Ship takes on more water

Patriots no match for the Buccaneers

(Chris O'Meara / AP) New England Patriot's wide receiver Wes Welker (83) gets away from Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defenders Derrick Brooks (55) and Eugene Wilson (38).

TAMPA - The Patriots hope last night won't be the last time they play at Raymond James Stadium this season. The Pirate-paraphernalia-filled football palace will play host to Super Bowl XLIII Feb. 1.

If the exhibition tilt with the residents of the stadium, the Buccaneers, proved anything, it's that the Patriots have a lot of work to do before they can think about a return trip to Tampa.

And such a journey is unlikely to take place if Tom Brady, who missed last night's game with a foot injury, is out of the lineup.

For the second straight game, Brady's backups struggled to move the offense, generating just 10 points and 11 first downs. But Matt Cassel and rookie Kevin O'Connell weren't alone in their struggles.

The running game was nonexistent (56 yards on 22 rushes), and the defense, which allowed 170 yards rushing on 36 carries and missed a slew of tackles, seemed to wilt in the Florida heat.

The result - like the game - wasn't pretty, a 27-10 loss in front of 63,365 fans who had to be asking themselves if the team their Buccaneers were facing was indeed the mighty New England Patriots.

"Well, I think it's pretty obvious that we've got a lot of work to do based on all three phases of the game," said coach Bill Belichick.

"I didn't think we played as well or as competitively as we're capable of playing, certainly.

"So, we've just got to work on the little things, but those little things add up to big things."

The lone bright spots for the Patriots - if you had to pick them - were that for the second straight game Stephen Gostkowski, who drilled a 53-yarder at the conclusion of the first half, was perfect, and for the second straight game O'Connell (6 of 15, 61 yards, and an interception) was able to lead a touchdown drive, coaxing the Patriots to a nine-play, 58-yard march that was capped by Heath Evans's 1-yard run with 10:20 left in the fourth.

If anybody ever doubted Brady's MVP status, all they had to do was look at the Patriots' first nine possessions last night, which went punt, fumble, punt, field goal (to end the first half), fumble return for a touchdown, punt, interception, punt, and punt.

Already trailing, 17-3, things went from bad to football follies for the Patriots on the first play of the opening possession of the second half.

Dan Connolly, who had misfired on a shotgun snap in practice earlier in the week, sent one high and wide that deflected off Cassel's hand and was scooped up by safety Sabby Piscitelli, who returned it for a 24-yard touchdown and a 24-3 Bucs lead.

"It was definitely a Christmas gift," said Piscitelli.

The Patriots were in a giving mood.

Cassel, who got the start but did little to make his case that he's a reliable backup, going 6 of 10 for 57 yards, got one more possession after that before giving way to O'Connell with 12:01 left in the third quarter.

O'Connell's first pass went right to Buccaneers safety Elbert Mack at the New England 34. Tampa Bay cashed in with a Matt Bryant 23-yard field goal to make it 27-3.

The first half looked like a re-run of New England's exhibition opener against the Ravens, when they treated the football as if it were a foreign language they were asked to learn for the first time.

The Patriots were outgained, 234 yards to 87, and the numbers didn't paint an accurate picture of the Buccaneers' utter domination.

Most expected the Patriots' offense to sputter. However, the most alarming development was the porous play of the defense. Despite getting back starters Ellis Hobbs at cornerback and Mike Vrabel at linebacker, the defense was pushed around by Tampa Bay from the opening kickoff.

Tampa Bay took the ball and marched 80 yards on 17 plays in 9 minutes and 38 seconds, the drive culminating in a 1-yard run by Earnest Graham with 5:22 left in the quarter to take a 7-0 lead. Adding insult to injury, safety Brandon Meriweather left the game during the drive, limping off after making the tackle on a 7-yard gain by Warrick Dunn, four plays before the Bucs punched it in.

That set the tone for the half, as the defense allowed retreads Brian Griese and Luke McCown to go 15 of 17 for 120 yards and a touchdown - a 1-yard pass from McCown to Byron Storer - and surrendered 114 yards rushing and a touchdown on just 19 carries, which meant Tampa gained six yards every time it ran the ball in the first half.

The Patriots were fortunate to see their first drive end as a three-and-out, after a Cassel interception was overturned on a Belichick challenge, video replay revealing that Buccaneers linebacker Barrett Ruud had trapped the ball.

However, Ruud wouldn't be denied.

After the Patriots drove from their 38 to the Tampa Bay 30, he forced a Kevin Faulk fumble that teammate Jimmy Wilkerson recovered at the Tampa Bay 25.

The Buccaneers then went 59 yards in nine plays, converting the miscue into a 34-yard Bryant field goal.

It was 17-0 before Gostkowski connected on his field goal.

Granted, it's only the exhibition season, the most meaningless of football games, but it's never a good sign when your placekicker is the only one who looks like he's in regular-season form.

"We got a lot of [expletive] work to do," said linebacker Mike Vrabel.

"You can put that in the Globe and print it."