Bucs Darrelle Revis Said MRSA Talk a Distraction

After the game on Sunday, Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Darrelle Revis said the outbreak of MRSA was a distraction.

"“Coming back from the bye and trying to get prepared for Philly, it was a big distraction,” Revis said after the game.He went on: “Our minds were on starting fresh and getting back into the football mode coming off the bye, and then we had to deal with this.’"

Sep 15, 2013; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Darrelle Revis (24) during the first half against the New Orleans Saints at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

To this point, the Bucs have had kicker Lawrence Tynes, guard Carl Nicks basically has had the same staph infection twice, and most recently Johnthan Banks has been affected. The Bucs lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 31-20 and given their season to this point, the loss is not a surprise but how they lost is out of the ordinary.

Coming into this game, the Bucs had given up over 20 points just once this season. That was in a loss to the New England Patriots. The problems for the Bucs have been on the offensive side of the ball and mostly involving the quarterback position with the mess surrounding head coach Greg Schiano and former quarterback Josh Freeman, now with the Vikings.

Against the Eagles, the Bucs gave up a surprising amount of points and it was to their backup quarterback Nick Foles. Granted, he had a shot to be the starter coming into the season, but not exactly a superstar. The idea of the Bucs being distracted by the MRSA outbreak is not too difficult to believe. It is an incredibly serious illness and can involve surgery as part of the treatment as well as battling the disease for weeks. Anyone would be concerned and worry about it, but especially people who use their bodies the way professional athletes do to make their living.

The Bucs are a bad team for any number of reasons. The questions at quarterback, a head coach that is embattled to put it lightly, and overall offensive ineffectiveness, but the defense has been a strong point and while they could have simply had a bad day, there does appear to be something to the idea that this situation is a distraction for the team.

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