed a Super Bowl out of a motley crew that included rejects, a has-been and a never-was. But, since then, the O-line has been retooled over and over without any progress. The run-blocking is weak, the pass-blocking is mediocre, and the patience is gone.

One game in, and - God help us - you wonder if time has caught up to Derrick Brooks.

He is one of the greatest linebackers in the history of the NFL, but age is an inevitable factor. At 34, he can't be expected to be the player he was in his prime, but it was shocking to see Shaun Alexander run over Brooks twice in the same game.

One game in, and you wonder what Bruce Allen is doing here.

His drafts have not been stellar, and his free-agent signings have yet to produce much of an impact. And now, two weeks after Judge Allen exonerated him in a DUI case, David Boston's legal troubles have deepened.

One game in, and you wonder how long Jeff Garcia can survive.

Quarterbacks are like clay pigeons around here. Brad Johnson had a stress fracture in his back in 2002. Chris Simms banged up his shoulder in 2004. Brian Griese tore his knee up in 2005, and Simms had his spleen ruptured in 2006. As fearless and reckless as Garcia appears, his odds of surviving 16 games appear slim.

One game in, and you wonder if the Glazers have lost their passion to succeed.

Every year they raise ticket prices like clockwork, and yet they began this season about $15-million shy of the salary cap. Do you suppose some of that spare room in the payroll could have been used to supplement this team's depth? Makes you want to mark your dollar bills to see if they show up in the pockets of soccer players in Manchester.

So are all of these suspicions justified?

Probably not, but this is what losing has done to us.

It has made us question what we have long believed and doubt what we once were sure of. Because the Bucs have lost far more than they have won the past four seasons, it is difficult to muster much trust when Gruden stands before us and says this team is better in 2007 than it was in '06.

"I do see improvement. I think our football team sees improvement," Gruden said. "We're a heck of a lot better team on opening day this year than we were last year."

He may be right. He probably is. The problem is our trust has been shredded. Too many losses over too many seasons makes it hard to have blind faith when every instinct suggests otherwise.

The bottom line is this:

The Bucs are a last-place team.

They convinced us of that last season, and, until they prove differently, there is no reason to doubt it.

John Romano can be reached atromano@sptimes.com or 727 893-8811.

[Last modified September 11, 2007, 00:29:38]