Bucs Historic In 37-3 Blow Out!

With all the crap going on with my house construction winding down, it's a miracle I've found the time to sit down and write this. But dang it...it's about frickin' time because that win was historic on a number of fronts. Several historic notes include Graham getting a TD in 6 straight games, setting the franchise mark; Gruden getting the Bucs to their third Division title in 6 years (3 in the prior 26 years); Barber getting his 33rd interception, and for a TD; the Bucs going 5-0 in the Division, setting up a chance to go undefeated in their Division for the first time ever; the defense stopping an opponent from converting any third downs for the first time; and something about some kick return for a TD, or something along those lines.

On Offense, the Bucs were up 14-3 before the Bucs offense had even started their second series. Then went up 17-3. Garcia, who apparently was still suffering from a cold or flu, had a pedestrian day as the Bucs ran the ball 48 times versus 25 pass attempts. The Bucs racked up 190 yards rushing, which meant that Garcia didn't have to pass that often, which is good, because Galloway had some drops, and Garcia got picked off once with a lazy intermediate throw toward Galloway on the sideline. Garcia finished 15 of 25 for 109 yards a TD and an INT. Graham finished with 119 total yards, 79 on the ground at 3.6 per rush. He didn't break off the customary long run that could have put him over 100 yards again, but he was effective. Pittman and Bennett came in and both looked fresh and explosive, though Pittman continues to plow into his blockers. Pittman finished with 50 yards on 13 carries (3.8ypc) while Bennett finished with 63 yards on 9 carries (7.0ypc). Bennett made some nice explosive runs that left no doubt that he can run the ball consistently. If he can get his blitz pick-up and pass blocking down, he may see the field more often the next two weeks as the Bucs want to take some of the load of Graham to let him rest a little. The offense finished the day scoring 23 points, which, in and of itself, was enough to blow out the Falcons. The offensive line played very well, with both sacks being more coverage sacks than mistakes by the line. A solid day overall for all, though they still need to work on the redzone offense.

On Defense, the Bucs managed to have a stellar day shutting the Falcons down. It started when Redman's third down pass attempt got picked off by Ronde and taken back for 6 points. That got the Bucs up early, and they would never look back. Though they allowed the Falcons to take the next possession down the field for a field goal, the Falcons would never threaten again. The Bucs managed to keep the Falcons from converting any third downs (0-9), a first, which helped them hold the Falcons to a grand total of just 133 yards. That included 106 on the ground, and just 27 through the air. The Bucs had some issues with Norwood early, but tightened up on him later in the game. He finished with 73 yards on 9 carries. Dunn was held in check again to just 32 yards rushing. The Bucs managed to get a sack in the game with Adams forcing a fumble. Later Phillips would pick off a pass, and White would force Dunn to fumble. Ruud also forced a fumble, but Atlanta recovered that one. The Bucs managed to keep getting Atlanta off the field and kept them to only 17 minutes of possession time.

On Special Teams, something very special happened. For the first time in Bucs history, a kick was returned for a TD. Michael Spurlock will be forever memorized alongside Vernon Turner who returned the first punt for a TD back in 1994 against the Lions. The instant he broke past the main line of tacklers, I hoped right out of my seat and started yelling, which turned into unbridled, totally ecstatic happiness. It was an unbelievable moment, and it was the loudest I had ever heard the crowd at Ray Jay. That moment managed to put us up 14-3 and the Falcons were pretty much done at that point. The rest of the Special Teams play, which was stellar for the most part, including Bryant's 3 FG's, is all a blurry "who cares?" type of thing. I mean...really...they returned a kick for a TD!! That alone is worth a ton of goodwill!

Coaching was very strong in this game. The offense, worked just enough early on to run the score up at the start of the second quarter. Once that happened, seeing the Falcons were already defeated, Gruden just pounded them with the running game, mixing in an occasional pass attempt to throw them off. The offense took advantage of field position and put up 23 points, none of which they even really needed. Monte's defense was spectacular, and just shut down the Falcons' offense. They had some success with some nice runs, but that was it. The Falcons could barely muster a threat, and were forced to punt often, or had the ball taken away. Bisaccia may have gotten himself an extension after that miraculous display of TD production from the kick return unit. That kick is a moment that few people, if any, will ever forget. Overall, the Bucs came into this game ready to play and well coached to deal with an inferior Falcons team. They beat the snot out of them, and managed to draw anger from the Falcons prompting the crowd to yell "losers!" after a little scuffle near the endzone. The Bucs also wrapped up their Division and a playoff spot. Outstanding work boys!