Buccaneers Get Best Shot For A Win

There's no other way to put it.

Fact is, these Tampa Bay Buccaneers of Raheem Morris are playing like dogs. And perhaps that's an insult to dogs.

After getting wiped out at Philadelphia, the lads from Tampa Bay are home again and they're home with just an ounce of hope.

Hope is arriving Sunday in the form of the 1-3 Carolina Panthers. This MAY be the Bucs best shot at winning, not this week, this year.

Carolina has been no ball of fire and the Panthers have been stinky most of the season and a lot of that odor comes from the play of quarterback Jack Delhomme. His performance gives hope to a Buccaneer defensive line that couldn't find a sack at a grocery store.

Perhaps that's a bit cruel and unfair. Jimmy Wilkerson played a great game against Philadelphia, getting three sacks, but it was like he was out there alone. There was no sign of Gaines Adams, as usual. Chris Hovan wasn't much help either.

Which now brings us to the Buccaneer offense.

That's where the challenge lies on Sunday. Josh Johnson continues to run for his life, literally. There is no running game. Cadillac Williams was garaged by the Philly defense.

Only Kellen Winslow bothered to help Johnson out. Winslow finally had a decent game.

Other than that, the question mounts in Tampa: Is there any hope for this team?

There is little hope because there's no leadership in the locker room. "Too many Indians and not enough Chiefs," lamented Morris, who is supposed to be the chief of the chiefs.

Blame on lack of leadership lies squarely on the front-office decision to release Derrick Brooks, the team's decorated leaders of seasons past.

Brooks hasn't said much to date but finally gave his thoughts to Dan Sileo on 620 WDAE:

"It hurts to see this every week," Brooks said of his old team. "It's going to be a character-building year."

And that's the problem thus far. This team has shown very little character and a lot of inexperience.

Carolina comes calling.

This week there's a chance.