UpdatedAug 19, 2011 6:26 AM ETTAMPA - They should forget the score. It means Saints Jeremy Shockey Jersey nothing.They should ignore the groans from the bleachers, and the angryventing of the message boards. At this point in August, it's allless than frivolous.What the Buccaneers should take from Thursday night's preseasondud against New England was the utter helplessness they must havefelt.The shock. The frustration. The sting.Now that is worth remembering.For this is a team that has come far on confidence and swagger.A Premier Lance Moore Jersey team that defied expectations a year ago, Replica Jeremy Shockey Jersey and embraced itsgrowing celebrity in training camp."We needed to face a team like that in the second preseasongame," defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said. Cheap Lance Moore Jersey "It shows us where we'reat, and now we can judge ourselves accordingly."In this case, the verdict is not favorable.The first-string Bucs did not Replica Lance Moore Jersey block and did nottackle. They did not run, did not cover, and when it was over theyprobably did not floss.If you think a 28-0 halftime score sounds bad, I'm telling youit looked worse. Tampa Bay's defense gave up an average of 7.9yards a play in the first quarter. As a counter argument, the Bucs offense gained an average of1.6 yards on its plays.And when they weren't getting humiliated by the Patriots, theywere getting Authentic Lance Moore Jersey browbeat by the officials with 10 penalties in thefirst half alone.It was Premier Jeremy Shockey Jersey about as thorough as a 30-minute beating can get. And bythe time it was over, the one true casualty was hope."I don't know if it was a slap in the face, but it was a realitycheck," guard Davin Joseph said. "When you don't convert on thirddown, you're not going to win many games. When you get a lot ofpenalties, you're not Lance Moore Stitched Jersey going to win many games. When you can'tprotect your quarterback and keep him standing up straight, you'renot going to win Jeremy Shockey Jersey Outlet many games. And that was the sum of our offensetonight."Just to reiterate, the final result is inconsequential. Thatgoes without saying in the preseason. The object of these games isnot to take a snapshot of the scoreboard, but to get a glimpse ofthe NFL Lance Moore Jersey future.So game plans, substitutions and motivations have nothing incommon with what goes on Jeremy Shockey Stitched Jersey in the regular season.Still, it was the breadth of the beating that was so disturbing.This wasn't a question of the Bucs pulling their starters after ahandful of plays. And it wasn't turnovers or flukes.Josh Freeman was in the huddle for five possessions, and nevergot the Jeremy Shockey Jersey On sale ball past midfield. The drives, if you want to call themthat, went 1, 2, 13, minus-9 and 10 yards.The defensive starters stuck around for about four drives, andsurrendered three touchdowns to Tom Brady and Co.When your punter is in the running for MVP, you know it was along night.So does this wipe out all of the good will created by NFL Jeremy Shockey Jersey lastweek's 25-0 Free Shipping Lance Moore Jersey trampling of Kansas City? Not at all. It is simply theflip side - or perhaps the downside - to youngry. For, sometimes itcan turn yugly. Or yawful. Or yelpless."If we're going to be a contender, we can't go from a great gamelike we played last week to a game like this," Reebok Lance Moore Jersey Joseph said. "That'swhat we've got to learn. We have to be consistent from week toweek. It's not a big deal in the preseason, but we can't afford todo this in the regular season."This team Authentic Jeremy Shockey Jersey is still as young and hungry as last week. It stillhas more weapons on offense than a lot of teams, and more potentialon defense than we have seen in quite some time.The thing you have to remember is that most of Tampa Bay'sdefensive linemen still have student IDs in their wallets. And thatthe 25-year-olds are considered old-school.A team as young as this one Reebok Jeremy Shockey Jersey is bound to have growing pains. Alinebacker will lose a tight end in coverage. A defensive linemanmight overpursue at times. A running back will miss a block, and aquarterback will hold the ball too long.That doesn't cheap Jeremy Shockey Jersey mean the Bucs are heading for a fall, it'sjust a reminder that there will be moments when this team plays asyoung as its birth certificates.Take the defensive front seven, for instance. A week ago theywere physical. They were active. They were flying into the KansasCity backfield.And yet, six days later, they looked befuddled.As for Jeremy Shockey Jersey Free shipping the Bucs offense, that might have beeneven more disappointing. This unit is practically intact from lastseason. The offensive line is expensive and experienced.And yet there were defensive ends and Jeremy Shockey Jersey 88 linebackers coming left,right and straight up the gut. There were no holes for LaGarretteBlount, and no open receivers for Freeman.The good news is this game does not have to mean Lance Moore Jersey 16 a thing in thestandings.Just as long as the Bucs do not forget the lessonslearned on this night.John Romano can be reached at romano@sptimes.com