TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -Tampa Bay’s second victory left first-year coach Raheem Morris in a predictably good mood.
He spoke Monday about the Buccaneers beginning to establish an identity, rookie quarterback Josh Freeman rebounding from two poor performances to direct a 24-7 win over Seattle, and the challenge of facing NFC-leading New Orleans on the road next weekend.
One subject he’s still not saying much about is what he feels the Bucs (2-12) have to do to ensure he and others, including first-year general manager Mark Dominik, keep their jobs for another season.
“Again, job security is not an issue for coaches. We don’t have any. You just go out there and present your best self every day. That’s all I can do,” Morris said.
“We make decisions based on how do we beat the Saints or our next opponent, whoever they are. There will be no decisions made based on saving Raheem Morris, saving Mark Dominik or saving any player.”
second-half touchdown passes, and Tampa Bay gained 134 yards rushing Sunday to win on the West Coast for the first time since the Super Bowl seven seasons ago.
With games remaining against the Saints (13-1) and another NFC South rival, Atlanta (7-7), Morris and his players are hoping to build on the things they were able to do to dominate the Seahawks after trailing 7-3 at halftime.
“There’s always guys who are on the bubble. There’s always coaches who are on the bubble,” the coach said. “How you respond to being on the bubble is what defines you as a man, what defines you as a coach, what defines you as a player. Those defining roles will come out in these last two weeks.”
For the first time under Morris, the Bucs resembled the kind of team that was a perennial playoff contender under former coaches Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden – stout on defense and opportunistic on offense.
They weren’t flashy or anywhere near perfect against Seattle, however they were persistent.
“We’ve been in a lot of games this year and not found a way to win them,” cornerback Ronde Barber said. “It was nice to have a fourth quarter where the game was soundly in hand. I can’t remember the last time we had a game like that, so this is really rewarding.”
Outgained 234 yards to 117 in the opening half, the Bucs controlled the ball for more than 11 minutes of the third quarter to take over the game.
s 22-yard screen pass to Cadillac Williams ended a stretch of 12 consecutive quarters without a TD. The first-round pick’s 6-yard scoring throw to Derrick Ward, plus a two-point conversion run on a quarterback draw, put the Bucs up 21-7.
The defense, which has allowed four games to slip away on an opponent’s final possession, made sure the lead stood.
“We struggled as a team, for the most part, in the third quarter of games. Yesterday was completely the opposite. It was completely what it should be. How you want to react, how you want to come out,” Morris said.
“I just told these guys, there’s no reason for us to wait around until the end of the game to try to win it. There’s no rule that says we can’t go out there, win the game and absoultely dominate. That’s what they did.”
But was Sunday’s performance a sign of true progress? Or did the Bucs simply take advantage of a struggling team was held to seven points for the second straight week and single-digits for the fourth time?
Sunday’s game at New Orleans, which is coming off its first loss, should be a better indication.
The Saints beat Tampa Bay 38-7 five weeks ago, prompting Morris to demote defensive coordinator and taking over play-calling responsibilities.
And while the defense has been better statistically over the past four weeks, the Bucs lost three consecutive times to backup quarterbacks before shutting down Matt Hasselbeck and the Seahawks.
“I think those guys want to stay in a rhythm for the playoffs. … I think they’re going to want to absolutely take it out on us,” Morris said of the Saints, who lost 24-7 to Dallas on Saturday.
“But we look forward to that challenge. You want to define yourself, you want to see how well you’re playing on defense, you go play the Saints. They’ll let you know pretty quickly where you are and what you are. There’s no doubt in my mind, they are going to have more yardage on us than we expect. We’ve just got to keep them out of the end zone if we can.”
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