Buccaneers-Panthers: A “Must Win” For Tampa Bay?

Perhaps it sounds outrageous to say that there is a “must win” for a team that has won no games.

Might even sound silly.

But for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a win this Sunday against Carolina is dead-serious business.

It is because this Buccaneers team is hemorrhaging. It is bleeding badly. Someone needs to get a tourniquet on this group that is 0-5…and the five have been pretty ugly.

There was no chance to win last week in Philly, but it is different with these 1-3 Carolina Panthers. Yes, those Panthers who are struggling mightily themselves.

Their quarterback, Jake Delhomme, is a shell of his old self. He’s playing poorly and perhaps that’s an understatement. 

This team that was a running machine last season cannot run the football. And they cannot stop the run—the two mortal sins of football.

Which brings us to Sunday.

Somehow, someway, this game managed to avoid the NFL television blackout policy. Now, the Buccaneers need to make sure that they don’t blackout on the field. They need to run a gut check. They need to suck it up and beat this one-win team. Someone needs to make a stand, make a play, heck, make several plays.

Why?

Because if the Buccaneers lose this game, the downward spiral could start descending into parts unknown.

After this week, it looks like this:

Patriots in London: New England is beatable this year, but not by these Bucs.

Bye week: Bucs manage a tie.

Green Bay: Throwback Sunday will produce a loss for Tampa Bay.

at Miami: Are you kidding? They’ll Wildcat all over Raheem’s guys.

New Orleans: Don’t even think about it.

at Atlanta: No how, no way.

at Carolina: Well, again, there’s a possibility.

Jets: J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets say No, No, No way to the Bucs.

at Seattle: They’ll be lucky to find their way there and back.

at New Orleans: Ha!

Atlanta: It won’t really matter by then.

There you have it. Find a win or two. That’s a task in and of itself.

That’s why this spiral needs to stop on Sunday. It really has to.

Or does it?

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Tony Dungy Not Interested In A “Buccaneer Bailout”

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization is sinking in a quagmire of its own making.

It is sinking weekly, rumors abound, things are getting, well, the way things get when losing permeates an NFL team.

Latest rumor surrounding the premises at One Buccaneer Disgrace, er, Place, is that the goodly Glazier family might seek to salvage their current mess with help from a man they sent packing years ago.

That man, Tony Dungy, lived happily ever after in Indianapolis and now resides in front of the NBC cameras.

ESPN’s Chris Meyers floated a suggestion that Dungy’s name was being whispered through the palatial halls of Buccaneer headquarters as the fellow who might help bail out this sinking ship that the Glazers command.

Meyers suggested that Dungy might have been asked to “consult” with the the organization.  

Tampa website JoeBucsFan.com brought Meyers’ comments into the limelight and today, NBC squashed those rumors when a statement was issued from Dungy that basically said he wasn’t the least bit interested and that he likes his gig at NBC and wants to polish his on air skills with the network.

Would you expect different?

The last vivid picture of Dungy was the former Bucs coaching loading a couple of small boxes of possessions into his vehicle as darkness fell on Tampa Bay and a steady rain came down upon him.

Now the rain is falling directly on the Buccaneers and they can cross Dungy off the list of potential saviors of the organization.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Buccaneers Battered, But This One Came as Expected

Anyone out there surprised at the outcome?

Philadelphia 33, Tampa Bay 14.

It was coming. The Eagles were waiting, eager to bash and batter the winless Buccaneers.

It was simple assault and battery.

Let Raheem Morris sum it up for you:

“Outplayed us across the board. We were outplayed by a better football team.”

Did anyone expect different of those Eagles?

After all, they came up with a nifty game plan: squash the Buccaneer hopes of running the football and force young Josh Johnson to commit aerial suicide.

Cadillac Williams had his tires stolen. Derrick Ward probably wished he was back in New York. Earnest Graham was the lucky one, he didn’t dress. Ward and Williams had 45 yards between them, 28 on one run by Ward.

Johnson, again running for his life, was the leading rusher with 40 frightening yards.

When he wasn’t being sacked or chased, Johnson threw up 50 passes. Yes, FIFTY!

Nice game plan.

It was one born strictly of desperation.

Eagle rookie Jeremy Maclin schooled the Buccaneer secondary on the Eagles second play of the game; he burned Elbert Mack on a 51-yard bomb from Donovan McNabb, who returned from his rib injuries to play a near-perfect game and take advantage of what has become a horrible Buccaneer secondary.

The tone was set early. The Bucs simply fell further behind as this game dragged on.

One positive for these 0-5 Buccaneers is that Kellen Winslow Jr. finally decided to show up and earn his portly paycheck. He was J.J.’s only friend in Philly; he caught seven balls for 102 yards and both Buccaneer touchdowns.

He had to. Michael Clayton has returned to being, well, Michael Clayton, and Antonio Bryant wasn’t much better.

“Both guys (Clayton and Bryant) dropped a bunch,” Morris lamented afterward.

Indeed, Johnson might have had an 80-yard touchdown pass early if Clayton had gone full extension for the catch. “Hard to grade Josh,” Morris said “Could have had an 80-yard bomb.”

But the tone was set early and this one was all but over by halftime as the Eagles led 21-7.

The second half was no better. More of the same.

The distinct smell of 0-5 was already permeating the Buccaneer sidelines.

It would become 28-7, then 31-7.

Philadelphia’s equivalent of a victory cigar came in the final six minutes of the game when Michael Vick was actually put in the game to play quarterback. No wildcat, no gimmicks, just play quarterback.

Fox network announcers wondered out loud:

“Where does Raheem (Morris) go from here?

That’s a question all of Tampa might ask.

The answer?

Well, first he got on the flight from Philadelphia back to Tampa.

He can look forward to next Sunday’s home game against Carolina, a team that boosted itself with a victory over the Redskins Sunday.

One less winless team in the NFL.

But for the Buccaneers, another loss, an expected loss.

Which begs the question:

How many more can we expect?

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Buccaneer Hopes Boil Down to Josh and Cadillac

If there is to be any offense whatsoever for the Buccaneers in Philadelphia on Sunday, it is most amazing that the Tampa Bay hopes now ride on two players who were an afterthought as summer camp opened.

There was so much talk of the fabulous free agent Derrick Ward, the former New York Giant, the free agent gun of Mark Dominik, the guy who was supposed to supercharge the backfield with Earnest Graham, and the speedy Clifton Smith.

In the background was the forgotten man, the man who suffered not one, but two severe knee injuries, a guy we wondered about. Yes, Cadillac Williams was in the background, a fellow the Bucs were not counting on.

Well, they can count on him now.

Then there was the guy who was more than an afterthought. Yeah, that fourth-stringer, the guy they might release because there was good ole Luke McCown, Byron Leftwich and the No. 1 pick, wonderboy Josh Freeman.

Two players standing in the preseason shadows who now step into the sunlight at Lincoln Financial Field, the hopes of a winless team riding on their efforts.

It was beyond anyone’s expectation that the Williams/Johnson duo would be the focal point of the offense by the fifth game of the season.

There was supposed to be the two-headed monster of Ward and Graham, then Graham and Ward, running and running some more.  Hasn’t happened, has it?

Then there’s Williams, running hard, running his heart out, playing with passion and inspiration, despite the Bucs’ dismal showings.

Word is they’ll give Caddy more carries on Sunday. They need to. He wants them, he wants to get in a rhythm, he has his mojo back.

Then there’s Johnson, fresh off a run-for-your-life showing against the Redskins. It’s a tough task for him at best, going against this hearty Philadelphia defense that has had a week to rest, a week to prepare for a young guy making his second NFL start.

What’s in store for them on Sunday?

That’s anyone’s guess.

The Bucs may be a two-touchdown underdog, but this Williams/Johnson duo totally understands what an underdog really is.

How can you not pull for them?

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Buccaneers-Eagles: Just Compete Baby!

And so it has come to this for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

There is no mention of “winning” Sunday at Philadelphia. Not even by the most optimistic of Buccaneer believers outside of One Buccaneer Place.

No, against these Philadelphia Eagles, there is no thought that there will be an upset of major proportions.

Instead, it is “Just Compete Baby!”

That would be a win for the Buccaneers.

Compete, play beyond their meager capabilities, make Philly sweat.

Coach Raheem Morris couldn’t stop talking about all the “positives” from that 16-13 loss to the Washington Redskins.

There’s only one catch: That is a Redskin team that is going nowhere. It is a Redskin team that will be lucky to win more than a half-dozen games. It was a Redskin team with a pathetic offense, nearly on par with the Buccaneers, and they proved it last week.

The Buccaneers were one decision away from a possible victory, but it was a decision Morris couldn’t make. Go for the late touchdown and possible victory, or HOPE that you get the ball back and HOPE that your team can run a successful two-minute drill.

Hope, Morris found out, was his worst enemy.

Now the Buccaneers roll into Philadelphia, or crawl in, depending on how one envisions an 0-4 team. For Philadelphia, starting quarterback Donovan McNabb returns to action, as does all-everything, all-purpose back Brian Westbrook. Two more challenges for an already-challenged Buccaneer defense.

Yes, Tampa returns safety Tanard Jackson, but what kind of shape is he in after his four-week suspension? Don’t count on interceptions and big plays from TJ.

And how will Josh Johnson perform now that he’s been seen on video by the Eagles?

If you perceive running for your life rather than throwing the ball downfield as improved play at the quarterback position, well then, Johnson was an improvement over Byron Leftwich.

How he’ll survive against Philly is anyone’s guess.

And that’s what this Buccaneer team has done for its followers.

They can only guess how bad it might get in Philly.

And the expectations?

Just compete baby!

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Buccaneers Boot Mike Nugent

Forget about anything being normal at One Buccaneer Place.

First the Bucs gave the “boot” for steady-eddie place kicker Matt Bryant, now they’ve given the heave-ho to his replacement, Mike Nugent.

Nugent was cut by the Buccaneers on Monday after coach Raheem Morris indicated his displeasure with Nugent and revealed that there were two kickers in the building for a look-see.

The Bucs did more than look as they released Nugent and signed former Colts kicker Shane Andrus.

Thus ends one of the very controversial sagas from the 2009 training camp.

Bryant performed well for the Bucs last season but was hampered by a hamstring injury during camp. Nugent was given the job by default.

Nugent hit only two of four field goal attempts in the loss to Washington Sunday, hitting a 22-yarder and a 37-yarder but missing from 48 and 49 yards.

Nugent fell victim to the Morris mantra that the Bucs are “constantly evaluating” their players.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Buccaneers Can’t Ride Redskins “Gift Horse”

Hail to the Redskins!

Thanks Washington. Thanks for trying to help the Tampa Bay Buccaneers get a win Sunday.

Thanks for opening the door and giving them huge first half encouragement.

You did your best. You were the good host, an absolute gift horse.

Sadly, the Buccaneers looked this Washington gift horse in the eyes and said “thanks, but no thanks.”

The Buccaneers lost another game, 16-13, their fourth straight to start this dismal looking season.

This was also a game where the Bucs had a real shot.

They had a shot because the Redskins malfunctioned early and often, there was life in Gaines Adams and the rest of the defensive line, and because new starter Josh Johnson performed well enough to get his team a 10-0 halftime lead.

Unfortunately, the offense decided to shut down for most of the third quarter, the defense sagged, and the ‘Skins bagged 16 unanswered points.

That fourth quarter Buccaneer field goal got the guys close, real close, 16-13 and J.J. and friends would have a last gasp with just less than two minutes to play.

It all ended when Clifton Smith put the ball on the ground and found a way for this team to lose once again.

They shot the gift horse.

Surely we could ask why Smith was carrying the ball that late when Cadillac Williams had proven effective most of the day. He picked up 77 yards on 16 carries and ran hard and was heartbroken afterwards.

“Man, man, man, tough loss, it hurts,” he said stoically. “We are professionals. We got to man up.”

“A real tough loss, a very disappointing loss,” said Johnson after his first start.

“The young man did a nice job of managing the football game,” said Morris of his “career backup.”

“We’ll have to self-evaluate, get better and better,” Morris said, once again, as he often says after a loss.

He’s right about that.

This team lost to a lousy Washington club. The ‘Skins were 1-2 and really looked like they wanted to be 1-3. Jason Campbell showed us why the team sought after Jay Cutler. He had a hard time completing passes, but managed to hit Buccaneer Aqib Talib with three.

He managed only 152 yards in the air, but it was still better than the paltry 106 for Tampa Bay.

Those interceptions to Talib and early fumble to set up an easy Buccaneer touchdown were gifts for the Bucs. They were looking to incur further wrath from its fans, and looking to open the door wider for a quicker exit for head coach Jim Zorn.

It was there for the taking.

The gift horse was there, waiting for the Buccaneers.

And they shot it.

 

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Washington Redskins: Tampa Bay Has a Prayer, If….

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers travel to Washington for a Sunday battle with the Redskins. The win-less Buccaneers may have a prayer to win this game.

The Buccaneers are ONLY a touchdown underdog to the Washington Redskins. Sure the Bucs are 0-3 but the Redskins are also a team in turmoil and coach Jim Zorn is squarely on owner Daniel Snyder’s “firing line.”

Here are a few things the Buccaneers must accomplish if they want to win and send Zorn packing sooner than late:

Don’t fall behind early!

The Buccaneers have been outscored 30-0 in the first quarter. They simply cannot afford that again and perhaps they can keep it close early as the Redskins have not exactly been an offensive juggernaut.

Run the football!

Coach Raheem Morris filled everyone’s head with visions of a three-headed ground monster of Cadillac Williams, Derrick Ward, and Earnest Graham. Williams and Graham are already banged up so perhaps Ward will pony up and find some game.

Help Josh Johnson!

Josh Johnson gets his first start and the Redskins’ defense will be out to test him and test him early. No doubt the Redskins will try and stop the run and force JJ to beat them passing the football.

Get the defense off the field!

The Buccaneer defense, as bad as it is, has no prayer when it has to spend most of the game on the field. It will be cooler in Washington so that will help. At least the guys won’t be totally spent by the fourth quarter.

Bench Gaines Adams!

Probably won’t have to. Adams has a groin strain (how did he get that?) and may not start. Stylez White could play in his place and let’s face it—ANYONE is an upgrade from the underachieving Adams.

Don’t give up the big plays!

It’s gotten better, basically the Bucs are now getting beat because teams can just grind them into the ground, as the Giants did. But it will still help if they don’t give up any big plays.

Can there ever be a pass rush?

The inability of this team to put pressure on the passer has spelled doom and the ugly results on the field. If Jason Campbell has plenty of time, he’ll find Chris Cooley often.

Play with some heart!

This Buccaneer team needs to play with heart and determination. Fans haven’t seen much of that the past two weeks.

Don’t be so negative!

Ronde Barber thinks the media WANTS the Bucs to fail. Shame on you Ronde, double-shame on you. Everyone loves a winner, media included. When you think about it, Ronde is throwing out the negative vibes by taking a “negative attitude” towards the media. 

Easiest way to turn EVERYONE positive:

Go out and win a football game.

Enough said.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

One Buccaneer Place: Who’s Calling the Shots?

Tuesday is the traditional “day-off” for players in the National Football League, although those who witnessed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ effort against the New York Giants last Sunday might argue that most of the team took that day off.

So, in the aftermath, amidst the wreckage at One Buccaneer Place, aka: La Casa de Depair, behind closed doors came a decision that surprised perhaps a few, but what was surprising is that it came after only three games.

Head coach Raheem Morris, the head of this jumbled asylum, declared after the Gigantic beat-down at Raymond James that quarterback Byron Leftwich was still his guy, still the starting quarterback.

Raheem told us that if he was to consider benching Lefty, then perhaps he should bench everyone. A novel idea!

Less than 19 hours later, Raheem, in a move reminiscent of the Glazers deciding that an untested defensive coordinator should become their head coach, declared “career backup” quarterback Josh Johnson his new starting signal caller.

Yes, Josh Johnson, the fourth-string guy at summer camp, has been tossed into that stinky pile of manure known as the Buccaneer offense.

Leftwich was not demoted to backup, he was thrown ungracefully under the bus and will be the inactive third quarterback at Washington on Sunday.

Which makes us wonder: Exactly who is calling the shots at La Casa de Despair on MLK Boulevard?

You might glance at the photo above and get an idea—Doh!

You might also get the idea that Raheem and his staff wasted the entire summer training camp. Their total focus at quarterback was Leftwich and Luke McCown. All the effort was spent studying those two to determine which would give the team the best chance of success.

McCown is now in Jacksonville and Leftwich is somewhere under the bus.

That’s nothing but a solid waste of summer camp.

Doh!

Anyone who has watched more than a dozen football games in their lifetime knew that Leftwich would eventually be replaced, but the common notion was it would come sometime around week seven or eight. Few thought things could go so wrong so early in this season.

Doh!

With all the camp focus on quarterbacks now officially in the crapper, Morris has turned to Johnson, who spent little time taking snaps at camp, fewer than his majesty Josh Freeman, who is in no way ready to get abused from opposing defensive lines.

So Josh will be fed to the wolves for as long as he can stay upright. Morris knows that at least Johnson is equipped with enough agility and speed to run for his life, and no doubt we’ll see a lot of that.

Thus comes the latest decision.

But we ask ourselves: Did Morris really change his mind that quickly or is some sort of “committee” running the show at the Casa de Despair?

Judging from the way things are unfurling before us, it’s anyone’s guess.

Doh!

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Coach Raheem Morris Waffles, Sends Buccaneers QB Byron Leftwich to the Bench

Raheem Morris said after the 24-0 loss to the Giants on Sunday that if he was to consider replacing Byron Leftwich as the starting quarterback, he might as well replace everyone.

Everyone won’t be replaced, but Leftwich will.

In an abrupt about-face, Morris has changed his mind and will start backup Josh Johnson next Sunday against the Redskins.

Leftwich wasn’t even demoted to backup; he went all the way to the third, inactive position. Rookie Josh Freeman will move into the backup role against the Redskins.

“We made that decision today (Monday),” Morris said at his afternoon press conference at One Buccaneer Place. “He (Johnson) provides some more options. I hate to make this about Byron. I looked Byron in the eye and he told me, ‘Hey, I knew I had to get some wins early.'”

Morris went on with his usual dogma: “We’re in constant evaluation. We don’t make knee-jerk decisions.”

“I haven’t told Josh Freeman yet (that he’ll be the backup).”

“It’s not all Leftwich’s fault,” Morris said. “Yesterday (Sunday) we took a step back.”

“He’s gotta go out there see if he can get it done,” Morris said of the shakeup.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

« Previous Page — Next Page »

NFL Sport Channel Latest

• Just How Far Would You Go?
• Sorry Rex, But It Isn’t Happening
• Super Bowl Predictions: Five Stat-Free Reasons Why the Eagles Will Reach The Super Bowl
• Seahawks Attempt to Turn Corner With Heavy Pursuit of Pete Carroll
• Bill Cowher Unlikely to Coach in 2010