Morris not pleased with receivers' performance

The Bucs expect receiver Michael Clayton back at practice this week.

Apparently, his return cannot come soon enough.

Bucs coach Raheem Morris was disappointed with the play of his receivers without Antonio Bryant (knee) and Clayton (hamstring) during Tampa Bay's preseason loss against Tennessee on Saturday. Each receiver had an opportunity to impress Morris with Bryant and Clayton on the shelf, but nobody did.

The team returns to the practice field for a single session today starting at 2:45 p.m. at One Buc Place, coming off a 27-20 loss at Tennessee in its preseason opener and Morris' debut as Bucs head coach.

"The receivers are guys who actually had the opportunity to step up," Morris said Sunday. "You saw Sammie Stroughter show up, a young guy we've been talking about. He saw some balls. He dropped one, but I wanted to see more out of Cortez Hankton.

"B.C. Brian Clark showed up a little bit. Caught a ball down the field and had to challenge. The ball was on the ground a little bit too much for my liking."

Morris also expressed his disappointment with receiver Maurice Stovall, a former third-round pick who is competing for playing time.

Stovall (6-foot-5, 220 pounds) started in place of Clayton and could have distinguished himself, but despite being targeted five times, he finished with only one reception for 8 yards.

"We talked about 'Mo' a long time ago," Morris said. "You got one-on-one coverage with some of these shorter cornerbacks, I want to see you make some plays.

"Some of those comeback plays that hit you in the hands are tough catches, don't get me wrong, but we want to see some of those made. Tough catches are what makes this league go."

Although Morris was dissatisfied with Tampa Bay's turnovers - two fumbles and one interception- overall, he was pleased with his team.

Morris praised all of his quarterbacks and said he would likely know Tampa Bay's starting quarterback by next Sunday. He did not disclose when the official announcement will be made.

When asked if the loser between Byron Leftwich and Luke McCown instantly becomes the backup, Morris said the runner-up will compete against Josh Freeman and Josh Johnson for a spot on this year's roster. Morris only plans to have three quarterbacks on his roster this season and Freeman is the only one guaranteed a spot.

"[McCown] is not as aggressive as Byron. There is no secret about that," Morris said. "Byron, if there is one-on-one coverage, he's throwing at his wideout and he can win.

"There is just a little bit different mentality there. That's just the makeup of the players. Luke might not throw that ball. He might run for 10 (yards), whereas Lefty, I'm not running anywhere. I'm going to try to stick it to your face mask and hope you catch it mentality."