TAMPA, Fla. -- Once upon a time, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were a trendy pick to be a legitimate threat in the NFC South. Coach Lovie Smith's hire in January gave a starved fan base hope that brighter days were ahead after living a six-season playoff drought. The Bucs entered Week 1 with momentum after Greg Schiano and Mark Dominik, MRSA and Josh Freeman, 4-12 and all the other black marks of a miserable year were placed far in the past.
All that seems long ago. After eight games, what's old is new again.
Different year, same Tampa Bay, and isn't that a shame?
At the season's midway point, the Bucs are 1-7 without many positives to consider. They've seen their offense stall. They've witnessed their defense become a sieve. They've watched their special teams miss field goals, allow Devin Hester to turn his old coach's team into a mangled mess, and they've observed that not-so-special group be a scant factor when trying to produce points of its own.
"We're all a part of that 1-7 record we have right now at the halfway point of our season -- it's not good enough," Smith said.
Smith is right. But the problem is, there's no change in sight. The Bucs are bad, bottom line. This is who they are.
The goal for the second half should be about saving face as much as possible. An eye toward the draft wouldn't hurt, too.
Here's a closer look at the Bucs' first half ...
OFFENSE
Grade: D-
No one could have predicted Jeff Tedford's medical leave of absence, so the offense avoids an "F" because the staff had to move forward with unforeseen circumstances to begin. Still, there's little to like from what has been seen on this side of the ball.
Josh McCown disappointed through three games before sustaining a significant sprain in his right thumb in a loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Signed as someone assumed to be a disciplined game manager, he threw four interceptions to just two touchdown passes while completing 43 of 68 passes for 420 yards.
Mike Glennon, meanwhile, started well but has regressed in recent weeks. He has thrown at least one interception in each of his past five games, and he threw two in a loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. He's 117-of-203 passing for 1,417 yards with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Monday, Smith seemed non-committal about keeping Glennon as his starter with McCown healthy after recovering from the thumb injury.
"It's always week-to-week with what we do," Smith said. "We look at who we think gives us the best opportunity to win this week, last week. Mike would be the first guy to tell you he's played a lot better than he played last week. Josh is healthy and ready to go right now. That's the strength of the quarterback position that we talked about. Right now, we'll see who's available â we have a couple of days, and we'll kind of go from there."
No matter who starts at quarterback, the stats aren't kind to the Bucs. They rank 26th in scoring offense (18.8 points per game), 26th in pass offense (214.1 yards per game), 29th in rush offense (89.8 ypg) and 31st in total offense (303.9 ypg). Doug Martin is on the decline, and Bobby Rainey, the Bucs' best running threat at this time, has three fumbles.
Yet Mike Evans has emerged as a rare positive in recent weeks. The rookie leads the Bucs in receiving with 460 yards and four touchdowns on 32 catches this season.
DEFENSE
Grade: F
Thought to be the Bucs' strength, the unit has proven to be among the NFL's worst. The Bucs rank 18th in rush defense (114.6 yards per game), 31st in pass defense (285.2 ypg), 31st in total defense (399.9 ypg) and 32nd in scoring defense (30.6 points per game).
Gerald McCoy, signed to a seven-year extension worth a possible $98 million, hasn't lived up at times to the brute force he showed in the preseason. But he still leads the Bucs with five sacks.
Meanwhile, there's little else to like from most of the big-ticket free-agent signees. Michael Johnson, who appears invisible often, has 15 tackles and two sacks. Clinton McDonald has 28 tackles and one sack. Mike Jenkins was placed on injured reserve in early September with a pectoral injury. Alterraun Verner is the strongest of the group, but he has appeared vulnerable at times.
"If you look out there on tape and you see a bunch of guys sitting on blocks, are you not earning the title of being soft?" McCoy said. "I mean, guys get so sensitive around the league, but we have to be men. This is a man's league. This is a man's league. We're professionals."
The defense isn't getting the job done, plain and simple. The "soft" label is fair.
The Bucs were built around the concept that defense and good-enough offense would carry them to victory. That hasn't happened for a variety of reasons: An anemic pass rush, the coaching staff's misjudgment of talent, poor execution.
Smith insists his Tampa-2 scheme can work in the NFL. He doesn't have the manpower to execute it properly, though.
"I say each week: We tweak what we do a little bit. But as far as wholesale changes â I made a statement: wholesale changes, we're not doing," Smith said. "We're not going to change our overall scheme (or) anything like that."
SPECIAL TEAMS
Grade: D
When will the revolving door at return man stop? Solomon Patton, Trindon Holliday and now Marcus Thigpen -- it's obvious that the Bucs haven't been pleased with their options in the return game.
The feeling is understood. Patton totaled 112 yards on 10 punt returns and 393 yards on 17 kickoff returns. Holliday had two punt returns for 17 yards and two kickoff returns for 45 yards before he was waived with a hamstring injury. Thigpen doesn't look like a difference-maker, so it's likely that the Bucs must extend their search for an answer in this area in the offseason.
Patrick Murray, meanwhile, has been inconsistent. The rookie has converted 8 of 12 attempts, though poor blocking didn't help him in the loss to the Browns, when he missed two field-goal attempts.
In the punting game, Michael Koenen has averaged 40.5 yards per attempt on 36 punts. That's a drop from his 44.2-yard-per-punt average in 87 attempts last season.
MIDSEASON MVP
Gerald McCoy
He's one of the few top-level talents on the Bucs' roster, and it's clear why Smith and general manager Jason Licht would be interested in building around him. By already having earned five sacks, McCoy is on pace to reach at least 10 for the first time in his career. He was forced to adjust his approach because of a broken left hand sustained in the loss to the St. Louis Rams. He also serves as a valuable emotional leader. He's just one man, though. The Bucs need more like him to escape the NFC South cellar.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Who expected 1-7? After an offseason of renewal, fresh optimism and positive vibes following Smith's hire, the Bucs have given their fans far too many stink bombs in the season's first half. The offense, which was doomed to begin without Tedford, has been abysmal. The defense, which has proven to be a paper tiger after the preseason hype, has been embarrassing. The Bucs never looked this bad during Schiano's final season. It's obvious that Tampa Bay needs a dependable quarterback to change its momentum. That quarterback isn't on the roster now.
BEST MOMENT
The more time goes by, the more unlikely that 27-24 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers becomes. Glennon threw for 302 yards and two touchdowns, and Martin ran for 40 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries. Glennon led the Bucs on a strong five-play, 46-yard drive in the closing seconds, capped by a 5-yard touchdown pass to Vincent Jackson. Consider this result another example of how quirky the NFL can be. Since, Tampa Bay has lost four consecutive games. Pittsburgh has won four of five.
WORST MOMENT
Try moments, plural. A 56-14 trouncing by the Falcons and a 48-17 thumping by the Baltimore Ravens were two of the most dismal showings you'll see from an NFL team. The Bucs were completely overmatched in both. Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco combined for eight touchdown passes. Tampa Bay trailed at halftime 35-0 against Atlanta and 38-0 against Baltimore. Embarrassing doesn't do either effort justice.
SECOND-HALF OUTLOOK
A 1-15 record seems possible. Glance at the Bucs' schedule and try to find a likely win. There aren't any. That's why Tampa Bay has earned the right to be called one of the NFL's worst teams. The Bucs might sneak out another victory or two the rest of the way, because it's hard to lose 15 games. Still, finishing with two or three wins wouldn't make this year any less of a disaster. Start studying draft prospects. Tampa Bay should hold a top-five pick next spring.
You can follow Andrew Astleford on Twitter @aastleford or email him at aastleford@gmail.com.
