Bucs defense searching for answers after loss to Miami

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Coach Raheem Morris fielded questions from the media for nearly 20 minutes on Monday.

Still, it was hard for him to clarify why his team is 1-8.

Morris tried to explain why Tampa Bay's two-minute defense failed during Sunday's 25-23 loss at Miami, allowing the Dolphins to drive 77 yards in five plays in the final 1:04 to kick a 25-yard winning field goal with 10 seconds left.

He also tried to explain why the defense has had trouble stopping the run this season, including allowing the Dolphins to rush for 199 yards.

The bottom line, it seems, is personnel.

"We're just not made right now to knock people back," Morris said. "That's not how we're cut. We don't have big, intimidating linebackers or big intimidating lineman. We've got to hit you. We've got to be perfect. (Sunday) was a great situation to be in 2nd-and-8. Good. That's where we want to be. We were in 3rd-and-6. Great. That's where we want to be. Now we have third down and we're ready to get off (the field).

"Those situations showed up a bunch yesterday when we had an opportunity to get off. We have to create those type of situations. We have to be smart with it as well. We have to play coverage, but we don't have the big people, the big personnel that you need to knock out runs. The physical person up front that absolutely dominates the block and gets the tackle for loss on 3rd-and-13. We'll get there. We'll find those guys and we'll go out there and get them. Right now, we got to go out there and play with the guys we have."

The defensive players Morris currently has are ones he and General Manager Mark Dominik believed gave Tampa Bay the best chance of winning. When asked about their offseason personnel decisions, Morris said each player would be evaluated.

"Ryan [Simms] has to be evaluated like all of us," Morris said. "We have to evaluate Dre Moore, we have to evaluate Ryan. Dre Moore got a chance to get out there and get his whistle wet a little bit. We have to evaluate all those guys, Kyle Moore, Michael Bennett. All the guys we have, we have to evaluate all those people. We've got to make decisions at the end of the season once you get there, but right now, that's who we have.

"We've got to go out there and get better with technique. We've got to get better and we've got to see somebody make a play."