The Talking Plank - Week 7

The Talking Plank - Week 7





Seahawks At Bucs:

After pummeling the kitties last week, the Bucs get to take on a team that has befuddled them since the 1999 season. Seattle comes in banged up at key positions on offense, and looks to be a wounded duck. This is a trap game that the Bucs need to be ready for. If they don't come out to play, they can still loose.

On Offense, the Bucs come in ranked 11th overall (344.3y/g), 13th in points (23.5/g), 16th passing (208.3y/g), and 6th rushing (136y/g). The Seahawks' defense is ranked 27th overall (355.8y/g), 29th in points allowed (30.2/g), 22nd against the pass (229.6y/g), and 23rd against the run (126.2y/g). The Bucs could have Galloway back in this game, which, if healthy, will give the Bucs the big strike capability they need to further stretch defenses. If so, this should allow Graham and Dunn to have big games against a defense that has really struggled this year. The Bucs brought Jameel Cook back to play FB in front of Graham and Dunn, so Graham could play at tailback again, and the Bucs will probably be using Graham a lot. The Bucs may attempt to strike quickly by going deep against a secondary that, though talented, has been giving up a lot of big plays and quick scoring drives. Trufant and Jennings have failed to get a pick, with Grant getting Seattle's lone pick, and he has been banged up. The big key will be keeping Garcia upright, as the Seahawks come in with 13 sacks, and sacked the Bucs 5 times last year. Keeping Kearney at bay will be goal number one. I don't expect them to get the pressure they got last year due to the better play, and location of this game. What I do expect to see is Garcia coming out trying to hit some big plays early, then leaning heavily on the run. If they can do that, then they will be able to rack up points.

On Defense, the Bucs come in ranked 13th overall (312.2y/g), 4th in points allowed (16.2/g), 19th against the pass (222.5y/g), and 9th against the run (89.7y/g). The Seahawks' offense is ranked 27th overall (274.8y/g), 22nd in points (20/g), 31st passing (137.6y/g), and 5th rushing (137.2y/g). The Seahawks will likely be starting Wallace at QB, though Frye could still go if Wallace can't play. With all of Seattle's core receivers banged up or on IR, all three QB's, including Hasslebeck (Out), have ratings in the 50's. Wallace hasn't thrown a pick, nor a TD. Frye has thrown 2 TD's and 3 picks. Both are averaging less than 4 yards a throw, though. Seattle has had to lean heavily on the running game, and it's been pretty solid with Julius Jones and TJ Duckett running the ball. But when teams are pretty one dimensional, the Bucs have a tendancy to completely shut them down. The Bucs shut down the potent Panther offense last week, holding their runners to 40 yards on 20 carries (2y/c). Expect more of the same. It doesn't help that Jones gave the Bucs bulletin board material by calling them old (even though that only applies to three defenders), and that he would use athleticism to get by our guys. Carter put that up in the locker room. You can bet that the Bucs are going to stuff the run and force the Seahawks to try to beat them in the air. I think Seattle will find it very difficult to score on this defense. I can also see some sacks and some turnovers.

On Special Teams, the Bucs are averaging 5.5 yards per punt return, and 22.6 yards per kick return. They are allowing 9.3 per punt and 18.9 per kick. The Seahawks are averaging 10.9 yards per punt return and 22.6 yards per kick return, while giving up a whopping 14.3 yards per punt and 23.4 yards per kick. The Bucs should be able to get Jackson going on punts in this game. Field position will likely be in favor of the Bucs for most of this game, at least after punts. Ryan had one blocked, and has struggled at times. The Seahawks do have Mare to kick off and kick field goals, so they can score points from a distance. Bryant had his first miss last week, from 51 yards, but nailed a 49 yarder right after. Overall, I like our chances at having solid field position over the Seahawks and being able to get points off of drives.

With this game being the Mike Alstott commerative game, and the supposed installation of the Bucs ring of honor, the team should be plenty fired up. If they come to play, which I expect they will, the Bucs shouldn't have too much of a problem against the Seahawks. But they need to show up and take care of business.

Bucs 24 Seattle 10