Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers were very close to the playoffs last year, and–after seven straight losses–they will be watching from home again this time around. Their passing game just isn’t what it was last year, and their defense has been equally as bad.

Common sense says that it should be Dallas who wins this game, as they need to fight for their playoff spot, but they’ve been one of the hardest teams to predict, though they’ve typically pulled out victories when facing the weaker teams in the league. The loss of DeMarco Murray at running back certainly doesn’t help and every year we see a handful of games where the team playing for pride pulls it off, so this one’s far from in the bag for Dallas.

Can the Buccaneers be one of those teams that has a late-season upset to hurt someone else’s playoff chances? Here are three matchups that can help answer that question. Read the rest of this entry »

At a glance, its hard to believe the Buccaneers and Jaguars combined for 41 points, let alone one of them hitting 41 by themselves. Tampa Bay turned the ball over a whopping seven times and Jacksonville converted those takeaways into 21 points. Compounding their lack of ball security here was the fact the Bucs were flagged 12 times for 97 yards and their return units contributed minus 2 yards on punts and zero yards via kick returns. While the Jaguars only had a pair of turnovers, one was inside the Bucs’ 10; inexcusable in any game.

In this meeting of two underwhelming and injury-depleted franchises, each toting a struggling quarterback, it was the Jaguars who made fewer mistakes. They also hit a couple of big plays to really put the game out of sight and left with the first win for interim Head Coach Mel Tucker while having scored more points than in their previous three games combined. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s time to audition for the 2012 season. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers come into the game reeling from a six-game losing streak and they’ve fallen to last in the NFC South at 4-8. Rumors are circulating about second-year Head Coach Raheem Morris’ job status for next season, so a strong finish is essential to keep his seat from getting too warm.

In addition to sending players to the injured reserve in droves, the Jacksonville Jaguars have experienced as many changes as an organization can handle as they’ve picked-up a new owner and Head Coach in the past week. Defensive Coordinator Mel Tucker got the “interim” label as the top man, and like Morris, he is hoping to show he is future head coach material by instilling some life into the Jaguars’ disappointing 2011 season.

With the playoffs long out of reach for both teams, let’s take a look at some key players who are hoping to be part of the rebuilding process for their respective teams. Read the rest of this entry »

In a game with no real postseason implications, the Carolina Panthers built an early 14-point lead and never looked threatened from that point on, eventually doubling up on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 38-19. With Bucs starting quarterback Josh Freeman out injured, the Panthers were widely expected to win this one despite being the road team. However, it was mainly Tampa’s defensive struggles that cost them this one.

A win would have kept Tampa within two games of the last wild card spot with four to play but, realistically, both teams were already looking ahead to next year. With both teams now 4-8, Sunday’s game would suggest that Tampa has further to go to get back to being a good team.

Let’s look at some of the individual performances to see if we can identify anyone that is going to make an impact for either of these teams next year.

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It’s not often two division rivals first see each other in Week 13, but that’s what we have as the Carolina Panthers take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week.

Built similarly, these teams feature promising young quarterbacks but underwhelming defenses. The Panthers were expected to struggle while breaking in rookie QB Cam Newton, and even though he has exceeded first-year expectations, the Panthers have limped to a 3-8 record.

Tampa Bay, on the other hand, had high hopes after Josh Freeman’s breakout season and an influx of youth to the defensive line, but the year has not gone as planned. Freeman has seemingly regressed, particularly since Week 3, and the defense has been terrible. Instead of competing for a playoff spot, the Bucs find themselves trying to avoid the cellar in the NFC South. Read the rest of this entry »

The conditions in Nashville promised a sloppy encounter and that’s exactly what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tennessee Titans served up. Nine turnovers and a combined 18 missed tackles were just the start of a game fraught with poor play. There were, however, some real positives in this game – some big offensive plays and some big splash plays on defense as well.

The Bucs’ run defense looked to get upfield frequently and that led to some stops in the backfield but also provided the space for Chris Johnson to turn the game into a track meet. Ultimately, that proved to be a decider.

A fusion of good and bad plays on a miserable day in Tennessee led to some interesting performances. Let’s take a look.

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It’s pretty much the last chance saloon for the Buccaneers this week as, sitting at 4-6 in a crowded NFC Wild Card picture, they are realistically one loss away from being out of it altogether. How they’ve played so far this season makes at least one more loss look more than likely. This is a team that is closer to 4-12 than 10-6 at this stage in their development.

Tennessee seems to have been dealt a post season lifeline with Matt Schaub’s foot injury in Houston. They still trail the Texans by two games and come into this week banged-up on offense. With the way the Texans are running the ball, Tennessee may need to win out and get some help to win the division. Read the rest of this entry »

When Green Bay raced away to a 14 point lead at the start of the second quarter, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was going to be another routine for the defending Super Bowl champions. Instead a resilient Tampa Bay fought back and managed to keep this surprisingly competitive before the Packers put their foot on the gas in the fourth quarter. Not perfect by any means, but these kind of performances are why they remain the class of the NFL.

Indeed even with Aaron Rodgers off form, (by his standards if not anyone else’s) they made enough plays on both sides of the ball to always keep the Bucs out of striking range. A shame for Tampa Bay as after two pitiful performances they actually showed what they were capable of this one, with Josh Freeman finally starting to look like the QB we saw last year.

Ultimately though it was another defeat for TB, and another victory for GB, so let’s see how it played out.

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In delivering their Monday night beat down of the Vikings, the Packers had their most complete game of the season. Dominating in all three phases, their ninth win on the season was never in doubt. Shutting down both Adrian Peterson and the Vikings’ passing game had to be particularly comforting for Packers fans who had gotten used to watching their defense allow opponents to keep things close.

The Buccaneers suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Texans last week – and in front of their home fans, no less. After a promising 3-1 start, this team is now is in full-blown crisis mode after losing four out of their last five games. Head Coach Raheem Morris called out his defensive players earlier this week for “loafing” and a lack of effort during the game against Houston, and when Albert Haynesworth, in his first game as a Buccaneer, is the guy trying to motivate teammates in the defensive huddle … let’s just say the Buccaneers are not in a good place

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Heading into their bye week, the picture couldn’t have looked rosier for the Houston Texans. They moved to 7-3 with a comfortable win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as their top ranked defense was continuing to flourish despite the loss of Mario Williams, and their running game had overwhelmed an opponent for the second week in a row. With a favorable schedule and Andre Johnson’s return expected after the bye, everything seemed to be falling into place – and then news broke that Matt Schaub is likely to miss the rest of the season with a foot injury.

That news totally overshadowed this win, with the Texans much too strong for the Bucs on the day. Whether they can still play like this with Matt Leinart replacing Schaub becomes the big question (and something Khaled explores here ). As for the Bucs, although this was a disheartening performance, they aren’t necessarily out of the race at 4-5, so they’ll have to do their best to regroup over the next few weeks.

Let’s look at some of Sunday’s most interesting individual displays.

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