Antonio Bryant questionable, says Bucs still fighting

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Bryant might not play on Sunday as he nurses a knee injury. But he says he's impressed with the way his teammates are continuing to fight hard every week despite an 0-7 record.

The 28-year-old Bryant, who's played for the Cowboys, Browns and 49ers, says he's played for teams in the past that mailed it in after getting off to a bad start. He doesn't see any evidence of that in Tampa Bay.

"I've been on teams when we've had bad records and guys have done things to show they really don't care to be there anymore, or [they act like] the season is completely over," Bryant tells Anwar S. Richardson of the Tampa Tribune. "For us, it's not like there are six games left. It is nine games. That's a lot of games. That's a lot of games to break this thing even or make people scratch their heads.

"At the end of the day, I respect it because nobody is coming in late for meetings. Nobody is being lackadaisical with where they have to be and doing what they have to do. That shows you everybody is still fighting."

Of course, simply "still fighting" isn't good enough in the NFL: Players are expected to get results on Sundays, not just try their best. And Bryant, who has started six of the Bucs' seven games this season, is one of several Bucs who haven't been performing very well on Sundays, catching just 16 passes for 229 yards.

And Bryant has even suggested that since he'll be a free agent after the season, he has to think about more than just winning the next game, telling Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, "I don't have no contract. It don't do me no good to play for a game or two and then be right back and have to sit down again."

So it's great that the Bucs are still fighting. But they need to start winning.