TAMPA, Fla. -- Observed and heard in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' locker room after their 27-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
There was a strange moment in a room off the main locker room. Tampa Bay quarterback Josh McCown was seen sobbing and being comforted by quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo. Minutes later, McCown was still emotional as he met with the media. He put the blame for the loss on himself and said the Bucs are disappointing their fans.
Coach Lovie Smith generally goes out of his way to not be critical of his players. But frustration is starting to show through. Smith called left tackle Oniel Cousins' fourth-quarter unnecessary roughness penalty "stupid."
Smith was gentler when talking about tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins' penalty for standing on the ball after scoring a fourth-quarter touchdown that gave the Bucs a 17-16 lead. Smith said he and the team have gone over the rule that the ball can't be used as a prop in a celebration. Smith said Seferian-Jenkins made a rookie mistake.
