The Tampa Bay Bucs had hoped to salvage a shred of dignity Sunday in their season finale against the playoff-bound Atlanta Falcons and maybe help head coach Raheem Morris make a case to keep his job.
Instead, the Bucs looked like they were out to demonstrate they were worthy of the No. 1 pick in the draft, putting a huge exclamation point on the disaster that has been unfolding over the last three months. Statistically, the 2-13 Indianapolis Colts staked the claim as the NFL's worst team earlier in the afternoon, but realistically, nobody at this point looks worse than the 4-12 Bucs.
This performance was so bad, maybe the owners should just fire themselves.
The Bucs fell behind 21-0 before the first quarter had ended, 42-0 midway through the second quarter and staggered to the finish line of their 2011 campaign with a crushing 45-24 defeat and their landmark 10th straight loss. There hasn't been a Tampa Bay losing streak like that since the 0-26 expansion start of 1976-77.
New year, same old story for the Morris and Co.
The only questions now seem to be not if he will be dismissed but when and whether GM Mark Dominik will get the ax along with him.
Despite what the final score might indicate, this stinker was never a game.
The loss wasn't even respectable enough to represent a microcosm of Tampa Bay's dismal season. At least the Bucs got off to a promising 4-2 start with a share of first place in the NFC South Division. Sunday, they were terrible right from the start and only began scoring some points after the Falcons eased up with their franchise-record 42-point lead in the first half.
The Bucs did set one record of their own along the way. When Michael Turner bulled his way in for a one-yard touchdown with 11:43 left in the first half, the Falcons took a 28-0 lead and officially tagged this beleaguered Bucs defense as the most porous in franchise history.
On that play, the Bucs surpassed the all-time mark of 473 points allowed by the pitiful 2-14 Tampa Bay team of 1986 coached by Leeman Bennett en route to a new club high (or low, in this case) of 494 points. It doesn't exactly help Morris' case that he serves as coordinator of the unit with such a dubious new distinction.
It all fell apart for the Bucs in a blur of ineptitude punctuated by several particularly awful moments with turnovers the familiar culprit.
Trailing 14-0 in the first quarter, quarterback Josh Freeman watched his 20th pass this season wind up in opposing hands, with Atlanta cornerback Dominique Franks picking off a throw that gave the Falcons a first down at the Buc 48. One play later, quarterback Matt Ryan threaded a pass downfield to rookie wideout Julio Jones, who beat cornerback E.J. Biggers, caught the ball over safety Tanard Jackson and wound up with a 48-yard touchdown for a 21-0 lead.
Then came another gem. With only 19 seconds left in the opening quarter, Freeman took the snap looking to pass but promptly had the ball stripped from his hands by defensive end John Abraham on a six-yard sack. Abraham made his own recovery at Tampa Bay's 30 and seven plays later, Turner's one-yard TD increased the margin to 28-zip.
Bad enough? No, not really. Down 28-0 less than five minutes into the second quarter, Freeman floated a short pass on third down and 4 from his 24 over the middle intended for tight end Kellen Winslow. The ball was easily snagged by linebacker Curtis Lofton, who scooted untouched for the score and a 35-0 lead.
And just for good measure, Turner who ran 26 yards on the game's first play blasted through the Bucs' disheveled defense for an 81-yard touchdown romp and 42-0 lead with 7:03 left before intermission. That highlighted a memorable day at the office for Turner: 17 carries for 172 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Ryan, meanwhile, only had to pass the ball nine times, completing six of them for 106 yards and two scores, before being rested early in the second half.
That's when the Bucs began to display a pulse. Freeman had gotten them on the board at the end of the first half with a two-yard TD pass to Dezmon Briscoe. In the third quarter, a 41-yard field goal by Connor Barth and 40-yard interception return for a touchdown by cornerback Elbert Mack followed by a Freeman-to-Winslow two-point conversation made it 42-18. And in the fourth quarter, Freeman's five-yard touchdown pass to Briscoe cut the deficit to 42-24.
But the two-point attempt failed twice. An incomplete pass in the back of the end zone was negated by a roughing-the-passer call, giving Freeman a second chance. But fittingly, his attempt to run it in from half the distance was stuffed by a swarm of Atlanta tacklers.
Freeman finished the day by completing 31 of 45 attempts for his two touchdowns and two interceptions. For the record, that left him with 16 TDs and 21 interceptions for the season, a far cry from his total of 25 touchdown passes and six picks in 2010.
Former Tampa Bay kicker Matt Bryant no doubt counting his blessings after an unhappy parting with the Bucs after 2008 produced the last score with a 20-yard field goal. It followed a fourth-down pushing match between Tampa Bay offensive tackle Donald Penn and Atlanta cornerback Dunta Robinson, giving the Falcons possession deep in Buc territory.
The penalties negated each other. Unfortunately for the Bucs, nothing could negate a the failure of the 2011 season.
All that remains now is the question of who will be leading this team when the next one starts. Morris' best hope is that the Amazing Invisible Glazers who own the Bucs weren't watching.
