Tampa Bay Bucs- New Orleans Saints: Saints Get a Freebie, Blast Bucs

Sooner or later it was going to happen. It’s happened to Drew Brees. It’s happened to Peyton Manning. It’s been happening to Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Mark Sanchez, and Matt Stafford.

Josh Freeman had a horrible Sunday, accounting for four turnovers (three interceptions) in the Saints’ 38-7 demolition of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Freeman was inaccurate for the majority of the ballgame, missing several open receivers and throwing off the mark that led to costly turnovers—something you just can’t do and hope to upset one of the best teams in the NFL.

The fumble bug raised its ugly head again for Josh, as instead of throwing the ball away or at least tucking it away, Freeman was hit from behind and fumbled for the sixth time in three games, setting up a third quarter New Orleans score that all but erased any thoughts the Bucs had of pulling off the upset.

It wasn’t all on Freeman. In fact, Freeman gave the Bucs an early lead, leading them on an impressive 95-yard opening drive that culminated with a sizzling 18-yard touchdown pass to Michael “Hands of Stone” Clayton.

The Bucs’ defense actually played pretty well for 25 minutes of the game, limiting New Orleans to one score and forcing the high-powered Saints to punt four times.

A Freeman pick would set up the Saints for a field goal, then after a three-and-out by the Bucs’ offense, Drew Brees showed the Bucs why he’s Drew Brees, marching the Saints 63 yards in five plays for a touchdown and a 17-7 halftime lead.

Freeman would turn the ball over twice in the third quarter, and it was pretty much over from there, as the Saints would add another two touchdowns to their lead.

For perhaps the first time this season, I saw a little quit in the Bucs’ defense.

As the Bucs’ offense continued to struggle, the Saints marched 82 yards in 13 plays, most of which came on the ground where gaping holes greeted running back Mike Bell.

Raheem Morris said earlier in the week that the Bucs just don’t have the players on the defensive line to compete on a regular basis. The players he did have decided to mail in the second half after the Saints got up 24-7.

To his credit, Morris didn’t just leave the blame on his players this time.

“That was a total team loss,” Morris told the Tampa Tribune . “Players, coaching staff, everybody. We lost that together.”

If you hear Jeremy Shockey tell it, maybe it’s more about coaching than anything.

“Let’s face it, these are not the Jon Gruden-coached Tampa Bay Buccaneers that we’re used to,” Shockey said. “No offense to Tampa.”

While the Bucs may miss the coaching prowess of Gruden, they at least have a quarterback to put their hopes on.

Unfortunately, it was a tough lesson for young Josh Freeman in his third NFL start. A 33.1 QB Rating is not good. Bucs fans can take heart that it’s a right of passage in the NFL, that third and fourth start.

Teams have some film on you, they’re beginning to figure out what you do well and what you don’t. They will take away your good things and focus on your bad tendencies.

Drew Brees had a 58.1 rating in his third career start. Peyton Manning threw 11 interceptions in his first four games. Mark Sanchez tossed three picks in start No. 4 (Sanchez, in start No. 10, tossed four picks today). Matt Stafford threw three picks in start No. 3.

The good ones adjust to what defenses are doing against them, shake off the bad performance and improve. The bad ones never recover and fade away.

“It was just a hair off,” Freeman said, “I felt confident throwing the ball; it was just one of those days. An off day.”

So, yes, this is one where Josh Freeman will want to learn what he did wrong, then put it out of his memory bank.

For the Buccaneers, it was definitely one to forget.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers-New Orleans Saints Preview: A Puncher’s Chance

A few weeks ago, the thought of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beating the mighty New Orleans Saints was unthinkable, even to the most kool-aid drinking fans.

It’s amazing what a few weeks can change, isn’t it?

With significant injuries to their secondary and perhaps losing a little bit of focus, the undefeated Saints have had to rally from behind in three of their last four games and had a close call with another of the Bucs’ fellow 1-8 teams, the St. Louis Rams.

Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers seem to have a new hope and have risen from the dead behind rookie first round quarterback Josh Freeman.

Under Freeman, the Bucs beat the Green Bay Packers and nearly pulled off another victory over the Miami Dolphins.

Across the league, the team is beginning to be noticed as one that might be finally coming around at at least be more competitive game in and game out.

Can the Buccaneers find a way to shock the league and end the Saints undefeated run?

It’s happened before.

Back in 1998, the 7-0 and heavily favored Minnesota Vikings came in to Tampa to face a struggling Bucs team. The Bucs smashed the Vikings that day, the only loss of the season for Minnesota–until the NFC Championship game, that is.

This Bucs team believes anything can happen and with Freeman, they have a chance.

Series

New Orleans leads the series 20-14 but the Buccaneers have won three of their last four meetings, including a 23-20 win over the Saints in their last meeting.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Passing Attack against New Orleans Saints Pass Defense

One of the reasons the Saints are undefeated after nine NFL games is their improved defense. The defense has taken some losses in the injury department in recent weeks, losing both starting corners and strong saftey Darren Sharper.

Sharper and CB Jabari Greer will be game time decisions for the Saints secondary that is ranked 19th against the pass.

The Saints, however, lead the NFL in interceptions with 17–including seven by Sharper.

Meanwhile, the Bucs are a bit revitalized by the emergence of young Josh Freeman, whose brought a little bite to the Bucs passing game.

The Bucs hope to get franchise player Antonio Bryant back in the lineup this week after missing the last two games with his problematic knee.

If Freeman can avoid the turnover–he fumbled four times against Miami, losing one, and was charged for an interception–the Bucs may be able to get some plays against the drained Saints.

Advantage: Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Running Attack vs. New Orleans Saints Run Defense

As improved as the Saints defense may be, their run defense still leaves a lot to be desired.

New Orleans is 20th in the league at stopping the run, giving up an average of 115.3 yards per game.

The Bucs still haven’t gotten their running game on track, now bottoming down to 25th in the NFL at 98.7 per game. As we say every week, a lot of it is due to the challenges at the quarterback position.

One thing the Bucs may want to consider is opening up with the pass to set up the run.

Tampa Bay has put kid gloves on their budding QB Josh Freeman, opting to ease him into the flow of games by using the running game.

Their opponents expect this and early on have loaded up against the run, causing ineffectiveness and an inability to sustain drives.

The running game will be crucial in this one for the Bucs as they try to keep that top notch New Orleans offense off the field.

Advantage: Push

New Orleans Saints Passing Game vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pass Defense

Drew Brees. What more needs to be said about the Saints monstrous passing attack?

New Orleans averages a whopping 275 yards per game passing, best in the NFL.

While the Bucs, of course, lead the NFL in 20 plus yard passing plays surrendered.

Not a good combo if you’re a Bucs fan.

The one issue Brees does seem to have in his game, is a Brett Favre-ian gunslinger approach to flinging the ball in to traffic. It can lead to turnovers and the Bucs are one of the best in the league at picking it off.

Unfortunately, the Bucs pedestrian pass rush doesn’t help against arguably the league’s best quarterback.

Advantage: New Orleans

 

New Orleans Saints Running Game vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Run Defense

The Bucs run defense is simply abysmal. They can’t stop anyone. With trouble rushing the passer and stopping the run, Bucs Head Coach Raheem Morris called out his front seven, saying this week he doesn’t believe he has the players up front to be successful.

It will be interesting to see how the Bucs’ players respond to that challenge.

Will they try to prove him wrong or will they say, “I’ve been bustin’ my butt for you for nine games – to heck with you, Raheem”?

The Saints bring in the league’s fifth best rushing attack.

Behind the trio of Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush, and Mike Bell, the Saints runners have provided balance to the formidable passing attack.

The Bucs may catch a break as the versatile Bush is listed as questionable for Sunday.

Advantage: New Orleans

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Special Teams vs. New Orleans Saints Special Teams

They say three times a charm, and the Bucs, on their third kicker of 2009, may have finally found a winner in Connor Barth. Barth became only the fourth kicker in NFL history to bang three 50-plus field goals in one game.

With Barth’s big time leg, the decent punting of Dirk Johnson, plus top level coverage and return units, it’s difficult for any team to match up with the Bucs Special Teams unit.

The Saints are dead last in kick coverage and aren’t much better covering punts.

They’re a middle of the road return team in both kick returns and punt returns, although Courney Roby broke through for New Orleans last week with a kickoff return for a touchdown.

Veteran John Carney is New Orleans place kicker, while little used punter Thomas Moorestead holds down the fort in the punting game.

Advantage: Tampa Bay

 

Intangibles

• The Saints are 9-0 for the first time in franchise history.
• 40% chance of rain is in the forecast for Sunday’s game.
• The Bucs have won seven of the last eleven meetings with New Orleans.
• Since joining together in the NFC South in 2002, the Bucs have swept the Saints twice. The Saints have also swept the Bucs twice and the teams have split the season series three times.
• Like the Packers before them, the Saints must guard against looking ahead. New Orleans faces the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football next week.
• New Orleans has played three outdoor games this season, going 3-0 and winning by an average of 19.3 per game.

 

Advantage: Push

 

Coaching

Raheem Morris is in his first season as an NFL head coach and is now 1-8.

Sean Payton is in his fourth season as the Saints head coach. Payton is 34-23, he has led the Saints to one division championship during his tenure.

Advantage: New Orleans

 

Prediction

If the Bucs were to ever catch the Saints at a good time – this would be the week. New Orleans is hurting and isn’t playing their best football right now.

They’ve managed to maintain their undefeated status despite having several close calls, including last week’s nail-biter against the awful St. Louis Rams.

The Bucs players look at that Rams film and think to themselves, “Heck, if they can do it – why not us?”

Well, there’s a big difference between being a bad team outside your opponent’s division and a bad team within that division. Considering the Bucs history against them, the Saints won’t overlook them as Miami and Green Bay may have.

Furthermore, it’s the Saints. Arguably the best offensive football team in the NFL facing one of the league’s worst defenses.

If New Orleans doesn’t put up 40 points in this one, it’s a testament to the improvement of the Bucs defense. Heck, the Saints put up 48 points on the Giants’ defense.

Yes, the same Giants defense that held the Buccaneers offense without a first down for three quarters and without a point for the game.

With young Josh Freeman, this football team feels they have a chance in every game. It’s tough to refute that, considering the results of the first two games.

If the weather is foul, the Bucs may have a chance to stay in this one. If not, then even the charisma of Freeman may not be enough to keep it close.

Final Score: New Orleans 34, Tampa Bay 20.

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Highway Robbery: Controversial Calls Cost Bucs Against Fins

Fans always believe the referees are out to get their team. My own mother believes there is an international conspiracy of referees against the Buccaneers.

Most of the time I write it off as foolish homerism. Then when you see a game like today, when the calls were lopsidedly in favor of the home team, you have to pause.

Calls that were so confounding, confusing, and down right wrong, you just have to wonder if NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will launch an investigation to see if Referee Tony Corrente or members of his crew had money on Miami’s 25-23 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Of course, Corrente and his crew didn’t allow the Dolphins to run for 199 yards on the ground. They didn’t let pedestrian Quarterback Chad Henne drive his team 77 yards to the game winning field goal in five plays with only one time out and just 1:18 on the clock.

Corrente didn’t fumble four times, including once deep in opposing territory.

That was quarterback Josh Freeman, who struggled in the first half of his second start.

Freeman has shown he’s a bit of a slow starter, but the youngster displayed a little Brett Favre in him, too, turning it on in the second half, and leading the Bucs to a 17 point second half rally to take the lead.

Of course, the Bucs wouldn’t have to overcome that wide margin had the biggest tragedy of justice not occurred in the final 1:20 of the first half.

Backed up deep in their own territory, Freeman hit wide receiver Michael Clayton for an apparent 10 yard completion and a first down. Clayton got both feet down, an elbow down, and his behind down with the ball in his possession, and under control.

A Dolphins player rolled over the downed Clayton, and batted the ball out of hands, and into the air. It landed in the hands of Jason Taylor who took it to the house for an apparent touchdown.

After initially being called a fumble, the ruling on the field ended up an incomplete pass.

Corrente went to the peep show under the hood and apparently saw something other than the play in question. Corrente came back onto the field and ruled, “The player had possession of the football, then went to the ground, the ball left his hands and as a result was intercepted by a defensive player. By rule, the player is unable to advance the football as a result of a replay, thus it’s Miami football at the 15 yard line.”

Raheem Morris lost his mind and apparently said something very naughty to one of the officials on the field, garnering a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

It’s hard to imagine it was anything worse then the classic Jon Gruden explosion, “Are you out of your f—ing mind? Are you out of your g-d d—n skull?”

Whatever was said, the call was made and Miami cashed it in for a gut wrenching touchdown. It sent the young Bucs reeling. A three-and-out and couple more quick passes set up a chip shot Miami field goal and a three point game was suddenly a 19-6 deficit.

“Because the player in question, the player who was possessing the ball in the air, as he started to come down, was hit.” Corrente is quoted by the Pewter Report , “As he is coming down, he is now going to the ground to complete a catch and by rule, if he’s going to the ground to complete a catch, he has to maintain possession of the ball completely through the entire process of hitting the ground and thereafter showing control. As he went to the ground, basically right when he went to the ground, the ball popped out, and went right into the arms of the Miami player. The ball had never touched the ground.”

“This loss is solely on me,” Morris said. “Getting a personal foul as a head coach is totally unacceptable. I’m taking those points; that’s how much we lost by. I should take the blame for that. I used the wrong type of language to the official.”

As we mentioned, replays clearly showed Clayton on his back in possession of the football when a Miami defender came in and batted the ball from his hands.

I can guarantee you if this happened during Patriots-Colts instead of 1-7 Bucs at 3-5 Dolphins, it would be story one on SportsCenter.

Tampa Bay was penalized nine times for 77 yards, compared to Miami’s 3-for-30.

After Freeman led the Bucs to a 23-22 lead, Kellen Winslow, Jr. mouthed off to the same official that penalized Morris—and garnered yet another unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that was enforced on the kick off.

Luckily for Winslow, Connor Barth knuckle-balled the kickoff past kick returner Ted Ginn, Jr. who recovered it at 15 yard line—setting up the Miami last drive from deep in their own territory.

Speaking of Barth, kudos to the youngster, becoming the first kicker in Bucs history to kick three 50-plus yard kicks in the same game.

The Bucs defense couldn’t get to Chad Henne and he found gaping holes in the Bucs prevent defense.

Of course, Corrente’s crew had to make sure they helped the youngster out, calling a pass interference on a Buccaneer defender at midfield when the call should have been at the very least, defensive holding and only a five yard foul.

One last burst by Ricky Williams put the Dolphins in point blank range for an easy Dan Carpenter field goal.

While the Bucs were certainly disheartened by the loss, for the second straight game, their young quarterback put them in position to walk out with a victory.

That, plus another big fourth quarter turnover allowed the Bucs to climb back into it.

You can see as the coaches allow Freeman to be Freeman, they gain more confidence in the kid’s ability to move the team. The team itself continues to believe in their young quarterback and play hard.

“Man, with number five (Freeman) you know you have a chance,” Carnell “Cadillac” Williams said after the game.

The Bucs certainly made their share of mistakes to lose this game. It isn’t all on the officiating. Still, it’s tough for a young football team to overcome a call of that magnitude that goes against them.

The amazing thing is behind the arm of Freeman, the Bucs managed to claw their way back into the game and give themselves a chance to win.

For a 1-8 football, that says a lot. It’s also a good learning experience for the young Tampa Bay players. If something goes against you like that, keep your cool. The game’s not over. It might be good for their head coach to lead by that example.

Notice to the rest of the NFL, the Bucs are no longer an easy out, even if you have the Zebras in your pocket.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Miami Dolphins Preview: One for the Road

The Josh Freeman Fun Train heads to Miami for the young quarterback’s first taste of life on the road in the NFL. All is fine and dandy when you have the crowd behind you, but how will the rookie handle a hostile atmosphere?

If there was any city in the NFL the Bucs would want their young QB to get his first road start in the league—it’s Miami. Many Dolphins fans masquerade as empty seats at Joe Robbie, uh, Pro Player, oops, Land Shark Stadium.

They’re considered among the most apathetic in the league.

Still, if the Dolphins are playing well, they can make life hard on Freeman.

In addition, after having two weeks to prepare for his debut against the Green Bay Packers, Freeman now has to show what he can learn in just half the preparation time.

Freeman’s ability to back the Dolphins secondary off the line of scrimmage may very well be one of the biggest keys to Sunday’s game. That and the Bucs finding a way to stop the Wildcat rushing attack.

For Tampa Bay, this is perhaps the biggest game of the season. The Bucs got one on the Green Bay Packers, but if they can sustain the momentum and beat a team that isn’t a juggernaut on the road it could go a long way to giving this team the confidence it desperately needs and begin the turn around of the franchise in earnest.

It’s big for the Dolphins too, despite a 3-5 start, the Fins still hold some hope of a rebound and late playoff run. Considering the Patriots missed the AFC playoffs despite finishing 11-5 last year, such talk seems ridiculous at this point.

A loss to the Bucs would all but end their playoff hopes for 2009.

Let us take a look at the match ups for the Bucs and their cross state rivals.

 

Series

The series between the Bucs and Dolphins is split down the middle at 4-4. Tampa Bay won the last three regular season meetings, including 2005’s 27-13 destruction of the Dolphins.

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Passing Attack against Miami Dolphins Pass Defense

Well, what else can you say about the opening act in the career of one Josh Freeman? The kid was poised, looking like a true veteran while throwing three touchdown passes in a windy game at Raymond James Stadium.

As we talked about in my article about rookie quarterback’s early performances in the NFL, Josh’s debut doesn’t mean he’s the next coming of Warren Moon (as Jerome Bettis said), but it certainly didn’t hurt.

While Josh had a bigger impact than Matt Ryan in his rookie debut, we can look at Ryan to learn some tough lessons in the NFL.

From week one to week two, there’s typically a drop off.

Luckily for Freeman, he’ll be facing a weak Miami pass defense. The Dolphins are ranked 28th in the NFL in pass defense and have 21 sacks on the season, just four more than the Bucs much maligned pass rush.

The Dolphins also find themselves in the bottom half of the league for interceptions.

If Freeman can protect the football and hit some of those big plays he missed against the Packers, it could be a very good day in the passing game for Tampa Bay.

Advantage: Tampa Bay

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Running Attack vs. Miami Dolphins Run Defense

As bad as the Dolphins are in pass defense, they’re that good in run defense. Miami comes in with the fifth-ranked defense against the run.

That could be due to everyone wanting to attack the Miami secondary, but the Dolphins have fared pretty well against some good backs in the league.

Tampa Bay’s running game still has yet to find itself. A lot of that is due to the Bucs typically trailing and forcing the team to abandon the run early, not to mention the uncertainty at the quarterback position.

Cadillac Williams can still be deadly, while Derrick Ward still has not found his place in the Buccaneers rushing attack.

Advantage: Miami

 

Miami Dolphins Passing Game vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pass Defense

Since taking over for the injured Chad Pennington, Dolphins second year quarterback Chad Henne has done a decent job as the Dolphins new guy under center.

Henne is averaging 179.6 yards per passing while tossing four touchdowns and three interceptions on the year.

Since getting off to a good start, Henne struggled a bit, throwing just one touchdown in his last three games. Three of his four touchdown passes on the year came against the Jets.

After facing the likes of Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Donovan McNabb, Eli Manning, and Tony Romo, the Bucs secondary gets much less of a challenge in Henne.

Tampa Bay’s secondary still gives up the big play, but has played better in their last few outings and have risen to 15th in the league in pass defense. They’ve also begun to take the ball away from the opposing QB, rising to 5th in the NFL in interceptions with 11.

Advantage: Tampa Bay

 

Miami Dolphins Running Game vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Run Defense

The worst part of the Buccaneers defense continues to be the run defense. Giving up an average of 163 yards per game, the Bucs can’t stop any one.

That doesn’t bold well while facing the league’s fourth ranked rushing attack. Ricky Williams is revitalized while Ronnie Brown continues to display his versatile skills catching, running, and at times, throwing the football.

The Dolphins invented the NFL’s version of the Wild Cat offense and continue to be the most prolific in running in the formation.

Still, in recent games, the Wild Cat has been contained by opposing defenses. Is it starting to be figured out?

The Bucs will study game tape of the Saints’ and Jets’ defensive game plans in shutting down the problematic formation.

If the Bucs can figure out a way to slow down the Dolphins rushing attack, they have a great chance at victory.

Advantage: Miami

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Special Teams vs. Miami Dolphins Special Teams

Miami and Tampa Bay boast two of the best kick returners in the game in Tedd Ginn, Jr. and Clifton Smith. Ginn, Jr. almost single-handedly beat the Jets with two kickoff returns for touchdowns.

Smith is both a great kick and punt returner, returning one kick 83 yards against Green Bay last week to spark a Bucs rally. He remains the only player in Buc history to return a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown in the same season.

Tampa Bay, however, has the much superior coverage unit. The Bucs are ranked second in the NFL in kick return coverage, while Miami remains in the bottom half of the league in both kick and punt coverage categories.

Miami does boast Dan Carpenter, who is 11 of 12 on field goal attempts with a long of 52. Tampa Bay counters with Connor Barth, who’s 1-for-2 on the season but is 11 of 14 during his short NFL career.

Dirk Johnson continues to punt fairly well for the Bucs, averaging 41.7 yards a punt while dropping 12 inside the 20 yard line.

Miami’s Brandon Fields averages 45.8 and has 13 punts inside the 20.

Advantage: Tampa Bay

 

Intangibles

• Miami is coming off a difficult loss on the road to division rival New New England, while Tampa Bay is coming off their best performance of the season, a 38-28 upset of Green Bay.
• The Dolphins are starting three rookies in their secondary (S Chris Clemons, CB Vontae Davis and CB Sean Smith).
• The Bucs are +0 in turnover ratio, Miami is a -1.
• Miami hasn’t beaten Tampa Bay in a regular season game since 1991
• The Bucs are 1-2 lifetime in Miami

Advantage: Tampa Bay

 

Coaching

Raheem Morris is in his first season as an NFL head coach and is now 1-7.

Tony Sparano is in his second season as head coach of the Miami Dolphins and has a record of 14-11. In his first season, he led Miami to an 11-5 record and their first AFC East division championship since 2000.

Advantage: Miami

 

Prediction

Quite a few weeks ago I swore off predicting victories for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, feeling the team had no direction and little hope against a tough schedule.

What a difference a win makes. I’m not caught up in the euphoria of the Bucs victory over the Packers or in the superb play in Freeman. Still, you have to look at the Dolphins as an opponent that the Bucs can beat.

It’s an opponent with a weak passing attack and a bad pass defense that doesn’t apply much pressure on the quarterback or force many turnovers in the passing game. Good for a young QB to face.

Jets fellow rookie QB Mark Sanchez had two of his best games of the season against Miami.

The worst thing about Miami is their rushing attack. With it is their ability to bleed to clock and shorten games. It keeps them in ballgames with a chance to win.

Without an explosive offense and an average defense, the Dolphins play the old Tony Dungy style of keep it close, win in the fourth quarter.

It worked well in 2008 under veteran QB Chad Pennington, but hasn’t worked out so well in 2009.

If Josh Freeman can take advantage of some mismatches in the Dolphins secondary and the Bucs can focus on the run, perhaps force a few turnovers, there’s absolutely no reason why the Bucs can’t win their fourth straight game over the Dolphins and their second win of the 2009 campaign.

Final Score: Tampa Bay 20, Miami 17.

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Buccaneers-Packers Preview: The Power Of Bruce Compels You!

So it’s come to this for the fans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Hoping that creamsicle and a less-than-masculine looking winking pirate can bring you luck in ending one of the longest losing streaks in the franchise’s sordid history.

Yes, Bucco Bruce has risen up from Davey Jones locker. Orange will again be in fashion in Tampa Bay.

While the fans are hoping for some magical redemption in the “Pastel Foot wipes” of old, one has to wonder if the resurrection of Bucco Bruce is the cause of this disaster.

Think about it. With Pewter Power Tampa Bay, has had nine seasons of at least 8-8 or better in 12 seasons. Tampa Bay has only had three losing seasons since the color change and amassed a 105-87 record. The run has included four division championships, seven playoff appearances, five playoff victories and a Super Bowl title.

By raising Bucco Bruce, the Bucs’ owners – the Glazers, invited in the demons of  a 100-231-1 record in 21 years of creamsicle. In those dismal 21 seasons, Tampa Bay had just three winning seasons (one of those in a strike shortened year), had double digit losses in 17 of those seasons and won just one division title. They made the playoffs just three times, winning only one game (1-3).

Things were so bad, some believed that current Bucs Director of Pro Scouting and former quarterback Doug Williams cursed the team’s colors with a Louisiana Hoo Doo Priestess after a contract dispute ended with Williams leaving the team for the USFL.

When the Glazers decided to change the color scheme, the Buccaneers actually held a funeral at sea for Bucco Bruce, burying him and the team’s dismal past for good.

The first season in Pewter began with a 5-0 start and a playoff berth for the first time in over a decade.

Now, like Jason and Freddy, Bruce has returned from the dead and the results – an 0-7 start for the team.

Of course, the real reason behind the Bucs terrible start is a lack of cohesiveness, talent, and perhaps coaching ability on both sides of the ball.

But you just have to wonder a little don’t you? The exact jersey replica the Glazers chose for this weekend’s throwback game was from the 1976 team. The same team that went 0-14. I can’t make this up, folks.

The real reason behind the throwback weekend is to celebrate the career of the Bucs only Hall of Famer, Lee Roy Selmon, who will be the inaugural inductee into the team’s newly founded Ring of Honor.

In addition to honoring Lee Roy, the Bucs will also pay homage to the 1979 Tampa Bay Buccaneers – a team that went from worst to first and was 9 points away from reaching the Super Bowl.

For two decades the 79 team stood as the one exception to the horrible rule of Buccaneer football.

There’s been a buzz around town about the throwback game. Die-hard fans who used to sport the orange proudly are eager to see the Bucs in their classic uniform – if for just one last time.

Oh and some guy named Freeman is making his first start for the Buccaneers.

With that, let’s take a look at the Pastel Winking Pirates’ match up against the Green Bay Packers.

Series

Green Bay leads the all time series 29-20-1. The Bucs won the last meeting 30-21 last season.

Tampa Bay Pastel Winking Pirates Passing Attack against Green Bay Packers Pass Defense

And so it begins. Head Coach Raheem Morris’ poster child for the new hope, Josh Freeman, takes over behind center for Tampa Bay.

Freeman, the 17th pick overall in the 2009 draft, is a large kid with a powerful arm. He has struggled a little bit with accuracy but has the wheels to motor down field and pick up first downs.

Some scouts have compared him to Donovan McNabb, while others JaMarcus Russell (that collective groan you heard was from those who believe he’ll be closer to the latter).

It should be interesting to see what, if anything, the Bucs allow Freeman to do. With Byron Leftwich, the Bucs pushed the football down the field more. With Josh Johnson, the prototypical West Coast offense quarterback, the receivers disappeared from the game while backs and tight ends made more of an impact.

The Bucs also called a lot more bootlegs and play action under the fleet footed Johnson.

Freeman has the rocket arm of Leftwich combined with the fleet feet of Johnson (although with a much larger frame he’s not nearly as quick).

What he lacks is experience behind center. That will come in time.

Freeman faces the 9th ranked pass defense in the NFL. Despite the lofty statistical ranking, the defense has struggled a bit with the new 3-4 alignment.

Still, with a stellar defensive backfield led by Charles Woodson and Al Harris, protecting the football and not putting the Bucs in a bad spot may be Freeman’s #1 responsibility.

Advantage: Green Bay

Tampa Bay Pastel Winking Pirates Running Attack vs. Green Bay Packers Run Defense

If the Bucs hope to upset the Packers on Sunday, the Buccaneers missing running attack must rumble to life.

Some of the Bucs trouble in the running game is they’ve quickly fallen behind in games, making it difficult to have patience to establish the run.

Still, with what’s supposed to be a quality offensive line, the Buccaneers expect to try to pound the rock at Green Bay’s 3-4 front.

The Packers have been pretty solid against the run this season, ranking 9th overall. They held Minnesota super star Adrian Peterson to under 100 yards rushing.

Coming off the heartbreaking loss to the Vikings and a big challenge upcoming against Dallas, it will be interesting to see the Packers have the intensity to meet the run attack.

Advantage: Green Bay

Green Bay Packers Passing Game vs. the Tampa Bay Pastel Winking Pirates Pass Defense

Aaron Rogers is a statistical monster. I should know, he starts for me in my fantasy league (and yes I’m playing him). The Bucs may be catching Rogers a bit banged up, though, playing with two injured feet.

That’s not good news for the Packers much maligned line that has surrendered a league high 31 sacks.

Of course, whether or not the Bucs defense can take advantage of that is another matter. The Bucs have managed just 11 sacks this, good for 29th in the league.

When Rogers has the ability to stay on his feet, he’s got some of the league’s best wide outs to throw to in Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, and James Jones. Even Donald Lee has gotten into the act for the Pack.

The Bucs pass defense has been playing better of late, making plays in the secondary and not allowing as many big plays against them.

If the front seven can get to Rogers, there may be opportunities to make some plays.

Rogers though only has 2 INTs this season despite being constantly under duress, protecting the football very well for Green Bay.

Advantage: Green Bay

Green Bay Packers Running Game vs. the Tampa Bay Pastel Winking Pirates Run Defense

The Packers Ryan Grant leads the way for the Green Bay rushing attack, ranked 16th in the NFL. Meanwhile the Bucs can’t stop the run – period. Ranked second to last in the league giving up a beefy 162.4 yards per game on the ground.

If the Bucs have any chance in this game, the Buccaneers need to make sure Grant doesn’t give Rogers 2nd and 1’s and 3rd and 2’s to do damage with.

Advantage: Green Bay

Tampa Bay Pastel Winking Pirates Special Teams vs. Green Bay Packers Special Teams

Connor Barth becomes Tampa Bay’s third kicker this season. Barth at least comes in with some experience kicking in the NFL, more than you can say for his predecessor, Shane Andrus.

Dirk Johnson has been solid in the punting game for the Bucs.

The Bucs also welcome the return of Pro Bowl kick/punt returner Clifton Smith. Tampa Bay remains 2nd in the league in kick coverage (although they’ve slipped to 21st in punt coverage).

Green Bay counters with the reliable Mason Crosby, who’s banged home 14 of 18 attempts this season. The Packers are also getting a good punting performance from Jeremy Kapinos, who’s averaging 45.3 yards per punt and has 7 kicks inside the 20.

Green Bay is middle of the league returning kicks and punts behind Tramon Williams, Will Blackmon, and Jordy Nelson.

The Packers have also struggled covering kicks and punts, ranking 15th in kick coverage and 30th in punt coverage.

Advantage: Push

Intangibles

• Green Bay is 1-6 lifetime at Raymond James Stadium.
• The Bucs have won two straight and three of the last four meetings with the Packers.
• Green Bay hasn’t been very friendly to the dregs of the league – Blasting St. Louis 36-17, Detroit 26-0, and Cleveland 31-3.
• Tampa Bay is honoring legendary Hall of Famer Lee Roy Selmon with an induction into the newly formed Ring of Honor at Raymond James Stadium.
• The Bucs will also be honoring the 30th anniversary of the 1979 Tampa Bay Buccaneers squad. The 79 team won the first division title in franchise history, won the team’s first playoff game, are the only team in Franchise history to host an NFC Championship game and came within 9 points of reaching the Super Bowl, losing 9-0 to the Los Angeles Rams.
• To honor both Selmon and the 79 team, the Buccaneers will be wearing their throwback uniforms with orange jerseys and a white helmet featuring “Bucco Bruce”, the winking pirate.
• Top draft pick Josh Freeman makes his first NFL start at quarterback for Tampa Bay.

Advantage: Tampa Bay

Coaching

Raheem Morris is in his first season as an NFL head coach and is still searching for his first win at 0-7.

Mike McCarthy is in his 4th season with the Packers, 32-25-0, .561 (incl. 1-1 postseason). The Packers have one winning season under McCarthy, and one division championship.

Advantage: Green Bay

Prediction

If there was ever a trap game, it’s this one for the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay is coming off an emotional loss at home against the Minnesota Favres and following the Bucs the Packers face the meat of their schedule where they will take on five playoff contending teams in the last eight games. In the middle, the winless Buccaneers.

The Packers have traditionally struggled at Raymond James Stadium and they’re facing a Buccaneers team that is well rested after being on the bye, excited about playing in front of an enthusiastic home crowd, and desperate to notch a W in the win column.

This is a dangerous game for the Packers. Still, if Green Bay comes to play, there’s little chance the Buccaneers can win this game. Match up wise, the Packers are all wrong for the Bucs (then again, who isn’t?).

I think the Bucs will hang around enough to get the Packers scared before Green Bay pulls away in the fourth quarter.

Final Score: Green Bay Packers 28, Tampa Bay Pastel Winking Pirates 16

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An NFL Rookie QB Barometer For The Bucs’ Josh Freeman

Since the 1995 NFL Draft, there’s been 35 quarterbacks chosen in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Many of the League’s franchises have done it differently during that time. Some throw their rookies right into the fire in a sink or swim type scenario. Others coddle their quarterbacks, not playing them for several years.

Now that Buccaneers Quarterback Josh Freeman has ascended to the throne, let’s take a look at how other fellow first round picks have performed in their rookie seasons to give us a reference point of where Josh Freeman is.

Keep in mind, each of these quarterbacks had several factors working either for them or against them in their rookie seasons. Many QB’s were drafted by downright horrible football teams with absolutely no weapons.

Others were plugged into a young developing team that just needed him as the final piece to the puzzle.

The First Dayers

Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Joey Harrington (after Week two), David Carr, Vince Young (after Week two), Peyton Manning, Kerry Collins (After Week two), Ben Roethlisberger (after Week one), Mark Sanchez, Matthew Stafford , Ryan Leaf .

We all know the stories of Roethlisberger, Flacco, and Ryan, taking the reigns of their team from Day One (or Day two as the case was for Roethlisberger).

Roethlisberger was perhaps the best of the bunch. Finishing his rookie season with an unreal 13-0 record as a starter. Big Ben was no slouch statistically either, in his 14 total games for the Steelers, he was 196 of 295, 66.4 comp pct., 2621 yds 17 TDs, 11 INTs. In his first start as a Steeler, Ben went 12 of 22, 163 yds, 1 TD, 1 Int in 13-3 win over Miami.

Matt Ryan started all 16 games for the Falcons, going 11-5 as a starter. He 265 of 434, with a 61.1 completion percentage, 3440 yds, 16 TD and 11 ints. His first NFL start (albeit against a Detroit Lions team that would go winless), Ryan was 9 of 13 for 161 yds, 1 TD, 0 Ints in the win. We all know the story how Ryan’s first pass in the NFL was an 80 yard touchdown.

Flacco wasn’t quite as successful as Ryan. He also started all 16 games (11-5 as a starter), going 257 of 428, 60.0 comp pct, 2971 yds, 14 TDs, and 12 INTs. Flacco’s first start was against the Cincinnati Bengals and he struggled a bit, 9-for-24, for just 94 yds and an interception, but won 17-10.

Joey Harrington moved into the starting role in Week Three of his rookie season and started 12 games, going 3-9 as a starter. He had the typical rookie season, 215 of 429, for just a 50.1% pct, 2294 yds, 12 TDs, 16 Ints. His first career start was against the Green Bay Packers and he had some turnover issues. Harrington went 15 of 35 for 182 yds, 2 touchdowns but four interceptions in a 37-31 loss.

David Carr had the double whammy, being the No. 1 overall draft pick and playing for the expansion Houston Texans. Carr started from day one for the Texans and wasn’t very effective, going 4-12 in 16 starts and 233 of 444, with a 52.5 completion percentage, 2592 yds passing, 9 TDs and 15 ints. Carr’s first start was a 19-10 upset of the Dallas Cowboys. He played decently, going 10 of 22 for 145 yds, 2 TDs and 1 Int.

Kerry Collins knew Carr’s pain, starting for the expansion Carolina Panthers but he fared a little better. Taking over in Week Three, Collins was a surprising 7-6 in 13 starts for the Panthers despite struggling statistically—214 of 433, only a 49.4% comp pct, 2717 yds 14 TDs, 19 Ints. Collins first start was against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he played well in the Panthers 20-13 loss to the Bucs, going 18 of 32, 234 yds, 1 TD and 1 Int.

Vince Young took over the struggling Titans in Week Three as well, exploding on to the NFL scene. Young was 8-5 as a starter, 184 of 357, 51.5 completion percentage, 2199 Yds, 12 TDs, 13 Ints. He also added 552 yds and seven touchdowns rushing. Young’s first start was an ugly 45-14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Young went 14 of 29 for 155 yds with a touchdown and two picks. He was held to just three yards rushing on five carries.

Peyton Manning had an ugly rookie season, going 3-13 as a day one starter. Manning statistically wasn’t too bad although he was high in the interception department.

Peyton passed a lot because the Colts were down in most games. He finished 326 for 575, 56.7 completion percentage, a whopping 3,739 yds, 26 touchdowns and 28 picks. In Manning’s first NFL start, a 24-15 loss to Miami, he threw for over 300 yds, going 21 of 37, 302 yds, 1 touchdown, and 3 ints.

The two other first round draft picks of 2009 opened as opening day starters for their respective teams.

Matthew Stafford got hurt in Week Four after struggling a bit in the early going, 79 for 139, 56.8 comp pct., 894 yds, 3 TDs, 6 INTs. He is 1-3 as a starter in four games this season. Stafford opened the season against the mighty New Orleans Saints and he had a rough outing, going 16 for 37, 205 yds, 0 TDs, 3 Ints.

Mark Sanchez had bit better start to his NFL career, doing so well he actually earned the nickname “The Sanchize”. Unfortunately for the Jets, The Sanchize has cooled off a bit. Seven games in to the season, he’s 4-3 as a starter losing three of his last four (including a game where he tossed 5 ints), while going 94 of 178, 52.8 comp. pct, 1178 yds, 6 TDs, 10 ints.

Sanchez’s first start was against the Houston Texans. He went 18 of 31, 272 yds, with a touchdown and an interception in the Jets 24-7 win.

Then there’s Ryan Leaf. It’s hard to imagine that some analysts believed Leaf would be better than Peyton Manning in the NFL. After his rookie year, all thoughts to that effect were gone. Leaf won as many games as Manning did in 1998, going 3-6 as a starter, but he was downright dreadful. Leaf went 111 of 245, a 45.3 comp pct, 1289 yds, 2 TDs and 15 ints.

Leaf actually won his first two NFL starts. His first, a 16-14 win over Buffalo, Leaf went 16 of 31 for 192 yds, 1 TD and 2 Ints.

Leaf found himself on the bench by Week 10.

For the “First Dayers”, Manning and Roethlisberger have won Super Bowls, while Flacco, Ryan, and Collins led their team to playoff berths. Harrington and Carr are now backups with other teams, never reaching their first round potential. Young has been benched but may get another chance to rejuvenate his NFL career. We know the jury is still out on both rookie QBs of the 2009 class. We all know what became of Ryan Leaf.

The Half Seasoners

Donovan McNabb, Patrick Ramsey, Akili Smith, Alex Smith, Cade McNown, Jay Cutler, Eli Manning, Matt Leinart

Like the Bucs’ top pick, Josh Freeman, many teams tried to make a go of it with veteran quarterbacks before injecting their top pick into the fray. Some went on to have great careers, while others…not so much.

This is the group that we can use to really gauge where Freeman is in his development. Some will play less than Freeman (barring injury, of course), some will play more.

Let’s start with McNabb. McNabb saw limited action in many of the early games of the Eagles season before assuming the starting role late the in the season.

McNabb, much like Freeman, was an unpopular choice with the fanbase and his rookie year didn’t help alleviate any fears. McNabb was 2-4 as a starter, going 106 of 216, 49.1 completion percentage, 948 yds, 8 TDs, 7 Ints. McNabb added 313 yds rushing. In his first start as an Eagle, the QB who would lead Philadelphia to multiple trips to the NFC title game and a Super Bowl berth was an awful 8 for 20, 68 yds, no touchdowns and 1 int in a 33-7 blowout loss to Carolina.

Unlike McNabb, Patrick Ramsey also saw action as a starter in the early weeks of the season—beginning his career as a starter in Week Four. Unfortunately, two and half games into his season, he would go down to injury and didn’t start again until week 13.

He would finish his rookie season with five stars and a 2-3 record as a starter. His first game started out like gangbusters. Ramsey went 20 for 34, 268 yds and 2 TDs in a 31-14 victory over the Titans.

Akili Smith took over as starter of the Cincinnati Bengals in Week Five. By week nine, he was no longer the starter. Smith was horrible in four starts for the Bengals, going 1-3 and 80 for 153, a 52.3 completion percentage, 805 yds, 2 TDs, 6 Ints. Smith actually didn’t start too badly. In his first NFL start, he led the Bengals to an 18-17 win over Cleveland, going 25 for 42, 207 yds, while throwing two interceptions.

Alex Smith started seven games for the 49ers in 2005. The Niners yo-yo’d their young QB a little that season, starting him in Weeks three and four, benching him, then putting him back at starter for the rest of the season after Week 11. It didn’t help the young QB’s confidence.

Smith was a dreadful 2-5, while going 84 of 165, 50.9 completion pct., 875 yds, 1 TD, 11 Ints. That’s right. Smith had a negative ten touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio. Ouch.

It all began in his first NFL start against the Indianapolis Colts where Smith was as bad as a quarterback could possibly be. He went 9 for 23, 74 yds, 0 TDs, and 4 interceptions in a 28-3 loss.

Cade McNown also struggled early on and was benched after three starts, only to be given the reigns back late in the season. He’d start six games total for the Bears in his rookie season, going 2-4. His numbers were average for a rookie, 127 of 235, 54.0 completion percentage, 1465 yds, 8 TDs 10 Ints. In his first career start against the Philadelphia Eagles, McNown went 17 of 33, 255 yds, 1 TD and 2 Ints.

Jay Cutler took over for the Broncos late in 2006 and had a fabulous rookie run. Despite going 2-5 as a starter, Cutler was an impressive 81 of 137, 59.1 comp. pct, 1001 yds, 9 TDs and just 5 ints. His first start was a 23-20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, where Cutler went 10 of 21 for 143 yds, 2 TDs, 2 Ints.

Eli Manning had the unusual situation of taking over a 6-2 New York Giants team. Despite his team’s tremendous start under Kurt Warner, head coach Tom Coughlin decided to put in Manning, essentially forgoing the rest of 2004 to get his star QB ready for the future.

Manning struggled for the Giants, going 1-6 as a starter. He was 95 of 197, 48.2 comp. pct, 1043 yds, 6 TDs, 9 Int. His first NFL start was against the Atlanta Falcons where he went 17 for 37, 162 yds, 1 touchdown and 2 ints in the 14-10 loss.

Kurt Warner would be victimized again by another number one draft pick in 2006 he would give way after five games to Matt Leinart.

Leinart would start the most of the half-seasoners, starting in 11 games. He would be 4-7 as a starter, while putting up 214 of 377, 56.8 comp. pct, 2547 yds, 11 TDs, 12 Ints. Leinart played well in his first NFL start, a 23-20 loss to Kansas City, going 22 of 35, 253 yds, 2 TDs, 1 Int.

Donovan McNabb and Eli Manning would go on to lead their teams to the Super Bowl. Jay Cutler played very well for the Broncos, but a regime change saw him traded to the Bears where he is struggling to establish himself.

Patrick Ramsey turned into a journeyman NFL quarterback while Alex Smith and Matt Leinart were benched and are awaiting their next shot to start with their teams.

Akili Smith and Cade McNown were out of the league within three years.

The Toe Dippers

The remaining first round quarterbacks didn’t play in their first season except for spot duty or minimal starts here and there.

There were successes like Daunte Culpepper (33 TD passes his first season as a starter in Minnesota—his second year as a pro), Mike Vick (24 total touchdowns, starting for the first time in year two), Phillip Rivers (22 TD passes when first starting during his third season), and Chad Pennington (22 TD Passes when first starting in his third season).

There were so-so performances like Steve McNair (14 TDs, 13 Ints starting full time in his 3rd season) and JaMarcus Russell (13 TDs, 8 Ints in his second season).

Then there were the awful performances, JP Losman (In his second season was benched after eight games with a 49.6 completion percentage, 8 TDs, 8 Ints, and a 1-7 record as a starter) and Brady Quinn (benched after three starts in his third season with 1 TD, 3 ints).

Then there’s the guy that never really even got a chance—Jim Drukenmiller, who couldn’t break into the starting line up for the 49ers. He started just one game in the NFL his entire career. In his second season, he was traded to Miami where he never saw the light of day and eventually found his way to the Arena League and XFL.

The Great Ones

For those of you wondering. Tom Brady, Brett Favre, and Drew Brees weren’t mentioned earlier simply because they weren’t first round draft picks.

Brady, a 6th round steal by the Patriots, started for the first time in his second season after an injury knocked out Patriots starter Drew Bledsoe.

Brady would start 14 games for the Patriots, going 11-3 and leading them to a Super Bowl upset over the St. Louis Rams. Brady would finish his first season as a starter 264 of 413, 63.9 comp pct, 2843 yds, 18 TDs, 12 Int. Brady’s first start was a 44-13 destruction of the Indianapolis Colts where he went 13 for 23, 168 yds, 0 TDs, 0 Ints.

Drew Brees was drafted in the 2nd round by the San Diego Chargers. Brees sat the bench his rookie season behind veteran Doug Flutie. Drew started the 2002 season as the starter of the Chargers from opening day and would go 8-8 in his first season as a starter.

Brees definitely wasn’t the QB he is today, going 320 of 526, 60.8 comp. pct, 3284 yds, 17 TDs, 16 Ints. His first start came against the Bengals, and it was a good showing as he was 15 of 19 for 160 yds and 2 TDs.

Many folks forget but Brett Favre was actually drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2nd Round. He wouldn’t get a chance to start in Atlanta, who traded him to the Packers for 1st Round pick the next season. Favre would take over for the injured Don “Majik Man” Majkowski in 1992 and the rest, as they say, is history.

After relieving the injured Majkowski and leading the Packers to a come from behind win against (who else?) the Bengals, Favre’s first career start came against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Favre went 14 of 19 for 210 yds and 2 TD passes.

What We Learned

Rookie seasons can be a mixed bag. Some quarterbacks take a little while to get it before coming great players, others—we find out quickly whether they’ll be good or not.

If Josh Freeman struggles in his first NFL game or even in his first NFL season, it doesn’t mean he’ll be a failure as a quarterback in the NFL.

If he’s brutally bad…well, then we may know pretty quickly that he’s not the guy for Tampa Bay.

If he plays well, it doesn’t mean he’s the next Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, either but it bodes well.

The important thing for the Buccaneers front office is to stand behind Freeman, no matter how bad it gets in this first season. We’ve seen what the yo-yo effect has on guys like McNown, Alex Smith, and others. If he tosses four picks in a game—don’t bench him. Just let him learn from those mistakes.

So Buc fans, get behind your young quarterback, strap on your seat belt and get ready for a wild ride.

For better or worse, here is Josh Freeman. Let’s hope he’s closer to Roethlisberger than Akili Smith.

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Bucs-Patriots: Bucs Are Free Fallin’

So I gave it a day to collect my thoughts on another Buccaneers debacle – now the entire world (or at least England) knows how bad this team is after the 35-7 drubbing by the New England Patriots.

Come now. Could their have been any other result? Truth be told, the Buccaneers were beaten by New England before boarding the plane to Old England but you’ve got to give these young guys credit for playing hard.

I think that popping sound you heard was Josh Johnson’s bubble. He pretty much rushed in the Josh Freeman era with a putrid first half performance that all but ended any thought of a huge Buccaneer upset.

Johnson’s costume for Halloween may be Jake Delhomme’s No. 17 in Carolina Blue, because Josh the Fifth made one heck of an imitation of the Panthers’ turnover machine.

Three picks, the first of which occurred on the initial drive of the game and gave the Patriots their first defensive touchdown since 2007, before finally giving way to Josh the First midway through the fourth quarter.

The Josh Johnson experiment was fun while it lasted, but let’s face it. Johnson will never be much more than a backup QB in the NFL, just as Raheem said.

Now is the time for Tampa Bay to see what it has in their First Round draft pick.

For what it’s worth, Freeman drilled two strikes, got sacked twice (thanks overrated Bucs O-line), fumbled once, and misfired on two other throws to finished the day an uninspiring 2-4 for 16 yards.

In a lost season, it’s better for Freeman to get the yips out now with no real pressure on him to perform rather than at the start of next season when the Bucs (hopefully) will be trying to reestablish themselves from this tragedy.

For Buc fans, there’s been a lot of talk on the airwaves and in cyberspace that Freeman will be a bust. How that can be determined after limited action in preseason and two series in the regular season is beyond me but hey, I guess the fans know better than the coaches and players, right?

Er, any way, if you’re a Bucs fan and reading this article then come close to the screen.

You need to get behind your quarterback. He holds the fate of the franchise in his hands.  Whether you hated the pick in April or believe in your heart that he will be a bust, you need to support the kid.

For better or worse, he’s your quarterback. If he fails, it’s going to set the franchise back three or four years. So if you truly love this team do your best in supporting the coronation of King Josh the First.

Back to the game, on the brighter side for Tampa Bay, despite giving up 28 points the defense wasn’t all bad.

The Patriots, coming off a 59 point game and 619 yards of total offense against the Titans, were held to just 28 offensive points and 414 yards of offense.

Tom Brady tossed three scores, but matched his season total for interceptions with two, one in the red zone—where Brady has one of the highest QB ratings in the league.

The Bucs were actually getting a decent sustained pressure on Brady, although the wily veteran always seemed to get the ball out of his hand just in the nick of time. Stylez White and Jimmy Wilkerson combined for the only sack of the game on Brady.

Both expect to be fined for daring to touch the future Hall of Famer.

They also did a darn good job containing the running game.

Sammie Stroughter continues to force the question to forefront – other than the millions of dollars the Glazers are paying him – why the heck is Michael Clayton starting instead of Stroughter? The world may never know.

Still, trying to speak positively after seeing the team get pummelled by four touchdowns is a bit like polishing excrement.

It’s kinda pointless, isn’t it?

It’s apropos the Buccaneers are bringing Bucco Bruce back from the dead for their next game, two weeks from Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. They’re playing like the creamsicle Bucs of old in those bright orange unis.

Zero and seven is the worst start for Tampa Bay since 1985 (when they started 0-9). That’s Leeman Bennett level of suckitude, folks. The Bucs 11 game losing streak is now the second longest in franchise history. The longest? The 1976-77 Tampa Bay Buccaneers expansion squad that began 0-26.

Yes, kids. The same 1976 squad that went winless. Gulp. The same 1976 squad that the Glazers searched long and hard to find the correct replica jersey. Double gulp.

Joel and Bryan are learning a hard lesson that you don’t anger the Football Gods by being cheap and bringing back cursed uniforms.

The Bucs have the bye week to get Freeman ready for the Packers and hopefully practice some of the plays that they’ll be using in the ballgame .

Then again, 2009 is pretty much a 16 game preseason for 2010 so does it even matter?

 

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Tampa Bay-New England Preview: Pats Prepare to Feast on Bucs London Broil-Style

I can safely say that never in my wildest dreams did I expect my 100th article for Bleacher Report to be about the winless Bucs heading over the pond to face a New England Patriots team that just beat Tennessee 59-0.

I expected more out of this team, perhaps reading too much into the hype that was Raheem Morris. Believing the comments from guys like Michael Clayton that Jon Gruden was the root of all evils, the team was divided, and when Monte Kiffin bailed on them with a month remaining in the season it all came to a head.

I thought this would be a well coached, close knit group that would fight and go through walls for this head coach.

Boy was I wrong. (That sound you hear is my fellow Featured Columnist Tom Edrington rushing to his keyboard to type “I told ya so.”)

Instead, what we’ve seen is a team in disarray, poorly coached, and limited in talent.

There’s talent on this squad, but you have to look hard and beyond the obvious confusion of two new systems to find it. Actually, one system, the Bucs’ offensive game plan under Greg Olsen, isn’t much different than the old one.

Olsen has instilled much of Jon Gruden’s old playbook back into the offense. It’s no wonder they’re struggling. It’s not like the offense ever lit it up under Jon boy’s watch. Heck, that was one the reasons he was bounced.

So with anarchy reigning at One Buc Palace, the Bucs are forced to go over to London in Old England to face New England.

The Patriots haven’t been the Patriots until last week, when they hung a 50 burger (thanks, Steve Mariucci) on the equally winless Flaming Thumbtacks (Titans). The 59-0 whitewash ranked as one of the largest margins of victory in NFL history.

Oh boy.

The question coming into this one is do the Bucs players still care? Antonio Bryant made an interesting comment earlier in the week that could be a very bad sign for Raheem’s dream team.

“All I can do is…control what I can control,” he told the St. Petersburg Times, “That’s going out there, running the routes, trying to get open and being where I’m supposed to be so it shows up on film, the right people see it and something gets done about it.”

Not to put words in Mr. Bryant’s mouth but basically he’s saying it’s time to play for himself.

When that starts happening, bad things occur.

So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at the London matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New England Patriots.

 

Series

New England is 4-2 against Tampa Bay, winning the last meeting in 2005 28-0.

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Passing Attack against New England Patriots Pass Defense

Bucs quarterback Josh Johnson regressed a little bit against the Carolina Panthers, again struggling to get the ball down field to weapons Antonio Bryant and Kellen Winslow, Jr.

The Bucs bring in the 22nd ranked passing offense to face the league’s sixth ranked pass defense.

Johnson has been a bit turnover prone of late, fumbling five times (losing one) and throwing a costly interception at the start of the second half against Carolina.

Rookie Sammie Stroughter has begun to emerge for Tampa Bay as a weapon, making some big catches in the loss.

New England’s coming off a game where they held Tennessee to minus-7 passing yards.

Oh boy.

It’s no wonder the Bucs are saving Josh Freeman from the beating against New England.

Advantage: New England

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Running Attack vs. New England Patriots Run Defense

It was expected (at least by this columnist) that the Bucs running game would miraculously show dramatic improvement with the return of center Jeff Faine.

The Bucs did improve, finishing with 124 yards in the gut-wrenching loss to the Panthers. Still, much of that yardage came from Josh Johnson’s scrambles.

The Bucs did get a good performance from Carnell “Cadillac” Williams, who rushed for 77 yards on 16 carries, including a 20-yard touchdown.

Still, where is high priced free agent Derrick Ward? Ward touched the ball twice, fumbling on a toss on the first one.

The Patriots aren’t very stout against the run, giving up 112.8 yards per game.

One of the main keys to this ballgame is if the Bucs can get their running game on track, consume time of possession, and keep Brady and company away from their defense.

Advantage: Tampa Bay

New England Patriots Passing Game vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pass Defense

After a few weeks where Tom Brady was struggling a bit to regain his Hall of Fame form, Brady broke out in a big way against the Titans. Tom Terrific threw for an NFL record five touchdown passes in the second quarter, finishing the ballgame with 386 yards and six touchdown passes.

Randy Moss is still there for the Pats, hauling in three of those scores and 129 yards. Wes Welker continues to be a dangerous weapon. Against Tennessee he hauled in 10 receptions for 150 yards and two scores.

Welker could be a crucial weapon for New England in this one as Buccaneer corner Aquib Talib has been sensational in shutting down the top receivers of the Bucs’ opponents. Talib limited Carolina Pro Bowl wide out Steve Smith to just one catch for four yards and has quickly evolved into a shut down corner.

Talib isn’t perfect, still getting beat every once in awhile, but as Talib has improved, so has the Bucs defense against the pass. The Bucs secondary has risen to 11th in the league after spending much of the first quarter of the season at the bottom of the league rankings in pass defense.

Tampa Bay is still giving up big plays down field, as Jeremy Maclin of the Eagles can attest after having a career day against the Bucs’ secondary, but those plays aren’t as frequent as they were at the start of the season.

Still, Tom Brady and company live on the big play down the field, which doesn’t bode well for the Bucs.

Advantage: New England

 

New England Patriots Running Game vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Run Defense

The worst part of the Buccaneers defense right now is the run defense. Carolina basically ran the Bucs out of the game last week, putting together a 16-play, 80-yard drive that consumed the remaining eight minutes on the clock.

They did it by running 15 of the 16 plays. The Panthers finished the game with 267 yards rushing.

The Bucs face a Patriots team that doesn’t run the ball with authority, but with Tom Brady at quarterback do you blame them?

Laurence Maroney leads the rushing attack with Fred Taylor adding a little spice to the league’s 13th ranked rushing attack.

Maroney does have a lot of talent and can hurt a defense, so while the Bucs try to stop Brady through the air, Maroney and Taylor could definitely do damage on the ground in this one.

If you have either player on your fantasy team—this week may be a good one to play them.

Advantage: New England

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Special Teams vs. New England Patriots Special Teams

The Buccaneers special teams took a major blow when returner Clifton Smith suffered a concussion last week against the Panthers. Smith was among the league leaders in kickoff and punt returns.

Rookie Sammie Stroughter filled in well for Smith and was actually the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Carolina.

One of the few stats New England is not among the best in the league is in their coverage units. Their kickoff coverage ranks near the bottom, while Tampa Bay remains among the league’s best.

The Patriots definitely have an advantage at kicker, where Stephen Gostkowski has made 81 percent of his field goals. Bucs kicker Shane Andrus has yet to make a field goal in the NFL.

Advantage: Tampa Bay

 

Intangibles

• While technically a Tampa Bay home game, the game will be played at Wembley Stadium in England, where Tampa Bay owners the Glazer family are not very well liked due to their purchase of Manchester United. It can be expected that the crowd will be very Pro Patriots in this one.
• New England’s Tom Brady has won 12 straight regular season games against NFC opponents.
• New England is plus-8 in turnover margin. Tampa Bay is minus-1.

Advantage: New England

 

Coaching

Raheem Morris is in his first season as an NFL head coach and is still searching for his first win at 0-6.

Bill Belichick is in his 15th season as an NFL head coach, his 10th in New England. He has won three Super Bowl championships, four AFC titles, and seven division titles while amassing a 142-88 record.

Advantage: New England

 

Prediction

As each week passes and the Bucs continue to search for their first win, the task of getting that victory seems more and more daunting. No week could it be tougher than this one against the Patriots.

The Bucs have to break out of their routine, travel on a seven-hour flight to England and somehow figure out how to slow down Tom Brady.

All this while trying to keep the team together in the midst of a 10-game losing streak dating back to last season.

While there’s no moral victories in football, I don’t think the Bucs will gauge this game on a win or a loss. Do they improve? Do they stay competitive against a vastly superior opponent? Does Josh Johnson get better or continue to regress?

For Johnson, this may be his last opportunity to show the Bucs and the rest of the league what he can do. With top pick Josh Freeman hanging in the wings and a bye week to get him ready for action, the era of Freeman could be at hand.

What I want to see from the Buccaneers in this one is whether they will fight for their coach. Make no mistake, Raheem Morris is in danger of losing his team and likely his job.

A enormous upset of the Patriots would go a long way in settling the stormy seas of the Buccaneers captain. Don’t laugh. The Eagles certainly aren’t after their putrid performance against the horrible Raiders.

A lackluster, Titan’s style, debacle could be yet another nail in Morris’ proverbial coffin.

While I think the Bucs will give the Patriots a better game than Tennessee did, I don’t believe they’ll have what it takes to pull off the upset.

Final Score: New England 38, Tampa Bay 10.

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Tenure Of One Of The Biggest Busts In Bucs History Is Over

He was the biggest in a year of defensive end busts in the NFL Draft.

He was chosen over Adrian Peterson—yes, THAT Adrian Peterson.

He was selected over Patrick Willis, Marshawn Lynch, Darrelle Revis, Michael Griffin, and Jon Beason—all Pro Bowl players.

He reminded long time Buc fans of another defensive end; no not Simeon Rice, who the Bucs envisioned him becoming, but Eric Curry, another athletic defensive end that was drafted to get to the quarterback, but lacked the strength, technique, and desire to do so.

The Bucs used to defend him, saying he still has the most sacks among his 2007 first round class. Yes, but when you’re talking fellow busts Jarvis Moss, Jamaal Anderson, and Adam Carriker—that’s not saying much.

In the end, the biggest impact he made was the shock around the league surrounding the decision of the Chicago Bears to give up a 2nd round draft choice in what’s likely to be one of the deepest drafts in NFL history for him.

His name is Gaines Adams and he joins Curry among DE Keith McCants, DE Ron Holmes, CB Rod “Toast” Jones, DE Regan Upshaw, and OL Charles McRae in the history of Tampa Bay first round busts.

That’s not even counting Bo Jackson or the quarterbacks (Vinny Testaverde and Trent Dilfer).

Adams’ fall into this sinister company seems to sting a bit more for Tampa Bay. Former defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin and D-line coach Rod Marinelli pushed for Adams, believing the time of Simeon Rice was over.

Head coach Jon Gruden suspected something was wrong with the kid, never smiling after the selection and making the statement, “Gaines is going to lead this league in effort!”

A red flag for all of the fans.

Sure enough, Adams had speed, but no strength. He tried to rely on his athletic ability and never developed any technique. Adams’ coaches and teammates, heck even Chuck Smith’s school for pass rushers, tried to help him develop, but none of that mattered. He lacked the desire to improve himself.

When he got on that field on Sundays, Adams would go back to his comfort zone, using his speed to try to get around the offensive lineman and be guided safely behind the quarterback.

The Bucs finally came to grips that the guy they were desperately relying on to bring a pass rush was never going to be that guy.

So why in the world would Chicago send a 2nd round pick for him? Do they know something we don’t or does Mark Dominik have damning pictures of Jerry Angelo stashed some where?

Well, for one, Rod Marinelli’s on their coaching staff and he may still believes he can save Gaines.

Best of luck to him in that futile effort.

This deal is good for the Bucs since they know they’re not going anywhere this season and when you’re rebuilding, you will need all the draft picks you can muster.

Don’t be surprised to see another few deals done as this team continues in earnest to build for the future.

It’s important that Dominik get a 2nd round pick for Adams. If he gets anything at all for Michael Clayton, he’s my candidate for GM of the year.

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Buccaneers-Panthers Preview: Raheem’s Last Stand?

After an dreadful 0-5 start, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers return home to the friendly confines of Raymond James Stadium and face the team that began their demise in ’08, the division rival Carolina Panthers.

With both teams entering the game at 9-3, Tampa Bay gave up 299 yards rushing and were crushed 38-23. The loss sent the Bucs into a tailspin they have yet to recover from.

The Panthers represent possibly the last chance the Bucs have to register a victory in 2009.

Look at the schedule if you dare. Where do you see the first win if not this week?

The Bucs will not be favored to win any of their remaining games. While parity makes “Any Given Sunday” more than a cliche, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have played poorly against good teams and bad teams alike.

There’s little chance they’ll find a victory against New England, New Orleans (twice), Atlanta (twice), or Carolina on the road.

They probably won’t win against Green Bay, the Jets, or in Seattle.

So where does that leave you? This could be Raheem’s last stand.

So can they do it against the 1-3 Carolina Panthers?

Series: Carolina leads the series 10-7, winning the last meeting 38-23.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Passing Attack against Carolina Panthers Pass Defense

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Johnson made a dramatic improvement from his first start against Washington to his second start against Philadelphia.

The Eagles blitzed Johnson on nearly every passing attempt, yet he played fairly well, tossing 240 yards and two touchdowns.

On the flipside, Johnson also had three interceptions and his wide receivers dropped six passes in the game.

Carolina comes in with the NFL’s 2nd ranked pass defense in the league, but that may be more due to their porous run defense.

Advantage: Carolina

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Running Attack vs. Carolina Panthers Run Defense

One of the biggest losses this season has been the absence of starting center Jeff Faine for the Buccaneer’s offense. Faine returns to the lineup for the Bucs, just in time to face the 30th ranked run defense in the NFL.

Running back Cadillac Williams will again look to establish a strong running attack while Derrick Ward and Earnest Graham look to give the Bucs the three-headed monster they once believed they would have.

Running the football is the key in this game for the Buccaneers. If Tampa Bay can get their running game on track behind Jeff Faine, the Bucs keep the pressure off of Johnson and give themselves a solid chance to win the game.

Advantage: Tampa Bay

Carolina Panthers Passing Game vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pass Defense

Offense has a big time challenge for the Panthers. Averaging only 14 points a game, Carolina’s entire package has struggled.

Jake Delhomme has been downright dreadful, throwing eight interceptions in his first four games and narrowly escaped being benched.

Steve Smith is still a dangerous weapon and the Buccaneers desperately need to keep the “Buc Killer” in check.

The Bucs pass defense continued to struggle against the deep ball against Philadelphia.

If the Bucs can avoid the big play against their defense, they might be able to force Delhomme into some turnovers.

Advantage: PUSH

Carolina Panthers Running Game vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Run Defense

The last time the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced the Carolina Panthers, the Bucs gave up 299 yards rushing.

While DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart remain on the roster, this isn’t the same Carolina offense.

The Panthers’ offensive line simply hasn’t been getting the job done.

The Bucs defense has been better against the run their last two games after weeks of struggling against the run and the pass.

If Tampa Bay can keep the dynamic duo of the Panthers in check, they can force the game into the hands of Delhomme.

Advantage: Push

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Special Teams vs. Carolina Panthers Special Teams

Bucs Head Coach Raheem Morris was so concerned about new kicker Shane Andrus, he went for it several times on fourth down during the game against the Eagles. The lack of point production came back to hurt the Bucs.

In a potentially low scoring ballgame, the kicking game will be important for Tampa Bay.

John Kasay is about as solid as they come in as a kicker and is good again this season, 9 of 10 in field goals this season.

While the Bucs are at a significant disadvantage at kicker, they have huge advantage in return and coverage units. The Panthers aren’t very strong at returning kicks or punts. They’re not good in coverage either, while Tampa Bay is solid in both areas.

Bucs Pro Bowl returner Clifton Smith has yet to break a long run, this could be the week. The Bucs also added speedy Yamon Figurs to add some spice to the return game.

Advantage: Push

Intangibles:

• Carolina is a league worst minus nine in turnover ratio
• The Bucs and Panthers have split the season series three of the last four years.
• Jake Delhomme is 8-2 in 10 starts against Tampa Bay

Advantage: Push

Coaching

Raheem Morris is in his first year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he is 0-5.

John Fox is in his eighth year as head coach of the Carolina Panthers. Fox is 64-52, has won three division championships and one NFC championship.

Advantage: Carolina

Prediction: Earlier this season, I wrote that I wouldn’t pick the Bucs again this season. Well, I’m going back on my word. The match ups seem to favor the Bucs in this game, they’re at home and there’s that word desperation.

Carolina got of the snide last week with a win against Washington, rallying from a 15 point deficit to pull off the win.

The Bucs are a more desperate football team. Murmurs from practices this week talk about this game being a must win for the Raheem Morris regime. Another loss could fracture the locker room and essentially destroy any remaining confidence the team has.

This is a huge game for Coach Morris and his staff, they have to win this game.

With the return of Faine (and hopefully the Tampa Bay running game) as well as the continued maturation of young Josh Johnson, the Bucs have their best chance to get their first victory.

Final Score: Tampa Bay 20, Carolina 13.

 

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