Buccaneer Harbour

The Talking Plank - Week 14

2008-12-13T21:39:00.002-05:00

The Talking Plank - Week 14

Bucs At Falcons:

Well, last week's game pissed me off so much that I really didn't have much of a desire to address that game (Defense gets an F, BTW). From the refs not making some proper calls, including missing a ton of obvious holds by the Panthers OL, to the missed tackles (number well into the 20's), it was a game best forgotten. The Bucs can still win the division by going 3-0 and the Panthers going 2-1 (or even 2-1 Bucs, 1-2 Panthers as long as we beat the Falcons tomorrow). The Falcons are looking to stay in the race, but the Bucs will be absolutely pissed on defense after a game like that. Plus, the Falcons are a much weaker defensive team than the Panthers. So who will win this one?

On Offense, the Bucs come in ranked 12th overall (339.2y/g), 17th in points (23.3/g), 12th passing (223.6y/g), and 13th rushing (115.5y/g). The Falcons' defense is ranked 22nd overall (344.8y/g), 11th in points allowed (20.8/g), 23rd against the pass (223y/g), and 22nd against the run (121.8y/g). In last week's game, the Saints racked up over 180 yards on the ground against the Falcons. Now the Falcons get to defend against the Bucs with Jackson's knee banged up and with Abraham suffering with a thigh injury. The Falcons aren't good at all against the run with Jackson out or banged up, so the Bucs should be able to run against the Falcons up the middle at times. Where they really had success, though, was on the outside, and I expect Dunn and Caddy to get plenty of opportunities to take it to the outside on the Falcons' defense. The Falcons' have decent linebackers, but not good enough to deal with good edge rushing teams. Houston is their best, by far, corner, and the Falcons' safeties are alright, but not spectacular. So the Bucs should be able to exploit this secondary as long as the QB stays relatively upright. If Abraham can't go, the Falcon's lose over half of their 24 total sacks. If Penn can keep Abraham in check if he goes, then the Falcons' will struggle to get a pass rush going. Of course, the QB they will be rushing is a bit of a mystery. Gruden apparently believes Garcia will go, but if he doesn't, it will be Luke. That makes gauging the passing game a little difficult. Garcia has finally started trying to hit the deep ball with a little more frequency, but you can see that his deep accuracy isn't what it used to be, and he never had a really strong arm anyway. If Luke plays, he can accurately hit passes anywhere on the field, and he's a better, and much faster, runner than Garcia is, which could prove really usefull. Either guy should be able to take advantage of Bryant and Clayton going against this defensive backfield. One of them is going to be open on most plays, so we just need to hit them. Using the tight ends will also work well against the Falcons' linebackers. I exepect to see the offensive line play well enough to allow the Bucs to have a solid running game and give the QB time, on most throws, to hit the receivers down the field and stretch this Atlanta defense. I see the running game chewing up some clock, and giving the defense plenty of rest. I fully expect to see the Bucs post more than 20 points in this game.

On Defense, the Bucs come in ranked 9th overall (293.7y/g), 5th in points allowed (18.3/g), 4th against the pass (182.6y/g), and 19th against the run (111.1y/g). The Falcons come in ranked 5th in total offense (366.7y/g), 9th in points (24.8/g), 13th passing (220y/g), and 2nd rushing (146.7y/g). As in week 1, the key to stopping the Falcons is to stop the run. After last Monday's debacle, the defense is going to be fired up and flying to the ball. Expect them to play top notch and take advantage of the fact that the Falcons' aren't as healthy on the OL as they were in week 2 when the Bucs got 4 sacks and shut down Turner. The Bucs still gave up 105 yards rushing, but they forced 2 fumbles and 2 picks and harassed Ryan all game as they made the rushing game average. If the Bucs' offense can get an early lead, the defense will really be able to tee off and make it even harder for the Falcons. Without a dominant running game, the Falcons tend to have a much harder time getting it done on offense. The secondary will be primarily focused on shutting Roddy White down. If they can double him up, single up on Jenkins, and keep the other safety up close to stop the run and defend agains the Tight Ends, the Bucs should be able to slow Atlanta's offense down. Atlanta will still score some points, but I don't think we will see anything like Monday's game.

On Special Teams, the Bucs come in averaging 9.8 yards per punt return (16.7 by Smith) and 24.6 yards per kick (29 by Smith), while allowing 8.4 on punts and 20.3 on kicks. The Falcons are averaging 9.3 per punt (15.2 by Douglas) and 22.5 per kick, while allowing 1.7 per punt and 22.5 per kick. The Falcons have gotten teams to fair catch 20 times in the punting game, which helps reflect on the punt return numbers. In either case, Smith has been a big weapon for the Bucs, and I expect him to find a way to get some big returns this week. The Bucs should be up to the task of slowing down the Falcons. With this game in a dome, Elam will have the advantage over Bryant, but both kickers are solid and can win this game with a field goal if it comes down to it. I don't know if Special Teams will be big in this game or not. I have a feeling, after really not getting any shots last week, that Smith will be itching to bust a big return in the punting game. That could be the difference.

When it comes right down to it, I think the Bucs' offense will put up some points, while I expect the defense to come in like a crazed banshee, wanting to prove that MNF was a fluke. Historically, the Bucs have followed up crappy games like that with a big game the next week. With the Bucs tending to have success in Atlanta, and against the Falcons in general, I believe the Bucs will come out and keep pace in the division and take the dirty birds down.

Bucs 27 Falcons 20

McCown or Garcia?

2008-12-13T21:28:00.003-05:00

Well, Gruden seems to think Garcia is going to go, but somehow I have a feeling that he may not go, or may not last long if it appears the injury is hampering him. The Bucs, though they can still get into the playoffs with a loss today, are in a tough spot where they really need to win this game to take control of their playoff destiny, and stay in the hunt for the Division. If the Bucs win out (likely if they win tomorrow) then they just need the Panthers to lose one game (they host the Broncos, go to the Giants, then go to the Saints), and they win the division.

So Gruden isn't likely to give Garcia too much of a leash in this one if that injury hampers him. In fact, if he doesn't appear to be close to 100% in pre-games, I think Luke will get the nod. Luke started against the Saints last year in another "control for the division" game, and won. In fact, all three of his starts were solid, with him finishing with passer ratings of 108.7 against the Saints, 108.6 against the Panthers, and 86.1 against the Texans. Coming off the bench against the 49ers he had a 70.4 passer rating. All solid numbers. His biggest problem was taking a second or two too long to deliver a pass, and thereby taking some sacks. Of course, our line was a bit of a sieve up the middle, which is no longer the case with Faine in there.

Soe we'll see what happens. McCown is clearly a more talented QB than Garcia and Griese combined, but his lack of game experience shows in the speed with which he goes through his progressions. Whether or not he'll be faster now is hard to say, though he did appear to be noticeably quicker in his reads in the pre-season. Whoever starts, let's hope we get this win and maybe we'll see the Panthers go down to the Broncos. If so, we can root for the Panthers to beat the Giants and maybe still actually have a shot at homefield throughout. Right now, we're the top wildcard, which still means hitting the road.

The Talking Plank - Week 13

2008-12-08T16:01:00.002-05:00

The Talking Plank - Week 13 (MNF Style)

Bucs At Panthers:

Both teams come into this match-up at 9-3. If the Bucs win, they are fully in the driver's seat and can wrap up the division with just 2 more wins or a combination of losses and one win. If the Panther's win, then the Bucs will need to win next week. Doing so get's them back in front on the tie-breakers, and they can still win the Division if the Panthers fall to either the Giants or Saints (both road games). But the winner of this game is clearly in the driver's seat for the crown.

On Offense, the Bucs come in ranked 12th overall (335.4y/g), 17th in points (23.3/g), 13th passing (217.4y/g), and 11th rushing (118y/g). The Panthers are ranked 12th in overall defense (313.3y/g), 7th in points allowed (19.2/g), 11th against the pass (200.5y/g), and 19th against the run (112.8y/g). For the Bucs, this will be a tough venue to play in, as the Panthers are undeafeted at home. For the Bucs to be succesful on offense, they will need to establish the running game and will probably need to get Williams more involved. The Bucs need to attack the Panther's on the edge and run of left guard to attack the weaker areas of Carolina's run defense. If they can accomplish this, then the Bucs shouldn't have too much trouble keeping Garcia upright, assuming he doesn't keep running into sacks. Assuming Garcia is given time to throw, he'll need to find the open receiver and hit them quick, without hesitation, to keep the Panthers' secondary from defensing the pass. Last time Garcia used his tight ends well, and was able to hit 75% of his passes. I expect a similar result tonight. The Bucs should be able to move the ball pretty well. If they keep Peppers in check again, then the passing game should be able to feed off that running game and hold onto the ball. The Panthers have had trouble with teams holding the ball longer than them through an effective running game with some good play action passing. The Bucs will have some success. How much is the key. If they keep the Panthers on the sidelines for 32+ minutes, I would say the Bucs will win.

On Defense, the Bucs come in ranked 4th overall (279.5y/g), 4th in points allowed (16.7/g), 4th against the pass (184.1y/g), and 11th against the run (95.4y/g). The Panthers are ranked 17th overall (325.8y/g), 13th in points (23.8/g), 22nd passing (192.6y/g), and 7th rushing (133.2y/g). It's no secret, the Bucs need to contain Williams and Stewart in the running game to slow the Panther's' offense. If they do this, they will indeed make it tough for the Panthers to move the ball and score, much as it was a problem for them back at Ray Jay. In fact, the Delhomme has struggled more against Tampa 2 defenses this season than any other. If the Bucs can repeat their efforts against the running game, and get pressure in Jake's face, he'll likely have another bad game, and then it's all up to the offense putting up enough points. While Smith will continue to be the focus in the passing game, getting Jake bothered will do more than anything else can for the defense. Barber has been playing exceptional the last couple of games, making a lot of big plays. He was playing rather poorly the last time these teams met, which could bode very well for our secondary. If the Bucs can hold Brees in check, they can do it to Delhomme, especially with the cold conditions expected tonight. If the Bucs can man up and shut Williams and Stewart down, it will be a long game for the Panthers' offense. I do, howver, expect the Panthers to have better success than last time.

On Special Teams, the Bucs come in averaging 10 yards per punt (17.6 by Smith - 2nd in the league) and 25.3 yards per kick return. They are allowing 8.2 per punt and 20.4 per kick. The Panthers come in getting 11.1 per punt and 23.8 per kick while allowing 7.2 per punt and 21.8 per kick. The Panthers have a solid kick and punt coverage team, but they didn't face Smith in the first contest, and he could be a factor in this game where field position could be critical. On the flip side, after the Bucs held Bush to -16 yards on punt returns, and continued their excellence in kick coverage, look for them to put the brakes on the Panthers' return teams. If the Bucs can consistently win the field position battle, it could go a very long way toward winning this game. If it comes down to field goals, the Panthers' have a leg up, but Bryant seems to have a mission, so either kicker could be key in winning this game. Both punters are excellent. The coverage and return teams will determine the winner in this area. Personally, I think the Bucs are going to win the field position battle more often than not in the return game. I can also see this game coming down to a last second field goal to win it, which could go either way.

With the cold conditions tonight (37 at kickoff, falling to 36) this game isn't likely to be easy. Quite frankly, I think the Bucs are the better team, and I think Gruden has them coming in with a chip on their shoulder about not hosting the MNF and, instead, being on the road for it. That lack of respect could drive the Bucs, but the Panthers' are likely pissed about the blow out in Ray Jay. This game can easily go either way, but I'm going to call it for the Panthers, knowing full well the Bucs could repeat their earlier performance. I hope they do.

Panthers 20 Bucs 17

Clifton Smith NFC ST Player Of The Month...Duh!!

2008-12-04T20:47:00.003-05:00

In what was obviously a no-brainer, Clifton Smith was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November. His outstanding returns, which include a kick and punt return during the month, are the primary reasons for his award. Clifton Smith has one of the highest punt and kick return averages in the league and continues to pile up the yardage.

In the Lions' game he had 232 return yards, 158 in the Saints game, and 259 in the Chiefs game. The Vikes game only netted him 48 yards, but that added up to a total of 697 return yards. The equivalent of nearly 7 football fields, or nearly 70 first downs. All in just 4 games. When was the last time the Bucs ever had a returner this good? I would say never. Smith continues to be explosive on nearly every return attempt, and those short fields help the offense out a lot. Too bad he wasn't playing earlier this season.

Congrats to an outstanding job, and here's to more returns for TD's, with hopefully one coming up this Monday night against the stinkin' Panthers!

SH_T! Bucs To Play In London Vs. Pats!!

2008-12-01T20:00:00.002-05:00

In what I can only describe as a "this is total bullsh_t!!!!!!!!" moment...the Bucs have been tagged by the NFL to have a home game against the Patriots in London. This totally blows chunks. That's one less home game I can go to next year. I don't care that I won't have to pay for the game. I just want to be able to go to the stadium for a game that counts.

The game is scheduled for October 25th, and the Bucs will get a BYE week the week after that game. If only they would give the teams an extra draft pick or something for this crap.

Bucs Beat Saints 23-20!

2008-12-01T19:16:00.002-05:00

The Bucs, in the pouring rain, managed to hold on and beat the Saints, allowing them to stay on top of the division, go 6-0 at home, and set up a battle of 9-3's on MNF. How did the units do?

Offense: The offense managed to move the ball at times, while being stuffed for stretches. Dunn had problems consistently getting traction on lateral runs, and had to pound it up the middle quite a bit. The result was an average per carry of 3.4 yards. Williams managed to get 4 carries and pounded out 20 yards, including his first TD in over a year, as he ran to the edge while getting excellent blocks from Trueblood and Clayton. Garcia was hot and cold, but more cold than hot. He made some critical plays running the ball for key yards, but his passing efforts left a whole lot to be desired. He went 9 of 23 for the game, and missed some open receivers, including a pass he threw to Clayton that would have been a TD if it was thrown correctly. He did manage to hit Bryant, however, for a 39 yard TD bomb, where he let the ball go just as he was getting creamed. Bryant had to slow up for the ball, but he was wide open after getting both safeties to squat on his moves. Clayton was also the recipient of a 26 yard pass when he was open on an intermediate crossing route. While some of those plays by Garcia were excellent, there were too many times, especially late in the game, when he couldn't convert a third down, and when he ran right into a sack. If Garcia doesn't settle down and maintain sharper play, we won't go far in the playoffs. Let's hope he gets back on track and stays there. Williams should also start getting more carries to give the Bucs another runner to spell Dunn and to give us more power. Caddy looked very good on his runs, and should have gotten more. The offense put up 23 points and did just enough to win the game.
Overall grade: B-

Defense: The defense had a tough task ahead of it: stopping Drew Brees. They managed to shut down the Saints running game, and pretty much forced the Saints to pass for most of the game (Brees threw 47 passes). The Bucs top tier pass defense was solid for much of the game, but did give up some yards. They also gave up a few big plays, but also stuffed some as well. Not only did the secondary manage a few defensed passes, they also picked the ball off 4 times, though one was taken back on a BS penalty on Barber. I should clarify that, of the three that stood, 2 were by DB's, while the third was caused by Barber tipping a pass to the endzone up into the air for June to pick off. That ended a Saints scoring driving. Buchanon's pick basically sealed the game. The linebackers were active with Brooks knocking a pass away and nearly picking another one, giving him 2 defensed passes to go with 5 tackles. Ruud continued to play well, racking up some big stops. June had a couple of key plays including the pick in the endzone. The defensive line helped to make it difficult for the Saints to run. They had problems getting consistent pressure on Brees, but managed to get it at some opportune times. Adams managed to turn the heat up late in the game getting a half sack, several pressures, and hitting Brees on one pass attempt that forced the pass to go awry. Overall, the defense slowed the Saints down enough to win the game. If not for the BS call on Barber, the Saints might have only scored one TD in the whole game.
Overall grade: B+

Special Teams: The Special Teams were awesome yesterday. Smith continued to make big returns happen, helping the Bucs get some excellent field position. He took the opening second half kick 39 yards to the Bucs 39, but got 15 more yards because his face mask was used to bring him down from behind, as he would have gotten more yards than even that. The extra 15 yards set up the offense in Saints territory and led to a TD. Smith averaged 16.4 yards per punt return which helped convert some long punts by the Saints (Gross of 49.4 yards) into a net of just 33 yards per punt. The Bucs' coverage units did an outstanding job of shutting Bush, and others, down in the return game. Bush was held to -16 yards on 2 punts (-4 and -12), for an average of -8 yards per punt return. That made for the weird statistic where Bidwell's net (39.5) was larger than his gross (36.8). The two kick returners, Roby and Meachem, were held to an average of 16 yards per kick return. Overall, the coverage teams were outstanding all game and really helped limit the Saints starting field position. Bryant hit all 3 field goal attempts, including the game winner. His ability to hit 87.5% of his kicks this year, despite the tragic loss of his son, is amazing. Overall, the Special Teams played a huge part in this win.
Overall grade: A

Coaching: Gruden had a solid game plan that worked well at times, but at other times was hampered by poor decisions on Garcia's part. Some nice plays hit the Saints for some big gains, including a nice end around by Bryant, the big wide open pass play to Bryant, Clayton's play, and Williams TD run, all examples of excellent plays that were called and well executed. Some plays could have been better executed, and I think Gruden should have used Williams more, though I think the field conditions may have led to his reluctance to use him. Monte had a pretty good defensive game plan, forcing the Saints to be patient, which is tough for Brees, and to go the whole field. There were times when I think he should have played a little more man coverage, but the defense got it done and made some key turnovers. Bisaccia had his unit playing almost as good as it can possibly play. Only thing missing was a TD return, which nearly happened twice. Overall, the Bucs were able to win a game in sloppy conditions and slow down the Saints' best units to win the game.
Overall grade: B

This was a much needed win and sets the Bucs up with their best record ever after 12 games, matching the 2002 Super Bowl year at 9-3. The Bucs have 2 road contests coming up against the Panthers and Falcons, them come home for two straight winnable games. If they can win one of these road games, and win their last two home games, they'll be in the playoffs, and likely will win the Division. If they beat the Panthers, then they only need to win their home games to win the South and probably to get the BYE.

The Talking Plank - Week 12

2008-11-28T20:52:00.002-05:00

The Talking Plank - Week 12

Saints At Bucs:

The Bucs begin a 3 game NFC South stretch that can define their playoff position, or could end their playoff run before it starts. The Saints just got off a Monday Night game against the Packers, one in which they ran up the score. Now the Bucs need to take revenge for their game 1 loss and take control of their Division.

On Offense, the Bucs come in ranked 12th overall (342.8y/g), 16th in points (23.4/g), 11th passing (227.6y/g), and 13th rushing (115.2y/g). The Saints come in ranked 22nd in total defense (345.9y/g), 24th in points allowed (25.3/g), 24th against the pass (235.1y/g), and 18th against the run (110.8y/g). The Bucs were able to put up some yards and points against the Saints in week 1, despite really poor play from Garcia, which ended up in his benching. Since then, Garcia has started to play like the Garcia from early last season. He's starting to take more chances, and starting to attack down field more. Now the Bucs, having come back, yet again, on the road, come home where they are 5-0. Dunn will continue to be the primary runner, but Williams will likely start to get more carries, and more opportunities in the passing game. With both runners, the Bucs should be able to mix it up enough to make it tough on the Saints' defense to key on the runners, assuming Gruden does leave Williams in on enough pass plays to keep them honest. Alex Smith may be available for the game, but will be a game time decision, but Stevens can abuse the Saints, who can't match up. The Bucs will likely focus on attacking the Saints through the air to open up the running game, and to attack the endzone. Bryant, Clayton, and Hilliard should be able to take advantage of this secondary. If Garcia continues to attack more, and hit the receivers that are open down the field, the Bucs will score points, and score plenty. The Saints only have 20 sacks, and I don't expect him to be under too much pressure. If he keeps his cool and stays upright, he should have a good game, and the running game should augment the passing game enough to score well over 20 points.

On Defense, the Bucs are ranked 4th overall (274.7y/g), 3rd in points allowed (16.4/g), 2nd against the pass (174.6y/g), and 13th against the run (100.1y/g). The Saints' offense is ranked 1st overall (411.9y/g), 3rd in points (28.8/g), 1st passing (319.5y/g), and 27th rushing (92.4y/g). The Bucs played somewhat poorly against the Saints the first time these teams met. Since then the defense has become much better, and been very good against a plethora of highly rated offenses. The Bucs are currently holding opposing QB's to a 71.4 passer rating, and look to have a better game against Brees than the first time. They've recently gotten a much better pass rush, but this has been against weaker offensive lines. The Saints have only allowed 9 sacks all year, with one coming from the Bucs. Brees was able to hit some big plays in this game, and the Bucs must be weary of that happening again. Look for the Bucs to start, as always, with the running game, and then to try and put some pressure on Brees. I expect some creative blitzing, and aggressive play by the offensive line. The Saints aren't nearly as good on the road as they are in the dome, and the Bucs only lost game 1 by 4 points and were driving for the winning score when Garcia threw a pick. So the Saints can be slowed down, and I expect the environment at Ray Jay to be tough enough for the much improved defense to take the Saints down a notch. I can see a couple of picks in this game. Bush is not nearly as fast on the grass as he is on turf, and I believe the Bucs will slow him down dramatically. While I don't expect the defense to stuff the Saints, I do expect them to slow the Saints down. This may be helped out by our offense holding the ball for long periods of times and keeping the Saints' offense off the field.

On Special Teams, the Bucs are averagin 9 yards per punt return (18.1 by Smith) and 25.2 yards per kick (30.3 by Smith). The Bucs are allowing 9.5 yards per punt and 20.9 yards per kick. The Saints are averaging 19.8 yards per punt and 23.3 yards per kick, while allowing 11.7 yards per punt and 23.3 yards per kick return. The Bucs will definitely have to work hard to shut down the Saints' punt return teams, but, at the same time, the Bucs should be able to take advantage of the Saints' coverage units. Smith could be a factor in this game. Whether or not Bush, who is averaging 10 more yards per punt than Lance Moore, will return punts or not is questionable. He expects to play and perform in all facets, but we'll see. Both punters are excellent, so there's no significant advantage for either team. The Saints are on their third place kicker, so it will be interesting to see the impact here. The Bucs are probably the team most likely to benefit from the field position battle, but the Saints can get great position as well, especially if Bush returns punts and the Bucs struggle to stop him. Hopefully, the home field advantage will play out here.

In the end, the Saints have to come here, on the road, on a surface that negates some of their speed, and face a much improved Bucs' team that nearly beat them in game 1. Look for the Bucs to come out hitting and making plays. The Bucs win this game and start to take control of the South.

Bucs 24 Saints 17

Ronde Named NFC Defensive Player Of The Week

2008-11-27T13:29:00.002-05:00

Ronde Barber was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week due to his two interception performance, with one being returned for a TD, and the other setting up a TD drive.

This was clearly an overdue performance, as Barber was getting picked on repeatedly, and has begun to show signs of slowing down. Whether or not this performance will launch him forward and impact his play in the future games is a big question mark. If it does, however, it will certainly help this team's defensive play down the stretch.

The Bucs could certainly use a more effective Barber to help solidify the pass defense further and make this team a dominate defense for the play offs. We'll get to see real quick if it does with the Saints coming to town. If this team can markedly improve it's defensive effort against the Saints over what it did in the first game, that will be a real good sign. We shall see.

Bucs Beat Lions 38-20

2008-11-25T11:43:00.002-05:00

Well, I haven't been able to see the whole game, just a lot of highlights, and a scouring of the game book. As such, I won't do a full review of this game. What is obvious, though, is that this team, more than any team in Bucs' history, at least to my recollection, is capable of coming back from just about any deficit. The Bucs were down 17-0 in the first quarter, primarily off blown coverage and a fumble return for a TD.

The Bucs came back, scoring 21 points in 9 minutes. Garcia actually attacked early during this stretch hitting for a couple of deep TD passes. Dunn ripped off a long TD run. And Smith did it again by returning a punt for a TD. Before you knew it, the Bucs were up 35-17 before both teams finished their scoring with field goals.

The defense had problems stopping the run early, but then shut the running game down. Barber, who got picked on early, intercepted two passes, setting up a quick TD pass on one, and returning the other for a TD. Together, all three phases continued to be effective overall and led the effort.

Now the Bucs gear up to face the Saints who just ran the score up on the Packers last night. The Saints are 1-4 on the road, and the Bucs are certainly looking for a little revenge after the season opening loss. The Bucs follow this game up with games against the Panthers and Falcons. The next three games could make or break the Bucs' playoff aspirations. If the Bucs can pull off wins against all three, they'll be in the driver's seat for a BYE in the playoffs and will have likely won the division (Panthers would need one more loss to guarantee that). Should be interesting down the stretch, and the Bucs may actually have something to play for down the stretch.

The Talking Plank - Week 11

2008-11-22T20:11:00.002-05:00

The Talking Plank - Week 11

Bucs At Lions:

After making a tight game out of what should have been a blow out, the Bucs now travel to Detroit for the classic trap game. This is a team they should handle, but the Bucs have had troubles taking care of Detroit in the past, including last year. Detroit...umm...sucks. But hey, let's look at the match-ups.

On Offense, the Bucs come in ranked 9th overall (351.6y/g), 21st in points (21.9/g), 8th passing (236.5y/g), and 14th rushing (115.1y/g). The Lions are ranked 31st in total defense (402.1y/g), 31st in points allowed (30.8/g), 23rd against the pass (230.6y/g), and 32nd against the run (171.5y/g). The Lions will not have the two defensive linemen that gave the Bucs a lot of trouble last year. Shaun Rodgers is gone, and Dewayne White is out for this game. The Lions have only managed 17 sacks, and are on pace to have given up 2000+ yards on the ground in after this game and the next. The Bucs will need to take advantage of the Lions' run defense, and their knowledge of the defense in general. The Lions will have a really hard time producing sacks against an offensive line that has only given up 11 sacks all season. With the lack of real size on the Lions' DL, the Bucs should be able to get some movement up front and generate some nice holes. The Lions' linebackers are quick, but undersized, and can be moved by our tight ends and fullbacks. The Lions' secondary isn't very good, and only has one of the Lions' meager 2 picks. This is a team the Bucs' offense should be able to take advantage of as long as Garcia doesn't play tentative and fail to take advantage of the plays that are there. I expect Dunn to be the main ball carrier, but also expect to see Caddy activated and used for a 5-10 plays in the game. Smith will likely get carries as well, but needs to hold onto the ball...something they worked on during the week. The Bucs' receivers should be able to take advantage of this secondary and havfe a pretty big game. In the end, I expect the Bucs to rack up the yards and score some points.

On Defense, the Bucs defense is ranked 5th overall (281.5y/g), 4th in points allowed (16/g), 4th against the pass (182.2y/g), and 12th against the run (99.3y/g). The Lions' offense is ranked 28th overall (276.9y/g), 28th in points scored (17.3/g), 22nd passing (196y/g), and 30th rushing (80.9y/g). The Lions will be without their starting Center again, and will apparently be going with Culpepper at QB. The Bucs will need to pay attention to Johnson,and keep the deep ball from being a major weapon against them. Beyond that, the Bucs' defense should be able to corral the Lions' offense. They'll start with containing Kevin Smith. If they accomplish that, they should be able to get after Culpepper. The Lions' have given up 37 sacks so far this season. While their line is big, they seem to have problems dealing with athletic lineman and can't seem to consistently open holes. If the Bucs can contain Peterson, they can contain Smith. The Lions' various QB's have also coughed up 12 picks, and are -7 in turn over ratio. If the Bucs can keep the Lions' from hitting on the big plays, and keep the running game in check, the Lions' will be lucky to score more than 10 points.

On Special Teams, the Bucs are averaging 7.5 yards per punt and 24.8 per kick return, while allowing 9.3 yards per punt, and 20.7 yards per kick. The Lions' are averaging 8.9 per punt and 21.4 per kick, while allowing 7.1 per punt and 21.1 per kick return. The Bucs are slightly better in the punting area with Bidwell, while Hanson is a better kicker. Bryant is still reasonably reliable, though. The Bucs should be able to continue to get excellent results from Smith, and look to continue to do better against opponent return teams. Field position shouldn't be too big of a deal in this game, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Bucs get a big return from Smith in this game.

When it comes right down to it, barring the Bucs having a blow-up, they should be able to beat up on the 0-10 Lions. The only concern I have is that the Lions don't have anything to lose and will pull out every stop. I think the Bucs will be ready for them after what happened with the Chiefs. I see a big win in this game.

Bucs 27 Lions 10

Blogging From WV

2008-11-22T19:58:00.003-05:00

I haven't had time to blog about the last game and some of the happenings for the Bucs this week. The reason is the rather large number of things I had to take care of this past week in preparation for a trip to WV with the wife and kid.

Now that I'm here, I have time to mention that losing Graham for the year really sucks. He was the team's power back, and we saw the results of not having that short yardage power back. Luckily, Williams may be ready to go down the stretch, and Askew can fill in for short yardage as well. The Bucs will really need to get Caddy going if they are going to get back to being successful on the ground. Dunn is an excellent scat back, and Smith is one as well, but Graham was the guy that got the yards even when defenders hit him. Caddy can do that as well, though maybe not as well, and has more power than Dunn or Smith. But if he goes this week, they'll be testing that knee on an artificial surface at Ford Field. Let's hope Caddy can come back and carry a few times to help relieve the load. Don't need Dunn to get overloaded on the carries.

The Talking Plank - Week 10

2008-11-15T23:02:00.004-05:00

The Talking Plank - Week 10

Vikings At Bucs:

The Bucs are coming off a much needed BYE week, one that was proceeded by the largest comeback victory in franchise history. Now the Bucs get the 5-4 Vikings, who have the best running back in football. Will they be able to stop the run? Will they be able to run on the Vikings' top tier run defense?

On Offense, the Bucs come in ranked 9th overall (350.3y/g), 16th in points (22.2/g), 9th passing (234.4y/g), and 11th rushing (115.9y/g). The Vikings' defense comes in ranked 6th in yards allowed (289.3y/g), 20th in points allowed (23.9/g), 19th against the pass (219.2y/g), and 3rd against the run (70.1y/g). The Vikings appear to have a top notch run defense, and the two Williams inside have a lot to do with that. The Vikings have been mixing players at the MLB spot, so if the Bucs can get the blocks on the Tackles, then they should be able to exploit the linebackers of the Vikings. Where the Bucs will need to concentrate, though, is in the passing game against a suspect secondary. The Vikings have some decent players, but teams have been able to beat them through the air. If the Bucs go that route, they must be able to keep Garcia off the ground, as the Vikings have piled up 25 sacks so far. Thankfully, their best rushers, K. Williams, and Allen, come at the left side of our line, the side that is strongest in pass pro, and is part of the reason why the Bucs have only allowed 10 sacks all season. What will be interesting to see is if Graham goes or not. If he doesn't look for Caddy to be activated and possible get a couple of carries. If Graham goes, Caddy will be deactivated, and the Bucs will stick with Smith as the third option. Dunn may be the Bucs' best weapon out of the backfield, as he has the speed to exploit the Vikings' back 7 if he get's passed the line or catches the ball past the line in open space. I see the Bucs pushing hard to establish the run while also trying to open up the passing game early and pull the safeties out of the box and keep the corners backed up. If Garcia can hit a few deep passes (with the past 2 weeks he better!) the Bucs will be able to force the Vikings to stop the run with the front 7, and the Bucs have the horses up front to win that battle. Look for the offense to move the ball well at times, and hit a few big plays, leading to a healthy amount of scoring.

On Defense, the Bucs come in ranked 7th overall (289.4y/g), 4th in points allowed (16.3/g), 5th against the pass (190.1y/g), and 11th against the run (99.3y/g). The Vikings come in ranked 14th overall (344.3y/g), 14th in points (23.3/g), 21st passing (200.3y/g), and 5th rushing (144y/g). The Bucs will be geared up to stop Peterson and force Frerotte to beat them with the Vikes' crappy assortment of receivers. The Vikings aren't especially potent through the air, and are less so if you slow down that running game. If the Bucs can hold their own with the front 7, or with just one safety up close, the Bucs should be able to slow the Vikings' offense down. Until last week, the Bucs hadn't given up 100 yards to a single rusher. I'm sure they are pissed about that, and they are at home where Peterson won't enjoy the artificial turf, and where the Bucs' defense plays best. The Vikings have given up 23 sacks so far, and the Bucs have cooled off in the sack department. It's time for them to get the rush going again, and that could happen as the Vikings employ a pair of mammoth, though slower footed, tackles on the offensive line. If Adams and White can keep the big guys from getting that initial leverage on them, they should be able to beat them with their speed. If that happens, Frerotte could be eating a lot of Bermuda. I have a feeling the defense is going to really get after it in passing situations. I'm leary about stopping Peterson, but the Bucs have proven they can stop the running game and I think Peterson will have a good day, but not good enough.

On Special Teams, the Bucs are averaging 7.5 per punt return and 25.1 per kick return, while allowing 9.3 per punt and 20.7 per kick. Keep in mind that Smith is averaging 15.6 per punt and 32.7 per kick with a kick return for a TD against the Chiefs. The Vikings come in averaging 5.3 per punt return and 22.5 per kick, while allowing 18.1 per punt and 22.5 per kick return. Needless to say, the punt return team of the Bucs should have a very decisive edge against the punt units of the Vikes. We could see Smith return a punt for a TD, or at lest break some big returns. The Bucs should be able to get a consistent advantage in field position in this game. When it comes to kicking, Longwell has problems with kicks between the 30 and 50 yard mark. Beyond 50 and under 30 he's money. Bryant, of course, is better at the ranges under 50, but has yet to make a 50+ kick (only 2 tries). So it's more likely the Bucs will get the FG's than the Vikes for the typical range kicks. Both punters are excellent, but the Vikes have a slight edge with Kluwe. I believe our special teams will be the better unit, and I can see a return for a TD in this game, along with a lot of big returns.

The Vikings are a challenge, but the Bucs should be up for it at home after a BYE. I think they will slow Peterson down enough to force the Vikings to pass more than they would like, and the defense will take advantage with some picks, while the offense will get it done, for the most part.

Bucs 24 Vikings 17

John Lynch to Retire a Buc on Monday

2008-11-15T07:50:00.002-05:00

The Bucs will have a press conference on Monday to retire John Lynch as a Buc and to add his jersey to the Ring of Honor that will be unveiled next year. I don't know if the Bucs have any plans to trot him out during one of the games or not, but I would not be shocked.

It's nice to know that he's coming back to retire here, as one wonders how he truly feels about this organization after he left. I think he may have realized this year that any team will dump you when you appear to be beyond playing at the level you expect. Many forget that Lynch's play really dropped off during the second half of 2003, and the Bucs were weary of his neck injury, but still wanted him back as long as he took a paycheck and agreed that he would have to battle Phillips for his job. He wasn't willing to play here if he wasn't guaranteed the starting spot, and the Bucs then let him go.

While some teams passed on him, due to his neck, the Broncos took a shot on him, and he played again for 4 more years, though it was clear that his coverage skills had dropped. He mostly made the Pro-Bowl on reputation and the vicious hits he continued to exert on people.

He's a fan favorite and it will be great to see one of the best safeties to ever play come back here to retire.

Caddy Activated; Bennett Cut

2008-11-12T18:35:00.003-05:00

The Bucs activated Williams to the 53 man roster and cut Michael Bennett to make room for him. Bennett continued to struggle in blitz pick up situations which made it tough for him to stay on the field. As such, the Bucs cut him to make room for their franchise back, whom they hope will make a big comeback and round out his game, something he was working on before he blew out his knee.

With Graham not practicing, and Dunn still ailing from a pinched nerve in his back, Williams will likely be active on Sunday and may get some carries. Right now it's all about what kind of shape he is in. If he's in good shape, he may get more carries than some would expect, but I think they will take it easy and get him 5-10 carries at most.

Should be interesting to see how well he does.

Will Caddy Be Activated?

2008-11-11T16:35:00.003-05:00

One has to wonder, with Graham and Dunn nursing injuries, whether or not the Bucs plan to activate Williams and use him on some plays Sunday. So far it appears that he will definitely be elevated to the 53 man roster, and appears to be working out hard to get into football shape. Having taken some hits this week, and believing that the knee is stronger now than before the injury, it shouldn't take too long before he can get in shape and have at least some impact.

What may be more critical to the Bucs' running game, however, is the status of Askew. His blocking and receiving have been sorely missed, and forced Graham into a "do it all" role. Cook is OK, and allows Graham to run more, but Cook's blocking isn't in the same league as Askew's. If Caddy does get some reps, it will be better if Askew is out there to open some holes.

In any case, the Bucs will need to find a way to get their running game going again, though they may have to start completing more plays over 30 yards in length (through the air, that is) so they can get defenses stretched again. Teams are daring us to beat them deep, and Garcia's been missing or failing to throw the passes. If Caddy comes back, he may not have room to run if the Bucs can't get that safety out of the box on more occasions.

Clifton Smith Named NFC Special Teams Player

2008-11-06T17:52:00.002-05:00

Smith earned the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award after his excellent game against the Chiefs. As I mentioned in my review, he tore it up in both punt and kick returns, and ripped off a crucial 97 yard kickoff return for a TD when the Bucs were down and almost out. That return helped them get back up and fight to tie, and eventually win, that game.

It would appear that Smith has already started to cement himself as the starting returner for the rest of the season. If he keeps giving the Bucs this kind of field position, the Bucs will likely continue to win.

Bucs Beat Chiefs In OT: 30-27

2008-11-05T19:59:00.002-05:00

Now that I have time, the Bucs sure managed to pull that game out of their *BEEP!!*! Needless to say, it wasn't pretty. The Bucs basically stunk outright for most of the first half, then played well and like crap during the second half. But, in the end, they won.

Offense: First offensive play for the Bucs and Graham fumbles after gaining 4 yards. Not good. The Bucs got down so quick on the scoreboard that they were unable to really concentrate on the running game and take advantage of KC's inability to stop the run. KC also consistently commited a safety to stop the run, which made it even more difficult. Garcia continues to have issues getting the ball down the field. On one shot, he missed Galloway, who had his man beat going into the endzone, by throwing behind him to the point that the defender almost picked it off. Garcia also failed to either see or throw the ball to receivers that were open on a number of plays, prefering to check down. Thankfully, he still managed to get it done and threw a TD pass to Antonio Bryant and then hit Smith for the 2 point conversion which sent it to overtime. Clayton made some big plays catching 4 passes for 57 yards and making several big blocks. He also had a short catch, in OT, where he broke the tackle and went down the sidelines for 29 yards. Hilliard hauled in 6 passes for 55 yards, and Bryant led the receivers with 8 passes for 115 yards and a TD. Smith also hauled in a TD pass from Graham who faked a blast play and threw the halfback pass to a wide open Smith. In the end, the Bucs' offense finished with 423 yards of offense and managed to make up for Graham's two fumbles, a fumble by Clifton Smith, and a pick by Garcia. They drove the ball right down the field in OT to setup Matt Bryant's field goal to win it. They did enough to win the game in the end despite 4 turnovers.
Overall grade: B

Defense: The defense just outright blew during the first half of play. Quite frankly, it was utterly disgusting to watch for a good chunk of this game. Barber was toast on a couple of plays including getting fulled on a halfback pass to the QB, when Barber decided to look in the backfield and start to come back. When he realized it would be a pass, it was too late. The linebackers were caught out of their gaps a lot on run plays, and the result was KC's pathetic offense racking up big yards on the ground, rushing for 183 yards, and letting Charles be the first back this year to rush for 100 yards agains them. Jackson had several good plays, though, including a forced fumble and recovery right after the Smith fumble. The offense would score on the next play via the Graham to Smith pass. Piscatelli had a solid game, but got caught holding a receiver when Buchannon had picked off a pass to setup first and goal. What was also bad was the fact that the Bucs only got one sack against a team that had given up 22 sacks already. The pass rush has disappeared and needs to come back. The defense did manage to make some adjustments and started making KC punt. In the end, they just barely did enough to give the team a chance to win it late.
Overall grade: C+

Special Teams: This was a good week for Special Teams. They only allowed 4.5 yards per punt return and 18 yards per kick return. Meanwhile, Clifton Smith had a great day returning punts and kicks. He returned punts at a 13.5 yard per return clip. But, more importantly, brough the team back to life with a 97 yard kick-off return for a touchdown, only the second time in team history. He averaged 27 yards on the other 5 kick returns, which is a far cry better than what the Bucs had been getting out of Jackson. Matt Bryant nailed all three of his kicks, including the OT game winner from 34 yards out. Bidwell was solid on punts. This was definitely one of the best efforts all year for this group, and the kick return for a TD got this team jump started.
Overall grade: A

Coaching: Gruden seemed to have a decent game plan, but it went down the tubes early with poor execution, a fumble on the first offensive possession, and with a QB failing to take advantage of targets further down the field. Nevertheless, the offense managed to make a comeback and get the Bucs in position to win the game. Monte had one of his worst games for much of the first half. Once he got settled, however, the defense started to come alive. Bisaccia's men finally appeared to be well coached. The effort of the special teams unit was one of the biggest keys in the Bucs' victory. Needless to say, the coaching job was both good and bad. A lot of the bad play, however, falls on the players who failed to execute far too often, perhaps looking forward to the BYE. But coming back and winning a game in which they were down 21 points, and setting a franchise record for the largest comeback, can't be overlooked.
Overall grade: C+

This is the type of game that can really cement a team. They've now come back twice this season in games where they were down by two or more scores. That's tough to do in this league, and something Jon's teams have had problems with since he's been here. This game is proof positive that the Bucs have a very good team, as bad teams don't come back like that.

The Talking Plank - Week 9

2008-11-01T23:14:00.003-05:00

The Talking Plank - Week 9

Bucs At Chiefs:

First off, sorry about having no updates this past week. Wife was out of town, and I had some work come home with me. Needless to say, I hope to get back going again. With the loss at Dallas, the Bucs really missed an opportunity to place them solidly in command of the NFC. Now they are 5-3 and need to go on the road, to a trap game, and make sure they come back with the win. So let's take a look at this game.

On offense, the Bucs come in ranked 13th (341.2y/g), 21st in points (21.2/g), 14th passing (221y/g), and 9th rushing (120.2y/g). The Chiefs are ranked 31st in defense (404.7y/g), 28th in points allowed (27.6/g), 17th against the pass (207.9y/g), and 32nd agains the run (196.9y/g). Needless to say, with the Chiefs giving up a whopping 6.4 yards per rush, the Bucs will likely attempt to exploit that area of the Chiefs' defense. The Bucs will be without Dunn, Sears, and Askew, but should be able to run with Graham and Bennett. The Chiefs also seem to have a problem generating any kind of pass rush with just 4 sacks all year. That bodes well for the Bucs, as they should be able to exploit both the passing and rushing areas. The Bucs have had some struggles generating offense on the road, but should be able to get enough going to turn this game into an eventual route. With Galloway back, Bryant doing well, and Clayton resurfacing, the Bucs should have enough weapons to force the safeties to respect the passing game. If that happens, they should be able to exploit the ground game. Garcia needs to have a calm game and take whatever is there and not feel the phantom pressure. In the end, I think our offense will have a stellar game and rack up some points.

On defense, the Bucs come in ranked 5th (277.6y/g), 2nd in points allowed (15/g), 7th against the pass (188.8y/g), and 8th against the run (88.9y/g). The Chiefs' offense is ranked 27th (267.7y/g), 31st in points scored (14.1/g), 29th passing (163.9y/g), and 20th rushing (103.9y/g). Larry Johnson is suspended...for week 10 (next week). But, still, the Chiefs have been average on the ground and horrid through the air. Thigpen is going against the Bucs, and you can expect some pick opportunities, as well as some sacks. The Chiefs have given up a whopping 22 sacks. Their most dangerous receiver is Tight End Tony Gonzalez. Beyond that, they have some average receivers, and not much else. The Bucs secondary should be able to deal with this group, though it will be interesting to see what impact missing Phillips has, and how well Piscatelli does starting. Personally, I think Sabby will be a better Safety than Flip, but we'll see. With the Bucs' defense starting to clamp down on everyone, I don't expect to see the Chiefs do much but punt the ball a lot. The defense should be able to rack up some sacks and get a pick or two. If they do, they'll shut the Chiefs down.

On special teams, the Bucs come in averaging 7.0 on punt returns, and 21.5 yards per kick return. They are allowing 9.8 per punt and 21 per kick. The Chiefs are getting 5.1 yards per punt and 24.4 yards per kick, while allowing 10.5 per punt and 22.5 per kick. Since inserting Smith, the Bucs got 16.4 yards per punt return on 5 tries. He's definitely an improvement here, and that might make a difference in terms of starting position. The Bucs should win the field position battle more often than they lose it, but we'll see. Novack was the kicker, but sucked at FG's missing 4 of 10. So odds are that Barth will kick vs. the Bucs, and he's something of an unknown long term. From the punting position, Colquitt may be out again, which would leave Weatherford to punt, who is doing a so-so job. If so, the Bucs will have an advantage here that may lead to better field position. I like our Special Teams in this match-up.

This is another trap game. If the Bucs come out to play and don't make a lot of mistakes, they will win, and win big.

Bucs 27 Chiefs 9

The Talking Plank - Week 8

2008-10-26T00:37:00.002-05:00

The Talking Plank - Week 8

Bucs At Cowboys:

The Bucs travel to Dallas where they are 1-8 over their history. But the Cowboys don't look to be as intimidating now with several key players now out. The Bucs have a very good chance at going into Dallas and stealing a win from a banged up team. If they do, they'll be 6-2 and well on their way to earning a playoff bid.

On Offense, the Bucs come in ranked 8th overall (352.6y/g), 16th in points (23/g), 14th passing (221.1y/g), and 9th rushing (130.4y/g). The Cowboys' defense is ranked 11th in yards allowed (303.9y/g), 24th in points allowed (25/g), 16th against the pass (201.7y/g), and 13th against the run (102.1y/g). The Cowboys run a 3-4 defense now with a lot of disguised blitzes. They've racked up 20 sacks, though they've played some poor lines. So they will come after Garcia a lot. Fortunately for the Bucs, the Cowboys aren't very big on the defensive line, which is not the norm for a 3-4 that typically needs a lot of beef at the nose. The Bucs should be able to get enough of a running game going to make it a threat. The big key, however, will be in keeping Garcia upright for most of the game. If they can, then he will be able to take advantage of the secondary that now lacks it's best corner (suspension), and it's top back-up/replacement (injury). The Cowboys have been vulnerable in the secondary with those guys in there. They also don't get many turnovers (2 picks so far). If Galloway goes, our receivers should be able to really go after them. The Tight Ends could be a huge factor in this game, as they won't be covered by fast, slightly under sized LB's. They will be covered by big guys who are slower. So look for the Tight Ends to get a lot of balls. St. Louis had it's way with this defense last week. The Bucs should be able to have success, but they will need to pick up the blitzes and take advantage of the vacated zones. I think the offense will score often in this game.

On Defense, the Bucs come in ranked 9th overall (292.7y/g), 4th in points allowed (15.3/g), 15th against the pass (201.1y/g), and 10th against the run (91.6y/g). The Cowboys are ranked 3rd in total offense (393.1y/g), 7th in scoring (27/g), 3rd passing (265.9y/g), and 11th rushing (127.3y/g). Once again the Bucs will be facing one of the league's highest rated offenses (something they've done most of the year). The Cowboys will, however, be without Romo at QB, meaning Brad Johnson will start again. His last outing, against a poor Rams club, was very good, and you can expect the same this game as Gruden knows Johnson much the same as he knew Gannon. The Bucs' defense has been getting its hands on balls constantly, grabbing 12 picks to date, with about a dozen dropped. The Bucs will likely want to get in Johnson's face and exacerbate the problem for him. With Felix Jones out, as well as the starting Left Guard, the Bucs will mainly need to only concentrate on stopping Barber. If they can slow or stop him, they'll put a lot of pressure on the Cowboys to beat the Bucs stellar secondary through the air. They might get a big play or two, but the secondary will likely make a lot of plays on its own, and make life difficult for Brad. The Rams are horrid on defense, and still got to Brad 3 times. Unlike a lot of the passers the Bucs have faced recently, Brad is a statue in the pocket. I expect the Bucs to rack up a couple of sacks at the very least. If the Bucs can keep Owens or Williams from getting deep on them, the Bucs could put a lid on the Cowboys' offense, something I expect for them to mostly accomplish.

On Special Teams, the Bucs come in with a sorry 4.9 yards per punt return and 21.6 per kick. They are allowing 10 yards per punt and 21.3 yards per kick. The Cowboys are getting 6.7 yards per punt and 23.9 yards per kick, while allowing 9.1 per punt and 22.6 per kick. Seems both teams have some suckage, so I guess we'll see who sucks the most. I do expec the Bucs to refocus a lot on the Special Teams play and try to turn it around. Bucs have a better punter, and the kickers are roughly the same. I expect the Bucs to play better this time around, but I don't know how much better they will be. Field position will be a big key for the Bucs, and we'll see how it turns out. I personally think neither team will see much of an edge from this group.

In the end, because of some key injuries, and because of how good the Bucs are becoming (they are one of the most balanced teams in the NFL), I see the Bucs winning this game.

Bucs 24 Cowboys 17

Bucs Win 20-10!

2008-10-22T21:02:00.002-05:00

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.

The Talking Plank - Week 7

2008-10-18T23:52:00.002-05:00

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

Bucs Re-sign Cook

2008-10-15T15:40:00.002-05:00

Well, with Storer out for the season, and Askew still out, the Bucs went out and picked up Jameel Cook to come back in and play Fullback for the Bucs. Cook knows the offense, and is a solid FB. He's not a great blocker, but should be good enough to let the backs do what they do. This will allow Graham to run the ball again, something he wasn't able to do much of after Storer went down, and that likely cost us a couple of short yardage 3rd down conversions.

A good solid pick-up that will allow us to continue to properly use our weapons and not throw the primary running load on Dunn.

Bucs Win 27-3!! Spank Them Kittens!

2008-10-12T19:54:00.002-05:00

The Bucs really took it to the Panthers today. Oh how nice it is to finally leave Ray Jay after beating the Panthers. That last happened in 2002. Let's take a look at how this game went.

Offense: Garcia looked much better in this game than he had in Game 1. The happy feet were gone, as the protection was very solid. The Bucs were able to move the ball quite well on the Panthers' number 4 defense, and managed to rack up 20 points on them as well. Graham didn't get to run the ball much due to Storer going out with an injury, forcing Graham to play fullback the rest of the game. He played it quite well, blowing people up in front of Dunn who became the first back to rush for over 100 yards on the Panthers' this season. The Tight Ends and the backs were the key targets in the passing game, given how the match-ups went (remember my mention of Stevens being a good mismatch - though Smith became a bigger target in this game). The receivers were only thrown to a few times, catching 4 passes. Clayton caught both passes sent his way, with one being a nice 22 yard slant. Bryant was interfered with on one deep ball, but the refs had problems with the rule book all game long. The offensive line dominated the Panthers up front, and kept Garcia clean with no sacks in the game (third no sack game of the season). In general, the offense rolled through one of the league's best defenses, and made it look easy at times.
Overall grade: A-

Defense: The Bucs' defense was ready to kick some kitty butt. The Bucs were flying to the ball and laid some wood on a few plays including knocking the ball out of a receivers hands on one play by knocking him into next week. The defensive line wasn't able to sack Delhomme, but consistently pushed the pocket up into his face and made him feel their prescence. They also stopped the Panthers' potent rushing attack by closing up the gaps and making the tackles or letting the linebackers come up freely to get it done. Ruud, Brooks, and June all had solid games, with Ruud and Brooks both getting there hands on passes that should have been picked. The secondary picked off three passes on their own. The Bucs really could have had 7 picks in this game, with Adams and Barber also dropping one each. In the end, the Bucs held the Panthers to a single field goal, and physically and mentally outplayed the kitty cats.
Overall grade: A

Special Teams: The punting was excellent, as Bidwell continued to nail some nice long punts and also nailed a couple inside the 20. One of these landed around the 1 yard line, though it was originally ruled that Sabby touched the ball while being in the endzone, but replays, and the challenge review, revealed that Sabby didn't touch it. Matt Bryant nailed 2 of 3 field goals, missing a 50 yarder, but later nailing a 49 yarder. He also had solid kick offs and hit every extra point. The punt coverage team was alright, but had one huge play on the first punt of the game when Geno Hayes broke free in the middle of the line and blocked the punt, then scooped it up and ran it back for a TD. That put the Bucs up 7-0, and turned out to be the winning points. The kick coverage team was much better than the punt coverage. Dexter Jackson had a rough start in this game when he setup to far up field on a punt, and ran back to get it, then tried running backward to out race the coverage, only to loose 11 yards from where he caught it. He made up for it, though, with some big punt returns after that, running straight up the field. He also was solid, though not spectacular, on kick returns, averaging just over 22 yards a kick. Nice effort by this group overall.
Overall grade: B+

Coaching: Gruden had a much better game plan this week, and really made the Panthers work hard on defense to try and stop the Bucs' offense. Once the Bucs got up big, the Bucs just switched into run mode, and still ran it. Monte also had an excellent game plan, giving Delhomme numerous looks, and putting his defense in position to make a lot of plays. The defense had 10 passes defensed with 3 picks. In the end, they only gave up 3 points to a very potent offense. Bisaccia's special teams played well, though you have to wonder why Jackson keeps running backwards at times. A little more coaching him up and maybe we'll have a decent returner out of him.
Overall grade: B+

This was a great game. For once we got to lay the wood to the stinkin' Panthers at Ray Jay and send them home sulking. We also grabbed 1st place in the division with a 2-1 division record. Next stop...Mike Alstott ceremonial game against the Seahawks on Sunday night.

The Talking Plank - Week 6

2008-10-11T22:56:00.003-05:00

The Talking Plank - Week 6

Panthers At Bucs:

After a heartening loss to the Broncos, the Bucs find themselves in a position where they don't want to lose a critical NFC South game to the stinkin' Panthers.

On Offense, the Bucs come in ranked 7th in offense (350.2y/g), 16th in points (22.8/g), 12th passing (215.4y/g), and 8th rushing (134.8y/g). The Panthers' defense is ranked 4th in yards allowed (254.4y/g), 4th in points allowed (14/g), 3rd against the pass (156y/g), and 13th against the run (98.4y/g). The Bucs will have Garcia likely starting in place of Griese. He will need to use his mobility to keep plays alive and run when the coverage locks down on the receivers. The Panthers have 10 sacks in 5 games, and will likely get pressure on Garcia. If the pressure isn't too bad, he may be able to exploit the safeties. The Bucs will likely have a great match-up with Stevens on the linebackers or safeties, and this should be one that Garcia looks to exploit. But what the Bucs must committ to doing in this game is run. They need to hit it the edges hard, and keep the rushers like Peppers from over committing in the passing game. More importantly, running the ball will keep the Panthers' offense off the field and shorten the game. I think the Bucs will try to run a lot and will pound it at the Panthers' defense and try to wear them out in the heat. It will be tough, but they need to establish the run if they want to be able to pass on this team. Look for a good afternoon from the offense, in terms of yards, but scoring may be hard to come by.

On Defense, the Bucs come in ranked 16th in total yards allowed (318.2y/g), 8th in points allowed (18.8/g), 21st against the pass (218.6y/g), and 14th against the run (99.6y/g). The Panthers's offense comes in ranked 14th overall (330y/g), 15th in points scored (22.8/g), 15th passing (207y/g), and 11th rushing (123y/g). The Panthers seem to find success with Delhomme passing on our defense, but the Bucs have really been mixing up their coverages a lot. This looks to me to be a game where the defense will clamp down on the Panthers' potent rushing attack, and try to play a lot more man against the passing game, as Delhomme seems to find a lot of success against our Cover 2 looks. The Bucs will need to man up against the big line of the Panthers', who may not have their starting Right Tackle. Look for the defense to put some pressure on the QB and slow the run down. The Panthers will likely have to find their scores on some big plays. I expect the Bucs' defense to greatly slow down the Panthers' offense.

On Special Teams, the Bucs come are averaging 4.9 yards per punt return, and 22.6 yards per kick return, while allowing 9.3 on punts and just 18.5 on kicks. The Panthers are averaging 9.6 per punt return, 22.6 per kick return, and they are allowing 5.4 per punt and 24.9 per kick. The Panthers clearly have an advantage in the punt return and coverage teams, and also have Mark Jones returning punts, so he should be familiar with our coverage teams. The Bucs do appear to have an advantage in covering and returning kicks. Both teams have solid punters and kickers. The Bucs should have decent field position off of kicks, but the punt coverage teams concern me. The Bucs need to clamp down on this area and keep Carolina pinned back so the defense can make it tough on them. Hard to see any major advantage for either team.

When it comes down to it, though, I see a low scoring game, but the Panthers seem to have our number.

Panthers 16 Bucs 10

Bucs Lose 13-16

2008-10-10T22:04:00.002-05:00

Ok, I'm getting ridiculous with this, but there's just way too much stuff going on right now. In any case, let's look at the loss.

Offense: The offense stunk. Shall I elaborate? Seriously, Griese took no chances against what was frequently a max zone coverage scheme. What sucked about it was the fact that Griese should have run more run plays at this defense and force them to either come up at of those zones, or get run on. Graham and Dunn had good averages, though Dunn got stopped short on some downs forcing a failed third down conversion on one run that I think Graham would have converted. Griese got sacked 3 times (really only 2, as I can't see how you count a run outside that didn't lose any yardage as a sack), but was also dragged down by the face mask, right in front of the ref, but didn't get the penalty. Had it been called, which it should have been, the Bucs would have had a first down around mid-field. His safe play also resulted in the Bucs failing to consistently move the ball, though, and kept the Bucs from getting enough drives going. Then he got hurt and Garcia came in. It took a little while before Garcia got going, but he managed a 90 yard drive to get to within 3, but it took way too long, and the defense failed to get the ball back to the offense. Garcia, incidently, got tackled on a run near the 1st down marker, and also got his face mask pulled without a penalty called. The offense had over 300 yards again, but failed to put up enough points.
Overall grade: C-

Defense: The Broncos had the number 1 offense coming into this game, but the defense held the Broncos to just 16 points, with one of those TD's coming off a bubble screen that should have been called back, as Stokely ran around a Bucs' defender that was grabbed from the front and behind and twirled and pulled down to the ground by the blocker. That one play cost the Bucs dearly, as they likely would have held the Broncos to a field goal, and that late TD could have been the game winner for the Bucs and Garcia. The Bucs slowed the running game down, and held the passing game in check for the most part, but Cutler found some holes on a couple of second half drives that allowed them to get 10 points down the stretch. The defensive line failed to get a sack, though they did close the pocket in on Cutler a lot, but Cutler just gets rid of the ball so fast. What really sucks is that Kevin Carter could have killed the TD drive if he held onto his pick around mid-field, and would have set the Bucs' offense up with great field position. Unfortunately, it was not too be. A very strong defensive effort let up a couple of times, and the offense wasn't able to put up enough points to win it.
Overall grade: B+

Special Teams: This unit sucked on the return teams. The Bucs' offense was consistently in the hole, rarely starting beyond the 20. Dexter Jackson had another bad week with punt returns, letting a punt at the 30 roll back to the 10 yard line when, had he run up and caught it, he could have easily gotten to the 40. That was the punt return for the late TD drive, which might have ended a couple of minutes sooner with better field position. The coverage teams were OK, but not stellar. Bryant continued to nail everything, while Bidwell continued to punt well. But bad starting field position was a problem in this game.
Overall grade: C+

Coaching: Gruden had this team prepared for the Broncos they saw on film. Unfortunately, the Broncos changed their defense up completely, and they never really trully adjusted for it. The Bucs should have run the ball 40 times in this game, and jammed it down their throats. Let's hope the lesson was learned. Monte's defense played quite well, but failed to get a sack against the toughest QB to sack. They held the number 1 offense to just 16 points, which was quite a feet, especially when you consider the illegal block that allowed the Broncos to score a TD. Special teams seemed to take a step back, and Bisaccia's group is still having too many problems on punt returns and punt coverage. They really need to work on this area and clean it up.
Overall grade: C+

Well, the Bucs made it a close game on the road, and clearly look to be a team that can continue to contend down the stretch if they can work out some kinks. They'll need it this week against the Panthers.

The Talking Plank - Week 5

2008-10-04T22:24:00.003-05:00

The Talking Plank - Week 5

Bucs At Broncos:

The Bucs get to go to Mile High and face a highly prolific offense, and a crappy defense. Who will prevail in the battle of heavy breathing? The Broncos were looking great until the sorry Chiefs knocked them off last week. Meanwhile the Bucs, having given up yet another lead (thanks Griese!), beat the Packers, and look to try and get to 4-1. This is a game I really have reservations about for the Bucs, but let's look at how the match-up is currently shaping after the first 4 games of the season.

On Offense, the Bucs come in ranked 7th in total yards (361y/g), 13th in points (25.2/g), 9th in passing (227.2y/g), and 9th rushing (133.8y/g). The Broncos' defense comes in ranked 30th in total yards allowed (408.8y/g), 29th in points allowed (29.2/g), 31st againt the pass (276y/g), and 24th against the run (132.8y/g). This is the one area where the Bucs should be OK. The Bucs will be going up against a defensive line that has recorded just 2 sacks this season (the teams they have played have given up 32 sacks this season with the Raiders giving up 10 and the Chiefs giving up 12). The defensive line has struggled to shut the run down as well. The Broncos' linebackers are so-so with former Bucs Nate Webster starting at MLB (we know how good he was there - rolling my eyes). Needless to say, teams are beating a secondary that has a couple of good corners by allowing their QB to stay upright for extended periods of time, and being able to run the ball and force safety help in the box. I cringe to think what could happen with Griese throwing balls in the direction of Champ and Bly, but he should have plenty of time to exploit other match-ups. This is a game where the receivers can get some balls by continuing routes, or breaking them off and finding a hole to squat in, as Griese should be upright for most of the game. This also looks like the type of defense that will struggle containing Graham and Dunn without consistently putting 8 and 9 men in the box. Barring another slew of turnovers (the Broncos have one pick this season), the offense should be able to move the ball at will on the Broncos' defense, and probably score a lot of points. I expect the Bucs' offense will put up over 30 points in this game.

On Defense, the Bucs come in ranked 13th in total yards allowed (314.5y/g), 10th in points allowed (19.5/g), 21st against the pass (216.5y/g), and 12th against the run (98y/g). The Broncos come in with the top rated offense (435.5y/g), 2nd in points (33.2/g), 2nd passing (314.2y/g), and 14th rushing (121.2y/g). This is the one area that concerns me the most in this game. The Bucs' have had a recent problem with big plays. It's not happening a lot, but 1-3 per game is hurting them a lot, and the Broncos' certainly have the firepower to do it. Royals, WR, may be slowed a little with an ankle injury, but he makes me a little nervous. The Bucs' secondary played quite well last week except for two big plays for TD's. If the Bucs give up those plays this week, it could be a long game for them. The defense should be able to handle Young, Hall, and Pittman in the running game. None of those backs really scare me against our defense, as long as we aren't constantly dropping people back in coverage. What could help is what the Chiefs, who run a version of the Tampa 2, did last week. Monte likely got a lot of valuable information on how to attack the Broncos. Getting Cutler rattled is the big key. He's only been sacked twice this season, so if the Bucs can find a way to get in his face a lot, he will throw picks. It's the nature of the way he tries to fit passes into coverage. I think the Bucs' defense will slow the Broncos' down, but I don't see them stopping them all game. A couple of turnovers could go a long way in this game.

On Special Teams, the Bucs and Broncos will be going to battle with punters and kickers of similar ability. It's in the return game that we could see some differences. The Bucs are returning kicks and punts at a rate of 23.1 yards for kicks, and 5 yards for punts. The Bucs are allowing only 18.9 yards per kick, but they are also allowing 9.9 yards per punt. The Broncos, on the other hand, are returning for 22.1 yards on kicks, and 16.6 yards on punts. They are allowing teams to return kicks for 28.1 yards, and punts for 7 yards. The real problem for the Bucs will be on punt coverage where they are weak and the Broncos are very strong. I wouldn't mind seeing Bidwell punt out of bounds to limit the damage. The kick off game, however, looks to be strongly in the Bucs' favor. So field position off kicks should favor the Bucs in this game. I do believe that we will continue to see Jackson get better and better, and wouldn't be shocked if he returned a punt or kick for a TD. Let's just hope the Bucs don't give up a Special Teams TD.

I'm having a hard time with this prediction. I predicted a Broncos' win in my season predictions. I still see that as the most likely outcome. But I can't help but think that our defense, which is a very good one, can rise to the occasion much more likely than the Broncos' defense can, and that's where I'm getting stuck on this prediction. I really never anticipated the Broncos' defense being this bad (they are bad!). I think our defense will have its hands full, but I think they will make more stops than the Broncos' defense will, and that is where my prediction of a Bucs' win is now coming from...a change from a position I've held even up to the last couple of days.

Bucs 35 Broncos 24

Players of the Week - Brooks and Bryant

2008-10-01T15:22:00.002-05:00

Matt Bryant was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his gutty performance, which included the field goal that put the Bucs ahead late in the 4th quarter, as well as the other field goals he made. It was a well deserved honor considering what had happened, and how much pain he must have gone through and still played.

Derrick had one of his best games in a while and was recognized for it. His forced fumble, interception, two passes defensed (nearly picked), and tackle for a loss, are what got him the honor this week.

Both players were well deserving of these honors.

Bucs Win 30-21! And I'm Late!!

2008-09-30T20:37:00.002-05:00

Just friggin' shoot me now. I just keep finding too much stuff I want to keep tabs on, and that's keeping me from saying things like this: Nice Game! Yes, a couple of late turnovers made this a game when it was a blow out, but the Bucs still turned around and put Green Bay in its place. The Bucs pretty much dominated the Packers. The final score wasn't indicative of how badly the Bucs took it to them, so let's talk about it:

Offense: Griese didn't have the best of days. He was having problems locking in on Bryant a bit, and failed to find some wide open guys (Clayton, Dunn, and Graham were frequently open and not always noticed by Brian). He threw three picks again, with one getting into the hands of Dunn, but behind him, allowing Woodson to take the pick back for 6. He also threw one at Clayton's knees, where Clayton tried to get it with a stretched out hand, only to see his knee bump it into the air to get picked. Another pick was piss poor. All three passes were poorly placed. Dunn and Clayton both managed to make some hand contact with the ball, but neither really had a good shot at catching the passes. But, Brian did lead the team from a point down to winning by 9 points. The running game racked up 178 yards on Green Bay, with Earnest sealing the deal on a big 47 yard run that nearly got into the endzone. He finished that drive with a fullback dive from the Rocket backfield (Dunn faked a run to the outside). Dunn ran for 63 yards as well. Bryant caught 4 passes, missing a couple, and Clayton caught 3 passes, dropping one at his thighs, running before he caught it. Hilliard also hauled in 2 passes. Stovall didn't do anything to earn more playing time though. So, right now, Bryant, Clayton, and Hilliard are pulling all the weight at receiver, and the three look decent doing it, but a little more consistency is needed, especially with Bryant's separation, though Woodson was on him a lot. The tight ends weren't as effective in this game, but Smith did manage 2 catches with one a TD pass to tie the game at 7 early on. The offensive line, once again, allowed no sacks, this time on 30 pass attempts, which is only 2 sacks in the last 128 attempts (the ones with Griese at the helm). That's remarkable. Combined with the 4.8ypc by the backs this past game, one can see that we finally have a REAL offensive line here. The offense, though it wasn't as effective as it has been, put up enough points to win on its own (23).
Overall grade: B+

Defense: The Bucs' defense was, except for two pass plays, pretty dominate. They shutdown a pretty good Green Bay offense, allowing only 181 total yards, with just 28 on the ground. The Bucs harrassed Rogers most of the game, and racked up 3 sacks against a decent line. More importantly, the Bucs got 4 turnovers by picking Rogers off 3 times (his first picks of the year) and by forcing a fumble by Grant that Phillips returned for a TD. Brooks caused that fumble and also got a pick. He also nearly had two more picks, which shows how much confusion they caused for Rogers. Ruud picked off a pass, as did Adams, who basically sealed the game. White hit Rogers as he threw, allowing Adams to pick off that pass. Ronde got burned again early, but then they failed to burn him again. The whole defense was making plays all over, including Brooks nailing Grant well behind the line and from behind, and Hovan chasing Grant down the line of scrimmage for an open field tackle. Ruud, Wilkerson, and Carter all got sacks. Overall, it was a team effort, holding the Packers 31% on third downs, and only allowing 14 offensive points, both TD's on blown coverages.
Overall grade: A

Special Teams: With the loss of Matt Bryant's infant son, one couldn't have expected much from Matt. Indeed, his kickoffs were a little short, with one going out of bounds with a little over 2 minutes in the game (Adams' pick ended that drive). But we got to see a gutty performance from a guy that was introduced after the offensive starters. He nailed all 3 field goals and all 3 extra points. And he looked up to the sky after every one of them. His performance justly earned him a game ball from the team, and undoubtably a huge amount of respect. Bidwell punted well (49.5 yards per), but the punt coverage teams allowed 10.5 yards a return. The kick coverage teams did better, only allowing 16.7 yards per kick. Meanwhile, Dexter Jackson grew a pair and started returning like he's capable of, returning one punt for 19 yards, and 3 kicks for 100 yards, 33.3 yards per return, with a 45 yarder that he nearly busted for a TD. If he keeps doing this, we'll regularly be seeing much better field position. Special teams was mostly an asset in this game.
Overall grade: A-

Coaching: Gruden had a solid game plan that worked well. He needs to really hammer Griese on the picks, though, and get that out of Brian's system. The Bucs can't keep winning games like this. Monte's defense was awesome in this game. They still have to work on stopping those big plays, but that was only 2 plays, and the rest of the game saw the Bucs' defense shutting down a potent Packers' offense. Bisaccia's unit was also pretty solid, save the punt coverage teams. The team was well prepared for this game, but still needs to clean up some penalties and turnovers.
Overall grade: B+

Now the Bucs have to go to Denver. Not looking forward to this one, though our offense should be able to make swiss cheese of that defense. Going to be really tough to win this game, but the Bucs have the talent to do it. They just can't go up there and turn the ball over three times and expect to win.

The Talking Plank - Week 4

2008-09-27T20:54:00.002-05:00

The Talking Plank - Week 4

Packers At Bucs:

The Bucs get to host our favorite smelly cheeses from the north: the Packers. Oh the fun of it. With the Bucs having played an OT game to pull out a win when they were 10 points down with 6 minutes to go, we should see a real strong team effort the rest of this season. Games like that can really bring a team together if they were already doing so. The Packers, however, are coming off a Monday night drubbing at the hands of the Cowgirls and come in as the walking wounded. The Packers have a number of key injuries that can impact this game, but the Bucs must take advantage of them.

On Offense, the Bucs come in ranked 7th overall (372.3y/g), 14th in points (23.7/g), 6th passing (253.3y/g), and 14th rushing (119y/g). The Packers' defense comes in ranked 27th overall (373y/g), 22nd in points allowed (23.7/g), 22nd against the pass (222y/g), and 26th against the run (151y/g). The Packers have a solid defensive line and 2 real good linebackers (Hawk and Barnett), and will try to slow the Bucs running game down. The big problem they will have is that they haven't been very successful at that, despite having 650lbs of Grade A beef in the middle of their defensive line. The Bucs have been a strong rushing unit so far, though the Bears made it extremely difficult by consistently placing 8 and 9 men in the box and bringing constant run blitzes. They forced the Bucs to beat them through the air, and the Bucs did. The Packers can't really afford to use this strategy do to their banged up secondary. Their starting strong safety looks to be unable to go (Bigby). Al Harris, one of their starting corners, is out of the game Simms style. The back up strong safety is nicked up (Rouse - knee). And Woodson has been playing on a very painful broken toe. If the Packers play the run, the Bucs should be able to make mince meat of the secondary. If they protect the secondary by dropping more guys back, then the Bucs will run all over them. I think the Packers will probably play a balanaced defense, and use blitzes on obvious pass situations. The Bucs will probably use the TE's a lot to help chip Kamper on the LDE spot and help Trueblood, who will have his hands full. I think Penn can handle Cullen Jenkins, but we'll see. If Graham and Dunn can get into the second level, there's going to be all kinds of room to make some big plays. I look for the Bucs' offense to come out trying to force the Packers to play it safe in the passing game, and then run on them. The Bucs should be able to move the ball quite well. If they can avoid turnovers, or at least greatly minimize them, this offense should put up a bunch of yards and points.

On Defense, the Bucs come in ranked an unusual 26th overall (359y/g), only 9th in points allowed (19/g), 27th against the pass (237.7y/g), and 20th against the run (121.3y/g). The Packers' offense comes in ranked 8th overall (366y/g), 5th in points (29.3/g), 7th passing (250.7y/g), and 15th rushing (115.3y/g). The Packers have a couple of dangerous receivers in Driver and Jennings, and the Bucs can't afford to give up the big plays like last week. The Bucs should be able to stop the run in this game, but stopping the pass will be the big key. I look for Ronde to rebound big time and have a pick or two. I also look for the Safeties to stay back more to provide deep ball coverage, and that could lead to a pick or some big hits. Green Bays' backs are up and down, and the Bucs should be able to contain them with their front 7 allowing the Safeties to support the corners. With the Packers giving up 6 sacks in 3 games, the Bucs should also be able to get after Rogers a little bit. If they can get to him and shake him up some, then cover the receivers with deep help, then the defense could have a pretty strong day. In the end, I think they will allow some points, but they will make some plays and get the Packers off the field in key moments.

On Special Teams, the Bucs punt return and kick return teams haven't been stellar. The Bucs are getting just 3.7 yards per punt return and 21.3 yards per kick return. They are allowing 9.8 on punts, but just 19.9 on kicks. The Packers are gettin 13.4 per punt return, and 20.6 per kick, while allowing just 5.4 on punts, and 20.6 on kicks. The punt return numbers for the Packers are misleading, though, as Blackmon had a 76 yard return for a TD. The other 6 returns only averad 2.9 per. If the Bucs can keep the big returns from happening this week, then they should be a OK in the field position department. The kickers and punters are about even, but Bryant's mental state could be a factor on his kicking game. Could be positive. Could be negative. He does appear to be playing, however, as PFT has noted. In any case, the Bucs should be getting a much better effort out of special teams after last week's letdown. That should make them sharp for this game.

This is a game, right now, that the Bucs should win, and I think they will. I think the Packers are just too beat up coming in off that tough home loss on MNF, and that's not a good thing going into a road game. The Bucs will exploit GB's holes and the offense will rack up some points and make it easier on the defense.

Bucs 28 Packers 17

Bucs Beat Bears in OT 27-24

2008-09-22T18:27:00.002-05:00

What an exciting game that was! The Bucs pulled out their first game, under Gruden, when they were down by more than 10 points. Getting that monkey off their back may be a big emotional spring board for this team. To be able to come back from 10 points down in just 6 minutes, and get into overtime, then win it, is one heck of a way to get this team pumped for future games.

So how did the team do? Here's my take:

Offense: The Bucs were not able to run at all in this game. That was mostly because the Bears, who probably have the best defense we will face all season, were determined to shut the run down, constantly putting 9 men in the box and bringing a lot of run blitzes. They forced the Bucs to beat them through the air, and they did. Griese had his ups and downs in this game, throwing three picks, but also throwing 67 times, for 407 yards and 2 TD's. If not for the picks, the Bucs might have won the game going away. What was remarkable is that this vaunted Bears defense, which had already recorded 5 sacks coming into this game, did not record a sack. That goes to stellar pass pro by the offensive line, and the RB's an TE's chipping in. The offensive line showed some nastiness in this game, retaliating against some nasty play by the Bears. The over time third down play that Fox showed Trueblood swinging at a Bear on the ground apparently was the result of the Bear player grabbing or hitting Trueblood where it counts. This line takes no schnitt from anyone. The TE's showed why the Bucs have the best TE group in the league, with Stevens pulling in the tying TD pass on a big mismatch. The wideouts were also big with Bryant coming up with 10 catches for 138 yards, including the 38 yarder that put the Bucs in position to kick the winning field goal in over time. Hilliard came up big with 6 catches for 57 yards and a TD. And Clayton came up huge on some big third downs, hauling in 5 passes for 54 yards, dropping nothing catchable. The big comeback and win, despite all the turnovers, and doing it on the road against that defense, is something to behold. I don't think people quite know just how strong a performance the offense had down the stretch of that game. It should also serve to force teams to play the pass more regularly and open the running game back up.
Overall grade: B+

Defense: The defense started the game out quite well holding the Bears to just 6 points on three early drives that all started in Bucs' territory due. Ruud killed one drive with an amazing pass defense that he turned into a pick while in the endzone. The defensive line got constant pressure on Orton during the first half and made him look really bad. Then, on one pressure, Adams read a screen play and got in front of Clark to pick the ball off, then he raced down field for the score, though it had to be challenged when initially ruled out of bounds at the one. White and Wilkerson provided a lot of heat, as did Carter, and the Bucs ended up sacking Oroton 3 times, once by Barber on a corner blitz. The defense also stuffed the run for most of the game, with a fake punt accounting for 38 of the 158 yards allowed (the runners only got 3.3 yards per carry during this game). But what hurt the defense down the stretch, and allowed the Bears to come back, was the amount of time the defense was on the field going into the second half, where Griese had 2 of his picks. The defense started giving up a few big plays, and allowed the Bears to get out by 10 points before the Bucs' offense turned the game around. The Bucs defense did step up with less than 3 minutes left to stuff the Bears and get the ball back to the offense for the game tying TD drive. They also minimized the damage the Bears did in their lone overtime drive. In the end they gave up some points and a lot of yards, but they played well until they got a little tired.
Overall grade: C+

Special Teams: Ok, Bryant made his kicks, and Bidwell punted well. Bryant also had some good kickoffs. That's the good stuff. The bad stuff? The Bears tore up our coverage units with Hester in there. Then Dexter Jackson continued is woeful ways looking like some scared little kitty cat. He fell down repeatedly in front of would be tacklers. The Bucs replaced him with Clayton, who consistently attacked the coverage teams and made some yardage, as much as was available. What really made this a game was field position that was constantly won by the Bears. The Bucs were constantly in the hole, and the Bears made a living out of starting near midfield. This wasn't a very good day for special teams.
Overall grade: D+

Coaching: Gruden had Griese take what the defense gave him, and that was the passing game. He had the offense go into the hurry up offense late in the game, and that sparked a comeback as the Bears seemed not to be as well conditioned as the Bucs down the stretch. One could argue for more runs, but the reality is that you just don't run into constant 9 man boxes. Monte Kiffin called a pretty good game early and his defense got some serious heat on the QB. The defense was off to a great start, but it started fading late, and the Bucs ran too many defensive plays without deep safety help on the side of Lloyd who was able to get behind Barber a couple of times. Monte needed to make an adjustment, but it was slow coming. Special Teams looked horrible, and you have to wonder why Bisaccia couldn't have his crew better prepared for what the Bears had. This are needs to be improved next week. Overall the offense and defense had a solid plan of attack, but some key issues kept giving the Bears a chance to take hold of this game, and they briefly did. But, in the end, the Bucs won.
Overall grade: B-

Now that the Bucs are back to being tied at the top of the division, they will host the Green Bay Packers, who will likely be without CB Al Harris, who appears to have ruptured his spleen and will likely be gone for the season. Woodson also appears to still have some issues with his toe. So the Bucs will have an opportunity to exploit the passing lanes. Should be fun. Just make sure we pack the house this week as last week's attendance was piss poor.

The Talking Plank - Week 3

2008-09-21T08:27:00.004-05:00

The Talking Plank - Week 3

Bucs At Bears:

The Bucs got rid of the goose egg last week by beating up on the hapless Falcons. The game was tighter than it should of been because Griese missed some wide open bombs that would have probably scored additional points. The Bears, meanwhile, lost to a Steve Smith-less Panthers ball club. I picked the Bucs to lose this game because of their history at Chicago. After 2 weeeks of football, I'm not so sure that the Bears are all that good, especially considering how beat up Indy was in week one, and how "off" Manning was. So let's look at how this match-up looks right now.

On Offense, the Bucs are ranked 11th in total offense (331.5y/g), 15th in points (22/g), 16th passing (176.5y/g), and 7th rushing (155y/g). The Bears' defense is ranked 6th overall (254.5y/g), 10th in points allowed (16.5/g), 11th against the pass (171y/g), and 8th against the run (83.5y/g). The Bears shutdown the Colts' running game, but weren't as effective against the Panthers. The Bucs have the strongest running game the Bears have yet faced, and the Bucs will certainly be ready to use it against an undersized DL and against a solid corps of LB's. Don't be surprised if the Bucs try to run more to the right against the Sam LB, Hillenmeyer, and stay away from Briggs and Urlacher. The Bucs have had some success in the past attacking Urlacher, though, so I won't be surprised if they try that on ocassion. The Bucs OL should be able to man up against the Bears pass pro, and limit the pressure, but the Bears will get some pressure with Brown and Ogunleye on the edges. The real key will be the Bucs' TE's and WR's. The Bucs should be able to outclass the LB's with our TE's, and beat the secondary with our WR's even with Galloway out. Tillman is solid, but Vasher and the nickel and dime corners aren't so hot. The Bears are also without starting Strong Safety McGowan who apparently didn't start last week and is out this week, and the Bears' Free Safties aren't really all that good. This will aid the running game and the passing game. If Griese can hit the wide open receivers that he missed last week and take advantage of the mismatches, the Bucs should have moderate success in the air and should be able to run the ball pretty well. I look for the Bucs' offense to put some more points on this Bears' defense than what I thought a couple of weeks back, due to performance and injuries. This despite the fact that Galloway is out, as the receivers were still getting open even without him on the field late last week. Graham and Dunn should be a tough combo for the Bears to handle, but the Bucs must lean on Graham first and only use Dunn as a change-up.

On Defense, the Bucs come in ranked 23rd in total yards allowed (336.0y/g), 10th in points (16.5/g), 23rd against the pass (233y/g), and 16th against the run (103y/g). The Bears' offense comes in ranked 24th overall (287.5y/g), 12th in points (23/g), 27th passing (138.5y/g), and 9th rushing (149y/g). This is where it gets interesting as the Bears' offense looks like the Falcons' offense; i.e. run-run-run, and run. And why not? They have Orton throwing the ball around. The Bucs defense will be facing a smaller offensive line, one that is not as good as the two they have already faced, and will be intent on shutting the run down and forcing the Bears to pass. They should be able to achieve this, as the Bears' running backs are alright, but not stellar. The Bears have Booker, Davis, and Lloyd to throw to. The Bucs' secondary should be able to handle this group assuming Talib can go. If they have to rely on Hamilton, that could be a soft spot on three wides, but they could also rotate Jackson down to corner and leave Phillips and Sabby at Safety. Brooks should be in better shape to go for this game as well, which will help. This is where the Bucs should be able to win this game, our defense vs. their offense. If the Bucs shut them down, as they should, then the Bears are going to have to rely on their defense to score. The Bears have just one pick and one fumble. If the Bucs don't turn the ball over, I have a hard time seeing the Bears score more than 10 points in this game as their offense just doesn't look that imposing. The defense should be able to keep them from scoring much, and that will be the difference in this game.

On Special Teams, the Bucs come in averaging 5 yards per punt return, and 20.7 per kick return, while allowing 10.6 per punt and 16.8 per kick. The punt return yardage is misleading as the Bucs have only allowed yardage on one punt return, which went for 37 yards. The Bears are averaging 9.2 on punt returns and 21.2 on kick returns, while allowing 10.5 on punts and 19.6 on kicks. With Hester not likely to play, those return numbers should drop for the Bears. It looks like these units will be matched up pretty evenly, except for the Bucs' punt returns, where Jackson needs to get going, but needs some better blocking up front to help facilitate that. The kickers appear to be on par, but the Bucs have the better punter. I don't think we are going to see too many highlights out of either team in this department, but, unless Hester plays, the Bucs have the better potential due to what Jackson can do when he gets some space. Getting that space is the big problem.

In the end, having seen how the Bears have actually played so far this year, I'm starting to question whether they really are all that good down the stretch. I'm starting to think not, and I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that the Bucs will win this game by getting just enough offense to go with a very good defensive effort to shut the Bears down.

Bucs 17 Bears 10

Bucs Make Moves - Clayton To Start

2008-09-17T16:14:00.004-05:00

The Bucs, who are getting Jeramy Stevens back from suspension, made a move to release TE Ben Troupe. They clearly expect Stevens to provide more play making ability, though Smith and Gillmore seem to be doing a good job.

The real news, however, is that Galloway appears to be out, and Clayton will start with Bryant moving to Galloway's spot. The two receivers are both excellent run blockers and should be able to get open and make some plays if Griese doesn't overthrow guys again. Clayton was the best receiver in the off-season and Training Camp, with Bryant looking a little better in Pre-season, but not much. This could be the future, or it might not. We will certainly see. The one thing this does give the Bucs, however, is the ability to keep the same receivers on the field whether it's a pass or run. With Clayton and Bryant both likely to be out there on every run play, the perimeter runs may open up even more, and we've already seen Graham bust a couple of long ones on the edge.

The big question will be if Clayton can stay away from his perceived issue with dropped passes (in reality he's been about average in this area with the majority of NFL receivers, but those big play drops really shine the spotlight on him). It might be a good thing if he can catch an easy, wide open, big play pass early on, as it would get that off his mind and he can do with the easy passes what he usually does with the tough to catch passes...catch 'em. I'm hopeful that Clayton and Bryant will run with this opportunity and perhaps provide us with a highly potent one-two big receiver punch.

Here's to hoping!

Bucs Beat Falcons 24-9

2008-09-15T08:26:00.002-05:00

After opening the season with a loss against the Saints (that sounds familiar somehow), the Bucs took it to the Falcons early, jumping on them 14-0. The Bucs appeared to be on cruise control to a blowout when the offense started stalling. Then the Falcons managed to get a little help from the refs and got back in the game with a couple of field goals to make it 17-9. Then Graham put the dagger in to seal it at 24-9.

So let's look at how the core units performed in this game:

Offense: Last week Garcia looked panicked and often times threw behind receivers, or ran into sacks or pressures. This week, with Griese at the helm, we saw a much more calm QB who faced down blitzes, burning a couple with some nice passes while a defender was in his face. Where Griese faltered was on some of the wide open intermediate and deep passes that he mostly overthrew (under threw one for Smith) which could have been TD's or at least very big plays. Had Griese been a little more accurate on those passes, the Bucs would have rolled early, and the running game would have been more effective that it was early on as the Falcons were regularly stacking the box. Dunn looked like his old self, dancing around and occasionally busting a nice run, including a weavin 3rd and 17 yard run for a TD. Graham was having a pedestrian day (due to the 8 and 9 man fronts) until he broke a LG gap run to the right and outside the tackle, running down the sideline while busting through a tackle attempt and getting some nice blocks to take it 68 yards to the house. That was his longest career run, and lays some rest to the "he can't hit the home run" comments. Gilmore and Smith both had excellent games, with Gilmore getting the first TD, and Smith getting open regulary and having some nice catches. The receivers were open a lot, but Griese missed them on some nice down field possibilities. Hilliard was the goto guy. Bryant dropped one. Clayton caught one. And Galloway caught 2, but was wide open for a possible TD and was overthrown. The offensive line was solid, only allowing pressure a few times, though one sack had a fumble that killed a drive in scoring position. Zuttah was called for a couple of infractions, and didn't have great push at the point. They did enough to get the job done when it counted, and gave Griese the time he needed to make the throws. Overall, the effort was solid, if not overtly spectacular.
Overall grade: B+

Defense: Unlike last week, when the defense broke down 5 times for some big plays, the Bucs pretty much stifled the Falcons' offense all game long. The Falcons came out throwing, and the Bucs got a pick by Aqib Talib on the third throw, which was deflected somewhat. The Bucs offense scored right after and the defense kept it up. The pressure was solid, and got in Ryan's face for most of the game, forcing him to start out with 9 incompletions. The Bucs also made sure that their wouldn't be a second straight week of Turner highlight runs, as they put the clamp on him all day long, allowing him just 42 yards on 14 carries. The Bucs held the Falcons to just 234 total yards, with much of that coming late on one drive. But, what was even more impressive, was that the Bucs held the Falcons 0-3 in the red zone, and 0-2 in goal to go situations, harking back to the Bucs' defense around the Super Bowl time frame (99-02). They kept the dirty chickens out of the endzone, and that kep the game in the Bucs' control. The Bucs also recorded 4 sacks with Gaines getting a solo and two half sacks. Greg White picked up a sack and a half as well. Piscatelli had a good game with a bad play. While he picked off one pass, made some nice tackles, and caused a fumble late in the game on a return (though recovered by Atlanta), he also got a fumble recovery and lateralled the ball away. It was a stupid play as it was an illegal forward pass, and it was lost back to the Falcons, who would go on to score a FG. Hopefully, he learned from that. Brooks also played off and on and recored a couple of big tackles. It was a very good effort overall.
Overall grade: A-

Special Teams: This unit was alright, covering kicks and punts well, until it allowed one big punt return, 37 yards, to setup a field goal for the Falcons. They held the Falcons to 21 yards per kick return. But they also only got 20.3 yards per kick return, and failed to get any yards on punts. So the return game was...eh. Bryant nailed his field goal attempt and all three extra points, and had some good depth on his kick offs, with one going through the endzone. Bidwell averaged 46.6 yards per punt with a 38 net. In summary, Special Teams wasn't really a major factor either way, but didn't do anything to lose the game.
Overall grade: C

Coaching: Gruden had some excellent plays designed up for the offense to exploit the Falcons, and they nearly did on a few plays, but the execution wasn't great. Some really poor penalties, especially by the line, that killed scoring opportunities, even taking a TD back. The game plan was solid, but the execution wasn't always there, and some of this reflects on the coach. Monte had his defense ready to shutdown Turner, and put the heat on Ryan. His defense did an excellent job, and kept Ryan rattled for most of the game, while stopping that running attack. They also force a couple of turnovers, though coughing a fumble back up through a dumb play by Sabby. Special Teams played well on converges and in the kicking departments, but the return game left a lot to be desired. Jackson really didn't have any where to go except on one kick return where he got some nice blocks and went 33 yards, nearly busting free. Better schemes, or blocking, or something, is desparately needed for the return teams. Overall, though, the team had a good plan, and executed most of it well.
Overall grade: B-

Now it's off to Chicago where Griese and Gilmore have a chance to really use what they know against the Bears' defense. Should be fun.

The Talking Plank - Week 2

2008-09-13T21:57:00.002-05:00

The Talking Plank - Week 2

Falcons At Bucs:

With the loss at New Orleans, the Bucs come back home needing a win to get back on track. The Bucs have already changed QB's, and look to be able to take advantage of the plays that were there against the Saints that Garcia missed (such as Galloway being wide open in the endzone on the 4th down play that Garcia threw the pick on). The Falcons come in here after running all over the Lions (something that keeps happening to them). So are the Falcons for real? Or did they simply exploit a big weakness of the Lions?

On Offense, the Bucs come in ranked 15th in points (20/g), 10th in yards (352/g), 12th passing (206/g), and 9th rushing (146/g). The Falcons' defense comes in ranked 20th in points allowed (21/g), 16th in total yards (308/g), 28th in passing (246/g), and 5th against the run (62/g). Since we only have one week's worth of numbers, it's hard to fully gauge team strenghts and weaknesses, but it was clear, by the comeback allowed, that the Falcons' defense is suspect against the pass. This makes sense when you realize that their secondary sucks. Their defensive line isn't all that great, save Abraham. So if he's not getting a lot of pressure, there isn't a lot of help to get the QB down. The one strength of the Falcons is their LB's with Brooking and Boley, though Lofton is a rook at the Mike spot. The Falcons are fast enough at the LB spot to make it somewhat hard to run, especially at the edges, but they aren't impossible, by any means. The Bucs will undoubtably try to impose their will up front and get Graham and Dunn going. Once that is accomplished, Griese should be able to use our wideouts and tight ends to expose that weak secondary. If the Bucs do get that run game going, they'll probably be able to sustain drives with some big plays through the air, something that was available last week, but for which Garcia struggled to take advantage of. Make no mistake, Atlanta will be focused on stopping the run. But, in the end, I don't think they have the horses to stop this offense unless Griese has some pick 6 moments, which I think he'll avoid. Look for this offense to put some points up and chew up a lot of clock.

On Defense, the Bucs come in uncharacteristically ranked low, 24th in points allowed (24/g), 28th in total yards (438/g), 31st against the pass (337/g), and 11th against the run (101/g). The Falcons' offense comes in ranked 5th in points (34/g), 3rd in total yards (474/g), 24th passing (156/g), and 1st rushing (318/g). The whole Lions' game boils down to Atlanta's running game. Turner was able to run ragged over a weak Lions' run defense and make them look stupid. He averaged 10 yards per carry on 22 carries (do the math - 220 yards). If you think the Bucs are going to let that happen...think again. The Bucs actually played great defense against the Saints on 55 of the Saints' 60 plays. Those 5 plays accounted for over half of the Saints' offense and three of their TD's (21 of 24 points). Those 5 breakdowns (2 of which had blatant holds - the Gaines tackle on one, and Haye being held on another the first TD pass) cost the Bucs that game. The Bucs have games like that every once and a while, but it was clear in the preseason that this defense will, far more often than not, clamp down on opposing offenses, and I can guarantee you that a lot was said after that game. They also get the advantage of seeing what happened to the Lions, who employ the same defense (though they suck at it). While Brooks may or may not play, the defense will likely hold up much better this week. Atlanta does have some beef on the line, but the Bucs can counter with Sims at UT on running downs to really clog it up. If Brooks is out, June will likely slide over, and Black will probably start at Sam, as that gives the Bucs their second best set of LB's. Where the Bucs should really be at an advantage is if Matt Ryan is forced to pass, which is what the Bucs want. The Bucs' secondary had some slipping issues that appeared to hinder defenders on two of the TD bombs (Aqib's feet didn't seem to have good footing when he jumped for that pass, and Barber lost his feet and slipped). They'll be on the excellent Ray Jay surface, and they should be able to hang with Atlanta's limited number of viable pass targets. If they slow the running game down and force Matt to throw, with a hostile crowd (he only threw 13 passes last week), then the Bucs should be able to get some heat on him and force some errant throws. The Bucs got in Brees face on a few occasions and even caused a pick 6. Ryan isn't Brees and isn't likely to be able deal with this defense nearly as well. I believe we'll see the defense return to form and clamp down on the Atlanta offense. They love challenges like this, and will rise to the occasion.

On Special Teams, the Bucs have the better punter in Bidwell, but the Falcons have the better kicker in Elam. In the punt return game, Dexter Jackson returned 5 punts for 5.8 yards, but got better after he took a big hit, as his next return went for 14 yards. Where he shined was in kick returns where he averaged 28 yards per return on 3 returns with a long of 33. The Falcons returned punts with Jennings who averaged a whopping 3 yards per return (means he'll probably return it for a TD against us), and they got 32.5 yards per return on kicks using Norwood. Definite edge to the Bucs, especially if Jackson continues to improve. In the coverage arena, the Bucs allowed just 5 yards per punt, and 13.4 yards per kick, which is outstanding. The Bucs hope to continue that this week, looking much like they did last year. The Falcons didn't have any punts returned (2 fair catches), but allowed 20.5 yards per kick return. Solid coverage teams, but probably not as good as the Bucs. If it comes down to field position, the Bucs should have the edge, but if it comes down to a FG, it really depends. Matt Bryant hit both field goals last week, and appears to be over his misses during preseason. So distance may be the factor where Elam would be considered the favorite. I expect the Bucs to have favorable field position most of the game, and to keep the Falcons pinned back a lot, similar to what they did to the Saints, with the defense holding this time.

When all is said and done, I think the Bucs will be on a mission to get the win on the board and to restore order to their defense, as the tackling and assignments usually start to get good around week 2, historically speaking. The offense will move the ball much more consistently with Griese, and they will score some points. In the end, the Bucs will win this game.

Bucs 24 Falcons 17

SOB In...Garcia Out!

2008-09-10T21:03:00.002-05:00

Looks like Gruden had enough with the clearly diminished play of Garcia. Griese starting is only the beginning. Garcia isn't likely to come back as the starter unless he somehow earns that right back. Based on the last game he played last year, the preseason game, and the Saints game, I don't see it happening.

We know Greise can run this offense, and do a pretty good job. We also know he's prone to checking down too often and throwing pick 6's. If he can keep the intermediate routes in his mind, and stay away from the picks, we can go far. Ideally, I would rather see Luke get his shot, but I think Gruden is really trying to get a consecutive winning season, something that has avoided him since he came here.

The move is made and the team moves on. I think this move was made at the right time. He saw the weakness early and, unlike 2004, isn't waiting until the 4th game to pull the trigger. I just hope he's not afraid to go to Luke if Griese has issues.

Bucs Lose 20-24

2008-09-08T20:07:00.002-05:00

The Saints got us. Why? Primarily two things: 1) long plays allowed (5 plays accounted for half of the Saints' offense) 2) rusty QB play. Really, when you think about it, despite giving up all that yardage (217 yards on those 5 plays), and despite Garcia throwing behind receivers all game long, the Bucs still were driving in Saints' territory for the win when Garcia threw the untimely pick.

This team is better than some are giving it credit for right now. I had figured that the practice time would have allowed Garcia to get back in sync with his receivers, but it didn't. He's injured (ankle) now, so it will be interesting to see if McCown or Griese get a shot to start. Quite honestly, I think it's likely the Bucs would have won that game with either of the two other QB's at the helm because they've had so much more time in practice. We'll see what happens. As for reviewing the core groups...

Offense: As mentioned, the offense sputtered a lot due to failed pass attempts. The one thing that really hurt was the fact that a few missed passes, combined with some penalties, often put the Bucs in pass only situations, taking away their best weapon - the running game. The RB's rolled over the Saints for 145 yards on 19 carries (7.6 ypc). Graham and Dunn gashed the Saints repeatedly, but saw the ball to few times. The offensive line opened some big holes in the running game, and it's a sign of things to come. This team will likely rush for well over 2000 yards this season. Unfortunately, the pass pro was a little suspect early on. That got Garcia into happy feet mode, and that made things worse as he kept rolling into defenders making a mess of our offense. He settled down a bit later in the game as did the offensive line. I wouldn't expect to see that too often this season. I think this line will still be the best this franchise has ever fielded.
Overall grade: B-

Defense: This is the story of two defenses here. One got beat on three big plays for TD's (thought Bush was clearly out of bounds on his TD play). The rest of the game, save two other big plays (one aided by the obvious hold on Adams), the defense was stellar, holding the Saints to 221 yards on the other 55 plays (4.0 y/play, 1.6 yards than the Bucs' 5.6 yards). And that's the story. The turf appeared to give a couple of defenders some problems, and I wonder if they had the right cleats or not. Barber slipped on the turf on that big pass play to Henderson. Talib just mistimed his jump (rookie mistake) and might have been much better off just running the route out with the receiver to knock the ball down. When Brooks went out, the Bucs decided to put McCoy in at Sam and slide June over to the weak side. The Saints attacked McCoy twice with Bush on that side of the field, and he failed to get in there and make the plays. The Bucs are already talking about starting Black at Sam if Brooks can't go. I think the Bucs caught the Saints at a bad time, and I think you will see this defense start to mold into a real monster in the next two weeks. The pass rush wasn't great, though it's been tough to put one on against Brees, especially when the Saints get away with several blatant holds, but they did hit him a few times and caused a flutter ball that got picked by Buchannon. They also appeared to have caused a fumble that was returned for a TD, but the play was called an incomplete pass and the Bucs didn't challenge it. In three weeks, teams will fear this defense.
Overall grade: B-

Special Teams: The return game was sluggish until Jackson, who was tentative all game, got jacked up on one return. After that, he apparently realized he could take a hit in this league and started getting some nice returns late in the game, including a 33 yard kick return and a 14 yard punt return. Hopefully that's a good sign. The coverage teams smothered the Saints, allowing 5 yards per punt, and a lowly 13.4 yards per kick return. Undoubtably, the coverage units are near or at the top of the league this week. Bryant was perfect on two field goal attempts and two extra points. Bidwell was booming punts, and put a nice one down near the goal line where Black kept it in play allowing another player to down it at the one.
Overall grade: A-

Coaching: Gruden had some solid plays called, only to watch Garcia miss the receiver or panic a little in the pocket. He could have maybe tried some more runs, but the down and distance was often forcing him to try and use the passing game more. It wasn't a bad game play calling wise, and some nice plays were called at times to get some big plays, including a very nicely called TD pass play. I do lay the decision, however, to start an obviously rusty Garcia on him. He probably should have made Garcia play a half of football in the final preseason game. Defensively, Monte had some nice calls, including some well timed blitzes, but he also called some man-to-man coverages that got burned with no deep safety help. I also question putting McCoy in the game instead of Black. Black is probably the fastest, most athletic linebacker on this team, and is now very well versed in this defense. This decision, which helped Bush get yards to the outside attacking the Sam, may have been a key contributor in the loss, but we'll never know because it's impossible to know for sure if Black would have done better. Special Teams coaching was pretty stellar for the most part. The return teams need better blocking up front, but they improved as the game went along. The coverage teams were awesome, and the kicking/punting was excellent. Not too much to be displeased with here, so long as the return teams continue to improve.
Overall grade B

We'll see if the Bucs can turn things around this Sunday when they host the Falcons. I have a feeling they will.

The Talking Plank - Week 1

2008-09-06T23:40:00.003-05:00

The Talking Plank –

Bucs At Saints:

With the opening game of the season occurring in a recently battered New Orleans, it’s really hard to gauge how the Saints will come out and play. They practiced in Indy and that might have really messed with their rhythm, or it might not have. The Bucs, meanwhile, are getting some guys back healthy who were limited in practice earlier in the week. Assuming the core offensive players play, the following will should hold true.

On offense, the Bucs will be facing a defense that is still not great. While the Saints are looking for an improved defensive line, they don’t seem likely to get it. The linebacking corps is stronger now with Vilma in the middle, but it’s still not great. And the defensive backs are still a weakness, with McKenzie being banged up a bit in the last game. The Bucs will likely pound the ball right at the Saints’ defensive line, and should have success. If the Bucs can establish the run early they’ll be able to pass the ball with a lot of success, assuming Garcia’s arm is working right again, and not what we saw in the preseason game. So far, the Bucs have had little trouble moving the ball well and converting third downs during the preseason, and I think it will translate. With Graham and Dunn the likely ball carriers, the running game will have the threat of becoming a passing game to the runners which should make it very difficult for the Saints to defend the Bucs offense consistently. The Bucs may not score a ton of points in this game, but they will score a good bit.

On defense, the Bucs will be facing one of the better offenses they’ll play all year. With Brees throwing the ball to some talented skill players, the pass defense and pass rush will be the keys to this game. With McAllister’s knee banged up, and Stecker’s hamstring pulled, the Bucs should be able to stop Bush and McAllister (I doubt McAllister will have full strength and cut back ability from that knee). The Bucs have been stronger in the pass rush department this preseason, and I expect to see that continue with Adams, Wilkerson, White, Haye, and Sims providing the best chances to get to Brees. Without Faine playing Center for New Orleans, the Bucs should have an easier time getting to Brees. Ironically, despite a sub-par pass rush last year and a low sack allowance by the Saints, the Bucs got 5 sacks on Brees in two games. So far, the Bucs look to have finally gotten back to being a defense that gets teams off the field after third down, having held all 4 preseason teams under 40% on third down conversions with an average of just 27% allowed. I expect the Bucs will make it very difficult for the Saints to get into a flow, and will keep the Saints from scoring a lot of points. We may even see a dominant defensive effort if the Bucs’ offense holds onto the ball enough.

On special teams, the Bucs will look to have Matt Bryant continue to recover from the bad misses. He seemed to get himself straightened out during the Texans game, but now that the games count, he needs to make sure he nails them. Ironically, he will be squaring off against former Bucs kicker Martin Gramatica. This may or may not be a good thing for the Bucs. The punters are both good ones, but Bidwell is a little better at downing punts inside the 20 than Weatherford. The return game will be interesting to see. The Saints appear to not be using Bush, and will apparently go with Moore and Thomas on punts and kicks. The Bucs will be putting their hopes all on Dexter Jackson. I think Jackson may have a very good game, but we’ll see. The Bucs have had pretty strong coverage teams this preseason, so we’ll see if that translates into the game.

Once all is said and done, I believe the Bucs will come out, maybe start out a little slow on offense, but will keep the ball a long time with that running game. In the end they’ll start putting up some points while the defense gets after Brees and company. Down the stretch the Bucs will win this game and start out 1-0.

Bucs 24 Saints 17

Season Predictions (It's Long!)

2008-09-06T23:40:00.001-05:00

Here is my season prediction, game by game.

Bucs At Saints:

The Bucs will come out with just enough firepower on offense to score points and hold onto the ball. The defense will hound Brees and stuff the running game. In the end, the Bucs will be a just good enough to get a tough win on the road.

Bucs 24 Saints 17
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Falcons At Bucs:

With the Bucs opening up the season with a win, they get to have a little dessert when the Falcons roll into town. The Falcons will be outgunned, out manned, and out classed. The Bucs will roll to victory in this game.

Bucs 28 Falcons 10
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Bucs At Bears:

With two straight wins the Bucs will go into pretty hostile territory where a let down is waiting them. While the Bucs will be the better team, some poorly timed turnovers will cost them points, and the Bucs’ offense will sputter at times putting more pressure on the defense. The Bucs will lose a defensive battle on the road.

Bears 10 Bucs 7
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Packers At Bucs:

Welcome to the NFL’s best defense Mr. Rodgers. You’ll soon see that we really don’t want to be your neighbor. The Bucs’ offense will regain some of it’s form, but the defense will rock the Green Bay offense and show Rodgers what they can do.

Bucs 20 Packers 6
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Bucs At Broncos:

The Bucs have to turn around and go to Denver after defeating the Packers. The altitude and the time zone team will have an affect on the Bucs, and they will struggle a little on offense, and the defense will wear down a little late in the game costing them the win.

Broncos 17 Bucs 10
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Panthers At Bucs:

The stinkin’ Panthers come to town. While they will be improved from last year, it’s clear that Delhomme is not as good as he was a couple of years ago, and the Bucs’ defense will punish the Panthers quite a bit. The Bucs’ offense will be able to exploit a defense that still isn’t living up to what it was a few short years ago. In the end, the Bucs get the win over the hated kittens.

Bucs 16 Panthers 14
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Seahawks At Bucs:

The Seahawks have had the Bucs’ number the last few years, but the Bucs nearly blew Seattle out at Seattle last year, just failing to punch the ball into the endzone a couple of times and letting them get back into the game. This time, the Bucs will have an even more potent offense and better defense, and the result will be a Bucs win, their first over Seattle since the 1999 season.

Bucs 21 Seattle 13
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Bucs At Dallas:

Unlike the last time these two teams met, the Bucs will be a much better and deeper team rolling into Dallas. This could also be a preview of the NFC Championship game. The Bucs’ offense will move the ball and score a lot of points, but the Bucs’ defense will have an uncharacteristically sloppy game and allow Romo to get just enough points to win the game late.

Cowboys 28 Bucs 27
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Bucs At Chiefs:

The Bucs will meet another former Bucs’ assistant coach and, unlike the Bears game, come out a winner. The Bucs will simply have too much offense and defense for the Chiefs to contend with and will win this game going away.

Bucs 30 Chiefs 10
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Vikings At Bucs:

In another potential NFC Championship match-up, the Bucs will play host to the dynamic Vikings. They will also be inundated with the familiar sounds of “how can they stop player x”, which will be AP in this case. Well, that will get this defense fired up and the Vikings’ offense will find themselves uncharacteristically unable to score a lot of points. The Bucs’ offense will grind it out on the ground and do what’s necessary to pull out a tough win.

Bucs 13 Vikings 7
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Bucs at Lions:

A third match-up against former coaches will lead to a head scratching loss. Similar to last year, the Bucs will outplay the Lions in every phase of the game, but some poor turnovers will lead to points for the Lions, and the Bucs will fail to score enough points to win the game.

Lions 17 Bucs 14
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Saints At Bucs:

The Saints will come to Tampa with revenge on their minds, but the atmosphere, and a dominate defense will lead to a Bucs’ blow out. The offense will hit several big plays and rack up the points.

Bucs 35 Saints 10
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Bucs At Panthers:

The Bucs will go up to Carolina for a hard fought contest. The Panthers will give the Bucs all they can handle in a tight game that will go down to the wire. In the end, the Bucs will pull out a tight contest and be one game away from completing a sweep of the NFC South.

Bucs 23 Panthers 20
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Bucs At Falcons:

Tampa north will be a welcome atmosphere for the Bucs as they look to all but sew up the NFC South crown and be the first repeat division champ. The Falcons, whose season will already be in the toilet by now, will offer up very little resistance as the Bucs get a tune up game for the playoffs, and win their 10th game of the year.

Bucs 24 Falcons 9
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Chargers At Bucs:

In a match-up that could possibly represent the Super Bowl, the Bucs will fight a back and forth contest, losing the game late. The game will be low scoring as both offenses struggle to get it done, but the Chargers will make a few plays down the stretch to secure the victory.

Chargers 16 Bucs 12
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Raiders At Bucs:

At this point the Bucs will be looking for a BYE in the playoffs and will get to feed on the Raiders. This will be Gruden’s chance to really rub it in again versus his former team. The Bucs’ offense will be tuning up for the post season, as will the defense. The net result is another blow out game giving the Bucs 11 wins and a BYE.

Bucs 31 Raiders 9

And that’s my season prediction: The Bucs will go 11-5 and get a first round BYE in the play offs. They will also make it to the NFC Championship game. From there? Who knows? But this is clearly one of the deepest, most talented teams the Bucs have ever fielded, but they still have receiver questions, and the pass rush still needs to assert itself. If they do, this team could easily be Super Bowl bound.

Position Review (Live from Tyler, TX!)

2008-09-05T00:23:00.001-05:00

With my recent travels, I’m finding it hard to find time to write everything I want, but it starts with a review of the current state of the team, followed by my season predictions, and, finally, The Talking Plank for the opening game at the Saints.

So let’s start by briefly reviewing the talent and capabilities of each position, starting on offense.

Offense –

Quarterbacks: At the QB position, the Bucs will field perhaps the league’s deepest unit at this critical position. Jeff Garcia will start the season as the starter with questions about his arm strength and the decision making in his only preseason game. If he’s up to par, though, he’ll have the time to get the ball out and the talent to take advantage of those passes. If not, then either Griese or McCown can come in and play well enough to win. If Garcia gets injured, both back-ups can do the job. Griese is a solid QB with the ability to win games, but also a penchant to occasionally cough up the ball at the worst time. McCown is starting to overcome his lack of speed in decision making, and is clearly the most gifted QB on the roster, save maybe Josh Johnson who will be redshirting this season. Overall grade: A-

Offensive Line: No doubt about it, even with Davin Joseph starting the season on the injury list, and likely out for the first 3 or 4 games, the Bucs have probably the best Offensive Line they have ever fielded, and one of the deeper units, though they just traded Buenning and brought back Mahan, a decision I’m not that thrilled with. Nonetheless, Faine will be a rock in the Center position with Sears and Penn playing very well to the left and Zuttah/Joseph and Trueblood playing very well to the right. This line will move most defensive lines and be able to keep the QB relatively clean. The running backs will continue to have big holes to run through and that unit has the talent to take advantage of it. This unit will make or break this offense, and so far this preseason, this line has gotten it done. Overall grade: A

Running Backs: In my mind there is little doubt that the Bucs have the most talented group of running backs in the league. There may be teams with a single back that is better than any of these backs, but all of them are 1000 yard rushers (with the assumption Graham would have if he had started a couple more games). Dunn and Bennnet are both electric backs capable of shifting and hitting the hole quick, hitting the home run, and being excellent pass receivers. Graham is the power back that consistently gets positive yardage. Williams, who will likely be available after his 6 week stint on the PUP, is one of the better backs in the league when healthy. The Bucs also have an outstanding Fullback in BJ Askew, and a solid up and coming guy in Byron Storer. Overall grade: A-

Wide Receivers: This unit is the most maligned unit on this team and may or may not be improved over last season. How well Galloway can play is up in the air, seeing as he was unable to play during the preseason. Clayton looked good this preseason, but had a mild chest injury, which makes one wonder if he can get through a season without a major injury. Bryant has shown the talent, but his knee needed some rest. Hilliard was ineffective down the stretch when age appeared to catch up to him. Stovall keeps showing promise, but needs to carry it over to the regular season. If Galloway, Clayton, Bryant, and Stovall can stay healthy and play up to their ability, this unit could actually be one of the stronger units in the league. That’s a big “if”, though. I’m cautiously optimistic, but need to see it happen. Overall grade: C+

Tight Ends: The Bucs will also be featuring one of the better, deeper TE units in the league. Alex Smith continues to be very solid in all phases of the game, though he still has the occasional big dropped pass. John Gilmore has turned out to be a big upgrade over Anthony Becht by being able to run block a little better, while being a significantly better pass receiver. Ben Troupe brings a highly athletic package to the TE group, capable of being an excellent receiver (see the Houston game). He’s still working on the run blocking part, but has the physical tools to do the job. Jerramy Stevens, despite his past, is a mismatch against most defenders in the receiving game and is working to become a solid run blocker, much as Troupe is, but will start the season suspended for the first two games. This unit is deep and talented, though a better pass receiving group. Overall grade: B+

Offensive Summary: So far this preseason we have seen an offense that has basically moved the ball at will most of the time, though more so though small chunks. This group consistently converted over 50% of third downs (a far cry over last year’s group), and has been able to run the ball with authority, often times taking advantage of huge holes created by the OL, and time given for the QB to pass the ball in pass pro. This offense will move the ball a lot and score some points, while taking some pressure off the defense by scoring points and eating up the clock with that potent running game. By the end of the season, this unit should rank in the top 15 on offense, maybe even the top 10, but it needs some other receivers to step up and help make the big plays to take this offense over the top.

Defense –

Defensive Line: This unit is starting to shape into a strong run stuffing unit capable of a solid pass rush. While not the dominate pass rushing unit the Bucs have been used to, this group has been getting more and more pressure on opposing QB’s and looks poised to be able to improve on last year’s sack totals by 5-8 sacks. It will be interesting to see the impact to the pass rush with Haye back, but Sims has been doing well, and Hovan seems to be getting more and more pressure these days. Jimmy Wilkerson has been a big surprise and should help Gaines Adams, Greg White, and Kevin Carter rack up some sacks from the ends. This unit will make it very difficult for opposing teams to run the ball and force teams to throw into the teeth of one of the league’s best secondaries. Overall grade: A-

Linebackers: Without a doubt, the Bucs have a deep and talented corps of linebackers, all of whom have speed and athleticism, as well as brains to direct that talent. Brooks comes back for another year and looks to improve on last year’s performance as his Hall of Fame career gets close to the end. Cato June and Barrett Ruud compliment Brooks and help the Bucs field one of the best starting groups. Black, Hayward, and McCoy could easily all start and the Bucs wouldn’t lose a whole lot out of that group. This unit has been rock solid in the preseason and will likely continue that trend in the regular season. Overall grade: A-

Defensive Backs: The fielded one of the best secondaries in the league last year and look to field an even better group this year. Ronde Barber continues to excel and Phillip Buchannon continues to play better and better. Aquib Talib appears to be a shutdown corner capable of being better than Brian Kelly ever was, but needs to prove he can do that consistently. Elbert Mack played extremely well and pushed Eugene Wilson off the roster. Jermaine Phillips and Tanard Jackson lead the safeties with Sabby Piscatelli pushing Phillips for playing time, and Will Allen providing a very solid back up. This group is strong from top to bottom and can hang with any receiving corps in the league. Overall grade A

Defensive Summary: This defense was able to hold all of its preseason opponents to around 200 yards of total offense or less, and kept every team well below 40% on third down conversions with an average of around 27%. This defense has kept teams from running the ball effectively and kept teams from feeling comfortable passing. The reality is that this may be one of the deepest defenses this team has ever fielded. I have little doubt that this defense will finish in the top 3, and likely the number 1 defense by the end of the season.

Turnovers Doom Bucs 17-23

2008-08-24T19:21:00.002-05:00

After really taking that game in and looking back at what happened, it was unfortunate to think of those turnovers occurring. Why? Because it was clear that the Bucs were really dominating the Jags on a couple of levels, and playing well enough to win on others. More than anything, this game reminds me of the regular season contest against Detroit last year. Detroit had no business winning that game, but we kept giving them the ball, and they won.

When you turn the ball over 4 times, it is a rare feat to win a ball game in the NFL. The Bucs nearly pulled it off in the end, and might have done so if Anthony Davis hadn't needlessly held on a play, and had Smith gotten out of bounds to stop the clock on his two big plays during the last drive. Heck, if Bryant makes that 20 something field goal attempt, the Bucs could have tied the game and sent it to overtime. This is one of those "stats is for losers" type games. No doubt.

The best thing I noticed, besides the ability of this team to stay in the ball game despite the 4 turnovers, is that the stats looked very similar to the other two games. The defense held another team to around 200 yards. The offense racked up around 300 yards (322). The third down conversions were in the 30's for the opponent and the 50's for the Bucs. The running game, despite a very slow start, began opening holes and getting some good runs (though they did fail to get to 100 yards rushing). Overall, the Bucs looked like the same team: dominating defense, and a strong, if not spectacular, offense, save the turnovers.

So, one more game to go. We'll see if Garcia can look better than he did this past game. He looked very rusty and his arm strength was questionable at times. Could be a lack of practice, or it could be something of concern. If something happens with him, I personally hope they go with Luke because he gives this offense a chance to make big plays on a more consistent basis. Certainly better than Captain Checkdown who nearly got picked twice in the endzone.

A little note: I'll be traveling later this week (Tues-Fri) and again the following week (same days) for my day job. I hope to be able to get my positional analysis, season predictions, and then the Talking Plank for the Saints game. So keep an eye out for them.

Davin Joseph Out With Broken Foot

2008-08-19T20:06:00.003-05:00

In the "that *beep* sucks!" department, Davin Joseph was reported to have had surgery to repair a broken foot. The exact nature of the break and the exact length of time he'll be out is unknown. The Times reported 4-8 weeks. Some doctor stated, on the radio, that it could be an "out for the year" type injury. In any case, it's clear that either Dan Buenning or Jeremy Zuttah will be starting at RG. Both are very capable, but I think Dan is the better player at this point in time. Buenning would likely represent very little drop off in the running game, and may be a slight improvement in pass protection. Zuttah would be a slight drop in both.

In each case, however, the Bucs have outstanding depth to cover the position, and the loss will hopefully not be noticeable (watching the game tape from the Pats game, Buenning wasn't a drop off at all). So we'll see what happens. Maybe Joseph will actually have to fight for his spot back because of the play of his replacement (a very real possibility).

Doesn't it just suck to have excellent depth?

Petitgout Suspended 4 Games

2008-08-19T19:38:00.002-05:00

Well, the plot thickens. The Bucs suddenly released Petitgout and now he's suspended for 4 games, meaning whomever picks him up will have to sit him for 4 games before he can play.

The league hasn't stated why yet, but PFT has already speculated that it may be roids due to the suspension length. Until the NFL says something, however, that's purely speculation, so I wouldn't assume anything yet.

Now the cut makes more sense, seeing as the PUP list could have been used without taking up a roster spot for him.

Bucs Beat Pats 27-10

2008-08-19T15:00:00.003-05:00

Yeah, I'm late with this post. Thought I put this up late Sunday night, but most of done something on the PR forum. In any case, we all know the Bucs rolled the Brady less Pats over and basically dominated from the start. The first and second team offense was strong, the third and fourth string...not so much. The defense was solid all night, only giving up points late with the back end of the defensive roster playing.

Offensively, Griese looked good on the first drive, but his lack of willingness to risk anything down field caused the Pats to roll their defense up to the line and stuff the Bucs on two drives after that. Then McCown came in and was pretty effective leading the Bucs on three scoring drives out of 4 possible. He was able to stretch the field, and also hit Antonio Bryant on a nice crossing pass that was turned up field for 33 yards. Simms and Johnson were mostly ineffective. The backs were solid, though Darby looks like the first cut of the group. Bennett was strong, and Dunn showed he still has it. Graham was highly limited, but scored a TD. Tight ends weren't involved a lot. Clayton only saw a handful of plays as it looked like the coaching staff was trying to get long looks at Bryant, Stovall and Hilliard to see where these three players are right now. The line looked dominating, opening some rather large holes against the Pats' 3-4 defense. While the Pats don't do a lot of coverage mixing in the preseason, they usually aren't push overs like that, so that should tell you something.

Defensively, the Bucs got some pressure on the QB's but failed to register a sack. On several occasions they got to the QB, but the QB's both had success breaking free of the initial tackle attempts and would get past the line of scrimmage. Thus, no sacks. The linebackers and secondary were excellent, stuffing the run most of the night, making plays against receivers. Sabby picked up a fumble snap and ran it back for 6, while Mack picked off a pass. Ruud almost picked off a pass as well, but it was later shown to hit the ground. Overall, the defense dominated the Brady less offense and held the Pats to 184 yards and 10 points. Another dominating performance.

Special teams was solid with all field goals made and some solid punting. The coverage teams were good until the scrubs got in. And the return teams were solid as well. A solid performance all around.

Overall, the Bucs took it to the Pats from the opening kick and never looked back. The Patriots really never got anything going offensively, and had a tough time stopping the Bucs running game which amassed 170 yards on the ground. Another strong performance to build on. Jacksonville will be the next and really last test for the starters. The Bucs aren't likely to use many of their starters against the Texans.

Bucs Whack Pettigout

2008-08-16T21:03:00.003-05:00

So much for Pettigout getting back healthy. It looks like Pettigout just couldn't get himself right soon enough and the Bucs felt the need to cut him. This leaves Penn as the starter, and probably means Davis will be the back up. Penn has been working hard on his pass pro, and he's reportedly doing much better in the area that he was somewhat weak in, though not too bad.

What a steal Penn appears to be. If he can really solidify his pass pro, the Bucs could have an outstanding young line, end to end, for the next 5 years or so. Could we be seeing the beginnings of a long term dominate Bucs offensive line? Let's hope so. I know I am tired of substandard play in that group.

Bucs Beat Dolphins 17-6

2008-08-10T18:24:00.002-05:00

The Bucs went down to Miami and beat the Dolphins in a 17-6 contest that could have been a big blow out. The Bucs had a couple of opportunities to really open the game up, but missed out, making the contest closer than it should have been. Let me talk about my overall impressions of the 3 main units.

Offensively I expected a little more pop out of the offensive line. Of course, Bill Parcells is now in charge in Miami with Tony Sparano leading the way as HC. The Dolphins have changed their defense around, and it's really hard to tell if the Bucs were just going up against a unit that will be really good this year, or if there is something else going on. The line did make some holes that Bennett occasionally hit, but also tended to be slow getting into. I think Graham may have had more success up the middle than Bennett, but at least we know Bennett can run up the middle along the lines of a Pittman type back. The protection was good for almost the entire game but 4 breakdowns led to 4 sacks. Luke McCown was the first victim when Joseph let a defender blow through him. Overall, the line was solid, but not as good as I was expecting. With a base offense, though, it's hard to judge how it will carry forward.

Luke McCown was alright at QB. He had 2 drops and a failure of Stovall to complete his route fully, but he drove the team toward a possible TD, where he over threw a wide open Clayton, and a possible FG (missed by Bryant). Griese was a little better and kept drives alive, including a TD pass to Clark, but he was also the latest version of Captain Checkdown, as PR is putting it. Simms came in and got it going on his second drive and looked solid during his time. He didn't throw anything really deep, but he didn't throw anything close to a pick, nor did he have anything batted down. He made sound decisions and actually looks like someone they could keep if another QB got injured in the preseason.

The receivers were solid, but not spectacular. Clayton dropped an easy deep pass, but then caught two tough catches, and was wide open in the end zone when Luke threw the ball to high and deep. Stovall failed to run through one route, nearly resulting in a pick, but caught two other passes. Bryant looked good in limited action, as did Spurlock. The tight ends were alright, but Smith dropped a pass.

Overall the offense was alright, but not spectacular. They did hold onto the ball for 36+ minutes, keeping the defense fresh, and did not give up a turnover, or have a penalty.

Defensively, the Bucs were able to shut the fish down for most of the night. The Dolphins did manage a couple of field goals, but never got into the redzone. Barber was used on a blitz to get a sack early, and two more sacks occurred via Wilkerson and Charles Bennett. There was a good deal of pressure, but not enough sacks or contact with the QB. The defensive line did hold down the fish running game most of the time, though Ricky Williams managed a couple of good runs. The safeties were hitting, and the linebackers had solid play behind the defensive line. Adams wasn't very productive, neither was White or Carter. Which does lend to some concern, but we'll see. Brooks didn't record a tackle, but wasn't on the field too long. Talib made a nice play on what looked to be a possible long run, but he tackled the back by diving at the legs, and prevented the play from getting anything.

Overall the defense was good enough to hold the Dolphins to 198 yards and 33% on third down. They held the Dolphins to just 64 rushing yards and 134 passing yards while getting them off the field with regularity. They didn't record a turnover, though, but were also penalty free.

Special Teams was alright. Bryant missed two field goals, one a chip shot. The second was a 50+ on the baseball clay, and he just barely missed. Punting was solid. The punt coverage and returns were outstanding. The kick coverage and kick returns were below average (the Bucs averaged 2.8 yards better returning punts than kicks). So it was a mixed outing. Except for one 38 yard kick return by the Dolphins, the coverage teams held the Dolphins to poor field position all game, which was a big plus.

In summary, it was the first preseason game, and there was some rust that had to be shaken off. Overall, I think the Bucs did good, but they clearly need to address a few areas. They basically dominated a team that they should, but they still need to capitalize on opportunities to put points on the board. The final score was a lot closer than it should have been. Now the Bucs get a much better test against the Patriots at home. They should see Brady for at least a couple of series, so the defense will get some good work in. Let's see if the offense can improve too.

The QB Shuffle

2008-08-08T21:37:00.002-05:00

I waited with some sense of enthusiasm to see if Favre was coming here or not. When I found out he wasn't I was a little bummed, but now I'm fine and waiting to see how well Luke wields the force against the fish tomorrow night. What's funny is to learn that, essentially, the Packers used the Bucs to drive up the cost for the Jets. In any case, it's now clear the Bucs were never really all that interested in bringing him in. A lot of fans are upset and think Bruce was lying in his presser, but the reality his Bruce never said anything about the Bucs being interested or making offers. The reality is that Bruce is probably telling the truth, at least as much of it as he is willing to tell.

Now we have some columns talking about poor Garcia. The man who has refused numerous Buccaneer attempts to extend his contract and give him his $1 million back that he missed from playing time incentives. Garcia doesn't need to have his ego stroked. He does need to realize that the Bucs have been making offers that he may want to accept. Since nobody in the media really know what Bruce has offered him, I can't understand why some people think he's not getting a good offer. Quite frankly we don't know what he's being offered, so we need to stop making the assumption that the Bucs aren't trying to do right by him.

But, going beyond Garcia, I am more interested in seeing what Luke McCown can do. We'll get a chance tomorrow night to see if he's improved his decision making skills or not. If he has, he could easily become the future QB of this team as he possesses all of the physical traits you would want in a QB for the WCO. Good arm strength, fast delivery, tall, mobile, and accurate at all levels. Those skills only need experience to make him a top tier QB. If he gets to the point where he consistently knows where to go with the ball before the snap and learns how to avoid mistakes when under duress (i.e. pressure), he could actually become a Pro-Bowl caliber QB. His numbers for last season, especially in the first quarter of games he started, prove it. Remember, he holds the team record for consecutive completions.

So let the fish get squished, and hopefully we'll get a good look at our future QB. In the meantime, Garcia needs to heal up and get back on the field before he loses his job to McCown. This season we need to start hot, and Jeff gives us the best chance to do that.

Fridge Schedule

2008-08-02T14:04:00.001-05:00

Here's the 2008 Fridge Schedule. CorelDraw format available upon request.

Injuries Starting To Pop Up

2008-08-01T04:10:00.002-05:00

Jeff Garcia slightly pulled his calf and Jovan Haye apparently has a slight groin pull. Both of these guys should be alright, and Garcia will probably be back in action within a day or two, according to reports, but Haye's injury will probably keep him out for a week or so. That will give Dre Moore more (say that 5 times fast!) time to practice at that spot and get into shape.

Sabby also has a mild knee strain and was being held out for precautionary reasons. Faine also has a sore back, which is probably the injury I am most concerned with. It may be mild and nothing worth mentioning or it could blossom into something bigger.

These little bumps and bruises are why Gruden has started to back down a bit during training camp. The team is in pretty good shape system (offense and defense) wise from the off season program and he's trying to cut back to reduce wear and tear as well as injuries. As such a morning practice (today's) as already been canceled. It will be interesting to see if a slightly reduced TC work load will translate into less injuries down the road, or will it contribute to poor performance? Maybe both...or neither.

The Saga Continues...

2008-07-29T21:06:00.002-05:00

Well, it's getting to the point where one has to wonder what is really happening in the whole Favre situation. He's apparently filed his papers for reinstatement now, and is expected to report within a day or two. Either the Packers are going to have a media circus or they are going to deal Favre to someone.

For now the Bucs will go on. Garcia reported to camp yesterday and appears ready to continue as the starter and had some amusing quips about being a date for Gruden who doesn't like to marry with respect to QB's. To some degree you have to feel a bit for Garcia, but, then again, he ran his mouth to the public during the off-season and this kind of speculation is the result. Perhaps the Bucs would have been 100% uninterested in Favre if Garcia hadn't made a big deal out of his desire for an extension and pay raise.

In any case, no matter what happens, the Bucs currently have 4 QB's on the roster who have won in at least a game in the NFL. While Simms is unlikely to still be with the team after training camp, he's still here for now, and Griese and McCown bring a lot of talent behind Garcia. The Bucs should be set at this position.

To Favre...Or Not To Favre?

2008-07-27T07:52:00.002-05:00

Well, now that training camp is under way, and I'm finally freeing up some time, it's time to gear up and start running again. I'll have the Fridge schedule posted sometime later this week, but the current media circus will start of what will become a slew of posts in the next couple of weeks.

First and foremost, should Favre become a Buccaneer? The simple answer to this is: YES. Why? Despite the value that Garcia has to the team last year, and would have this season. The reality is that Garcia isn't likely to throw 28 TD's in a season. Yes Favre does throw more picks, but he throws a lot more often, get twice as much yardage, and takes more chances that often win games. I don't think Favre has ever had a defense to stand behind him like he would here. And the Packer teams he's been with during the last few years have been subpar. He's single handily kept them in many games and won many with his skills. He's also started every game since 1992, despite not always having the best offensive line in front of him. Garcia has missed more starts due to injury the last 5 years than Favre has ever missed.

If the Bucs go into this season with Garcia at the helm, they will be better than last year because he's much more familiar with Gruden's offense and he has a much better Center in front of him, and probably one of the most talented assemblages of running backs and tight ends in this league. But that same talent in front of Favre is a weapon that Favre would wield mightily. I can easily envision this team hitting the 400 point mark, or better, this year with Favre at the helm. With this defense, that would translate to a 12 win season. Favre also gives you comeback ability like few other QB's in the game.

Now, will it happen? Well, if I base my opinion on Roy Cummings, whose opinion is wrong 90% of the time, then his article in the Trib today, stating he isn't a fit and isn't likely to come here, would be a strong indicator to me that Favre is packing his bags and getting his plane ticket to Tampa...err...Orlando (got that camp thing going on). It will be interesting to see if this goes down or not. I think the Bucs are a playoff team either way, but Favre gives them a much better chance at home field advantage and at getting to the big dance, where Favre as been twice and won once.

What a fun way to start of the season!

Stevens Resigns...Bucs Cut Grads

2008-05-30T22:33:00.002-05:00

The Bucs resigned Stevens to another league minimum one year deal, probably as an insurance policy for if Troupe doesn't pan out. His signing prompted the Bucs to cut a player...QB Bruce Gradkowski.

Well, we knew this one was coming. I mean...really...his play just wasn't effective. In this league you have to have an arm strong enough to threaten the field 30-40 yards down field. Yes, it's even better if you can threaten 60+ yards, but the middle deep routes are crucial to getting defense to keep from stacking the box and coming hard on passes while stuffing runs. Bruce couldn't hit those passes. He wasn't accurate beyond 20 yards, and that allowed defenses to risk a couple of extra defenders in the box. The result was the horrid lack of offense in 2006 and again in the Washington game last year. We had 7 turnovers, didn't cough it up once, and still barely won the game. Quite frankly, while it would of been nice if he could have worked out here, and he seems like a good guy, I'm glad he's no longer a threat to stifle our offense. He had the opportunity to make something of himself here and blew it. McCown and Griese will battle it out for the back-up spot while Johnson learns and Simms does something...err...anything, until he gets traded, whacked, or, by some miracle, beats somebody out of a position. The fact he hasn't been in the OTA's seems to show he's likely a goner as well.

And so it goes. Personally, I hope Troupe returns to the form he showed coming out of Florida and during his first year with the Titans. I have a feeling he wasn't happy where he was, and that his play was affected by that. Should he not return to form, we at least have a back-up plan, though one with a lot of well documented baggage.

Draft Roundup

2008-04-28T18:52:00.002-05:00

Well, the Bucs finished off their draft yesterday by selecting OL Jeremy Zuttah (3rd Rd), DT Dre` Moore (4th Rd), QB Josh Johnson (5th Rd), LB Geno Hayes (6th Rd), and RB Cory Boyd (7th Rd). The Bucs made the trade in the 2nd round that got them a pick in rounds 6 and 7, giving them a pick in each round.

Zuttah was the fastest lineman in the draft with decent size and average power, but with the versatility to play just about every position on the line. He'll be a very good back-up to add depth to the line as well as competition.

DT Dre` Moore was the fastest DT in the draft and had some very solid play at Maryland. He would have been drafted much higher if scouts didn't think he took plays off. Moore says that his defense makes it look that way because he often has to read the play or back up and prepare to drop into coverage. Which is true will soon be shown, as there are no read plays in this defense. With the Bucs you attack your gaps and hold the fort or make the play. If Moore plays consistently he could be a steal. This is because he only started playing football the last couple years and he's consistently gotten much better over time. So he's still not fully tapped, and this coaching staff should be able to get the full gamut out of him.

In the fifth round, the Bucs picked up a guy that some people can't seem to get a grasp on, which I will explain shortly. Many fans don't follow all the players enough to know who's who coming out, and most thought we should have picked up Brian Brohm in the 2nrd round, or at least Chad Henne. Bumpkis, I say. The Bucs would have created too much pressure at the position if they had picked up a QB in round 2. By selecting one in the 5th, they can afford to wait. But even better, the Bucs picked up a guy that, to paraphrase Bruce Allen, has not good stats, nor great stats, but spectacular stats. When I first saw his numbers a couple of months ago, I immediately recognized what a talent he will be. The numbers 113 to 15 (TD's to INT's) is phenomenal at any level. When combined with his roughly 69% completion percentage, and the nearly 10,000 passing yards, it's clear he know how to place the ball in the right spot (his lone pick last season bounced off the chest of his Tight End first). Now add the fact that Jim Harbaugh (former NFL QB that learned under Gruden) brought in Gruden's WC offense, and that's what Johnson has been running, you can see why the Bucs took him. Not too mention he was the fastest QB and ran for 1800+ yards. Needless to say, if any young QB is likely to be "developed" under Gruden, this is it. I think he'll light it up in Pre-Season, but will need time to adjust to the NFL speed to be regular season ready. Mark my words: Johnson is a steal for the Bucs and will push McCown for the right to start when Garcia hangs 'em up or becomes ineffective/hurt.

The Bucs then picked up FSU LB Gen Hayes who some thought was the next coming of Derrick Brooks, though he's more like the next coming of "Don't tase me, bro!" Still, he could be a solid player for this team, though I envision him finding his way to the practice squad, since that now makes 12 LB's on this team.

The Bucs finished their draft by selecting RB Cory Boyd out of South Carolina. He's a back with good size, speed, and vision, but lacks the break-away speed that would have put him much higher in the draft. He's a very good receiver as well, so he should make a nice addition to the staple here, but will have to fight his butt off to earn a spot.

Overall, the Bucs did a solid job in this year's draft, and reminds me to some degree of last year. I don't think they really blew any picks, though some are still hung up on Talib (get over it...he's BETTER than Jenkins!). Nevertheless, we'll find out soon what these rooks are made of. With Johnson's selection, Gradkowski's fate is sealed. Simms is likely to be gone too, unless he shows up for workouts and just outright beats Griese out. Garcia and McCown are the other locks, and the Bucs will only go to camp with 5 QB's so two are going to be gone before camp. They will probably carry 4 during the season.

Bucs Take WR Dexter Jackson In 2nd Rd

2008-04-26T23:19:00.004-05:00

The Bucs added some serious speed by tagging the fastest receiver in the draft, and the one that burned Michigan in the Appalachian game. He's very fast and can return punts and kicks. He's a little small, but seems to be able to play against the bigger guys, as he showed all last year.

The Bucs also got him after swapping picks with the Jags and picking up a 5th rounder this year and a late round (6th if I remember correctly - UPDATED: 7th rounder) next year. So the Bucs made out pretty good here. So far the draft is shaping up well. Some are disappointed, but that happened last year, and yet that defense was reborn and Sears helped solidify the offensive line. The front office does appear to know what it is doing. We'll see if these 2 picks make an impact this year.

Bucs Surprise: CB Aqib Talib Taken In 1st Rd

2008-04-26T17:58:00.002-05:00

The Bucs surprised quite a few people when they chose Kansas CB Aqib Talib with their 20th overall pick. This is even more surprising when hometown favorite USF CB Mike Jenkins was still on the board. The thing with Talib is that he has top tier talent but slipped due to marijuana issues during his first year or so in college. He is reportedly clean and has said that he's beyond that stage in life.

If he's clean, which I suspect he is (we did take Sapp though) he could turn into a top tier corner in this league. He apparently was compared to Charles Woodson by Gruden and Monte had a chance to evaluate him and Jenkins, so this could be the move that keeps our secondary hummin' for years to come. I like the pick, but wasn't overly thrilled that they passed on some players I would have liked to see them get. There's no question, though, that Talib would not have been there if the pot issues weren't there.

It will be interesting to see who they end up with in the second round considering the players that are still available (as of 7:02pm).

Trade for DE Allen?

2008-04-18T04:16:00.002-05:00

The Bucs may be looking to trade for DE Jared Allen from the Chiefs, who had 15.5 sacks last season. If they do, this would further shore up the DE spot for the Bucs, and give them a formidable trio of Adams, White, and Allen. The Bucs are apparently in competition with the Vikings. Pewter report has more details here. If it happens, it would be a good thing, though the salary cap would take a noticeable hit. Having three guys that can be rotated though the DE spots, four if one of the other DE's becomes an impact player, is a very good thing as it would keep the pass rush fresh all game long and force the opposing tackles to study multiple guys, which can always help in causing some play confusion.

The Bucs have been otherwise quiet for a while, now. The draft is almost here, and it's becoming more likely they will target certain positions, as they haven't addressed them during the FA period. If they trade Haye away, as part of the deal for Allen, then they'll have a more glaring need at DT to tackle either in the draft or through FA's or trades. Right now WR and CB are the most glaring areas where new blood is needed. The schedule looks favorable, but the Bucs will still need all the help they can get shoring up their line-up.

Dunn's Back! Antonio Bryant Signs As Well

2008-03-10T20:27:00.002-05:00

The Bucs brought back Warrick Dunn to help them out for the next two years. Dunn is still a solid back with good speed and great hands. How much he plays remains to be seen, but he helps fill out the roster and brings back a Buc who should have never left (thanks McKay!), though Atlanta's offer was outrageous.

The Bucs also signed WR Antonio Bryant. He's a very good receiver who played with Galloway in Dallas. He got into some trouble in 2006 for driving too fast and possibly being DUI. We'll see if the Bucs can get someone straightened out, like Pittman, or another Boston. If he's back on the straight and narrow, he could be just what this team needs. I believe the Bucs will still address this spot in the draft, as Bryant isn't a lock to make this team by any stretch.

It will be interesting to see if the Bucs pull any more moves off before the draft.

Bucs Sign Ben Troupe! Re-sign The Candy Man!

2008-03-06T21:29:00.002-05:00

In a bit of excellent news, the Bucs came to terms with TE Ben Troupe who went to Florida and was drafted in 2004 by the Titans. The Titans really failed to use him properly, and he should be an big time target for Garcia. Troupe is big, has good hands, and is pretty fast for a guy his size. He can block, but his receiving skills are much better. With him and Smith, the Bucs will be able to send to potent receiving targets into the middle of the field out of the two TE sets. Should greatly add to the explosiveness of this offense, and Troupe doesn't have the off-field issues that saddled Stevens.

The Bucs also re-signed Sammy Davis, at least giving the Bucs the same secondary they had for most of last season. The signing cerainly doesn't hurt, and it gives the Bucs some options going forward. I still expect the Bucs to pick a corner in this year's draft, as the CB position is pretty deep.

Now if the Bucs can just address the Wideout spot...

First Big Splash - C Faine Now A Buc!

2008-02-29T21:11:00.003-05:00

Pewter Report just hit the net with official word that Center Jeff Faine is now officially a Buccaneer. His contract is a lucrative $37.5 million deal (just over $6 million per year) and makes him the starter by default. Faine was the Saints' starting Center the last two seasons and is a younger version Wade, but a much better pass blocker and a slightly better run blocker. We should see a LOT less rushes getting success up the middle, and the Guards can better concentrate on their blocks rather than trying to help out an aging Wade, who was begginning to get blown off the line with regularity.

The Bucs really needed to address this position and Buenning was apparently too much of a risk in the Bucs' minds. Signing Faine is an excellent move, and should allow the Bucs to really form a nice pocket for Garcia, and even allow the Bucs to run up the middle with more success.

Free Agency Almost Here

2008-02-27T20:06:00.002-05:00

With FA almost upon us, speculation has been running rampant From Shockley, to Coleman, to Crumpler, to Samuel, a list of players are popping up under rumors and agent talk. Whether or not the Bucs will truly be a player in this FA period remains to be seen, but there are some good players out there that address some key needs.

The Bucs main off-season needs are Center, Wide Receiver, Defensive Tackle, and Corner Back. Running Back and Defensive End are positions that could use some bolstering too, but we could get by with what we have in place now. The CB spot is probably the least worrisome of the needs, but could be addressed by a couple of corners that could hit the market, most notably Asante Samuel from New England. Rumors have him already signed to New Orleans, which would be tampering, but it could all be a ploy to drive up his value.

The Center position has some options out there like Faine and Newberry, but the Bucs may look to draft a Center while relying on Buenning to pick the position up. They could also resign Lehr or Wade, but it's not likely that they want to go with the centers they used last season as most of the pressure came from up the middle. Shoring up the Center position with a long term younger player, like Buenning, would be idle and would allow us to grow our strong OL unit to become one of the upper echelon units (wouldn't THAT be a refreshing first around here!).

Wide Receivers are going to be available in FA, with guys like Stallworth and Moss getting a chance to test the waters (though Moss may be planning to go nowhere). So the Bucs have some options out there. Javon Walker has been linked to the Bucs through trade, but I don't see that happening. If the Bucs don't pick up a top flight FA receiver, count on them snagging one in the first 3 rounds. There's some depth on day one in this draft, but it thins pretty quickly.

But one position I expect the Bucs to try and find some talent to address is the DT spot, more specifically the UT. The Bucs absolutely must get more pressure from the UT spot. If Haye is still here, he may do well enough to make some impact, but the Bucs will likely look to bring someone in that can be rotated through the DT spots to give the Bucs more consistentcy by keeping players fresh. Coleman looks to be the best option there as he can be rotated and kept fresh along with Haye, and we could see double digit sack numbers from the UT spot as a whole. If the Bucs can get the pressure level up to a more consistent level, and maybe add another 10 sacks from the line, then you will see this defense dominate again.

We'll see how the draft will start shaping up by the moves they make here during the next few weeks. Should be a more interesting FA period than last year with more players availble for their need areas. Hopefully, they continue to spend wisely, but make an impact move here or there.

Bucs Resign Bennett

2008-02-15T21:10:00.002-05:00

The Bucs have decided that Michael Bennett is worth bringing back to keep his speed and home run hitting ability in the back field. With Bennett resigning, it will be interesting to see if the Bucs target another RB in FA or the draft.

I certainly wouldn't be shocked if they drafted another RB in rounds 3-5, especially with a deep class this year. Cadillac isn't likely to play next year, as patella tendon tears take a long time to fully heal. And when it does, there is no telling how he will play. Bennett can definitely compliment Graham as a one-two punch, but Bennett will need to get to the point that he can be in on at least a third of the offensive plays. It was clear Graham got worn down a little bit late in the season, and will need to be rested at times. Throwing solid power and decent quickness at a team, and following up with good power and home run speed, can give the Bucs the mix they need to really burn defenses, especially a Bennett learns how to become a better receiver. But he is 29 years old, so the Bucs need to keep their eye on the future.

I'm Back...Bucs Finish Coaching Hires

2008-02-13T21:14:00.003-05:00

Well, I'm pretty much settling into the new home now. The last month has been horribly hectic, and I just never got around to getting some posts up once the Bucs lost to the eventual Super Bowl champs. Needless to say, I've been itching to get some posts back up here, and now I'm starting to find a little time here and there.

With that said, I'll kind of make a note that the Bucs rounded out their staff by deciding to name Bisaccia the Running Backs coach and letting him and Dwayne Stukes carry the load together for Special Teams. Bisaccia has primarily been a Running Backs coach in college, so he's returning to his roots. We'll see if he can do the job or not. Quite frankly, I don't know what to think. His Special Teams have been Jekyll and Hyde-like during his tenure. I've thought the door should have hit him in the rear a long time ago, but we'll see how he does.

The Bucs also brought in Greg Olson to coach the QB's, reuniting him with Garcia. It shouldn't take long to see how he gels with the current staff. With a couple of offensive staff changes, it will be interesting to see the effect. The Bucs need to get more playmakers and let some of the young guys get on the field more, as Garcia alluded to after the Giants game. Free Agency is almost here, and the Bucs may have their eyes set on some well known targets, such as Dallas Clark, though some rumors have the Bucs targeting Shockley. Defensive line is likely another major target. Should be an interesting March.

The Talking Plank - Wildcard Round

2008-01-05T22:52:00.001-05:00

The Talking Plank -

Giants At Bucs:

With the start of the post season, the Bucs host the Giants in the 1pm Sunday Wildcard contest. The Bucs and Giants both come into the playoffs having lost 2 of their last 3 games. The difference, however, is that the Bucs rested their starters for 1 and a half games, with a few exceptions. As such, the Giants' last two losses involved extensive play by their 1st team units, while the Bucs last 2 losses saw extensive action by the back-ups in an effort to get some players healthy, and keep other ones from getting injured down the stretch. Whether or not it affects the Bucs play is something we will find out tomorrow, but it's a no win for the team either way in the eyes of the media. If they had played their starters and gotten more than June and Sears hurt, they would have been calling the coach out. If they lose tomorrow, they'll say it was because of the rest. Either way, some guys who really needed a break got one, including Graham, Galloway, Hilliard, and Garcia. With Washington having lost, the Bucs are Dallas bound with a win. So let's look at the match-up.

On Offense, the Bucs are ranked 18th in total yards (326/g), 19th in points scored (20.9/g), 16th in passing yards (209/g), and 11th in rushing yards (117/g). The Giants' defense is ranked 7th in yards allowed (305/g), 17th in points allowed (21.9/g), 11th in passing yards allowed (207/g), and 8th against the run (97y/g). The Bucs are +15 while the Giants are -9, which means the Bucs don't give it up often, while getting a lot of turnovers, while the Giants are coughing it up and not getting as many of their own, forcing 25 turnovers (the Bucs have given up 20 TO's while getting 36, and the Giants offense has coughed it up 34 times). So turnovers could be huge in this game. The Bucs should be able to protect the ball. Whether or not they can keep Garcia vertical is another issue. The Giants have posted 53 sacks on the season, putting a lot of pressure, with Strahan, Umenyiora, and Tuck getting 32 of them. Both Strahan and Umenyiora are rather light, using a combination of speed and deceptive power to get past the Tackles. Penn should be able to deal with Umenyiora, as he has handled speed guys most of the year, but it will be his most difficult test. Trueblood may have some issues, though he handled Strahan, shutting him out last year. Whether he can keep Tuck out of the backfield is another issue. The Giants will likely be without CB Sam Madison. CB Kevin Dockery is questionable, and LB Kawika Mitchell is also questionable. The likely result is that the Giants aren't likely to have a whole lot of help in the back 7 to handle the various weapons the Bucs have. Galloway will likely have a field day against the Giants' man coverage. He burned them several times last year, but Gradkowski had problem getting the ball to him. If Garcia has some time to throw, the Bucs should be able to exploit the back 7 and get some big plays. The Tight Ends should be able to abuse the big but slow LB's, and Clayton and Hilliard should both be able to use some good route running to break off the man coverage and give Garcia windows to throw. But one of the keys will be whether or not the Bucs can run against a strong Giants defensive line, and one that gets a lot of blitz help from the LB's. The Giants have a physical D-line, but they aren't especially big, and it's been lines with the 320-330+ pound guys in the middle that have had some success stopping the Bucs' running game. If the Bucs can get a good, physical game out of the offensive line and a fresh Graham, then they should be able to run the ball well enough to slow down the pass rush and allow for play action passing. I can also see the Bucs using Pittman and Bennett on the edges to attack the slow OLB's with that speed. The Bucs have has some success with some edge plays lately, especially with Bennett, and they will likely exploit that weakness of the Giants. If the running game gets going, and it just has to be credible, not great, and the line can keep Garcia from getting hit too much, the Bucs will exploit the Giants defense where they are vulnerable and move the ball quite well. They'll likely get some points on this defense as well. I look for the offense to have moderate success. If the running game gets going big time, I look for the Bucs to really take it to the defense. If not, it could be a long game.

On Defense, the Bucs come in ranked 2nd in yards allowed (278/g), 3rd in points allowed (16.9/g), 1st against the pass (170y/g), and 17th against the run (107y/g). The Giants' offense comes in ranked 16th in total yards (331/g), 14th in points scored (23.3/g), 21st in passing yards (197y/g), and 4th in rushing yards (134y/g). The big key in stopping the Giants' offense is stopping the run. If you force Manning to carry the team, 9 times out of 10 he'll fail to do so. He can be rattled with early pressure or coverage confusion, and is highly prone to turning the ball over (he's thrown 20 picks and fumbled the ball 13 times, losing 7). His completion percentage is around 56% with a QB rating of 73.9 for the season. If he's got a solid running game going, and the pressure isn't getting to him, and he's not getting confused by the coverage, then he can certainly rip a team apart. Unfortunately for him, the Bucs thrive on getting pressure with the front four, and in confusing QB's by switching between Cover 2 and Cover 3, with some other coverages mixed in, while generally always showing a look that shows a different coverage than what they are running. So if the Bucs can force Manning to pass the ball 35+ times in this game (or if the offense keeps the Giants' offense off the field), then the defense should be able to cause some problems and get some turnovers. They've caused a lot of turnovers, even against teams not prone to them, and that trend is likely to continue. The defense has been using a lot more of their back-ups the last two weeks and the pressure has fallen off some, but the rest should allow the main guys to come out and put pressure on Manning, even if they aren't always getting to him. But they must, first and foremost, fill the gaps and try to keep RB Brandon Jacobs off the linebackers. While Ruud and company can handle him for stints, it will be a long tough game if they are constantly having to take him on. The Bucs have had success against bigger backs this year because the DL has gotten a lot more tackles in the running game, and keeping the LB's cleaner, which is why Ruud's tackle numbers have dropped. With June doubtful for this contest, it will be important for his replacement to gang up on the running back and force Manning to throw. Jacobs has had various injuries during the year and is kind of in the same boat as Pittman, missing games off and on. He's also failed to have much success against the better defenses that he's played against. His main backup, Ward, is on IR, and Bradshaw is limping around on a calf injury that, even if seemingly healthy now, is not likely to allow him to cut well or reach full speed. Droughns isn't likely to find much success against the Bucs either. So the key will be stopping Jacobs. I look for Ruud to have a big day and really come in with the intent of laying the wood on the various ball carriers and filling that hole fast. I think the Bucs will limit the Giants' rushing attack to just under 100 yards and force Manning to beat them. If they can do that without committing extra guys up front, then it could be a long day for Eli.

On Special Teams, both units come in with solid kickers and punters. The Bucs return game is getting 23.3 yards per kick and 6.7 yard per punt, while the Giants are allowing 23.1 and 6.2 respectively. Of course, Spurlock, who has been getting the bulk of punt return duties lately, is averaging 27.8 yards per kick and 7.5 yards per punt return. I expect to see him rip off a couple of big returns in this game, and at least set up a couple of short fields for the offense. The more the merrier as it will put additional pressure on the Giants' defense. The Giants are getting 23.9 and 7.4 yards per kick and punt return, while the Bucs are allowing 19.5 and 7.4 respectively. The Bucs, with some guys coming back healthy, should be back to top form and should be able to limit the Giants' return game somewhat. If they can keep forcing the Giants to go the length of the field, it will greatly help the defense. Either team can win this game on a field goal attempt, so field position will be a big key in this game. I expect the Bucs to get decent field position and keep the Giants inside their 30 for most of the game.

This is going to be a fairly interesting game to watch. If both teams play to their character, then the Bucs have a number of killer stats in their favor, especially the turnover margin. I expect the Bucs to come out and play inspired football. If they do that, they will win. If not, it's hard to say, as either team could walk away a winner in this one. In the end, the odds favor the Bucs, and I like them to come out and show the national audience that they are, in fact, for real.

Bucs 24 Giants 23

Bucs Game Nearly Sold Out

2008-01-03T19:32:00.000-05:00

Just as Ticketmaster and the Bucs decided to open the ticket sales to outside residents, the number of available tickets had dropped to under 500. So the last 500 or so will probably get snatched up by a combination of Giants fans and Bucs fans who live out of state. The available number of tickets dwindled down just in time, as it could have allowed a rather large contingent of Giants fans to buy up the tickets when there were still over 1000 available.

With the negativity from the local media and the bad housing market in the local area (rising ARM's, outrageous home owner's insurance, rapidly increasing property taxes, construction jobs falling out, etc...), many fans simply had to say no to paying the rather large sum of money involved in making a playoff ticket purchase. For season ticket holders, they had to buy all of their seats, and for both possible games, or forfeit them. You can't simply buy one ticket for one game. That made it a very expensive proposition for many fans. Overall, though, it looks like the stadium will still be fully packed with Bucs fans, and we'll have to deal with a couple thousand Giants fans, I'm sure.

Bucs/Giants - 1PM Sunday

2007-12-30T20:38:00.001-05:00

The NFL has announced the playoff schedule, and the Bucs will host the Giants on Sunday at 1PM. Let's hope we get our starters back healthy, and that the Giants don't. This will be a tough game, but if the Bucs can hold off the pass rush, and force Manning to beat them through the air, then they'll likely win the game.

Oh, I almost forgot, the Bucs lost that meaningless game to the Panthers. We had our chances to win it, but just couldn't quite make enough plays. Luke continues to look good in spots, but will still make that big mistake here and there. At least we know we can still score with him in there, unlike someone else I can think of. The only thing about this game that really ticked me off was the call to punt the ball away when we had a short 4th and less than 1 and our defense had been having trouble all day getting the Panthers off the field. Gruden elected to punt, and the Panthers scored on the next drive. Needless to say, I was a little pissed at the call. They needed to go for it, and try to get another 20 yards or so for a good field goal try to take a lead. Instead, they found themselves down by 8 and unable to score the needed TD to try and tie the game.

They did manage to drive 98 yards for a TD, the longest in franchise history, with McCown's huge scramble being a big part of it. Luke also came out of that game with a 108.6 rating (2 TD's and the one pick), while completing 75% of his passes (21 of 28). So it's not like he's playing really bad out there...hardly. The reality is that the back-ups on defense aren't quite as good as the back-ups on offense. The off-season FA period and draft should be able to fill those last few holes.

For now, we look forward to Sunday's game against the Giants.

The Talking Plank - Week 16

2007-12-29T23:01:00.001-05:00

The Talking Plank -

Panthers At Bucs:

Yeah, yeah, been too busy to update on last week's dominate loss (what the...not another Detroit game!). Needless to say, it gets kind of hard to predict games when you start playing them like a preseason contest, and this game is likely to be the same thing. With Galloway out, and with Graham, Hilliard, and White likely to rest, not too mention Stovall out for the year, the Bucs are likely to have one of those "interesting" games that you just aren't sure how things will turn out for them. Needless to say, I'm sure the Bucs would prefer to win going in, and this is definitely a team they are capable of beating, even with a slightly lesser cast of players available.

On Offense, the Bucs come in ranked 18th in total yards (328.4/g), 18th in points scored (20.7/g) , 16th in passing yards (210.7/g), and 11th in rushing yardage (117.7/g). They will face the Panthers' 16th ranked defense in yards allowed (326.3/g), 17th in points allowed (21.6/g), 15th against the pass (215.3y/g), and 18th against the run (110.9y/g). Overall, the Bucs offense has an edge against a performance enhancement free defensive line that has barely racked up sacks this season. In fact the entire defense only has 19 total sacks and failed to get one against the Bucs the last time out. The Bucs offensive line is coming off one of it's poorest performances this season, and likely will be out to reclaim what they lost last week. Graham is not likely to play, but if he does, it will likely be limited, which means that Bennett will likely see a lot of action, and the Bucs will want to repeat their 189 yard rushing performance from the week 4 match-up. With Davis and Diggs looking very beatable on the edges, and a rookie in the middle, the Bucs should be able to re-establish the running game, especially on the edges where Bennett excels. They should also be able to exploit match-up issues when they put their TE's in to patterns on the LB's. With Galloway out, Clayton will become the primary receiver (he more often plays Galloway's position when Joey is out, than Hilliard does), and either Hilliard, or someone else, will compliment him. Hilliard may or may not rest this game. Spurlock will probably get some more looks at receiver, and Lucas and Clark may also get some shots, but don't be shocked if the Bucs are running Stevens at one wide out spot on occasion, as well as Smith and Bennett. All three can cause some interesting match-up problems depending on the play. How long Garcia plays, if he even does, is hard to say. McCown will undoubtedly play the majority of the game, and should be able to exploit a Harris-free secondary. With Harris likely out (listed as doubtful), the Panthers will really be hurting on defense as they have already lost Peppers to IR. The Panthers are big in the middle, but they aren't likely to get much of a pass rush without bringing the LB's (who have 5.5 of their D's 19 sacks) in on blitzes. With Harris unable to come up to support the run, the Panthers will be hard pressed to find a way to defend the targets we still have available to throw at them. They will likely try to stop the run by over committing. Luke will have to take advantage of the secondary to open it back up. If the Panthers fail to get pressure, and Luke can find and hit the open receiver, the Bucs should be able to move the ball pretty well most of the game. I look for Clayton to have a big game, and pull in around 7-10 balls as he will likely be the best receiver out there. The Bucs may not be able to rack up big yards on the ground, but it should be enough, with a possible home run hit or two by Bennett, to keep the Panthers on defense and score some points, though not likely a lot.

On Defense, the Bucs come in ranked 2nd overall in yards allowed (273.7/g), 1st in points allowed (15.9/g), 2nd against the pass (170.6y/g), and 13th against the run (103.1y/g). The Panthers come in with the 30th ranked offense in yards (280.7/g), 29th in points scored (15.7/g), 29th in passing yards (171.1/g), and 17th rushing (109.6y/g). The Bucs could be without White which could impact their pass rush. The Panthers have given up 32 sacks this year, which is decent, but the Bucs should be able to find a way to get after Moore by first stopping the run, then getting after the rookie QB. If the Bucs stop the run, it could turn into a turn-over fest, as Moore will have to pass against one of the best defenses in the league. Smith and Colbert can be weapons, but the Bucs found a way to shut them down last time, and probably will make it just as difficult this time around. The Bucs will likely contain Foster and Williams and make it that much tougher on Moore, especially with the Bucs' penchant for disguising their cover 2 and cover 3 looks, making it a tough read for even veteran QB's. The Panthers' best hope is to see a lot of the back-ups early. That might give them an edge, but, then again, it might not. The Panthers' offense just hasn't been all that good this year, and there's no reason to believe that it's going to change in the last game of the season. Look for the Panthers' offense to have a long day.

On Special Teams, the Bucs are averaging 24.3 and 6.5 yards per kick and punt return. One is very good, while the other is piss poor. They are allowing 19.2 and 7.2 yards per kick and punt return, both of which are solid numbers. Their opponent is getting 18.7 and 8.3 yards per kick and punt return (respectable on punts, pathetic on kicks), while allowing 24.6 and 10.4 yards per kick and punt. Their coverage teams aren't very good, and the Bucs may be able to exploit this area to set up some shorter fields. Spurlock should be able to rip off a big return on any kick offs that are made. The punt return game is an entirely different issue, and one that could hurt the Bucs if they don't find someone who can get it done (could we try sticking with Spurlock and leave Buchannon on defense!!). Both teams have solid punters and kickers.

Overall, I see this as one of those toss-up games that could get down-right ugly. The Panthers are actually 4-3 on the road, and could possibly steal this meaningless contest. However, I think the Bucs have every intent on just burying the Panthers and going into the playoffs with a win, and I think we have enough depth to get it done, especially if we can jump out to an early lead.

Bucs 17 Panthers 10

The Talking Plank - Week 15

2007-12-23T08:50:00.000-05:00

The Talking Plank -

Bucs At 49ers:

With the Bucs having wrapped up the NFC South, they now have the opportunity of fighting for the third seed. To do that, they'll likely have to win out and hope for Seattle to lose a game. The 49ers, on the other hand, are playing out the season. The Bucs will have a good chance at finally winning at San Francisco if they go out there and take care of business.

On Offense, the Bucs come in ranked 19th overall in yardage (320.9/g), 18th in points (20.9/g), 19th in passing yards (199.6/g), and 10th rushing (121.3/g). They will face a 49ers defense that comes in ranked 23rd in yards allowed (339.1/g), 22nd in points allowed (23.2/g), 20th against the pass (220.1y/g), and 23rd against the run (119y/g). The 49ers run a 3-4 defense, which, historically, has been a defense that Gruden's offense can usually exploit, but something they had trouble against last season. The reason is usually the lack of immediate pressure in the passing game. Teams that have very fast 3-4's, and blitz a ton, can get that pressure, but the 49ers aren't one of those teams. In fact, 15 of the 49ers 26 sacks came in the 4 games versus the Rams and Cardinals, with 10 of their sacks coming against the Rams, including all but 1 of Young's 6.5 sacks. When you look at the game logs of the 49ers' defensive players, they are remarkable absent of sacks outside of those 4 games. That should allow our talented offensive line to be able to hold up and keep Garcia relatively stain free in this game. The real issue won't be in passing the ball, as the Bucs should be able to easily exploit the secondary of the 49ers, it will be running the ball. The 49ers are giving up just 3.8 yards per carry, so, while teams are sticking with it and getting yards, they are getting the yards slowly. It will be interesting to see how Graham, Pittman, and Bennett get used, and how effective they are. I think we will see a decent running game, but nothing spectacular, and I think the Bucs will have to get it going through the air first. Galloway, Hilliard, and Clayton should all be able to exploit this secondary during the game, and I can see Garcia having his best game of the year against the 49ers, the team that gave him his shot, but then let him go because of the T.O. rift. The Bucs offense should be able to do what a lot of teams have, which is put up the points.

On Defense, the Bucs come in ranked 3rd overall in yards (278/g), 1st in points allowed (15.6/g), 2nd against the pass (174.5y/g), and 14th against the run (103.5y/g). The 49ers offense comes in ranked 32nd overall in yards (242.8/g), 31st in points scored (13.6/g), 32nd passing (152.2y/g), and 27th rushing (90.6y/g). The 49ers also come into this game -13 in turnovers (the Bucs are +14), and having allowed a whopping 48 sacks. Needless to say, this match-up appears to be very bad for the 49ers. While Shaun Hill has given them a boost at the QB spot (sorry Bucs fans, Dilfer is out with a concussion - there goes at least one easy pick6), he's done it against two of there worst passing defenses in the league, the Vikings and Bengals. Needless to say, there's a world of difference between those two pass defenses and the Bucs' pass defense, and Monte now has two weeks worth of film on the guy. The Bucs defensive line will start the ball rolling by using there superior speed against a big, but very nonathletic, offensive line. They will seek to get a lot of penetration to disrupt running plays to Gore, whom they must slow down, and then move on to the QB once that is accomplished. I expect to see the Bucs come out of this game with 4-6 sacks, and expect Adams and White to lead the party again. The 49ers aren't very explosive in the passing game, and our secondary should have no problems containing their receivers with just one safety deep, allowing Philips or Jackson to step up close and support against the run and cut of the tight ends. Vernon Davis is a good tight end that the Bucs will need to shutdown, or the 49ers could exploit that area of the field. The real key for the Bucs is to slow the run down and get after the passer. If they can do that, and throw in a little confusion with mixed coverages, such as disguising between Cover 3 and Cover 2, then they'll make it very difficult on an already bad 49ers' offense. I just don't see the 49ers doing too much in this game.

On Special Teams, the Bucs come in averaging 7.1 per punt return, and 24.1 per kick return, while the 49ers are allowing 5.9 and 21.4 per respective returns. The 49ers' coverage units are pretty solid, but I can see Spurlock ripping off another long kick return, especially with the "no TD return" monkey off this team's back. The 49ers are averaging 9.3 per punt return and 23.6 per kick return and will go against a Bucs' coverage unit allowing 7 yards per punt and just 19.3 yards per kick return. So it's hard to tell which team will get the edge in field position, though I think the Bucs are starting to get back to playing Special Teams like they had earlier in the year. The 49ers do have one of the best kickers and one of the best punters in the league, so they have a slight edge in those departments. Special teams could be critical in this game, and, while I think they could potentially hurt the Bucs, I think the Bucs will come out to play in this area and try to keep getting back to the dominate play we saw from them during the first few weeks before key injuries took some good players.

Overall, while this could be a trap game, I think the Bucs' young guys earned a bit of a lesson after the Texans' game. They learned that you can't let an emotional game put you up on a pedestal going into the next game. If you do, you will lose in this league, and I think that lesson was well learned. I see the Bucs going out there and doing what they have done pretty much all year long, which is put the inferior teams on their backs, and put you foot on their throats and dig. I see the Bucs getting up early and pouring it on until the 49ers quit.

Bucs 28 49ers 10

Bucs Snubbed From Pro-Bowl

2007-12-18T21:04:00.000-05:00

In other news, the Bucs were snubbed by the voters. Barber, Brooks, Ruud, Jackson, Garcia, and Galloway were all snubbed, despite the fact that they all could have been in it. Brooks probably had the least case, as the splash plays haven't been there, even though he's been racking up tackles left and right. Ruud, who was the league's leading tackler for most of the season, just didn't get the love, despite the fact that he's forced several fumbles, defensed 3 passes and picked off two. Ruud should have been in. Barber should always get the nod, but didn't. Jackson is a rookie so I can understand him not getting the nod, but he has defensed 13 passes with 2 picks. Garcia's been the heart and soul of the offense, but it was apparently not enough to convince voters. And Galloway keeps getting passed over, though the field is pretty deep with some big time receivers in the NFC.

Oh well. Maybe Barber will have some things to say on the field going forward like when he got snubbed in 2002. His infamous "Pro-Bowl my ass! I'm going to the Super Bowl!" quote would be great to hear again.

Bucs Historic In 37-3 Blow Out!

2007-12-18T20:26:00.000-05:00

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!

The Talking Plank - Week 14

2007-12-15T23:03:00.000-05:00

The Talking Plank -

Falcons At Bucs:

After a disappointing loss in Houston, the Bucs come home to face their Division rivals, the Atlanta Falcons. The Bucs still need to win a game, or have the Saints lose one, in order to clinch the Division. If they hope to do so, they really need to take care of business this week by sealing the deal against the Falcons. The Bucs weren't, as a team, very happy with last week's flat performance, and will likely come out fired up in this game. The Falcons, on the other hand, will be coming in without their head coach, and on their third QB, Chris Redman, who wasn't even in football the last 4 years. The Falcons' players may be looking to show what they are worth, but the reality is, if they get behind, they'll fold like a cheap tent. It's important that the Bucs come out flying on defense and strike early on offense. If the Bucs can get two scores up early in this game, it will make the Falcons want to curl up into the fetal position. If they are allowed to hang around for a while, then they may be able to do something, and even steal the game.

On Offense, the Bucs will be getting Garica back and will come into this contest ranked 19th overall in total yards (323.6/g), 19th in points (19.6/g), 17th in passing yards (207.6/g), and 10th in rushing yards (116/g). The Falcons' defense is 24th in yards allowed (343.5/g), 22nd in points allowed (23.5/g), 19th against the pass (219.8y/g), and 27th against the run (123.7y/g). With Garcia back at the helm, look for the Bucs to try and get up early on the Falcons, then start to grind it out with Graham. The Falcons have had problems all year against the run, allowing Graham to run for 6 yards a pop the last time these met as the Bucs put up 149 yards rushing. Garcia hit Galloway on a nice double move for a 44 yard bomb, and will probably look for the right moment to catch Hall being too aggressive again. Garcia was sacked just once in the last game, but was hurried a few times. With Penn having gotten some experience against Abraham, he should be able to hold up well again. With Coleman and Lewis both being placed on IR after the last game between these two teams, the Bucs will have a lot less to worry about from Atlanta's front four. One question mark for the Bucs is Ike Hilliard who looked like he might be out for this game, but then came in and was able to practice fully this week. Even though he may be able to go, Gruden may choose to try and get Clayton more reps, as he started last week and managed to haul in 4 passes for 39 yards and appears ready to continue what he was starting to do before he injured his ankle. The Bucs could really benefit big time if Clayton was able to really come on during the next three games and re-establish himself, and I think Gruden may be thinking the same thing while hoping he can limit Ike's role so that he can get healthy for the playoffs. To be honest, while I expect the Falcons' defense to fly around early, with the injuries up front, and the overall atmosphere in Atlanta, the Bucs should be able to really move the ball all game long and put up some impressive point totals.

On Defense, the Bucs come in ranked 3rd in yards allowed (289.2/g), 2nd in points allowed (16.5/g), 4th against the pass (185.8y/g), and 15th against the run (103.3y/g). The Falcons' offense comes in at 24th in total yards (301.1/g), 30th in points scored (14.2/g), 16th in passing yards (209.7/g), and 26th in rushing yards (91.4/g). With Chris Redman (think Brooks pick against the Ravens in 2002 for a TD) playing, even though he's been playing somewhat well, the Falcons are still not able to consistently move the ball. Dunn hasn't been able to consistently get good runs, and Norwood is still not doing enough on every down to warrant staying in, though his run average is considerably better than Dunn's. Roddy White is questionable with a knee injury, so even if he plays, he's not likely to be able to get the separation he has in the past. The Falcons will have Horn for this game, but he's been somewhat ineffective this season when he's played. If White is out, or ineffective, it will seriously hinder the Falcons' offense. The Bucs will start by trying to stop Dunn and Norwood. If they can do that, and force the Falcons to pass (which they did the last time), then the Bucs should be able to take advantage of the match-ups up front and get to Redman and force some problems. The Falcons have, after all, given up 42 sacks (league high), and gave up 4 sacks to the Bucs the last time around. I see Adams, White, and Haye having a strong game and getting 4-5 sacks between them. I also see Redman getting hurried a lot, and he has thrown a couple of picks in limited action. Look for the Bucs secondary to really clamp down on an out of his prime Horn, and a less than 100% White. Jenkins could still be a problem, and will likely still be the number 1 or 2 receiver, but the Bucs will try to limit him when they can. Crumpler will probably be forced to stay in and block a lot, but Cato June did a pretty decent job limiting the number of catches he had, though not necessarily the yardage. I suspect the Falcons will have a tough time getting yardage, much less points.

On Special Teams, the Bucs look to rebound after allowing a kick return for a TD. The Bucs had been one of the best teams in the league in keeping kick returners under control. The Bucs are still only allowing 19.1 yards per kick return and 7.2 per punt. The Bucs are getting 23.1 and 7.3 per kick and punt return themselves. The Falcons are allowing 22.4 per kick and 8.1 per punt, while getting 23.8 and 6.2 themselves. Both punters are good and the kickers are both good, though Bryant has more range. Andersen has missed 3 of 7 FG attempts beyond the 40 and inside the 50, and hasn't attempted a 50+ yet this season. Bryant has only missed one between the 40 and 50 yard range, on 6 attempts. He has missed all three 50+ yard attempts this season. The Bucs nearly got a kick return for a TD themselves when Spurlock broke off a big return to the Texans' 47 yard line. If he had cut it back inside and gotten past the kicker, he'd have been gone, but he ran toward the sideline, and got pulled down. Who knows? Maybe the Bucs can rip one off and get that monkey off their back. I think they might get a good shot at it in this game. In general, if the Bucs can win the field position battle, this won't be a game.

The Falcons only real hope in this game is staying close early and getting some turnovers. If that doesn't happen, which I don't think it will, then this game will turn into a blow out. I see the Bucs coming out pissed and ready to win the Division outright.

Bucs 35 Falcons 10.

Petrino Resigns From Falcons!

2007-12-11T21:05:00.000-05:00

In a "Ha! Ha!" moment, the news came out that Bobby Petrino has resigned from the Falcons job to take over at Arkansas. While some think the Falcons may come out swinging, which they may, the reality is the Falcons will be in disarray, and they still suck. Nothing will change that. They may fight harder to "prove" it was Petrino, but the reality is the Falcons just don't have enough talent on the team to get it done consistently, and Petrino's brain farts were simply a contributor. In the NFL you win and lose more so on talent and team chemistry, than coaching, though coaching clearly has a significant role.

So the Bucs will be facing a team in turmoil looking to try to prove they have what it takes to win without the head coach. I think the Bucs will be coming back pissed off and wanting to tear the Falcons apart to prove that the Texans' game was just a let down on their parts, and that they want to win the Division outright. My, how that franchise has suddenly fallen apart. "Ha! Ha!" :p

Bucs Lose To Texans 14-28

2007-12-11T20:15:00.000-05:00

Well, that game was a stinker. Took me a day to really let go of it and get back into football as the Bucs had opportunities in that game, despite coming out flat, and yet couldn't muster enough plays to get it done. I probably should have seen this game coming, considering the youngsters on the team and the emotional game they had won the prior week against the Saints. Sometimes teams just come out flat, and you can't expect to beat a quality team like the Texans by playing flat. Now the Bucs have to move on knowing they still didn't clinch the South because the Saints won last night. The Panthers, at least, are out of the running.

On Offense, the Bucs really struggled to find a groove early, but then responded with a nice long drive after a turnover to punch the ball in. They later responded to the second half TD kick return by driving the ball right down the field on a couple of big plays to score a TD in just over 2 minutes. There was one opportunity that the Bucs had to tie the game when Galloway got open deep, but Luke overthrew him by about 2 yards. Then the Texans got the ball, fumbled it to the Bucs, but then the Bucs gave it right back when Wade decided to snap the ball back to McCown when he wasn't looking for the ball. That led to the Texans going 17 yards for a TD which effectively ended the game. Graham had problems running to the left early, but then the Bucs started running to the right with very good success, then found some success going back against the left. Unfortunately, the Bucs got down by 2 TD's rather early, and it kept them from really running as much as they would have liked. The offensive line was alright in pass protection, but not great, and Luke didn't help by holding onto the ball way too often at times, and taking sacks needlessly. He almost looks like Rob Johnson at times, taking 4 sacks, 3 of which were avoidable. When Luke learns how to make quicker decisions and get rid of the ball, he'll be a starting caliber QB. Galloway was somewhat quite for most of the game which left others open underneath. Hilliard was having a solid game until he got hit awkwardly and fumbled the ball. That fumble led to a Texans TD, and Hilliard went out of the game. Clayton had a nice game getting 4 receptions for 39 yards, and he may be replacing Hilliard down the stretch if Ike can't go. Overall, the offense was good in spurts, but could never really sustain drives throughout the course of the game. That goes back to a combination of them being flat and being led by a young, inexperienced QB going up against a defense that has some good young talent that was having a good day.

On Defense, the Bucs only gave up two drives of any length, and only allowed 257 yards. They held the Texans to just 2.6 yards per carry as well. Unfortunately, they had a tough time actually getting the Texans to fail to convert on third down, as they ripped off 10 of 17 conversions (59%). That meant some drives chewed up clock, even if they didn't go far. The Texans also benefited with two short TD drives (23 and 17 yards) and a kick returned for a TD. The Bucs' defense otherwise held the Texans' offense in check. Without the two turnovers and the kick return, the Texans may have been lucky to even score 10 points. The one disturbing thing was a lack of hurries. While the Bucs had 3 sacks, including a White/Adams QB sandwhich that resulted in a fumble, they otherwise gave Rosenfels way too much time for much of the game. White seemed to be able to generate the most consistent pass rush (wait until next year when he doesn't have over 10 games from the AFL heading into the NFL season!). Adams had a couple of key plays, but wasn't has good in the pass rush as he had been the last two weeks. The linebackers got beat on a couple of mis-matches, but were solid otherwise. Ruud has, however, seemingly hit a wall the last couple of weeks. He needs a nice wake up call to get back to that Pro-Bowl level he played at for most of the season. The secondary played a little too lose for my taste, and should have been a little more aggressive and jumped some routes that were being used a lot. Overall, with the exception of too many 3rd down conversions, which led to some drives that took a lot of time, the defense played well.

On Special Teams, the unit needs to relearn geometry, as some bad angles were taken on that returned kick. If the Bucs had stopped the Texans from scoring like that, the Bucs might have been able to come back in this game, but that one play put them in a big hole that they could never recover from. Spurlock nearly returned the favor getting to mid-field on a long return. Overall, with the one expection, the coverage units did well, and the return units did OK. There weren't any field goal attempts, so there is nothing to comment on there. This unit did alright, but that one costly mistake did us in.

Coaching was alright, but couldn't get the team out of the funk it was in. Gruden started off with a decent game plan, but it kind of degraded into the "drop back" show. Gruden was a little quick to abandon the run, but, with the team getting behind early, it was almost a necessity. Monte had his troops ready to stop the Texans, which they did on all but one lengthy drive. A little more blitzing may have helped though. Special Teams coaching was fine this week, though that one mistake is a big blemish on the unit.

Time to regroup and take the Falcons down.

The Talking Plank - Week 13

2007-12-08T23:14:00.000-05:00

The Talking Plank -

Bucs At Texans:

With the defeat of the Saints last week, the Bucs can wrap up the division by winning this game. Furthermore, with Green Bay having QB health concerns, the Bucs can stay on pace to try and catch up to the Packers, and possibly unseat them for the 2nd seed. A win against the Texans, and a loss by the Packers, would put the Bucs just one game behind them. Of course, the Packers have the Raiders this week and the Rams next, but you never know. The Texans are pretty much sliding out of contention in the AFC and would be on life support with a loss this week (sound familiar?). So who can prevail in this game? Let's look.

On Offense, the Bucs are currently 19th in yards per game (325.2/g), 19th in points scored (20.1/g), 17th in passing (205.4y/g), and 11th rushing (119.8y/g). They will face the Texans' defense, which is 21st overall in yards allowed (337.9/g), 26th in points allowed (24.2/g), 16th against the pass (215.8y/g), and 25th against the run (122.2y/g). What first strikes me is the size of the line and the lack of a great set of linebackers behind it. That leads to the high number of yards allowed rushing, as well as the 4.5 yards per carry allowed. This is despite the fact that they haven't played a lot of great running teams this season. The Texans have also only managed to get 19 sacks this season, with Mario Williams (last year's Gaines Adams) getting 8.5 of them. Amobi Okoye has 5 sacks as well, but none since the Bye week. Look for the Bucs to pound it right at the Texans small defensive line. They should be able to move them completely off the ball and get to the Texans' average linebackers. One of the interesting things about this game will be who ends up actually quarterbacking the offense. Garcia will be a game time decision, but I have a feeling that McCown might end up going again, with maybe Garcia being the back-up to come in if Luke struggles. McCown tore up the Texans in preseason, and I can't really think of any reason why he couldn't do it again, as he's seen live play in the regular season, and has enough years of study to recognize most defensive fronts. Whoever goes, they should be able to take advantage of some match-ups in the secondary. The Texans' defense hasn't managed a lot of interceptions (4 less than the Bucs), and I can see Galloway getting free at least a couple of times in the game. This would be a good game for Clayton to get a lot of work in to see if he can start to get it going again, as he would have a nice size advantage on everyone out there. Look for the Bucs to rack up well over 100 yards rushing and do some nice things through the air while putting up some points.

On Defense, the Bucs are currently 4th in yards allowed (291.8/g), 2nd in points allowed (15.6/g), 4th in pass defense (185.8y/g), and 16th against the run (106y/g). The Texans' offense is currently 9th in total yards (344.4y/g), 16th in points scored (21.9/g), 6th passing (251y/g), and just 23rd rushing (93.4y/g). The Texans will be without Ahman Green and Matt Schaub. The means it will be the Rosenfels and Dayne show. Dayne is a big back, but he's not very fast, and the Bucs have had a habit this season of coming up and whacking the bigger, slower backs. Look for Dayne to get hit hard a lot, and possibly drop the ball once or twice. Ruud could have a big game, along with Phillips, in run support. The Texans will surely try to test the run defense early, but won't be shy passing the ball either. They currently have 45 more pass attempts than the Bucs. The one big Achilles heel for the Texans' passing attack is the shear number of picks. Rosenfels, in spot duty, already has 7 picks to go with 8 TD's. The Bucs have been much more opportunistic the last few weeks, and that could be a big factor in this game. The Texans haven't been giving up many sacks this season, with only 18 allowed so far this season, but he Bucs' defensive line has started to catch fire, evidenced by 3 sacks against Brees last week, who had only been sacked 8 times all season before last week's game. The Texans don't have an overpowering offensive line and can be beat. I expect the continuing maturation of Adams to be a big factor in this game. If the Bucs can consistently pressure Rosenfels, they can make him throw some bad passes and take advantage of it. Even if he does complete passes regularly, the Bucs can rack up some big hits on the Texans' receivers and Tight Ends. There's 9 fumbles amongst the two groups, with Daniels, the TE, being the biggest single culprit with 4 fumbles. The backs also have 3 fumbles. Overall the Texans are -10 and have a league worst 31 turnovers. Expect the defense to come out hitting hard and trying to strip the ball out and step in front of passes. While the Texans will move the ball at times, I expect the surging defense to force some turnovers and stop the Texans enough to make their lives very difficult.

On Special Teams, the Bucs come in with one of the best kick coverage units in the league (17.6y/g) and one of the better punt coverage teams (7.6y/g). They will have to be playing well as the Texans have a solid special teams unit averaging 23.4 yards per kick and 9 yards per punt return. Conversely, the Bucs are averaging 22.6 yards per kick return and only 7.4 yards per punt. They should be able to find some room returning against the Texans, who are allowing 23.7 yards per kick 8.6 yards per punt return. Their punter, Turk, is a good punter, though, and may pin the Bucs back at times. Kris Brown is a very good field goal kicker as well, which will match up strongly against Bryant. Bidwell will need to make sure his punts are solid. The game could loom on starting field position, and the Bucs aren't likely to have too much of an edge in this game. It's crucial that the Bucs pin the Texans back as often as possible to force them to go the length of the field and increase the likelihood that they'll make a critical mistake. I think the Bucs might struggle with field position after punts, but after kicks should be fine, though I'm hoping we only return one kick.

Overall, the Bucs are the better team, and are playing with a team concept. This team is strongly committed to each other and the coaching staff, and I expect them to come out and really try to take it to the Texans early and try to hit them in the mouth and see if they recoil and drop a few balls. If the Bucs' defense comes out swinging hard, then this game won't be too much of a contest. If they take the Texans likely, then anything can happen. I expect the Bucs to play this game much like last week, and to take the Division crown home by sealing the deal.

Bucs 24 Texans 16

Why The Saints Fumbled

2007-12-05T21:59:00.000-05:00

While I think many can argue that the double reverse was a bad play-call for the Saints to run at that time, the play itself wasn't the reason for the fumble. Teams execute that play quite often, in fact. What really caused that fumble, which can be verified by watching that play closely, was Gaines Adams forcing the LT into the path of the receiver. Gaines shoved that LT back so fast, than Devery Henderson had to run a little wider than normal, and it forced Bush to slow up a little just before he tossed the ball back.

That one moment led to a fumble that the Bucs' defense was able to pounce on, giving the Bucs an opportunity to win the game, which they did. Adams had another stellar day against the Saints, getting a sack against the least sacked QB in the league. His ability to continually chase backs down from behind continues to impress me. Adams' other big play came when he beat the RT and quickly converged on Brees, who stepped up right into Barber's hands. Many thought Adams was a bust in process, but he's clearly coming on strong and starting to consistently make plays. We should see him rack up another 3 or 4 sacks in the remaining 4 games and continue to rack up tackles. As his numbers, and effort, will show at the end of the season, he's clearly not a bust. If he comes back next year and gets consistent pressure while maintaining his run responsibilities, he could be a great one next season and beyond.

Bucs Win 27-23!

2007-12-02T22:07:00.000-05:00

What a game. So many highs and lows late that I think I might need some prozac now. In any case, the Bucs all but wrapped up the division with this win. The Bucs will have to lose all 4 of their remaining games for anyone else to even have a chance to beat us out. Just one more win, or a lose by the Saints and Panthers, and it's a wrap.

McCown, save a couple of bad plays, was outstanding for most of this game completing 78% of his passes for 313 yards and 2 TD's. The pick was more a miscommunication than a bad play on his part. Two of the sacks, including the one for the safety, were boneheaded plays that he needs to avoid by throwing the ball away. Beyond that, he had a great game, including a clutch throw late to win it, and some outstanding play-action fakes, including one for a TD that fooled the camera man and myself. Graham had another outstanding game, and went for over 100 yard yet again, including an excellent 25 yard TD run. The line was very good today as well, and Galloway just killed the Saints early, finishing with 159 yards on 7 catches.

The defense managed to hold the Saints offense down most of the game but had two bad plays that ended up being TD makers for the Saints. Those two bombs, one for a TD and another that setup a TD, nearly killed an otherwise stellar performance. Jackson needs to get his head on a swivel as that TD bomb should have been better defended. The Bucs held the Saints well under 300 yards of offense, and made Brees look rather pedestrian. The Saints had also only given up 8 sacks coming in. They now have 11 with 5 of those coming from us, as the Bucs defense racked up 3 sacks today. Adams was stellar, getting one sack and forcing Brees up into the arms of Barber, who got a sack. The line managed to harass Brees off and on, and it was just enough to keep him from getting going too often. The defense only allowed 14 points, again, to the explosive Saints offense.

Special teams were excellent on punt and kick coverage, allowing no punt return yardage on two punts, and holding the Saints to just 14.7 yards per kick return. The return units weren't all that hot, but managed to do better on kick returns than punts. Bryant was solid, but missed a makeable 52 yard FG attempt.

Gruden has got to get big kudos for this game. His 4th and 1 call was gutsy, but it paid off. He kept the playbook open for this game, despite having McCown in there, and started the game off by using all types of short and intermediate quick passes to slow the Saints up and get McCown off to a hot start. This is probably one of the best coached games that I have seen Gruden coach. He had this team ready to kick butt, and it did. The defense and special teams did what they needed to do as well, though I think I would have liked to see Monte use a few more blitzes. All in all it was a fun game to watch, and the Bucs have now cemented their spot at the top of the Division. Now can they make a run for the first round Bye? They'll need to win out and hope Green Bay drops a couple of games.

The Talking Plank - Week 12

2007-12-02T01:14:00.000-05:00

The Talking Plank -

Bucs at Saints:

This is it. By "it" I mean this is the game that can just about sew up the Division crown. If the Bucs win this game, then they only need one more win, or one loss by the Saints and Panthers, to win the Division. If the Bucs lose, the Saints will erase the current advantage, and make it a tight race going down the stretch. So let's look at this match-up.

On Offense, the Bucs are currently rated 19th overall (312.4y/g), 20th in points (19.5/g), 19th passing (197.4y/g), and 13th rushing (115y/g). They will face the Saints' 22nd ranked defense (341.3y/g), 21st in points allowed (22.9/g), 27th against the pass (245.5y/g), and 9th against the run (95.8y/g). The Bucs' offensive stats took a hit last week when Gradkowski came in and was horribly ineffective. This week the Bucs may be without Garcia from the start again. This time, however, they've had time to prepare their back-ups. McCown looks to be the guy to start in Garcia's place. If Garcia can continue to heal and actually play, the Bucs offense will exploit a pathetic New Orleans' secondary. The same one they exploited early in often in the first match-up, before switching to a running game late to maintain the lead. If McCown goes, a lot will depend on the protection. The Saints' pass rush hasn't been very effective and failed to get to Garcia in the first game. They had 19 sacks to date, which isn't going to scare a lot of teams. I expect the offensive line to give the QB enough time to take advantage of the Saints, even if they bring the blitz. If that's the case, and assuming Luke can get back to reading the play as quick as he did during the preseason, then he'll be very effective against this secondary, though picks are still a concern. I also look for Graham to have a pretty solid game and for Gruden to use Bennett to attack the edges and run right by the somewhat big and slow linebackers of the Saints. They are vulnerable on the edges. Barring a return by Gradkowski, or an awful effort by the line, the Bucs' offense will put up some points against the Saints' defense.

On Defense, the Bucs have slipped slightly down in some stats, but come in 6th in yards allowed (296.0/g), 2nd in points (14.9/g), 5th against the pass (188y/g), and 17th against the run (108y/g). The Saints offense, which is playing better now, is ranked 8th overall (353.8y/g), 15th in points (22.1/g), 5th passing (266.6y/g), and 28th rushing (86.2y/g). The Bucs' first order of business will be to stuff Bush, then, as he's used, Stecker. The Bucs shouldn't have much of a problem doing this. From there, they will have to stop Brees in the passing game. He's only been sacked 8 times this season, but 2 came from the Bucs in week 2. The Bucs' defensive line has been getting better the last few weeks, and should continue to get pressure on Brees, though they may not get the sack. Brees has thrown 15 picks versus 18 TD's this season, and the Bucs are starting to really rack up the turnovers. With Barber having gotten off the snide, it may start raining for him. I expect the Bucs to take it away from the Saints on a couple of occasions to end good drives. It will be tough to stop them all game long, however, so the Bucs must come to play. Look for some hard hitting on playes like Colston, to make sure that the arms are a little shorter and a little less likely to grab the catch. If the Bucs can hold the Saints' offense down, which I think they will, then that could be enough to get the Saints to press on both sides of the ball and take some dumb chances. If the Bucs keep their cool, they could end up virtually knocking the Saints out of contention.

On Special Teams, the Bucs continue to cover punts extremely well which they will need to do against the Saints. Currently the Bucs are allowing 7.6 yards per punt return and 18 yards per kick return. The Saints are getting 9.1 per punt, and just 22.1 per kick, so the Bucs should be able to keep the kick returns in check. Who wins the punt coverage/return battle is hard too say. The Bucs are returning kicks and punt at an average of 8 yards per punt, and 22.6 yards per kick, while the Saints are allowing 10 and 22.7 respectively. If the Bucs can win the field position battle, it will help them tremendously in this game. Both punters are excellent, but the Bucs have the clear advantage in the field goal department as Mare is going downhill.

Overall, I think the Bucs will find a way to score points, and the Bucs' renewed defense will find a way to make life real difficult for Brees, much like Campbell last week. I see the Bucs pulling this out and taking a commanding lead in the Division.

Bucs 27 Saints 17

Garcia, Gradkowski, Or Luke...Oh My!!

2007-11-29T22:02:00.000-05:00

So which will play on Sunday? Our starter, Garcia? Our QB that can't hit the broad side of a barn, Bruce? Or "use the Force," Luke? If I had my druthers, Garcia would go, and there are some indications that he's getting better, as he apparently took a few reps today. But he'll need to still greatly improve to play Sunday. He's improving quickly, but will it be enough? Some don't think he should play, and should rest for a couple of weeks, but the reality is that we need to win this game. Winning this game means that any combination of another Bucs' win, or both a Saints and Panthers loss, means we win the Division.

No, if we lose this game, we really can't wrap the Division up for 3 more games after that. So, in essence, this is it. If Garcia can go, he should go. He can rest and be injured on the first play of the next game he does get into. See if he can go, and if he gets a little banged up, you can always pull him later. But if he can't go. If the back is just too bad, then who should go in his place? In my mind, I would go with Luke. During Preseason he showed a greater command of the offense, and an ability to make all the throws and make plays with his feet. He still needs to improve his game speed so as not to take too many sacks, but he's clearly a guy that provides a real passing threat. That will keep the running game open, or allow us to take advantage of a very weak secondary without proper help. If Bruce plays, the Saints will just stuff 9 men in the box and dare him to beat them. That's what everyone did to him last year, and that's what the Skins did to him after the first half.

Without the credible passing game, the running game will go nowhere and we need it to keep winning. Luke has the talent and the smarts to be a starter in this league. It's why Hackett wanted Gruden and Allen to bring him in. Luke just doesn't have enough experience to be at full game speed. He got there during Preseason, but now he's only been running the scout team since. It may take him a little while to get it going, but if he can play anywhere near as good as he did in August, it will be enough to help this offense put some points on the board and give the defense a chance. Let's go with Luke, if Garcia can't go, and hope he can do just enough to get the win.

Bucs Steal Win From Skins, 19-13

2007-11-26T21:48:00.000-05:00

The Bucs defense forced 6 turnovers to help the team beat the Redskins in a game that has cemented the Bucs' lead in the Division, and put them in a good position should they come down to a wild card spot. With Garcia going out after the first series, the Bucs needed every turnover they got to win. Gradkowski continued to look like the guy who played last year, and couldn't take advantage of the 4 first half fumbles, only getting field goals on 3 of those excellent drive starts. Had just one been a TD, this game would likely have never been so close down the stretch.

The Bucs need to re-evaluate the back-up QB spot. McCown may not be acclimated to game speed, but at least he can actually get the ball to Graham on the 5 yard dump off pass. He'll never get up to game speed if he doesn't play for a few series, either.

The Bucs also got some stellar work from the kickers with Bryant nailing 4 field goals, and Bidwell averaging just over 50 yards a punt, keeping the Redskins pinned back. That helped late when the defense started getting tired when it was unable to get the Redskins' offense off the field after several 3rd and longs, and the Bucs' offense failed to get a first down on their first second half possession. The defense then allowed another long drive, but managed to stuff the Skins on 4th and 1 inside the 5. Unfortunately, the offense was unable to get out of the endzone area, but Bidwell nailed a 61 yard punt that flipped the field in favor of the Bucs. By then the defense was getting gassed. A pick by Barber, to make him the franchise's all-time leading pass interceptor at 32 picks, killed a promising Redskins drive. Then Garcia returned, but, instead of running for a 1st down on 3rd and short, he tried to hit Galloway deep and missed. The Bucs punted the ball away with around 3 minutes left and pinned the Redskins deep, but they came right down the field and got to the 17 yard line when Campbell threw to the endzone where Kelly was waiting to pick off the pass and end the game.

In the end the Bucs got the win and that's what counts the most, as they are now 7-4 and can all but lock-up the Division with a win against the Saints. In fact, if the Bucs win this week, they would only need another win, or a loss by the Saints and Panthers to win the Division. In other words, if they win the next two games, they clinch.

The Talking Plank - Week 11

2007-11-24T23:20:00.000-05:00

The Talking Plank -

Redskins At Bucs:

After pasting the Falcons, the Bucs get to come home and host a tougher team in the Washington Redskins. The Redskins hung tight with Division rival Dallas. With the Bucs having a firm grip on the NFC South, they now look to start firming that grip up even more, and add playoff positioning against a possible playoff team. So let's take a look at what we should expect.

On Offense, the Bucs bring the 17th ranked offense (324.4y/g), 20th in points (19.5/g), 15th passing (207.8y/g), and 14th rushing (116.6y/g). They will face Washington's 15th overall rated defense (322.3y/g), 18th in points allowed (22.1/g), 24th against the pass (225.2y/g), and 9th against the run (97.1y/g). The Redskins come in a little banged up, and will be without Sean Taylor, their best Safety, and London Fletcher has bruised ribs, and may not be 100% effective. While the Redskins have only allowed 97 yards rushing per game, it's pretty clear that they are doing so because teams are preferring to pass on them. The Cowboys used T.O. to burn their secondary frequently. If Penn can hold up against Carter, who has 7 of their 23 sacks, then Garcia should have time to find the holes in the Skins' secondary, which is also without Carlos Rogers, who went on IR after the Pats game. Expect to see Galloway, Smith, and others exploit the intermediate to deep middle. The Redskins like to blitz (6 sacks by the LB's and 1.5 from the secondary), so it will be imperative that the OL holds up and gives Jeff the time to burn the blitz. Graham will likely be the workhorse again with Pittman out. Bennett will also likely see some more playing time, and may get used as a receiver with Galloway opposite to really take advantage of the Skins secondary. With Taylor out, the better offenses have been able to move the ball almost at will in the passing game. If the Bucs can run the ball well also, look for this offense to put up some points. Overall, I think the Bucs have enough weapons, and a good enough offensive line, to take advantage of the Redskins and move the ball well for most of the game.

On Defense, the Bucs' 5th overall ranked defense (284.4y/g), number 2 in points allowed (15.1/g), 3rd against the pass (177.6y/g), and 18th against the run (106.8y/g) will be facing a solid, though average, offense. The Redskins come into this game ranked 16th in total yards (326.6/g), 17th in points scored (20/g), 19th passing (201.5y/g), and 8th rushing (125.1y/g). The Skins may be without Todd Wade (RT), and will continue to be without Thomas, with Fabini playing in his place. The Redskins' OL is solid, with Samuels anchoring the LT spot. And they are solid in the running game and will likely try to establish Portis against the Bucs. The problem for the Skins is that the Bucs are continuing to play better against the run every week with the DL taking a lot of heat of the LB's and getting the tackles themselves. The Skins will continue to be with Thrash at wideout, with both Moss and Randle El a little banged up. McCardell will likely see a lot of action against his former team, but he, and both Moss and Randle El will have to deal with the Bucs' hard hitting safeties. Moss and Randle El are both the smaller type of WR that can't generally take a pounding and McCardell is already past his prime, and unlikely to want to take too many really big hits. If they hear the footsteps they may drop some catchable passes. If the Bucs can hold Portis in check and force the Redskins to pass, they will have already won half the battle as the Bucs have the corners that can deal with the Redskins' receivers. If the improved pass rush of the front four can get to Campbell without too much blitzing, they could force him into some interceptions or get some hits on him and force the ball free. Campbell has already fumbled 10 times this season, losing 6 of them. If the Bucs can force two or three turnovers in this game, they could shut the Redskins offense down. The Bucs defense is just starting to really hit its stride, having allowed only two TD's in the last 8 quarters, 4 in the last 12. This is a game where our Left DE should have an advantage on whomever is manning the RT spot for the Skins (whether a banged up Wade or Sampson). We should see a lot of pressures and QB hits. The Bucs, believe it or not, are also number 1 in the league defending Tight Ends. How the heck that happens is anyone's guess, as that's always seemed to be our Achilles heel. In any case, Cooley will need to be accounted for. If they do that, shut Portis down, and force Campbell into some poor decisions, the Bucs' defense could have a big game. In any case, I expect a tough battle in this area.

On Special Teams, the Bucs will continue to try and find someone who can return kicks and punts as well as Mark Jones did. The Bucs come in with an 8.2 yard per punt return average, and a 22.7 yard kick return average. Spurlock is at least getting close to Jones' numbers. The Hilliard, the best punt returner after Jones, is still 4 yards behind Jones at 6.9 vs. 11.9 per return. The Bucs are giving up 8 yards per punt return (not great), but are only giving up 17.8 yards per kick return, which is still in the top of the league (the NFL's new stats tables SUCK! Where are the Special Teams categories?). The Redskins are averaging 9.8 yards per punt, though that is skewed by one long return by Thrash. Randle El is averaging 7.1 yards per return, and that's who the Bucs will have to deal with. The Skins are averaging 26.2 yards per kick return, so this will be an interesting match-up. The Skins are allowing only 4.4 yards per punt return and 20.9 yards on kicks. Both punters are solid. The Bucs have the better field goal kicker, so if this comes down to a long field goal, I like the Bucs odds better than the Skins'. Field position will be big in this game. The Bucs need to keep the Skins in check, and I believe they will.

Overall, I think the combination of the home field advantage, and a surging defense, will be too much for the Skins to overcome, and I see the Bucs' offense getting it going late in the game to pull a tight contest away late.

Bucs 24 Redskins 13

News And Notes

2007-11-23T22:04:00.000-05:00

Found out that Gaines Adams tipped pass was ruled a forced fumble, negating Hovan's first career pick, and turning it into a fumble recovery. But that also means that Gaines is now credited with a sack, giving him 3.5 sacks. He's third on the team behind White (4.5) and Haye (4.0).

Also, Pittman has now been ruled out for Sunday's game. To be honest, I don't think it affects us much, other than making Graham more prominent in the rushing game. I wasn't too fond of the amount of plays that went Pittman's way in Atlanta, as he was coming off a long layoff and just wasn't fully in it. So it could be a blessing in disguise, but who knows. Spires is still out, which I am actually grateful for, as this allows our young guys to keep getting a lot more playing time. This defensive line is starting to come together and they are making plays. Something I hadn't seen much from Spires this year.

Finally, June is still expected to start. Until the details come out of what he did, it's probably the right thing to do. If he's found guilty, he will be facing testing and a possible suspension., though I think his lack of a prior record may get him off anything serious.

Talking Plank is coming tomorrow.

June's DUI Arrest

2007-11-20T21:50:00.000-05:00

Not a lot to really say about this, other than the fact that June has typically been a stand-up guy without any priors. He apparently celebrated both the win and his birthday and then got caught. Don't know what his level was, but he doesn't have a history of this, and I think the Bucs are right to stand by a guy that seems to have simply made a dumb mistake.

We'll see how this goes, and whether or not it affects June's ability to play down the stretch. Hopefully it wont, as the Bucs have been getting some good plays out of him lately, and will need that down the stretch.

Game Review - Week 10

2007-11-20T21:21:00.000-05:00

The Bucs dominated the Falcons in yet another impressive display of team play against inferior opponents. The Bucs have basically blown out every losing team they've played, and nearly blown out 2 teams that are at, or above .500. The game didn't start out great, but the lever slowly turned towards the Bucs until, before you knew it, they were up 24-0 and the game was clearly out of reach.

On Offense, the Bucs started the game trying to get Pittman going early. Unfortunately, that move backfired somewhat, as Pittman had problems catching passes that would have been for first downs, and even had a fumble (too me the replay clearly showed that he never gained control of the ball, and it should have been incomplete). Those early miscues killed a couple of early drive attempts and made the offense look bogged down by a supposedly good Atlanta defense. Then the Bucs, after a defensive turnover (pick by Ruud), scored on a 44 yard bomb to Galloway to open the scoring. After that they started to get some drives going, but it would take until the second drive of the second half until the offense would just open up, mostly on the back of Earnest Graham, who rushed for over 100 yards again. Once Garcia managed to hit Smith for a 21 yard TD, which came after some nice runs by Graham, forcing the safeties to key on the run first, the game was way out of reach, and the offense finished the second half scoring 17 points to go with the 7 they scored in the first half. The Bucs managed to run for 149 yards behind an impressive offensive line that held up well against a relentless blitzing defense, and was able to get some serious push in the running game. Graham's shake and bake 26 yard run, in which he juked Milloy out of his jockstrap, put the Bucs up 31-0 and sealed it. Garcia was only 10 of 20 for 159 yards, but threw two TD's and no picks and took just the one sack. Overall, a rusty start was followed by a dominate second half as the Bucs cruised to the win late.

On Defense, the Bucs came out and made sure they would get pressure early by running some blitzes at Leftwich. Once the Bucs broke through, with Haye hitting Leftwich just as he threw the ball, causing the pick by Ruud, the defensive line suddenly started playing in Atlanta's backfield for most of the rest of the game. Dunn needed 58 yards to pass 10,000 yards, and he was stuffed all game long getting a paltry 2.1 yards per carry and getting stuffed on a sweep on 4th and a short one. The line was strong against the run, which included a nice tackle of Dunn from behind by Adams. They tackled well, then got after the passer. White had two sacks and two forced fumbles. Adams had a sack, a forced fumble and a tipped/defensed pass where he bullied the Tackle and came around and hit Leftwich's arm, despite being held from behind, just as he threw it, which made the ball flutter in front of him and allowed Hovan to get his first career pick. Hovan also got a sack. On one of White's forced fumbles, that came after Adams forced Leftwich to run forward out of the pocket where White hit him from behind, Barber picked up the loose ball on a full sprint, and took of for the TD return, the Bucs' first defensive score. The linebackers played solid, with June getting 9 tackles and forcing a fumble that Kelly picked up, but stupidly tossed back to June, who was then tripped and had the ball come out after hitting the ground. This play illustrated just how stupid the refs for that game were, as June was tripped by Roddy White, which should have been a 15 yard penalty, and the ball was forced out by the ground, which shouldn't have been a fumble. Then the refs told Gruden that they couldn't review the whole play just one segment, and Gruden made the error of having them review the first player, which was Kelly, who was never down. In any case, despite some subs giving up a last minute 82 yard drive for a TD that eliminated the shutout and gave the Falcons 275 yards, instead of under 200, the Defense was outstanding all game and looked very 2002 like.

On Special Teams, the return units failed to do anything to help the offense get good starting field position. That had to come from the 4 turnovers that the Defense provided. The bad field position made for some poor drives that never really got going. The coverage units were excellent holding the kick returns under 20 yards and the punts under 4. They were outstanding as they have been pretty much all season. The kicking game was solid, with Bryant nailing the same type of field goal he missed against the Cardinals. The punting was solid, with Bidwell nailing a 61 yarder late in the game to pin the Falcons back. Overall, Special Teams was solid where it needed to be, but they clearly miss Mark Jones on the returns.

Coaching was excellent, for the most part, in this game. I think Gruden showed a little too much lovin' for Pittman, making me consistently question Gruden's orientation. Nevertheless, he made some nice calls that got the points when the Bucs needed them the most to put Atlanta out of its misery. Monte's defense was spectacular, and he brought the heat early to help get his unit going, then backed off and let the front four dominate. Bisaccia's group was alright. There needs to be better coaching on the return teams, because the unit sucks without Jones, and that shouldn't be the case. Overall, the Bucs played a solid game, and were reasonably well coached. The result was another Division blow-out, and another on the road.

Bucs Dominate Falcons 31-7

2007-11-18T20:05:00.000-05:00

In a nice fresh change from the last few games, the Bucs went out and basically pasted the Falcons, putting 31 points on the board (7 by the defense and 24 by the offense). The Bucs took it to them all day long and basically shut the Falcons offense down until the final Falcons' drive that netted them 82 yards, putting them over the 200 yard mark (275 total yards). Until that drive, the Falcons' offense had been shut down all game long. The Falcons averaged just 2.6 yards per carry getting 49 total rushing yards.

On the flip side, the Bucs offense showed some rust early, especially with Pittman who dropped three passes. The Bucs had chances to really put some drives together early, but had some miscues that limited some of their first half drives. During the second half, however, after a forgettable 3 and out to open the half, the Bucs began to dominate as much on offense as they were dominating on defense. Graham became the workhorse down the stretch, and Alex Smith got a TD pass that sealed the game. The next series was all Graham, though, who finished the drive by busting off a 26 yard TD run that included a jock strap dropping juke on Milloy that allowed him to get the final 10-15 yards for the TD. Graham finished with 102 yards rushing for his second straight 100 yard game.

Overall, it was a good day for the Bucs whose play-off positioning greatly improved on this Sunday with the Saints, Panthers, Lions, and Redskins all losing. The Bucs are, because of tie-breakers, currently 3 games up on the Saints and Panthers, and they play both teams again. The Bucs are now firmly in the drivers seat and need to keep winning going forward.

The Talking Plank - Week 10

2007-11-17T22:44:00.000-05:00

The Talking Plank -

Bucs At Falcons:

The Bucs are coming off of their BYE and travel to Atlanta to face their Division foe. The Bucs managed to beat the Cardinals to head into the BYE with a win. The BYE has also allowed the Bucs to get back to basics while getting some players back healthy, or healthier, than when they went into the BYE, though some players have now been added to the injury report. The Atlanta Falcons are coming off two straight wins, allowing them to get back into the hunt for a Division crown, however remote that may be at 3-6. The Falcons wins, however, aren't very impressive when you put them into perspective. Two weeks ago they barely beat, at home, the hapless 49ers, winning by just 4 points. Last week, the Falcons traveled up to Carolina, facing a mid-40's QB, and an otherwise sinking Panthers team, and won on a late TD pass to Alge Crumpler. The Falcons' other win this year is against the Texans at home. All three wins came against teams currently under .500. So now the Bucs have the opportunity to go up to Atlanta and win another NFC South contest and take firm control of the Division. Or, they could lose and allow everyone else to be within striking distance, or even tied. So who will win this one?

On Offense, the Bucs are coming in ranked 15th in yardage (326.6/g), 21st in points (18.2/g), 16th passing (213.6/g), and 15th rushing (113/g). They will be facing Atlanta's 16th ranked defense in yardage (323.7/g), 14th in points allowed (20.2/g), 11th against the pass (202.4/g), and 23rd against the run (121.2/g). The numbers look pretty good up front, until you dig into the numbers. Take away the last two weeks against crippled offenses (49ers and Panthers) and the Falcons are giving up nearly 350 yard a game on defense. The last two weeks make that much of a difference. Furthermore, 7 of the Falcons' 13 sacks sacks came in two games. Looking at just 6 of their games (losses) and you get 0 sacks in 3 games, and 1 sack in one. The Giants put up 491 yards of offense on the Falcons' defense. The Falcons' secondary is getting a lot of credit, though I don't think they are really deserving. Hall may still be a Pro-Bowl player, but the rest of the secondary leaves something to be desired. Outside of Hall, Jackson has just as many passes defended as the rest of the Falcons primary secondary players combined. Galloway will be guarded by Hall a lot, and will have to work to get open deep. Galloway may have more success on comebacks and intermediate routes. But where Galloway will pull Hall to him, that will leave the rest of the Bucs' receiving corps against lesser talent. If Clayton can play, we could see him stretch the deep middle a lot against this secondary. Will Milloy is back there to defend these plays, he's not quite the player he was a couple of years ago, only have one pass defensed so far. It will be interesting to see if the Bucs try to use Bennett as a receiver in this game and take advantage of the Hall/Galloway match-up. But where the Bucs should be able to do some serious damage is in the running game. The good teams have managed to consistently run on the Falcons, evidenced by the 4.2 yards per carry average allowed. The Falcons aren't very big on the D-Line, especially when Lewis is out (he's probable for the game, but his injury could be a factor). The Bucs should be able to take advantage of the Falcons' jailbreak blitzing schemes, and run right at the heart of that defense. If they do, they should set the Falcons up for going over the top. If the Falcons drop back into Cover 2, Garcia will have all day to pick them apart. I expect the Bucs' running backs, as a conglomeration, to run for over 100 yards and make it a relatively clean shirt day for Garcia. If Pittman goes, you can bet the pass blocking will be better on third downs. Penn will certainly get tested with Abraham, but Penn's held up well against some of the best, and the Bucs will give him help if he needs it. I don't anticipate Garcia getting hit, not sacked, all that often, unless the Falcons manage to constantly beat our offensive line with that sell-out style blitz they often use. Overall, I expect that the continually improving Bucs' offense will do what it's done to every lesser team in the we've played so far - which is move the ball almost at will. Hopefully they can finish their drives off and punch the ball in and end all doubt early, instead of having another game like the Cardinals.

On Defense, the Bucs are ranked 6th in yards allowed (286.2/g), 4th in points allowed (16/g), 3rd against the pass (173/g), and 18th against the run (113.2/g). They will be up against the Falcons' 27th ranked offense in total yards (293.1/g), 31st in points (15/g), 23rd passing (195.4/g), and 20th rushing (97.7/g). Needless to say, the Falcons haven't exactly been running up the score board this year. Nor have they been rushing for 300 yards in games. With Vick gone, the Falcons' offense no longer has that X-factor it once did. Without that, they are now a more plain offense, and one that's being led by either Harrington or Leftwich at QB, and Dunn and Norwood at tailback. What's really hurting the Falcons is the revolving door at LT once Gandy and Foster both bowed out with season ending injuries. They have used a couple of different players at LT since. The current depth chart shows Wienner moving over to LT and Clabo moving from Guard to RT. In any case, none of this can be good for the Falcons, who have already given up 28 sacks in 9 games. The Falcons line just can't get enough running room for the runners to get a consistent rushing attack going either, which isn't helping things. In the past, Vick used to be able to avoid a lot of sacks and make teams pay for undisciplined rushes by running past the pressure and getting big gains. This year neither QB has that ability, which means they are sitting ducks. Although the Falcons are averaging 3.8 yards per carry, it's not enough to take the heat off the passing game. The Bucs won't have Spires, who is out, but will field the same group as they did against the Cardinals, with the possibly addition of Chukwurah. The DL put a lot of pressure on Warner last week, and looked quite strong. They should improve on that performance this week, and get multiple sacks. The Bucs should be able to hold Atlanta mostly in check with the DL, and have the Linebackers come up in run support. With the Linebackers likely being freed up to move around, it will be difficult for the Falcons to maintain a running game. And while the Falcons might be able to pass the ball some, White is likely to get killed if he goes near Jackson or Phillips. Kelly also is finally healthy and will likely mix playing time with Buchannon during nickel defense. This will allow the Bucs to smother the Falcons' receivers and make any passing attempts very difficult. I can see the Bucs getting a pick or two. With Joe Horn out, the Falcons' passing game will likely consist of White and Crumpler. Alge is the one gut that scares me a little in this game due to our systems' inherent issues with covering Tight Ends. Hopefully he'll be too busy trying to keep Harrington or Leftwich alive to be able to go out into routes. If that happens, I think you can expect the Bucs' defense to shut the Falcons down almost all game long. In the end, I think the Bucs' defense will simply be too much for the Falcons' woeful offense.

On Special Teams, the Bucs will need to find someone to return kicks well, and Spurlock might be the guy. Both teams have had strong kick return games with the right guy in there. The Falcons' best kick returner is Norwood. The Bucs have so fare been roughly 3 yards better in punt returns than the Falcons, and that trend needs to continue. Both teams are roughly even in the punting and place kicking arena. Field position could be a big part of this game. If the Bucs don't get and take advantage of good field position, then they could allow the Falcons some room to make plays and get some things going. I expect, however, that the Bucs will be on the ball in this game.

Overall, I see this as another game in which the Bucs face a team that is currently weaker than themselves. So far the Bucs have managed to handle these teams, and I expect the trend will continue.

Bucs 24 Falcons 13

Bucs Win The BYE!!!

2007-11-11T21:17:00.000-05:00

Err...what, you say? How in the hell can the Bucs win a BYE week? Simple. Everyone that stands in the way of the Bucs getting into the playoffs lost today. The Falcons beat the Panthers, dropping the kitties to 4-5. The Rams beat the Saints, ending that 4 game win streak, and putting the Saints at 4-5. The Lions (the other kitties) lost to the Cardinals, slipping to 6-3. The Redskins lost to the Eagles to slide to 5-4. And the Giants lost to the Cowboys to fall back to 6-3.

The biggest wild card threats are the Lions, Giants, Cardinals, and Redskins (and possibly the Eagles). While the Lions will currently hold a tie-breaker on the Bucs, and the Giants don't play us (neither do the Eagles if they become a factor), the Cardinals are two games behind the Bucs due to the tie-breaker edge with our win over them, and we play the Redskins. The only other challengers are within our division. In essence, the Bucs have pretty solid control over their destiny. They firmly control their division fortunes, which is an automatic playoff berth. They have control over the Cardinals (though not the Seahawks, whom I think will win that division anyways). And a win over the Redskins gives them control on that front as well. Essentially, this means that the Bucs' odds of being able to make a wild card berth if they somehow fail to win the division, have greatly improved today.

With the Giants playing the Lions next week, one of them is going to lose and give them a fourth loss. The Redskins are playing at Dallas, and, barring an upset, I just don't see the Redskins winning that game, and that would be 5 losses on them. The Panthers play Green Bay next Sunday as well. That could put the Panthers 3 full games behind us (due to our win over them). Then the following week Philly plays the Pats (loss there for the Eagles). And then Green Bay plays Detroit, we play the Skins, and the Saints and Panthers clash. By then, we will have a very good idea of where the Bucs sit. With a Bucs win against the Falcons and Redskins, the Bucs could be both firmly in control of the NFC South, but they could also be in the thick of a wild card berth as a back-up. In either case, 4 more wins is looking like a good shot at the playoffs, and 5 more should very well do it. Now let's hope the Bucs come out this week and take care of business and beat the Falcons. Losing this game would hurt a lot.

Game Review - Week 9

2007-11-06T19:04:00.000-05:00

The Bucs beat the Cardinals 17-10 in game that they thoroughly dominated, but had another long drive go without points due to the combination of a dropped TD pass, followed by a missed chip shot field goal. Some stupid mistakes occurred in this game, but the Bucs managed to pull out the win and get into the BYE week on a winning note. Now they can rest some and recover from a long 9 week rest free streak of games. So how did they do in this game?

On Offense, the Bucs came out mixing their running game with their passing game. Down 3 points after one big play got the Cardinals into Field Goal range, the offense took their opening possession and took it 77 yards down the field starting out with 3 runs, 3 passes, 1 run, 1 pass (turned into a scramble), 1 run, and a 37 yard pass for a TD. Graham's effectiveness coming out running the ball, allowed the Bucs to get Galloway down the field, even though there was some coverage in the area. There was just enough space that Joey could take the pass away and slip a tackle for the TD. From then on it was all Bucs, despite a stint when both teams punted the ball back and forth. The Bucs eventually began to impose their will on the Cardinals, rushing 46 times for 162 yards (3.5 per). That combined with Garcia's ability to find someone to convert 3rd downs (where Hilliard excelled), allowed the Bucs to chew up a team record 43:07 off the clock. That left the Cardinals potent offense with barely more than one quarter's worth of time to do anything. Even though the Bucs gave up 3 sacks, they typically won the battle at the line of scrimmage. The only are they really struggled was running on the perimeter where the Cardinals used speed to close off the edges. Garcia finished the game with a 96.7 rating hitting 18 of 28 passes for 196 yards and a TD (should have been 19 of 28 and 2 TD's!). Graham, however, was the story of the game, as he was called on to pull most of the load and continued to run with his typical style of finding the hole with vision, getting into the hole, and managing to run through tackles and lean forward to constantly gain that extra 2 or 3 yards on virtually every run. Right now, his ability to constantly get positive yards is keeping the offense from getting in trouble when the running lanes aren't great. In this game, the lanes were there up the middle, and they took advantage of that. There were some stupid penalties (though one false start, called after Trueblood's, appeared to involve no movement at all; i.e. the refs are blind idiots). The last few plays of the game were ridiculous, including when they tried to snap the ball in the victory formation, only to have the Cardinal Nose Tackle hit the ball back towards Galloway. Somehow the refs missed it totally and called a false start on the offense. Go figure. In any case, the offense, except for failing to hit for a couple more TD's (Smith was wide open on the last pass play of the drive that ended with a made field goal), was exceptional and did what they needed to do.

On Defense, the Bucs got something of a break with the offense's performance. The defense only had to play for just 42 plays (compared to the offense's 77). Even for those 42 plays, with the exception of one big play on the opening drive of the game, and a couple of plays during the Cardinal's late TD drive, the defense shut the Cardinals down, and forced 7 punts, and took the ball away twice. Warner finished the day hitting 10 passes on 30 attempts and getting picked off twice; a passer rating of 26.0. Quite frankly, the defense, though it failed to register a sack, harassed and hit Warner all day long, and the Bucs nearly picked off several more passes, and finishing with an incredible 11 passes defensed. Combine that with a stout rush defense by the defensive line, helping the LB's limit James, and the other backs, to a combined 23 yards on 12 attempts. It wasn't pretty for the Cardinals, as the Bucs looked dominant on defense. On several occasions, Warner managed to connect with a receiver for good yardage, only to watch the receiver get separated from the ball. This happened at least 3 times, if not 4, that I can remember off-hand. Needless to say, Jackson and Phillips were playing the head hunter role quite well. What's really amazing is that the LB's hardly had to work, as they only combined for 5 combined tackles. The Defensive Line managed to get 14 tackles combined, which meant that the Cardinals weren't even getting past the line on most plays. On the few they did they were stopped by the LB's or the Safeties. To demonstrate how dominate this group was, the Cardinals got 59 yard on their first drive (47 on one play), and then got 3 total yards on their next 4 drives. They only had 73 yards on their first 7 drives. Then they got 32 (punt), then 85 (TD) then 0 on their last 2 drives. In all, 6 drives with 2 or less yards. Needless to say, the defense had Warner's number, and they shut that offense down. Impressive is hardly a good enough word to use for this performance.

On Special Teams, somebody forgot to keep the "Special" in this team during Field Goals. Bryant missed a 58 yard attempt before the end of the half (which is not something to hold against him), but then, after the Bucs longest and most dominate drive of the season, missed a 26 yard chip shot (only a few yards longer than an extra point!). That failure to score gave the Cardinals a shot in the arm, which they used to score a TD and make it close. The punt returns weren't very good, but the kickoffs were pretty solid behind Spurlock (all 2 of them - 1 kick went for a touchback). The absence of Jones is really hurting the punt returns, as Buchannon kept running around and backwards instead of just firing forward for every yard he could get. The coverage teams were excellent for most of the game. Stovall has become the new Cox on special teams, constantly making the tackle to stop the return. On the last punt of the game, Bidwell dropped a punt around the 16 yards line where the Cardinals' Breaston waited to catch the ball without a fair catch. Just a split second after he caught the ball, before he could even get his head down, Stovall nailed him with a tremendous hit. Quite frankly, the returner was lucky to hold onto the ball. Overall, the effort was solid, but not spectacular as a whole, but there where some great plays mixed in.

The coaching was pretty damn good for almost the whole game. Gruden, unfortunately, had a bad play late in the game by calling for a pass on 1st down 2 drives after the Cardinals' TD. That pass was incomplete to Galloway, stopping the clock and allowing the Cardinals to wait another play before burning their 2nd timeout. As the Bucs failed to pick up the 1st down on two straight run plays after, the Cardinals were able to save at least 40 seconds, using their timeouts to stop the clock and force the punt. That's when the defense came back on the field and performed just as well as they had for almost the entire game. Monte's group was great all day, and finished the Cardinals off by picking off Warner on the first play of the last Cardinals' drive, and did so before it was inside of 2 minutes, and right after they had burned their last timeout, so they couldn't challenge the call (I think the catch was good because there was a divot in the field and the refs could look right at the proof to settle their difference). Monte's troops took it to the Cardinals and held them to just 10 points. Special Teams coaching was mixed as Buchannon just couldn't seem to figure out how to run straight ahead and get what you can, and Bryant missed the chip shot. The coverage units were, however, solid, as was the kick return crew. Overall, despite some stupid mistakes likely caused by a team that hadn't had its BYE yet, the team played very well and dominated. Unlike the past two games, the domination was followed by a W in the W/L column, which makes it much better. Now they can get some rest, heal up, and come back out and take care of the Falcons.

The Talking Plank - Week 9

2007-11-03T21:43:00.000-05:00

The Talking Plank -

Cardinals At Bucs:

With the Bucs having lost 2 straight games, and the BYE week coming up, they hope to end the slide with a win and go into the BYE just in time to get healed up and refreshed for the last 7 games. The Cardinals come in hoping to even up their record. Who will take this contest? Let's find out.

On Offense, the Bucs are currently 17th in offensive yardage (323.6/g), 23rd in points (18.4), 15th passing (216.8/g), and 17th rushing (106.9/g). They'll face a Cardinals defense that's 10th in total yards allowed (304/g), 20th in points (22.4/g), 8th against the pass (195.6/g), and 16th against the run (108.4/g). The Cardinals are also a -7 TO team, a stark difference from the teams the Bucs have played recently. The Cardinals' Defensive line is undersized, save Gabe Watson, whose 332lbs. The Bucs are getting used to facing one big DT, so it's not likely to give Arizona any real advantage. Dockett, who has 6 sacks (2.5 came against Pittsburgh in AZ), is smallish for a DT. If our guards can get there hands on him, they should be able to neutralize him. Even Wade should be able to prevent him from getting through if Watson is requiring his attention. I expect that the Bucs will try to establish the run on either side of Watson, and make the faster guys slow down their rush allowing Garcia time to pick apart the pass defense. While the Cardinals are 8th against the pass, keep in mind only one team they have faced, the Seahawks (281 yards passing against the Cardinals), are in the top half of the league in passing offense. And 3 of the teams they have faced are in the bottom 8 in pass offense. So the numbers may not be all that indicative of what Garcia and Co. will be able to do against them. Galloway will likely have to work hard against Hood, but the Bucs will be able to send out 4 and 5 receivers (includes TE's and RB's) against the Cardinals, and that should allow Garcia to progress through his reads and find someone in a favorable match-up. And much like they tried to do against the Jags, the Bucs will likely try to take advantage of Hood if he tries to squat down on Galloway by going over his head. I like the chances of the Bucs getting it going on the ground and forcing one of the safeties to come up tight and give an additional hole in the secondary. It could be a little tough at times, but the way this offense has been going, I expect them to be able to move the ball, especially if Garcia gets time to throw on a consistent basis and the running game gets good results early. The Cardinals' LB's are solid, but Dansby could be out with a knee injury, and that could be a big impact in the running game. I like the Bucs' chances at putting up some numbers, and hopefully points, against this defense.

On Defense, the Bucs' 8th ranked defense (297.6 y/g), 9th in points allowed (16.8/g), 2nd against the pass (173.1/g), and 22nd against the run (124.5/g), will be preparing to go against a good size offensive line, but not as physical in its play as the Titans and Jags lines that they've recently been up against. The Cardinals' offense comes in 11th in total yards (337/g), 12th in points (21/g), 11th passing (233.9/g), and 19th rushing (103.1/g). They have a solid offense led by Kurt Warner, with a couple of potent receivers in Bolden and Fitzgerald, both of which are more the possession type receiver. The Cardinals' line has also only given up 8 sacks, but their LT, Mike Gandy, may not play, but, if he does, could be hampered by a calf injury. If he's slowed down any, that could be enough for someone like Adams, Carter, White, or Chukwurah (if he plays) to take advantage of and hit Warner a few more times than he would like. The Bucs will have to stop James first, which they should be able to do. After that, the Bucs must prevent the Cardinals' receivers from becoming active. If Kelly can play, and be effective, it will help out tremendously, as the Cardinals like to use a lot of 3 and 4 receiver sets. If they go 5 wide, the Bucs need to blitz on the edge and let their LB's break on the receiver. That will make it hard for Warner to really get it going. The only concern I have in this game is with the Bucs getting to Warner enough to rattle him. If they can, then they'll slow this offense down. If not, it could be a shootout. It should be noted that 4 of the teams they have faced are in the bottom half of the league in sacks, and 2 of the other 3 teams go 2 sacks each. So some of the Cardinals' stats must be taken into context. They've played a weaker schedule than the Bucs, so it will be interesting to see how our defense does against this offense. I think the Bucs will come out and be pretty stout and make it difficult for Warner to really get anything going on a consistent basis. He may have a couple of good drives, but I don't think that he'll be effective all game. I also think Adams will get a sack in this game, as he will be playing a lot more than he has been (probably twice as many snaps), and I think he's finally starting to use setup moves better and putting his hands to better use at the LOS. If the Bucs make the Cardinals one dimensional, it could get ugly.

On Special Teams, the Bucs should have a considerable advantage in the FG game where the Cardinals' kicker has missed 5 attempts, including one inside the 40. The Bucs are also getting slightly better punting out of Bidwell than the Cardinals are getting out of Barr. In the punt return category, the Cardinals are giving up a horrendous 16.1 yards per punt return compared to the Bucs 9.3 yards per attempt allowed. The Cardinals are giving up 25.6 yards per kick return compared to the Bucs 17 yard per attempt allowed. On the flip side, the Cardinals are getting 11.2 yards per punt return, and 22.6 yards per kick return, while the Bucs are getting 9.9 per punt, and 23.3 per kick. The Bucs should be able to win the field position game this time around, and that could be a key component this week as well. Overall, I like our Special Teams over the Cardinals'.

In the end, with the Bucs desperate to end their 2 game losing skid and enter the Bye with a win, and with Garcia's comments that he was "pissed" after last week's game, I expect that the Bucs will come out hitting on all cylinders in this game and go into the BYE 5-4.

Bucs 23 Cardinals 17

Mid-Season Grades

2007-11-02T22:45:00.000-05:00

Time to serve up the mid-season grades on our 4-4 Bucs.

Quarterback:

So far this season, Jeff Garcia has been a potent weapon for this offense. His ability to scramble and keep plays alive, or just break off on a run, makes it tough to defend him. He went 7 games without an interception, and has shown that he can hit the deep ball, giving the Bucs a level of explosiveness not regularly seen here. He continues to be one of the highest rated passers in the league, and he's just starting to really get the offense. Just think about how good he'll be by the end of the season. McCown and Gradkowski have come in for very brief stints, and both have basically sucked, but I won't really hold there performances against the position.

Grade - A

Running Backs:

Carnell Williams started out a little sluggish this season, but had moments where he was getting some good runs. Against the Panthers, he was starting to find a groove and rip off some big runs. Then he tore his patella tendon and he may never be the same. Then Pittman replaced him, only to get injured in the following game against the Colts. At least he'll be back soon. So now the Bucs have Graham and newcomer Bennett. Graham has performed quite well, showing he can both run the ball and catch it. Some of his runs have been displays of valiant effort, even Alstott like at times, always seeming to run guys over for a few more yards. Bennett appears to be a major home run threat that looks to be much more active in the second half. BJ Askew has performed the fullback role nicely, showing he can be a potent receiving weapon. So far this season, the backs have managed to be a factor for most games. Solid effort all around.

Grade - B+

Receivers:

The wide receiver spot has been mixed. Galloway has continued to be a threat, but he also continues to occasionally drop key passes. Hilliard has looked a lot more like the player the Giants drafted, than the quite back-up that has had a hard time justifying extra playing time. Clayton started off slow, but he appeared to be coming back until he got injured. He had been getting a pretty gaudy average per catch. Stovall didn't show enough to get on the field early this season, but then took advantage last week with Clayton out. He caught 5 passes, and appears to be another solid pick-up. Overall, this group has had it's up's and down's. Yet, they have been good enough to be open on a good number of passes, and have caught most, though not all.

Grade - C+

Tight Ends:

Smith has slowly become a target that Garcia looks for this season. His catches have tended to be those critical check down passes. He's managed to do some damage, but then got injured himself when his ankle was rolled up on. Stevens filled in well last week for Smith, and looks to be a potent weapon down the road as he seems to have a knack for getting open deep. Becht hasn't been utilized in the passing game much. Blocking continues to be his forte. This group, overall, has done some good things across the spectrum, and looks to continue to improve with Smith coming back and Stevens starting to get more acclimated to the team.

Grade - B-

Offensive Line:

At Left Tackle, the Bucs started the season with Petitgout, who played quite well in pass pro, and average in the running game. He was greatly responsible for Garcia having a lot of time to throw during the time he was in there. After his was injured Penn stepped in and has done nearly has good a job in pass pro, but seems to be slowly playing at a better level in the running game. Penn seems to have that meanness, and some serious pop at the point of attack. This could be one of the best undrafted FA finds the Bucs have ever had, but time will tell. Sears has manned the LG spot pretty much exclusively and has shown pretty good technique in pass pro. He had a hard time two weeks ago against Rodgers, but he played pretty well last week. His run blocking is solid, and he does have a tendency to really get into guys. Sear will still make mistakes at times, but that's expected from a rookie, and he looks like the real deal, and a long term solution at the LG spot. At Center, the Bucs have an experienced guy, Wade, who gets the line into the right calls on most occasions. Unfortunately, Wade is getting overpowered on a regular basis, and is becoming a liability for Sears and Joseph. When your Center struggles in the middle, the guards have a tendency to try and over compensate to keep the middle closed off, and that has caused some of the problems Sears and Joseph have shown. Speaking of Joseph, who's manned the RG spot all year, his play has been spotty at times. There are plays when he holds up quite well in pass pro, and plays where he just destroys his man on run plays. Then there are times when he becomes a swinging gate in pass pro or doesn't get good push off the line on runs. Daven's play hasn't been as consistent as the Bucs need, though his bad plays are only about 10-15% of all the plays he's in. And, as I mentioned, there are a number of plays where it looks like he tries to overcompensate for Wade getting beat. Trueblood, manning the RT spot, has probably been the most consistent lineman for the Bucs. While he still gives up an occasional head scratcher in pass pro, he's been dominate far more often than not. In run plays, he's consistently putting guys on the ground and has shown the ability to quickly make that block and get to the second level. Trueblood is looking like another definite long term solution at his spot and appears to have passed Joseph in progression. Overall, despite Wade's problems, the offensive line has been pretty solid all year. They've helped the Bucs average 106.9 yards/game on the ground at 4.2 per rush, a far cry over last year's pathetic rushing attack. They've also kept Garcia clean, for the most part, allowing just 12 sacks, and just 1 sack per 19.8 pass attempts. Garcia's scrambling ability has probably saved a few sacks from happening, but the pass protection is clearly much better than the last few years.

Grad - B+

Defensive Line:

Let's start with everybody's consensus bust, Gaines Adams...no...seriously, Adams currently is statistically one of the best ends out of the first round of this draft. He may not be racking up sacks, but he's gotten some pressure, and he's made a lot of tackles for a guy who's only playing roughly 30% of the snaps in games. With Spires injured, we'll likely see a lot more of him. So far he's much better against the run than Rice was, but not as effective against the pass. We'll see if his pass rush improves in the second half. Speaking of Spires, he's been relatively quite, though he does have quite a few tackles, but only one sack (less than Adams who is playing a lot less). Spires just looks like the tank is starting to run on fumes. Carter, despite being shuffled all over the place, is doing a little better with several more tackles and 2 sacks. He's not having quite the pass rushing impact the Bucs would like him to have, but he has racked up quite a few pressures, and has helped the defensive line slow down the running game. Hovan has quite a few tackles, but no sacks, and continues to draw constant double teams. He's doing enough to give the UT spot a lot of one-on-one match-ups. Unfortunately, the UT spot is still not taking full advantage of that. Haye, who is playing a lot at UT, has done a pretty good job getting the rush going, getting 4 sacks and leading the defensive line in tackles. Right now he's on pace for an 8 sack 72 tackle season, which are pretty good numbers for the UT spot. Greg White and Greg Peterson have both come in on spot duty and have managed to each rack up around a dozen tackles and 2 sacks. Thats the equivalent of having another linemen getting over 20 tackles and 4 sacks. Overall, the unit has been pretty strong against the run on most Sundays, but the pass rush hasn't been quite the dominating rush we are used to around here. They still need to pick it up some. It will be interesting to see if Adams, who will get a lot more playing time with Spires injured, will pick up this lines pass rush and start racking up some QB takedowns. I think the possibility is there, and some people may have to call off the "bust" label.

Grade - C+

Linebackers:

Derrick Brooks has looked a lot more like his normal self than the guy who looked washed up last year. He's still missing some plays he would have made a couple of years ago, but he's generally looking quick to the ball and solid in tackling. He hasn't really racked up the picks, however, which is disappointing. Derrick used to be good for a few interceptions in a season. Derrick's tackle numbers put him tied for 5th place in the league, showing that he has, to some degree, returned to form. When Quarles was dumped to make way for Ruud, many were a little perturbed, thinking Ruud couldn't get it done based on some limited plays last year. Well, he's leading the lead in tackles, and has forced quite a few fumbles. His numbers are superior to Tatupu, who some were talking about regretting passing over for Ruud back after the Seattle game. Do you really want Tatupu (currently ranked 29th amongst LB's) over Ruud now? I don't. And it will be a shame if Barrett fails to make the Pro-Bowl this year. Cato June has quietly put up solid numbers this season as the Sam LB. He's not making as many splash plays has he typically does from the Will spot, but that's expected since our defense is designed to try to funnel the play toward the Will. He is, however, occasionally making a big key play in the games. As he continues to grow with this unit, I expect his numbers to increase. But, in reality, he's simply being kept in play until Derrick retires. Black was doing pretty good with Special Teams, but has gotten a little banged up. He really hasn't seen any significant time on defense. Nece has had some spot duty at the Mike, but not enough to really judge his play. Overall, though the LB's continue to have some problems with TE's at times, they are doing a pretty good job against the run and pass, and are one of the reasons why teams are having a hard time consistently moving the ball on us.

Grade - B+

Defensive Backs:

Barber has continued to be a strong corner against the pass. He's so good that most teams aren't challenging him. The Titans tried that strategy and nearly gave him 2 picks. Buchannon has played quite well in Kelly's absence, making it difficult for teams to consistently attack the area of the field he covers. Although he gets burned on occasion, his ability to break on the ball has made it a very risky proposition. Kelly has been a little too limited to really gauge where he's at. Davis, however, has been picking up the time missed as the nickel corner. He's played OK, often making a play, but giving up some plays at time. Phillips has been strong at safety and has been a hitter when he's come up to tackle a running back. Phillips has turned into a head hunter and needs to continue to grow. Jackson, who is the rare rookie starter on this defense, has been playing exceptionally well most of the time. He's been able to come up and put some very vicious hits on some players (ask Dallas Clark if he can count to 10 yet). He looks very good back there, and seems to be finding ways to be in the right spot at the right time. Overall, this unit is the main reason why the pass defense is so good. Since the line can't consistently get pressure, the DB's must keep there coverages sound, and they are doing that far more often than not.

Grade - A-

Special Teams:

Matt Bryant is hitting well into the 80's in accuracy percentage, and his getting some pretty good kickoffs. He's an asset now, and seems poised to give the Bucs the key field goal when needed. Bidwell continues to have another strong season. The punt coverage teams have been so-so, while the kick coverage unit has been exceptional for most of the season. The return game was strong with Mark Jones, but he's on IR now, and someone else needs to step up. The return units were exceptional on kickoffs with Jones back there. Everyone else seems to be struggling a little. Overall, the Special Teams units have been pretty solid for most of the year, though they have had a couple of games where they were a bit off, and it showed.

Grade - B

Coaching:

This team is just that, a TEAM. The unity in the locker room appears to be quite excellent, and that starts up top and trickles down. Gruden has managed to call some pretty good games this year, and seems open to input from Garcia when needed. Monte, on the other hand, has had a couple of games when he's played some very conservative defenses, and simply allowed opponents to move the ball almost at will. He needs to remain aggressive, however, since the defense seems to play much better with that aggressive style than they do with the passive. He also needs to do better with the in-game adjustments, something he used to be much better at than now. Bisaccia's Special Teams units have played very well for most of the season. Now if the unit can be tweaked further to make sure that the bouts of ineffectiveness go away, we could finish the season with one of the better units in the league.

Grade - B

And there you have it. Long and a little late, but here nonetheless. Overall I think the Bucs get a B- for the season so far and have the weakest part of their schedule coming up. Can't wait to see where they are at as the season wines down.

Movement/Players Practice

2007-10-31T20:03:00.000-05:00

With Cox placed on IR, and Lucas released for being ineffective, the Bucs had two spots to fill. They filled one by signing WR Chas Gessner. He was waived injured which meant he was unavailable to us for the first 8 weeks, but could be signed by another team. The Bucs were able to bring him back, though, and he could help the team in the special teams department, as well as being an insurance policy against any more WR injuries.

Furthermore, Smith, Clayton, Pittman, Chuckwurah, and Kelly all managed to practice, though they were limited. Smith and Pittman appear to be the closest to playing this week, but all of these players have a shot at playing this week. Reality is that most will probably be held out until after the Bye. If a couple of them can come on and really help this team out and get a win going into the Bye, it would be a very helpful thing. Irregardless, it looks like all of them should be back for the game at Atlanta by the latest. The Bucs could really use all of these guys.

I will also be putting up a mid-season review tomorrow or Friday, followed by the Talking Plank. So make sure you catch both!

Game Review - Week 8

2007-10-30T20:37:00.000-05:00

I apologize for the late response to the game results. The house is keeping me busy. But let's move on to the disappointment that was another easily winnable game that the Bucs coughed up. This is the second straight week that the Bucs statistically dominated the opponent, but lost the game. The mistakes, once again, did them in.

On Offense, the Bucs moved the ball pretty well against a solid Jags' defense, and did so under a heavy blitz scheme. Despite this fact, the Bucs had receivers running wide open most of the game, and Garcia hit most, but missed on a few key ones. Twice Garcia missed Galloway wide open deep. He also missed Ike wide open deep for what would have been a game winning TD. Garcia was just a little off at times throughout the game, and was under pressure for good portions of it, as Jax kept bringing the blitz. Despite that, the Bucs put up 385 yards of offense, and easily could have put up 450+ yards. The signs of a quickly improving offense are there, but the opponents have been getting better at the same time as their offense, and the result is a little hard to see at the moment. Their opponents, during the 2nd quarter of the season, are 22-6 this season (yes, you read that right). Despite that, the Bucs could very easily be 6-2 right now. The running game was pretty solid, with Graham putting up 62 yards on 14 carries (4.4 per) and Bennett getting 23 yards on 2 carries, including a great bubble screen (ruled a running play) that went 19 yards for a TD. The receivers were constantly beating the Jags aggressive corner play, but some dropped passes, and missed passes by Garcia, led to the team not making quite enough plays on offense to win it. The offensive line is getting a lot of grief, but they actually played OK against a very good DL that had a lot of blitz help. Still, there were breakdowns, and Garcia went down a couple of times. What really killed the Bucs were 3 picks that Garcia threw. One was a great play by a corner, returning it for a TD, another was a poor play by Garcia making a stupid throw to avoid a sack, and the third was a bobbled ball by Ike, getting hit at the right time, that popped up and ended the game. Overall, the offense played well, but needed just one more big play, or one less turnover to win the game.

On Defense, the Bucs initially started the game having problems stopping the running game. They then manned up and forced the Jags to run 44 times to get just 133 yards, with 33 of those yards coming on two plays, (remaining average of runs is 2.4 yard per carry). They also kept Gray from consistently hurting them, but he did manage to connect on some lucky throws twice on the drive that scored the winning points. The defensive line had problems getting to the QB on the plays where he did throw, but they did manage 2 sacks on just 16 pass attempts. One of those could have been a safety or TD when Gray fumbled in the Jags own endzone. The linebackers played well, but Brooks missed a tackle on Greg Jones that could have forced a quicker punt and given the Bucs the ball back with closer to 4 minutes of time left. There were a few running plays where the LB's didn't fill the hole well and didn't get solid tackles, but the effort was pretty solid for much of the night. The DB's played well, but they did allow a couple of plays that should not have happened. I just wish Buchannon would have taken a swipe at Matt Jones' arm when he was hauling in the game winning TD. Would have been a different ending if the Jags had to settle for 3. Overall, the defense held the Jags to just 219 yards and 17 points. Not too bad of a performance in that context.

On Special Teams, the Bucs really struggled at times to cover or to get good returns. The result was that the Jags won the field position battle, which I mentioned would be a big key in this game. Every Jags' score, save the defensive TD, was off a short field. When the Jags had to go the distance, a punt was the likely result. The return game is already missing Mark Jones, and the Bucs may need to find someone else who can fill those shoes. Matt Bryant was solid on kicks, and Bidwell was solid on punts, including a couple of real nice punts that backed the Jags up. The Bucs got killed on a 76 yard punting bomb from the Jags which made it hard on their next to last drive. Overall, the results were mixed. This unit needs to get back to playing as they were during the first part of the season.

Coaching was pretty solid, especially from an offensive standpoint. Gruden's game plan was very good, and had the Jaguars blitzing constantly to try to stop the Bucs. The offense had numerous opportunities to put points up and move the ball around, and managed to capitalized on many of those, but failed on a few. The missed execution by the players was clear in this game, as this game was there for the taking. Defensively, Monte started out with a somewhat soft coverage, and it cost the Bucs an early deficit on the scoreboard. He then made an adjustment, and the Jags had problems moving the ball for the majority of the game after that. Special Teams has been a let down the last two weeks, and coaching needs to improve that. The unit seemed slow and lackadaisical early on in the game, getting down field long after the returner had passed the 20. This unit needed more fire and enthusiasm to perform the way it should have. Overall, the offensive and defensive game plans were pretty solid, and the special teams needed work, but the Bucs had a number of shots to win this game, but the players failed to execute. Hopefully, the staff will help the team get their issues corrected so they can finish the season strong.

The Talking Plank - Week 8

2007-10-27T20:29:00.000-05:00

The Talking Plank -

Jaguars At Bucs:

With the Bucs coming off a disappointing loss to the Lions, and the Jaguars coming off a loss to the Colts on a short week, both teams will be looking to try and get their seasons moving forward again. The Bucs will be trying to defend their home field in a game that they need to win to avoid a losing streak. It's important that they manage to still win with their current injuries and get to the BYE week, where most of their non-IR injured players will be healthy enough to come back. Staying healthy won't be easy against a physical Jaguars team. In a lot of ways, the Jaguars and Titans are almost mirror images, so it's not likely that the Bucs will see anything they aren't used to seeing.

On Offense, the Bucs come in ranked 24th in total yards (314.9/g), 25th in points (17.7/g), 19th in rushing yards (102.7/g), and 18th in passing yards (212.1g). They will be up against the Jags' number 13 defense in total yards (318/g), 2nd in points (14.5/g), 13th in rushing yards allowed (103.8/g), and 17th in passing yards allowed (214.2/g). The Jags come in with one of those big Defensive lines that have historically given the Bucs problems. So far this season, with the exception of last week's game in Detroit, the bigger lines haven't really been very effective against the Bucs. When these teams met in the Pre-Season, the Bucs OL held up well against the Jags DL, which was a welcome change from prior seasons. Stroud has an ankle problem and Heyward has a hamstring issue, so neither will likely be 100% effective. Henderson could be a problem like Rodgers last week, but this defense is coming off the MNF loss, which means a short week to recover. The Jags linebackers have been lacking in the tackle department, and are average in ability, overall. Having said that, the Bucs should be able to find some running room on the edges, away from Stroud and Henderson. If they get out there, then they could beat the Jags LB's, whose 3 starters have just 3 more combined tackles than Ruud alone has. In fact, the Jags leading tackler is Sammy Knight, whose still good in run support, but is starting to get a little long in the tooth in pass coverage. They do have Reggie Nelson back there as well, and he's both good and quick, but he's also a rookie and does make mistakes. I expect guys like Graham and Bennett to be able to abuse the second level a lot, and get to the secondary, where they will have to fight for that extra yardage. If the Bucs can keep the Jags big DL in check, and give Garcia time to throw, the Bucs may be able to hit some home runs in this game, as the Jags play a lot of man coverage. This is a game where we may see Galloway hit a couple of big plays. Of course, the Bucs will need Stovall to step up for Clayton (Doubtful with the high ankle sprain) who was starting to come on the last 3 games. The Jags can be beaten at the intermediate range and deep when the safeties are a little late getting there. I expect the Bucs will have their moments, though I also expect it to be tough sledding for most of the game.

On Defense, the Bucs will be bringing it in physical fashion with their 12 ranked defense in total yards allowed (308.9/g), 5th in points allowed (15.7/g), 21st in rushing yards allowed (123.3/g), and 5th in passing yards allowed (185.6/g). They will face the Jags' 14th ranked offense in yardage (333.7/g), 23rd in points (17.8/g), 3rd in rushing yards (148.5/g), and 26th in passing yards (185.2/g). Just like the Titans, there's very little mystery as to what the Jags will try to do: run the ball. With Garrard out for this game, the Jags don't want to rely on Quinn Gray to beat the Bucs through the air, so they will lean heavily on Taylor and Drew to run the ball against the Bucs. Since Gray is a far lesser threat in the passing game than Garrrard, or Vince Young of the Titans, the Bucs should be able to stuff the box and stop the run. The Bucs shut the Titans' vaunted rushing attack down pretty well, and I expect to see a lot of Cover 3 with the linebackers staying up tight, and a safety coming in to lay the wood on the run. Expect a lot of popping sounds in this game. Without much of a consistent pass threat, the Bucs will likely sell out on the run pretty hard. They will need, however, to watch for draws and screens and try not to take themselves out of the play. I believe the defense will make it extremely difficult for the Jags to sustain drives, and may force Gray into a pick or two. Even though he just saw a similar defense, Gray has very little time to study up for the Bucs, with the short week, and Monte is likely to try to throw a lot of motion and disguises at Gray, hoping he'll make a bad mistake. In the end, I don't see the Jags scoring very many points unless the Bucs' defense just has a bad tackling day and/or doesn't commit to stopping the run.

On Special Teams, the Bucs will have to make do without Mark Jones, who had been having an excellent season, cut short by a patella tendon tear, similar to Caddy's, being subsequently placed on IR. Now the Bucs will have to go back to using a committee of players to return punts and kicks. Cox is likely to be the main guy on kicks, and Hilliard and Buchanon are likely to share the punt duties depending on the situation. Cox is likely to be able to hold up the kick return average, but the punt return average could slip. The Jags are only allowing 8.8 yards per punt return and 18 yards per kick return. The Bucs are allowing 9.1 yards per punt return, and just 16.3 yards per kick return. The Jags are using Northcutt to return punts, getting just 7.1 per return, and Drew for kick returns, where they are getting 28.4 yards per return from him. Both players are starters, and the Bucs special teams units will likely try to hit these guys hard and make it a little tougher for them to impact the game on offense. The Jags have Carney kicking for them, but he's failed to nail anything outside of 40 yards. Podlesh is a solid punter. Right now both teams appear to be fairly even in the kicking and punting departments, though Bryant may currently have the edge in the longer field goal attempts. Field position is going to be huge in this game, and the Bucs should be able to have the edge here, and they'll need it to shorten the field for their offense.

Overall, with the Jags coming in with a poor QB position, and playing the Bucs off a short week at Raymond James, I expect the Bucs to be fresher and to match the Jags in the physical play department. Another defensive battle is likely, with the Bucs edging out the visiting Jags.

Bucs 13 Jags 10

WR Chad Lucas Brought Up

2007-10-23T20:21:00.000-05:00

In an effort to replace Mark Jones, who is now on IR, and Mike Clayton, who is out until after the BYE with a high ankle sprain, the Bucs elevated Chad Lucas to the 53 man roster. The Bucs only have 4 healthy receivers right now, though Bennett could probably be used out there in a pinch on some of the routes.

We'll see if his chance to shine shows up on game day. The one area hit hardest by the loss of Jones is kick and punt returns, where Jones was in the top third of the league. Lucas is not likely to be the return guy. He's more likely to be a back-up receiver. We'll see just who, exactly, the Bucs end up putting in the return spot.

Game Review - Week 7

2007-10-23T19:44:00.001-05:00

Well, as I mentioned yesterday, this was a game the Bucs basically could have walked away with. Instead they flubbed their way to a loss. So let's review how the team performed overall.

On Offense, the Bucs were able to consistently move the ball. In fact, Bidwell only punted twice. Graham was tearing the Lions' defense up all game long finishing with 191 total yards, with 92 on 19 carries (4.8 yards per), and 13 receptions for 99 yards. His effort, combined with Garcia's 37 of 45 (82%) for 316 yards, allowed the Bucs to put together a couple of very long drives and get the ball to within scoring range 4 times. Unfortunately, on one drive a bad penalty moved the ball back from within redzone where the Bucs would end up missing a field goal. They later had a very long drive that got down to the one yard line, only to cough the ball up on the Center-QB exchange. The Bucs also had another solid drive that had a fumble near mid-field on the hand off from Garcia to Graham. Hilliard had another strong game. Galloway had some nice intermediate catches. And Clayton had a nice 20 yard catch, only to get hit while being held down on his knee by another tackler. That hit is going to cost Clayton a couple of weeks with a high ankle sprain. Unfortunately, the blatantly unnecessary hit went unpunished on the field. Bennett came in and had a couple of good runs including the 18 yard burst that nearly went into the endzone. That run would have been better if he made it one more yard into the endzone, as the game turned for good when, on the next play, the previously mentioned fumble happened. Overall, the offense moved the ball very effectively and showed that this offense can really move it on the lesser defenses, and do so nearly at will. Unfortunately, when you make the mistakes that they made, you usually end up losing a game you could have won.

On Defense, the Bucs played passively again. I don't know what Monte is thinking, but the prevent seems to be en vogue with him this past 3 weeks. We saw this defensive style get us beat against the Colts, and the results were similar against the Lions. The Lions were able to run on us. A team averaging 72 yards per game was able to do what the potent rushing attack of the Titans could not. Why? When you decide to just keep your back 7 in the secondary for some unreasonable fear of Detroit's passing weapons, the middle is going to be soft because your Mike is backing up, and your safeties are staying deep. The Bucs have had much better success coming up tight with the LB's and bringing a safety up to pound the backs. Since the pass rush is still not where it needs to be, this strategy is death. Kitna completed 80% of his passes (16 of 20) with no picks. Now that just shouldn't happen. The Bucs gave him way too much time to throw. While the Bucs did manage 3 sacks on him (Haye 1, White 1, Hovan 0.5, Carter 0.5), they failed to consistently rattle his cage. And Kitna is a guy that you can rattle. It was frustrating to say the least. The result of the defensive scheme was pretty obvious. Even Ruud only had 4 tackles in the game. The gang tackling wasn't there due to everyone basically bailing into the secondary. Jackson and Phillips had pretty good games, as did Barber, but Buchannon had a bit of a hard time dealing with Calvin Johnson. What really epitomized this defensive scheme was the 93 yard TD drive that came after the Bucs fumbled on the 1. The defense got the Lions into 3rd and long, then backed off into prevent and allowed them to get a first down and get out of the hole. From there, the Bucs seemed to play prevent the rest of the way and the result was the game winning TD. If the Bucs defense had forced a punt there, the offense would have had excellent field position, and a much better chance of getting us back in the game. Overall, the passive scheme killed us once again, and it showed. Please Monte, for the love of God, shelve the prevent and STAY AGGRESSIVE!!

On Special Teams, Mark Jones was able to return a couple of kicks early before getting injured, which had an effect on our kick and punt return capabilities. The other guys didn't get the same results and field position starts suffered. The biggest plays that killed this unit were the blocked punt, which set up the Lions' first points, and the missed field goal which would have made it a 3 point game and could have been crucial to turning the game in our favor. That FG miss came after a very long offensive drive, making it all for not. The coverage teams only had to cover a couple of kick offs, and did OK, allowing a 27 yarder on one play, but only a 17 yarder on another. The one area that the Special Teams did good in was the onsides kick that was setup and executed beautifully. Bryant smash kicked it right at the Lions and the ball popped up into the air for Cox to recover. They tried a second one with a deep squib kick to Cox's side, but it was about 10 yards to deep, and Cox just couldn't quite beat a Lions player to the ball. Overall, it was a mixed afternoon. An executed punt, and a made field goal could have swung the game by 6 points, and who knows.

Coaching was solid on offense, as the Bucs came in with an excellent offensive game plan. Gruden's offense tore through the Lions consistently with the help of Garcia and Graham. But some of the worst penalties occurred on offense, and that hindered the Bucs ability to actually finish drives with scores. Monte's coaching was something I was not too hot on. The scheme implemented in this game, much like against the Colts, is too soft and passive. The Bucs have yet to show they can get it done playing that way, and I really don't understand Monte's thinking. Did he really fear the Lions that much? I mean, why we weren't blitzing Kitna on every pass play, and keeping the Mike in tight for run support, is beyond me. Let your guys play up on the line and use their speed to back off if it turns into a pass. Don't line them up 8 yards off the receiver and let the other team play catch! Special Teams were a mixed bag, and Bisaccia needs to correct the problem plays and keep the team running everything else well. Overall, the coaching was mixed. The one coach you usually depend on coming to the game with the right plan, once again had the wrong plan. Hopefully the Bucs offense can come to play again next week, minus the mistakes, and the defense can join them with some hard hitting physical play at the line.

Bucs Give Generously In 16-23 Loss

2007-10-22T19:24:00.000-05:00

Well, what can you say about that game? I'll do a full game review tomorrow, but it's clear which team is better of the two. The Bucs dominated the Lions in all but the most important stat: the score. A blocked punt, a bad penalty that led to a missed field goal, a fumble on a hand off during an impressive drive, and another fumble at the Center-QB exchange when it's first and goal at the one all conspired to doom the Bucs.

Quite frankly, if not for actually losing this game, I would be thoroughly impressed with what the Bucs did on offense. The defense was up and down, and allowed too much time for Kitna to throw, and allowed too many yards on the ground. Despite that, the Bucs should have thrashed the Lions. Had they not had those 4 key miscues, the Bucs likely would have scored in the 30's and eliminated half of the Lion's scoring. Unfortunately, they gave away a game they should have won, and now must face a very tough Jags team, which will, thankfully, be coming off of a Monday Night Football game (tonight versus the Colts). Hopefully they'll come in a little sluggish and the Bucs can get another tough win and take care of Arizona the following week and enjoy the BYE week.

Graham was impressive in this game, falling just 9 yards shy of 200 all-purpose yards. Bennett was highly limited in his action, but, on just one play, he showed his homerun capability when he burst straight down the middle of the field and nearly made it to the endzone. It's unfortunate that he didn't make it, because then the fumble would not have happened, and the Bucs would likely have won that game.

Ugh, is about all I can say.

The Talking Plank - Week 7

2007-10-19T22:51:00.000-05:00

The Talking Plank -

Bucs At Lions:

With the Bucs off to a solid start at 4-2, and having managed to beat a physical Titans team, the Bucs now go on the road to face a Lions team that isn't nearly as physical. The Lions are, in my opinion, a somewhat soft team. They have 3 wins, but you look at two of their losses to the Eagles and Redskins and you see that they can be blown out, though both of those were on the road. The Bucs are 1-2 on the road and 3-0 at home, while the Lions have won their 2 home games and one on the road. So what can we expect?

On Offense, the Bucs, 23rd in points (18/g), 25th total offense (297y/g), 22nd passing (197.8y/g), and 19th rushing (99.1y/g), will be facing one of the worst defenses in the league. The Lions are 31st in points allowed (31/g), 29th in total offense (378.6y/g), 30th against the pass (263.6y/g), and 17th against the run (115y/g). Teams have exploited the Lions poor secondary and it's inability to stop the running game and its lack of pass rush (14 sacks). The Lions are also allowing 47.8% of third downs to be converted against them. This is leading to a team that will have a lot of difficulties making Garcia uncomfortable or stopping his receivers from getting open. Galloway should be able to take advantage of the intermediate middle of the field, and Garcia should have time to find him or someone else getting open deeper down the field. The Lions may give up on the run and try to blitz and rush hard, but if they do, they will be susceptible to screens and draws, two plays you can bet that the Bucs have been getting Bennett ready to run, as he can burn them big with those plays. The Bucs should be able to get some good rushing lanes opened up against this defensive line, which hasn't been all that impressive against the run. The key will be getting a hat on the Lions' decent linebackers, especially Ernie Sims. If they can do that, then Graham and Bennett should have some opportunities to get some quality runs. The Lions don't have the very light very fast DL of Indy, and they don't have the mountains like the Titans, so we should see a much better effort in the run game. I fully expect the Bucs to put up some serious points on this defense. They've throttled weaker defenses all year long, and I don't expect that to change now.

On Defense, the Bucs are currently 5th in points allowed (14.5/g), 12 in total defense (314y.g), 8th against the pass (194.7y/g), and 21st against the run (119.3y/g). They will face the Lions 9th scoring offense (23.4/g), 14th total (338.6y/g), 5th passing (265.4y/g), and 31st rushing (73.2y/g). Teams have been attacking the Bucs consistently on the ground because of the play of the secondary. This has had limited success with really the Colts being the only team that did it consistently as they were able to hit the throws underneath all game long and get good rushing yards. The Lions are a pass first team, however, and one whose scheme is well known to the Bucs, and has been well defended through the years with only one bad game (the MNF game against the Rams in 2000). Martz's offense will find it difficult to be effective against this back 7, which has really only allowed success with the short dump off passes. Martz wants to go long or intermediate most of the time, and with the Lions giving up 28 sacks in 5 games, Kitna will find it hard to stay upright against a Bucs' DL that has been getting to the QB more and more each week, including 3 sacks against a very solid Titans' OL. Kitna's already thrown 6 picks so far, and the Lions are only converting 28% of their 3rd downs. This offense will likely have a very long day against the Bucs unless they can use their size advantage against the DB's. The Lions have a hard time sustaining runs, and the Bucs aren't exactly an easy team to run on (see the Titans). I can see 4 sacks and a number of picks, or at least opportunities for them, in this game. If that happens, it could get ugly for the Lions.

On Special Teams, the Bucs and Lions are both solid at the Kicker and Punter positions, though Hansen has been a little shaky so far this season. The punt return teams are both returning around 10 yards per punt, while the Bucs kick returns are getting 25.1 yards per return, and the Lions are getting 23.7 per. The coverage teams are different, however. The Lions are allowing 13.1 and 26.5 yards per punt and kick return, while the Bucs are allowing 9.1 and just 15.8 per punt and kick return. The Lions have both gotten and given up a TD on kicks, which bodes well for the Bucs' kick return game. This is another game where Jones will have a shot to take one back, which he only got once last week, due to touchbacks, and had a big return against the Titans. If Hansen's kicks are returnable, Jones might have a big day. This unit should give the Bucs' offense good field position all game long.

Overall, I expect the Bucs to go in there and win this game. It might be easy, but the Lions usually find a way to play us real tough. Having Marinelli and Barry across the field will make it a little tougher, though a good number of our players weren't here last year, and more weren't here when Rod was last here in 2005. If the Bucs play like they are capable of, going up there determined to play hard and with few mistakes, they will win the game, and could win it big. I expect some mistakes though, and a tighter score than I would like.

Bucs 24 Lions 17

Bucs Sign RB Michael Bennett

2007-10-16T18:16:00.000-05:00

The Bucs ponied up a conditional 2nr round pick for Bennett, a guy known as one of the fastest players in the NFL, and someone that burned the Bucs on an 85 yard TD run back in 2002. During that year, when he was the Vikings' primary back, he rushed 255 times for 1296 yards, 5.1 per pop. He's typically been a guy that consistently gets good yardage, then pops a big one. He's a home run hitter who can also receive, as evidenced by his 145 career receptions for 1164 yards in 6 and a quarter seasons. His career rushing numbers are 769 carries for 3426 yards (4.45 yards/att).

Bennett will bring the Bucs a guy who has good vision and burst to the hole. Graham had some problems getting to the hole quick enough to eek out some yards, allowing the quick Titans' defense to close the hole before he could get started. Bennett provides that high speed 0-40 time that allows him to squirt through brief holes and still pick up yards. When he gets into the secondary, he's tough to stop, and even tougher to catch from behind. Now, Graham believes that he's shaking off the rust, and he'll likely get more chances to prove that, but Bennett will provide the Bucs with the threat they need in the running game, especially the type that will burn an overly aggressive defense on draws and screens. That will help slow the rush down and keep Garcia alive. I like the pick-up and look forward to seeing him on the field. The big question now will be how soon can he get integrated into the Bucs' offense? We shall see.

Game Review - Week 6

2007-10-16T18:11:00.000-05:00

As I stated in my Talking Plank, this was going to be a defensive battle, but one I felt the Bucs could pull off, which they did. I even managed to nail the score (maybe I should buy a lotto ticket this week!). While it wasn't the prettiest win, and in fact reminded me of many an old Bucs ugly win during the late 90's, it's a win nonetheless, and the Bucs are now 4-2. With the win they guaranteed that they could do no worse than last year by matching last year's win total.

On Offense, the Bucs had trouble, as expected, running the ball against a great run defense. Graham failed to get anything significant going, averaging under 3 yards per carry, but he did have some timely runs that got first downs, including one at the end of the first half that got the Bucs out of the endzone area and kept them from having to punt the ball back to the Titans. Overall, the running game was virtually non-existent. The passing game, however, was pretty effective for most of the game, though Garcia did get pressured at times. He managed to hit Galloway for yet another 69 yard TD catch, which allowed the Bucs to go up 10-3 and stay in front (they never trailed in this game). He also had an outstanding last minute drive, hitting Hilliard for a huge gain on 3rd and 10 to keep the drive going, and then hit Hilliard a few plays later to get the ball to the spot from which the winning kick was hit. Galloway and Hilliard continue to make big plays. What was nice was to see Clayton catch a couple of big first down's, with one coming early to keep a drive alive with a nice 14 yard catch and run. Then he had a big 39 yard reception to get the Bucs in scoring range. A nicer pass from Garcia, who was pressured on the throw, would have likely led to a TD as Clayton had to slow down for the ball. The offensive line protected Garcia pretty well for much of the game, but did have a few breakdowns that led to Garcia having to scramble. The running holes weren't as numerous as they needed to be, but there were times they opened holes but Graham wasn't quick enough to take advantage before the Titans closed them up. The offense won the first half of this game, but failed to stay on the field during the second half, allowing the Titans to reverse the time advantage greatly in their favor. Overall, the offense made plays when they needed them the most and scored enough points to win the game.

On Defense, the Bucs held the Titans' vaunted rushing game to just 96 total yards and around 3 yards per carry. The Bucs really never let the Titans hit any big plays in the running game, and showed that this team has, in general, become a much more physical team in the trenches than years past. Unfortunately, the pass rush is still not where it needs to be to consistently force the opposing QB into bad decisions. It needs to get better and more consistent. The pass rush has been getting noticeably better every week, though, and did manage to pick up 3 sacks against a team that had only allowed 5 sacks coming in. Adams managed to get his first sack while running in front of Young who ran into his running back and fell. Adams may have gotten the sack anyways, but he got the help and is now off the snide. The line as a whole played excellent against the run with Adams getting 5 tackles, and Haye getting 10. Haye also got a sack in the game. The linebackers were once agains pretty solid in run support, but continue to struggle at times with the Tight Ends. Ruud led the team in tackles again. The secondary was hot and cold. At times the Titans had nowhere to go, but then, especially during the second half, the secondary started giving up third and long plays again, allowing the Titans to move the ball down the field. That needs to end, and end soon. Ronde nearly picked off two passes, and had a fumble recovery but tried to pick it up and run and had it knocked out of his hands for a Titans' recovery. Jackson brought a few more big hits, including one that stopped Brown in his tracks. Buchannon picked off a pass where his right foot was right at the line (if you watch his toe pivot up onto the toe, you can see that his foot had to be inbounds because the lower portion of the tip of his toe was right there on the edge of the sideline). Overall, the defense was physical and managed to hold up well despite the long second half where they were on the field for over 20 minutes.

On Special Teams, the Bucs had a decent kickoff return in the second half that went nowhere on offense, and the punt returns were limited. The punt and kick coverage was outstanding, for the most part. Bryant nailed his kicks, including the game winner. Bidwell punted well and kept the Titans from getting great field position. Overall a solid effort, though two kickoff's for touchbacks limited Jones' ability to burn a poor kick coverage unit for the Titans.

Coaching was solid, but not spectacular. Gruden needs to find a way to get the running game going, and that may take our new running back (Michael Bennett). The Bucs can't continue to play with this type of running game. They need to at least be in the 80's or 90's to keep Garcia from getting killed. The passing game was effective though and Gruden's play-calling and Garcia's audibles and execution made difference. Monte's defense played well for most of the game but got winded late as they had problems stopping the third and long pass plays. That's a problem he needs to get resolved. The defense that they are running in those situations is not good enough, and needs to be changed. You can't keep stuffing teams for 2 plays then giving up a 3rd and long, and letting the team chew up 7, 8 , or 9 minutes of clock time. Special teams were well coached and played well. There weren't a lot of good opportunities for returns with all of the touchbacks, so it's hard to say just how good they could have been. Overall, it was a solid team effort that managed to get the job done, and once again do it without committing a ton of penalties.

The Talking Plank - Week 6

2007-10-13T09:53:00.000-05:00

The Talking Plank -

Titans At Bucs:

After a horrendous loss at Indy, the Bucs return home hoping to return to the type of play that got them to 3-1 before last week's loss. The Titans, are coming to town having managed to hold off against the pathetic Falcons. With the Bucs in the midst of their toughest stretch of 4 games against 4 teams with winning records. If the Bucs can get through this quarter with at least 2 wins, they'll be in great shape heading into the second half of the season. So let's look at the prospects of this game.

On Offense, the Bucs, ranked 25th (295.6 y/g) in total yards, 20th in points (19/g), 15th rushing (113 y/g) and 26th passing (182.6 y/g), are hoping to rebound from a bad showing against the Colts' defense. The Titans' defense is ranked 5th (275.8 y/g), 3rd against the run (72.2 y/g), 10th against the pass (203.5 y/g), and 6th in points allowed (14.8/g). This is a tough defense to play, but they have a so-so secondary and a poor pass rush. Their main strength is stopping the run, which is primarily a product of Haynesworth in the middle. He will, however, be on an ankle that kept him out of practice for most of the week, which means he may have trouble planting and driving against our o-line and in stopping our backs. The Bucs will have to, clearly, attack the Titans through the air and take advantage of the talent and size advantage that they have against the secondary. This is a game that Galloway may be able to get free in, and expect the third receiver, whether Clayton or Stovall, to have a chance to make an impact. Garcia should be able to set up and pass with a lot more time than last week, unless Haynesworth becomes difficult to stop in the middle. If the Bucs can hit some big passes and force the Titans to back off the line in an effort to slow the passing game, then the Bucs should be able to get some running going with a running by committee approach. It's hard to say which back will make the biggest impact, but someone will need to step up and take advantage of any holes the line creates. Whether or not the Bucs can get a consistent ground game going is the biggest question mark with Pittman and Caddy out. If Haynesworth has problem generating leverage off his foot, and the Bucs' passing game hits some big plays, the running game could open up for the Bucs. The rest of the Titans' defensive line is average in size and can be pushed around if our offensive line is aggressive and getting off the line. The Titans don't have the speed that the Colts had so we'll see if the line can play more like it did the first 4 weeks of the season. While I think the offense will struggle at times, I think it will hit enough plays in the passing game to allow the team to move the ball and score.

On Defense, the Bucs dropped in rank down to 12th overall (313.4 y/g), 8th in points (15.4/g), 22nd against the run (124 y/g), and 9th against the pass (189.4 y/g). The Titans' offense comes in ranked 24th overall (299 y/g), 16th in points (21/g), 4th rushing (153.2 y/g), and 30th passing (145.8 y/g). The Titans are all about the run with their big backs Brown and White, and with Young running from the QB position. Young is sort of a smarter, more accurate Vick, though he hasn't had to deal with a lot of pressure. When you can run as often as the Titans do, you can generally keep the game out of the hands of their young QB. The Tampa 2 scheme gave Young a lot of fits when he played Indy. If the Bucs can limit the running game and force Young to try to beat them in the passing game, then the Bucs will have an excellent chance at beating the Titans. This could be the game where Adams finally gets to the QB, as he should have a distinct speed advantage against both the left and right Tackles. The Bucs need to maintain a steady pass rush without giving up the running lanes for Young to scramble out of trouble. They'll be unlikely to have to deal with Young a lot, however, if they can't stop the running game. This may be a good game for Trotter to come in and get his feet wet, as he can hold up very well against the bigger backs. If the Bucs do slow down the run and force Young to beat them in the passing game, the Bucs should be able to deal with the Titans' receivers, with Moulds past his prime, and Brandon Jones opposite him. The Tight Ends aren't very active in the passing game either. Even without Kelly, the Bucs have the DB's to deal with these threats, so long as they don't play a passive, back off style that they did last week. If the Bucs slow the run down, it should be a long day for the Titans' offense. I think the Bucs will have some issues against the run at times, and shut them down at others. If the Bucs' offense can stay on the field, or hit some big plays to run the score up, they'll be able to handle this offense. If not, it could be along day for our defense.

On Special Teams, the Bucs come in off a sub par week in which their coverage teams were a little soft at times, and which their return teams on had a couple of decent returns amongst many chances. The Bucs are still a very good return and coverage team, and the Titans have a good punt return and punt coverage team, as well as a good kick return team. Their kick coverage isn't very good at all, however, allowing over 30 yards per return (even allowing 27 per return when the 76 yarder is removed from the stats). This could be one of those opportunities where Jones might be able to break a very long kick return, and maybe even have a shot at taking it the distance. The return game will be crucial for the Bucs. The Bucs have a better kicker and punter and that could be a huge difference in a game that looks to be a big defensive battle.

In the end, I think the Bucs will be fired up and ready to come out playing lights out after having been embarrassed by last weeks pitiful effort. The home field advantage will also come into play in this game, and I see the Bucs pulling out the win in a defensive slug fest.

Bucs 13 Titans 10

Game Review - Week 5

2007-10-09T20:52:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned yesterday, this game was ugly. The Bucs traveled up to Indy and came in and played scared. They played not too lose, instead of playing to win, as they had the last 4 weeks. Hopefully, this game will be a reminder to this team, and coaching staff, of what happens when you play not too lose in the NFL.

On Offense, the Bucs got the ball first, but the middle of the offensive line had huge problems initially dealing with the speed of the Colts DL. The OL should have been able to get on them and knock them on their way undersized butts, but they weren't aggressive in their blocks and allowed way too much penetration. The result was a running game that never had a chance to get going and pound the Colts, as it should have, and an over-reliance in the passing game to try and get back into the game. After the initial issues, and an early sack, the offensive line settled down and began to pass block like normal, and even started to open some holes in the running game. By then, however, it was too late to get the running game going, and Garcia was trying to get us back into the game via the air, which he briefly did. Garcia actually finished with solid numbers and a passer rating in the 120's, higher than Manning's 101. Galloway dropped a couple of passes, and the connection just seemed to be off. Garcia almost connected with Galloway on a play that would have gotten the Bucs into the lead due to the extra point block against the Colts. But it was not to be, as the offense only managed 177 yards of offense, a whopping 17 on the ground. The failure to come out swinging hard early cost them dearly in this game.

On Defense, the Bucs, for whatever reason, decided to come out with a soft cover 2 scheme, basically designed to force Mannning to move the ball slowly and methodically. It worked, except for the fact that Manning only really made one mistake in the game and scored TD's on virtually every drive. The defense didn't play anything like it had during the first 4 weeks except for a brief period when Jackson killed Clark, then picked off Manning shortly after. That brief return of the aggressive Bucs defense allowed the offense to get on the field, score a TD, and start to make it a game. Only, the defense decided to keep playing like pansies with that soft coverage crap. Quite frankly I'm amazed Monte didn't switch up and just go for it and press the receivers hard and give his line an extra second or two to get to Manning. Instead, it was pitch and catch. Adams actually played well, making some plays, including hitting Manning just as he got rid of the ball. The pass was completed, but Adams nearly got Manning on a number of occasions, and seemed to be the most determined DL during this game. The tackling wasn't very good against the run either, but a lot of that can be attributed to the length of time the defense was on the field. Some of which is their fault; some of which is the offenses. I will say this, after the first offensive 3 and out, the defense allowed the Colts to run a very long drive, and did it again after the next offensive series. Nothing makes it harder for an offense to find some rhythm than to be sitting on the bench for 7-8 minutes in between drives. I sincerely hope that this is the last time we see this soft cover 2 and we see a return to the aggressive flying defense of the past 4 weeks.

On Special Teams, this unit had some problems containing the Colts on kick and punt returns, allowing a couple of big returns which made it difficult on the defense. The return units also failed to deliver the consistently big returns that they had provided the past 3 weeks. While Jones did manage a couple of solid returns, most were short, and the Bucs drive starts were consistently deep in their own territory, which didn't help them in their struggles. The kick block team was excellent, blocking an extra point attempt, and nearly blocking two more kick attempts, including the late field goal by the Colts. They showed good penetration. Punting was solid, and kickoffs were good. Bryant did not attempt a field goal.

Coaching was not as good as you would like. The entire team seemed flat...playing scared for most of the game, and the adjustment in their play never came. Gruden never got his offense into a rhythm and had to abandon the run. Monte's defense had a plan, but it was passive and it killed us, and he never adjusted what we were doing, despite the fact that we had corners that were more than capable of pressing the receivers they were playing. And Bisaccia's unit played OK in spots, but didn't provide the consistent return game the Bucs needed to shorten the field and allow the offense to better apply the pressure to the Colts' defense. This was an all-around letdown. I think we will see a fired up team this weekend, though, and I expect them to rebound with a win.

Bucs Knocked Silly By Colts 14-33

2007-10-08T19:42:00.000-05:00

That was an ugly game. I'll try to get a Game Review up tomorrow, but in general what I saw was not so much a huge disparity in talent, as the score and stats suggest. No. It's more so the mindset that the entire team seem to have when they went in there. They played scared in all 3 phases of the game, and the result was horrendous. There was a moment when the Bucs nearly jumped back in, and even had a shot to put themselves up ahead thanks to the blocked extra point. But Garcia and Galloway fail to connect and then the Colts get another score, and the game's over.

It was disappointing to see the Bucs lack the fire they played with the last two weeks. Of course, it's likely, in my mind, that they will come back this weekend and play fired up and hit like crazy. Unfortunately, they'll have to do it without Pittman, who has a 6-8 week ankle injury. The Bucs will need to get production out of Graham and Darby, and will likely try to bring another back in. Hopefully, this won't kill the Bucs' offense. I don't think it will, but running is going to be a little tougher. Of course, Darby may give a bit of a surprise if he runs the ball some. Who knows?

This game is one of those games where the lack of experience on the field really hindered this team. It's the type of game you know can happen to a young team, but expect to see few of as they progress through the season. If the Bucs win the next 3 games, they'll be in great shape. They do need to win at least one or two to keep from getting out of the race. The back half is the easiest part of the schedule, by far, so the Bucs need to take advantage of their start and get some more wins during the hard part to put them in great position for the rest of the year.