At 0-5, Bucs' Morris demands more from players

The only thing recognizable about Bucs coach Raheem Morris at his Monday news conference was a willingness to answer questions.

His irritated demeanor was unfamiliar.

The Bucs are 0-5 and have double-digit losses in four of their defeats, including Sunday's 33-14 loss at Philadelphia. Tampa Bay's offense has been stagnant. Its defense has consistently given up big plays.

Instead of sugar-coating Tampa Bay's current state of disarray, Morris let it be known he was not happy with his team and addressed players by name.

"I'm extremely disappointed in (Sunday's) result, how it played out," Morris said. "The bottom line is we had too many missed opportunities by too many of our good players. We're just not getting it done right now."

Last week, Bucs receiver Michael Clayton said he needed more opportunities. After Clayton dropped three passes against the Eagles, Morris made sure Clayton caught some heat.

"I brought him into my office and let him know. We talked one-on-one," Morris said. "He has to stand up and (play well) every week. He had to play like he did versus Dallas. He's counted on. He's one of the guys we're depending on, and he's got to play like that, and he hasn't been."

When asked about cornerback Elbert Mack's tendency to give up big plays, Morris was slightly kinder than Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, who burned Mack on a 51-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin.

"He has to step up," Morris said of Mack. "You see him make some plays, and he's obviously missed his fair share of plays. He has to step up and make them more consistently. He has got to get better, because right now he's the best option."

And when asked about the running game, only running back Cadillac Williams drew high praise from Morris. The offensive line, Morris said, did not hold its blocks long enough.

"Cadillac made some plays by himself," Morris said. "It would have been the same result if nobody else was out there on some of those plays. I'm going to tell them that and they need to hear that."

Morris said he would highlight what his team did well against Philadelphia during a team meeting, but he added his players need to be more accountable and answer for their mistakes.

"Right now, what tends to happen is you'll go back and look for your own answers," Morris said. "When you start looking for your own answers, you start to mess up other things. Ronde Barber played excellent. So when Ronde Barber goes back and tries to look for his own answers, he'll find himself making mistakes next week because he's looking for somebody else's answers.

"It's the coach's job to find out what's wrong. It's the coach's job to find out what we need to do. It's the player's job to go out there and execute it. That's what we got to do."

Although this season is not going as Morris anticipated, his biggest concern is preventing Tampa Bay from going 0-6. His sole focus is Sunday's home game against the NFC South rival Carolina Panthers.

"The only thing I can worry about right now is becoming 0-6 or being 1-5," Morris said. "If I start thinking about 0-10 or 0-15, that's exactly what I will be when the time comes."

Despite the stern tone, Morris remained confident.

"I'm going to smile in the face of adversity because I know what we're doing," Morris said. "I've got all confidence in the world we know what we're doing. I've got confidence in my owner. I've got confidence in my management. I've got confidence in my coaches. I've got confidence in my players, and the ones I've got to get better, I will.

"I'll tolerate them until I can replace them. Period."