Let's face facts.

The Buccaneers offense is bad. They are the lowest scoring offense in the NFL, even worse than the Raiders. They have not scored a touchdown in two games. There are some reasons for this. There starting QB is on IR but they went two games without scoring a touchdown when he was in the lineup. They are starting two rookies in the offensive line. However, left guard Dan Buenning was a rookie and left tackle Anthony Davis was in his second year when the Buccaneers went 11-5 and won the NFC South last season.

Could the reason the offense is struggling so much be related to the defense? For the past decade the Bucs have been in the top 10 for defense. This year they stand at 22nd. They allowed 306 yards rushing to the Falcons and 506 total yards to the Eagles. They did score two TD's in the Eagle game to help pull out the unlikely victory but that has been one of the missing elements for the defense this season.

The Buccaneers live and die by creating turnovers and right now they are on life support. They have already equaled the number of games without a turnover this season compared to last season. So why is Tampa's vaunted defense not the same this year? I believe the success this group has experienced for the past 10 years has finally caught up to them. When you have success other teams want to have your players and coaches. The attrition that Tampa has suffered over the years is starting to hav e an impact.

Sure they have lost great players like John Lynch and Warren Sapp but I think the coaches they have lost are the biggest reason. Look at the list of coaches who have moved on to bigger and better opportunities. Herm Edwards took the Jets back to the playoffs and Lovie Smith has what many think is the best team in the NFL this season in Chicago. The Bucs were able to weather the storm even with the loss of those key elements of there staff but last year was just too much. Defensive line coach Rod Marinelli left to become the coach of the Lions and defensive backs coach Mike Tomlin left to be the defensive coordinator of the Vikings. But the Bucs were prepared for this.

They had Raheem Morris to step in for Mike Tomlin if and when he left. OOPS! He took the job as defensive coordinator at Kansas State during the season last year. No problem, we have Joe Woods to step in. Darn! Mike Tomlin took him to Minnesota to be his defensive Backs coach. I am not saying that the new coaches the Bucs have won't be successful but they have some pretty big shoes to fill. This will take time. And during that time the offense better realize that they need to play better because right now they do not have the luxury  of starting on short fields.

I am not sure if Tampa Bay can rely on the defense to have the type of performances they have become accustomed to and while they wait to find that out they need to start getting the ball to Cadillac Williams.