When a team gives up four touchdowns in less than two quarters, there's a lot of blame to go around. Somehow it was harder than last week to find disappointing defenders, in part because this felt more like a schematic breakdown than individuals messing up. Still, some players always stand out - so who were the most disappointing players on defense?
LB Quincy Black
Black seemed to be out of position more often than not, and was probably (though not certainly) the one responsible for the blown coverage on the first touchdown given up. Black was given a big contract this offseason, but failed to do make a play against the Patriots. Black played well last week, but was largely absent against New England.
DE Adrian Clayborn
Clayborn played hard, again, but did not look nearly as good as he did last week. He couldn't make an impact in the running game, getting walled off a couple of times. He was completely shut out as a pass rusher by fellow rookie Nate Solder. On passing downs he moved inside as a 3-technique, but did not make much of an impact there either. Overall, a disappointing second game after a promising first game.
S Sean Jones
Jones messed up the coverage on Chad Ochocinco's touchdown, leading to an easy touchdown for the Patriots. He bit on the run fake and couldn't recover in time. While Jones was flying around otherwise, he missed at least one tackle and failed to stop anyone in time. Jones has been a solid safety for the Bucs, but this was a subpar performance.
LB Geno Hayes
Hayes has a chance to be a very good linebacker, and showed a lot of flashes last season. Unfortunately, he has not actually shown up in the preseason so far. Hayes is a small linebacker who gets stuck behind blockers - that's no surprise, but his strong suit has been shooting through gaps and using his quickness to get to the play. He has failed to do that so far in the preseason.
LB Tyrone McKenzie
Watching these games, it's easy to see why the Bucs want Mason Foster to start: he is much faster and more explosive than McKenzie. While Foster is missing assignments and still learning the playbook, he flies around and hits people. McKenzie was supposed to be like that: a thumper who could really help the Bucs' run defense, but I have not seen anything out of him that would make me start him over Foster. McKenzie and Foster were supposed to be fighting for the starting job, but Foster has apparently already won it, and with good reason.