TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy stayed on the field all by himself, kneeling in prayer Sunday afternoon, long after his teammates had finished warming up and gone inside. He then stood, made the sign of a cross and kissed the sky, with fans at Raymond James Stadium giving him a standing ovation. It was that kind of week, with Hurricane Irma ravaging the entire state of Florida.
The Bucs were forced to take a Week 1 bye because of Irma. A large majority evacuated, sitting in cramped cars for nine and 10 hours. It took offensive tackle Demar Dotson two days to drive home from Louisiana because of traffic on Interstate 10 -- not the most conducive way to heal from a groin injury. Some players came home to property damage and no air conditioning with temperatures in the mid-to-high 90s.
When the Bucs assembled for practice Wednesday -- miraculously with all 64 players back despite not having a fully operational airport -- coach Dirk Koetter didn't need to scream and yell at them. Instead, he gave them a long list of excuses that they could make. He then told them, “Nobody cares outside these four walls.”
Quarterback Jameis Winston didn't need to give one of his spirited pep talks, willing his teammates to rise above their circumstances. He simply told them, "Nobody cares. It's time to play."
“I think everybody took it upon themselves,” Winston said. “All those men were focused on getting their families safe, so they knew they needed to step up. They knew what was coming next with us having not played a game in three or four weeks. They knew that. We rose up to the challenge.”
Added defensive tackle Noah Spence: “We all came out and were on the same page the whole week of practice. We knew what we had to do. ... You could feel it throughout the whole locker room. Everybody was ready. Everybody came out like, ‘Yo, let’s get this win.’ That’s all you can ask for with this team.”
The Buccaneers' defense feasted in Sunday's 29-7 win over the Bears, picking off quarterback Mike Glennon twice, including a pick-six from Robert McClain, who'd just won the nickelback job over Javien Elliott. They got two more takeaways, with Spence delivering a blow to Glennon that jarred the ball loose and into Lavonte David's hands. Even with linebacker Kwon Alexander exiting the game with a hamstring injury, there was barely a hiccup.
Alexander hadn't played a game in a month, along with McCoy, DeSean Jackson and Mike Evans. They'd been held out of the third preseason game due to minor injuries. When Evans was asked earlier this week about rust with Winston and whether the break would upset their rhythm, he said, "We've played two seasons together, and we know how to play football. We'll be all right."
He was right. Evans caught seven passes for 93 receiving yards and had the first touchdown of the season.
Mature football teams have that kind of trust among core players. Mature football teams can handle unfavorable circumstances.
Defensive tackle Clinton McDonald agreed. "That is the sign of a mature football team. I think the simple part is that we stuck together -- during the hurricane, guys drove to Atlanta, guys flew and everybody stuck together even though we were apart during the whole week. We still stuck together through phone calls, text messages, just communicated. That’s another sign of a mature team.”
Yes, the Bucs were aided by a struggling Glennon who could very well be seeing his last snaps as a starter. The Bucs' defensive backs didn't face much of a challenge, either, with the Bears losing key receivers.
The Bucs came in with odds stacked against them. Their adversity -- if you'd even call it that -- pales in comparison to what families in the Florida Keys, Naples, Fort Myers and Immokalee areas are facing. Families that lost everything. Losing a fence or suffering roof damage is nothing compared to what a Lakeland family feels after losing a daughter this week to carbon monoxide poisoning, or in South Florida, where eight nursing home residents lost their lives after going too long without air conditioning.
The Bucs will be the first to tell you that: They aren't suffering. Most will even tell you that they got lucky. That's why between practices, defensive tackle Clinton McDonald was rounding up food trucks for four locations throughout the area so people still without power could enjoy a hot meal. He estimates that he fed more than 2,000 people.
That's why Winston spent his Friday night helping feed 500 families in St. Petersburg. That's what leadership looks like -- taking care of business in the locker room and in the community. That's recognizing the need to step up and play your role without anybody having to tell you to.
"We have an awesome group of guys," Koetter said. "We’ve got the right guys ... we have good leadership. I’m proud of the way they handled that part.”
The Bucs had a lot of options for excuses this week. It turns out that they've gotten to a point as a team -- a mature football team -- where they didn't need any of them.