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About the Author: Mark Cook

Avatar Of Mark Cook
Mark Cook currently is the director of editorial content and Bucs beat writer and has written for PewterReport.com since 2011. Cook has followed the Buccaneers since 1977 when he first began watching football with his Dad and is fond of the 1979 Bucs team that came within 10 points of going to a Super Bowl. His favorite Bucs game is still the 1979 divisional playoff win 24-17 over the Eagles. In his spare time Cook enjoys playing guitar, fishing, the beach and family time.Cook is a native of Pinecrest in Eastern Hillsborough County and has written for numerous publications including the Tampa Tribune, In the Field and Ya'll Magazine. Cook can be reached at [email protected]

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This list could be a really long one but we will keep it at five to save your sanity. The Bucs fell behind, clawed back and took the lead, only to surrender it late, and now fly home to Tampa Bay in a deep 2-4 hole. The Bills beat the Bucs 30-27, or it could be argued the Bucs beat the Bucs. However you look at it, it will take an epic turnaround with little room for error for the Bucs to make the playoffs this season.

Still, there is a little bit of hope, even if it is just a tiny light at the end of the tunnel.

Here is our list of the most disappointing. Take a look and see if you agree and share your thoughts.

WR Adam Humphries
Adam. Why? That can’t happen. No, the loss isn’t on Humphries, by a long shot. But his fumble deep in Bucs territory just before the two-minute warning in a tie game, led to the Bills essentially running the clock all the way down before kicking the game-winning field goal. Humphries has been as steady as they come this season, but ball security is paramount late in a game, and Humphries failed at a critical juncture.

LB Kwon Alexander
Alexander was hyped to return to the starting lineup for the first time since injuring his hamstring in the season opener against the Bears. Maybe he was too hyped, as the former LSU star was out of position on multiple plays and missed a number of tackles that kept drives alive and some led to eventual scores. Alexander wasn’t the only one to do so, but as the team’s middle linebacker, against a dual-threat quarterback and the league’s leading rusher, the Bucs defense needed a better performance from Alexander on Sunday.

T Donovan Smith
It is a tough job being a lineman in the NFL. You can play steady for 98 percent of the game and have a few bad plays, and it really stands out. Smith was okay for most of the game, but his glaring errors were extremely costly and kept potential points off the board, none more egregious than a sack given up in the first half that created a turnover when the Bucs were moving well and were in Bills territory. In the second half Donovan’s holding call negated a 55-yard Winston to DeSean Jackson hookup, although the Bucs were able to overcome it and still eventually scored on the drive.

Bucs Run Defense
Tackling is 75 percent effort and want to. On Sunday against the Bills, there didn’t appear to be a lot of want to. And most concerning, it was the second week in a row that the Bucs run defense was gouged. Yes, the Bills have a potent running game, but the Bills didn’t cause the Bucs to not wrap up, or be out of position multiple times in the game. The Bills ended up with 172 yards on the ground and were made to look silly at times. The Bucs won’t win another game if they can’t stop the run. It has to get fixed. Yesterday.

Defensive Coaching Staff
What came first? The chicken or the egg? Are the Bucs problems (434 yards surrendered) a product of poor talent, or poor coaching? At times on Sunday, it seemed to take turns. Besides having zero answer for the Bills run game, there were receivers running free all over the field in the secondary as well. What hurt the most was the defense not being able to get off the field on third down. Buffalo was 63 percent on the afternoon, and several of those conversions took place when the Bucs defense had the Bills in third-and-long. And how many times are we going to see the Bucs defensive line run themselves out of their own gaps with slants and stunts, leaving gaping holes? Even if you feel the players are more to blame, the coaching staff’s message is obviously not getting through.

Bucs at Bills: Most Impressive
2-Point Conversion: This Bucs Defense Is Awful
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