Bucs Win 20-10!

Well, the Bucs are starting to make it a habit of dominating teams. The Bucs are now 5-2 and in the driver's seat heading to Dallas. So let's take a look at how they did.

Offense: Garcia led the Bucs with 310 yards passing and over 70% completion rate. He made some very nice passes and generally kept the ball moving. Bryant had his second 100+ yard game for the Bucs as the main target in most pass plays. He was backed up by solid play from Clayton, who hauled in 3 passes for 30 yards. One bad moment was when Hilliard caught a pass near the goal line but got momentarily knocked out (concussion), and turned the ball over because of it. Stevens, Smith, and Gilmore combined for 8 catches for 100 yards from the Tight End spot. The Bucs were able to convert 56% of their third downs, get 402 yards of offense, and rack up over 41 minutes of possession time. The running game wasn't great, getting 97 yards on 38 carries. There were some timely runs, however, that made it a threat. It was clear that the Seahawks' game plan was to take the run away, though that strategy has yet to beat the Bucs. The offensive line gave up just one sack on 36 pass attempts to a very sack happy defense. The run blocks were good, but the gaps were constantly covered as the Seahawks consistently had 8 men in the box. Overall, the offense was able to move the ball very effectively, hitting a 47 yard TD bomb on the first offensive drive, and they were able to keep Seattle's offense on the bench.
Overall grade: A-

Defense: The defense was able to really shut the Seahawks down all game long. It was such a dominating performance that most of the 176 yards of offense came in the second half late (44 yards in the first half). The Seahawks managed just 7 first downs, and went 2 of 10 on third downs. They did manage to run for 103 yards with 45 of it on one run by Morris. The defensive line managed to keep the Seahawks in check up front for the most part, and managed to put pressure on Wallace for much of the night, especially from Adams who got after Wallace quite a few times. Unfortunately, the Bucs failed to get a sack, though one of Adams pressures just made contact as Wallace threw the ball, which Ruud then deflected and Talib picked off. The Bucs shut down the Seattle receivers for much of the night and Wallace only managed 12 of 23 for 73 yards. The Bucs defense dominated the Seahawks all game, and might have shut them out if not for poor special teams that placed the Seahawks in field goal range and then later gave up a return to mid-field that ended in a TD drive late in the contest.
Overall grade: A

Special Teams: Good golly, Ms. Molly. The coverage teams started out ok, but they went down hill as the game progressed. They put the Seahawks in field goal range twice, but the Bucs got a turn over on one of those drives. Then they let Seattle return the ball to mid-field, which led to their only TD. They gave up 36.5 yards a kick return, and 18 yards per punt return. Suck city. The return game sucked just as bad, as Jackson had all kinds of issues on punt returns (3 yards on 2 returns) and then fumbled a ball, twice, on his only kick return (getting just 4 yards). Clayton went in to return the only other regular kick off, but had to kneel for a touchback. Jackson's returns sucked, but so did the blocking in front of him. It was crappy play all around on the return teams. Bryant had a decent game, hitting 2 field goals and both extra points. He missed a 47 yard FG attempt when the snap was high, and the ball lifted on him (it was straight but short). Bidwell had an off night as well, though he did nail one for 58 yards. Just not a very good night for this unit. They really need to refocus on their assignments on the coverage and return units, and Bidwell needs to return to form. It's really bad when your special teams single handedly gave the other team their first points of a game, which made an oustanding defensive effort look not as good on the scoreboard.
Overall grade: F

Coaching: Gruden had another solid offensive game plan, though the running game was only effective in spots. The call to strike deep early paid off big time and put huge pressure on Seattle's offense right off the bat. Monte had an excellent game as well, as his defense had one of its most dominating performances and could have possibly shut the Seahawks out with better special teams play. Bisaccia's group sucked. Big time. They really need to step back up to the plate and start hitting on their assignments again. Bisaccia's group drags the overall grade down one letter.
Overall grade: B

The Bucs dominated the Seahawks after dominating the Panthers the prior week. The defense has now completely dominated the last three teams we have faced and 4 of the last 5 teams. Now this exteremly well balanced team (8th on offense and 9th on defense -4th in points allowed) will go up to Big D and take on what appears to be a Romo-less Cowboys team. If the Bucs can pull a win off here, they will just about be in the driver's seat in the NFC.