Todd Monken, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offensive coordinator, isn't shy about his feelings on the team's struggles in the red zone last season.

"We chose to suck. We chose not to do it as well as we can do it. I say that all the time, ever since I've been in coaching," Monken said.

"Everyone has to take a bite of it because I always say, 'We sure as heck want the credit when we win.' I do. I want some of the credit. And we've gotta own it when we don't. When we don't score and we don't take care of the ball, when we don't do the little things that yourselves to win, then you've gotta own it."

Monken is entering his third season with the Buccaneers.

"We did enough things that you can't do -- you do if you're a bad team," he said. "Bad football loses before good football wins. We're talking about quarterback/center exchanges, costly penalties, missed opportunities to put games away. But I do like the way our team finished at the end with that last five-game stretch."

They led the league last year with 26 fumbles, six of which happened in the red zone, also a league-high. Tampa Bay receivers also had a 9 percent drop rate in the red zone, sixth-highest in the league. Their six drops in the red zone were tied for second-most.