Week 3: @ Chicago Bears

Bucs Grind It Out In Chicago, Pull Away With Thrilling 27-24 Victory in OT.

There is something about Chicago that just screams alley fight, and the action on the field as the Bucs faced the Bears did nothing to contradict the feeling. This game was full of tough struggling in the trenches and, in keeping with the alley antics mood, after the plays were finished. 

The Bears always play us hard. This could be partially due to the fact that we are old NFC Central rivals. This game in particular was heated, though. So, given it's already Thursday, let's break this sucker down.

Quarterbacks: A

 This game was a huge statement game for Brian Greise. Many factors aligned to put a lot of pressure on the man. This was his second start, a chance to prove that he is worthy of the starting role. This was his first road game, a chance to show he could win on the road. He was re-visiting his former team in Chicago where he made a few starts but couldn't manage to beat out Rex Grossman (AKA "The Brow") or Kyle Orton (AKA "Mr. Couey") for the starting job. Take all of that and factor in the usual amount of pressure that Gruden puts on his players and you wind up with some hell-a pressure.

 Let's just say that Greise isn't the weakest link in the contest. On the road, against the Bears, under pressure, with the running game falling flat and his receivers dropping passes left and right, he managed to complete 38 of 67 attempts for a whopping 407 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He did also throw three interceptions. All of this combined for a passer rating of 66.0 flat. Sounds pretty patchy, doesn't it?

Well, the thing that the numbers tell me is that Griese basically carried the Buccaneers offense on his back for the entire game, coming short of breaking the all time pass attempts record by only three attempts. The three pickoffs were totally his fault, as none were caused by deflections, but when you go to the well 67 times for passing plays, the defense starts to look for the pass each and every down, and that is what happened on Sunday.

 Your boy Greise was also instrumental in running the no huddle offense to tie the game up and force overtime. And, finally, with the added pressure of the "first to score" style of OT, Mr. Greise managed to march the Bucs down the field, by himself, and get the team in field goal range. You can basically thank him for the thrilling win Sunday. And for that, my dear readers, your boy Brian "Commander of the Buccaneers Offense Luftwaffe" Greise gets a solid A in my book. His daddy must be proud.

 Runningbacks: D

 Ugh. Check your these stats: Earnest Graham - 12 rushes for 16 yards, Warrick Dunn - 5 rushes for 31 yards. So let's see, 17 rushes for 46 yards. I'll say that George Hallis's boys had us pretty pegged in the running game, wouldn't you?

 The Bears defense has always been stout against the run. Always. This has something to due with the reputation the Bears have had for mean linebackers, and everything to do with Brian Urlacher challenging our runningbacks to a serious "Honor Du-el". And we lost. Hardcore.

 It seemed like Graham and Dunn couldn't get past the defensive line, and it didn't seem like it had a lot to do with the offensive line since they were tough all game. In my opinion, they both just looked intimidated out there. They were stuffed on each of their first few attempts and after that they spent the rest of game trying to re-invent themselves on the field. Graham was trying to run wide and use finesse when he is more of a run-up-the gut type back. Dunn was trying to rumble up through the middle when he is the juke and dash type guy. This lead to a whole lot of nothing. Only after Dunn returned to his style did he tear a few long runs on the Bears, his longest an 18 yard sprint.

 These guys are better than this. They just faced a defense designed to hit hard and block the run. Historically, teams that are able to pass well have beaten the Bears (Colts, anyone?) that way, leaning their running game as an occasional threat. I think these guys will do great next week against the Pack.

Recievers: B

You can't pass for 407 yards without receivers that can catch the ball and rack up said yards. The drops are what really stopped me from giving these guys the A. The big standout from this game had to be Antonio Bryant with 10 catches for 138 yards, including a grab for 38 yards. He seemed to everywhere all at once. He dropped a few, but being under tight coverage, it's to be expected. You gotta remember that this guy is helping fill the cleats of one Joey Galloway, arguably one of the fastest receivers ever. I hope Galloway gets back soon, though. We need that speed.

For the second straight week, Ike Hilliard came through with several clutch catches for the Bucs. With just 6 catches for 57 yards and one clutch TD, the numbers once again betray how vitally important Hilliard has been for us during each of these past two wins. He doesn't get open all the time, but he manages to put some extra sauce on the big plays, getting open usually just past the first down marker and making tough catches in coverage for much needed first downs. We'll need him this week against the Pack for sure.

A couple other notables would be Michael Clayton, overcoming his woes and catching 6 passes for 54 yards, and the much maligned Tight End Jerramy Stevens coming back from suspension to nab 5 passes for 61 yards. My boy Alex Smith was great in the blocking game and managed to catch 3 passes for 33 yards. 

All of these guys are going to be under much more pressure this week from Green Bay, so if they show like they did this week, I think that will be the difference maker.

 Offensive Line: A+++++++++++++++++++

There was some extreme badassness on display in Chicago Sunday. The culprits: Right Tackle Mr. Jeremy Trueblood, Right Guard Mr. Jeremy Zuttah, Center Mr. Jeff Faine, Left Guard Mr. Arron Sears, and Left Tackle Mr. Donald Penn. I said during the preseason that this crew would be unstoppable and they have certainly lived up to the title. 

For a little perspective, check this out. The Bears starting defensive line: Left End - Adewale Ogunleye - 8 years experience, 6'4", 260 lbs. Left Tackle - Tommie Harris - 5 years experience, 6'3", 295 lbs. Nose Tackle - Dusty Dvoracek - 3 years experience, 6'3", 303 lbs.Right End - Alex Brown, 7 years experience, 6'3", 260 lbs. 

Those guys are fucking huge! Brian Greise dropped back 67 times and 67 times our O-line kept these Debo sized mammoths away from our QB so he could deliver the ball and stay on his feet. Your boy Arron Sears  had to stand up against the 300+ pound Dusty Dvoracek for 60 minutes, blocking the pass rush 67 times, plus sustain the game winning drive in overtime after that. Imagine having to go from a squat with on hand on the ground, to having a 300 pound madman rushing at you, trying with all of his might to knock you over while you try not to give up an inch because, unlike your opponent, you can't move forward past the line of scrimmage.

Another quick stat: The average experience on the Bears defensive line is 5.75 years. The Bucs offensive line, including the fact that Jeremy Zuttah is a rookie fresh out of Rutgers filling in for 3 year starter Davin Joseph, is 2.8 years experience. In the NFL, that three year experience gap is a lifetime in terms of how you learn and grow as a starter. Yet, under every disadvantage, this young line managed to win the battle with one important skill: TALENT. Beautiful.

Defensive Line: B

The D-line was pretty solid this week. I'll spare you the numbers and just let you trust me when I say that Chicago's O-line is really damn big. Rookie DE Gaines Adams  only chalked up one solo tackle, but made a gigantic impact when he intercepted a short pass by "Mr. Couey" and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown early in the game. Chris "Pray For Your Mortal Soul" Hovan racked up 6 solo tackles and now is second in the league in  defensive line solo tackles on the year with 14 total. Greg White factored in for 3 solo tackles and a sack.

All in all, the D-line did their job. They forced Orton to make some throws he wished he didn't and stuffed the run as best they could. These guys will be very important next week during Operation Knock Aaron Rodgers On His Ass.

Linebackers: B  

The linebackers definitely showed up on Sunday. Mr. Barret RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUD chalked up 6 solo tackles, 1 assist, 2 pass deflections and 1 AWESOME interception in the endzone. The raw talent this guy has is amazing. He basically ripped the ball out of the hands of his assigned reciever and kept it in the air while falling to the gorund, only to gain possesion inches from the turf. Excellent play by a line backer going deep and defending his against a score no matter what. 

Cato June also did his thing out there, collecting 6 solo tackles. For the most part the linebackers defended the pass well but let the run get away from them a little, allowing Bears runningback Matt Forte to rush for 89 yards on 27 attempts and catch 7 passes for 66 yards. Allowing one player a total of 155 yards of offense is unusual for us. They were on the road, though. Look to Mr. Ruud to bring the pain to the Pack.

Defensive Backs: C+

As usual, the defensive backs played well, but gave up a few deep plays that kept Chicago in the game longer than they should have been. Very early in the game, Ronde Barber flew in unblocked to sack The Couey for a big loss. though he later got beat twice in the endzone. Jermaine Phillips got beat a few times as well, but did a great job for the most part keeping a lid on the deep game. We missed having rookie Aqib Talib in the field, but overall these guys did their job of keeping us in the game, though there was a lot of room for improvement. Next week, boys, next week.

Special Teams: B

I gotta take a minute and call out a player who, though he has just started, is fuckingup a bit. This would be rookie kick returner Dexter "Butter Feet" Jackson. I know this guy is just a rookie, but his incredible ability to fall down on each and every kick return is starting to look like someone trying to duck down and avoid a big hit rather than someone losing traction on the turf.

This has been happening for all three games of the season so far and from what I understand this doesn't happen at practice, where he won't get hit, only during the actual game, where he is at risk of getting knocked the fuck out. Coach Gruden, when responding to a question about Jackson's "traction problem", went so far as to say that they would be looking into "his equipment" in attempts to stymie the problem. In this league, you can't play with fear in your heart. Time and time again it has been proven that the guy who worries about injuries winds up getting injured due to indecision on the field. I hope this doesn't happen to him, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did. We demoted Micheal Spurlock, the man that got us our first kick off return touhdown in franchise history, to the practice squad to make room for Jackson. The way things are looking now, that decision may not have paid off the way it was designed to.

On to the good stuff. Punter Josh "Notorious B.I.D." Bidwell was excellent as usual, punting 6 times, his long being 56 yards. This guy keeps us in games more than he is given credit for.

Super solid, Fennelly-disproving kicker Matt Bryant kicked a perfect 2 for 2 with a long of 35 yards, including the game winning field goal in overtime. 

Unfortunately, this Wednesday Bryant faced the absolute news a father could hear as his 3 month old son, Matthew Tryson Bryant, was found deceased in his crib early that morning. The Bucs have given Bryant the option whether or not he wanted to play in this Sunday's game versus the Packers. The Bucs may try to sign a replacement kicker or have Safety Sabby Piscitelli, who kicked in high school, take over on an emergency basis.

Coaching: A

Like last week, I can't really say much about the coaching this week. Gruden seemed to give up on the run early in the game, but it seemed like that was good move in light of the events that transpired later in the game, namely the fact that we had to pass 67 times just to win in OT. Kiffin did his usual job of changing up coverages well enough to stop the Bears from having an easy time of things. The only advice I have would be for Gruden to go after special teams and make sure that the "traction" issues are solved in time for this week's game.

Conclusion

We fought hard for this win and I think we deserved it. Our team stuck in there and showed a lot of determination and that stuff goes a long way. Next week we are going to have to play our A game against a very good Green Bay Packers team, but if we show them our best, I think we will win handily. 

My thoughts are with The Bryants and I hope they can find some peace with a life taken much too soon. Chance is cruel sometimes we don't always understand why things happen the way they do, but for a couple that has been so helpful in the Tampa community, I hope that their strong will carries them through this difficult time and helps them to rise above this most terrible tradgedy. 

Straight From the Dog's Ass...

Raindog Tradition Re-Enters the Blogging World... You All Should Be So Lucky...

There are many Raindog traditions. Cookouts, Halloween on Halloween, Sunday morning movies, etc. One tradition that is even more delightful is O'D's own "Straight From the Dog's Ass" writings. Now, thanks to boredom and genius in an intricately balanced equal proportion, this amazing collection of thought and profound coolness is making it's transition to blog form. 

For those of you who may know O'D but are not familiar with SFTDA, I will give a brief history. To the best of my recollection, this story begins in the early days of the Internet. Your boy O'D began getting increasingly into HTML, buying several books on the subject and spending most of the time we weren't either making music or watching Pop Up Video learning to design website pages. Thanks to the birth of free domain sites like Angelfire (old school), we began making homepages for all of our myriad musical projects as well as personal sites, among them the classic ODLIKE site where O'D would basically blog before anyone even knew what blogging was.

During this time O'D was planning on trying to publish a zine by the name Straight From the Dog's Ass. I wasn't really around for a lot of that, but I think a few mock up issues were created, however the idea didn't really follow through as expected. This was when O'D moved the concept of SFTDA to the Internet. 

For me, those were the best things ever. Manically gifted with the ability to hold on to shit tons of obscure geeky knowledge, your boy would craft incredibly interesting rants on pop culture that would cover the gamut from music to video games, art to politics. What made them different from most self concerned drivel on the net was how easily comprehensible it all was. A geek speaking to other geeks from underneath a pile of mixtapes and Anchor Bay VHS releases. Brilliant.

For a short time SFTDA made appearances on MySpace in the form of blogs that were absolutely fucking hilarious. So that brings us back to the present. With the popularity of blogs today and the advent of the super sweet and accessible Blogger from Google, SFTDA has found a new home.

Anyone reading this should seriously check this out. It's reads exactly what you think it would read like if you stuck a cool guy in the middle of Iraq with TV boxed sets and sand boogers: really awesome blogs about sand boogers.

The URL is http://www.straightfromthedogsass.blogspot.com/ . Read and respect, bitches!

Week 2: Vs. Atlanta Falcons

Bucs Defense Dominates Supposedly Highly Touted Falcons, Media Darlings Pout As They Lose 24-9.

The Bucs supplied plenty of pop Sunday as held the Falcons to just three field goals from inside the red zone. All of the elements were there: strong pass rushing, two interceptions, great running game, and the typical come from behind feel of the Bucs being broadcast on FOX. The Bucs never trailed, having scored a touchdown off an interception that put the offense in great field position and provided Tampa with a lead they never relinquished. You wouldn't have known that from the how the broadcasters responded, however. 

Even in the end, while the Bucs defense was finishing the job of dismantling the Falcons, the FOX commentators were trying to think of ways to not give the Tampa any credit for the win, scheming ways that Atlanta could possibly get back in the game. This carried on even through the Bucs sacking QB Matt Ryan on a 4th and long play. "You have to love this young man", speaking of Atlanta's rookie QB, "through this tough game he's never let his head hang down." Bullshit. He was smothered out there. But c'mon folks, hats off to the offensive coordinator! Give me a fucking break. Hats off to Monte Fucking Kiffin for dialing the proper defensive coverage to keep Atlanta out of the endzone for 60 minutes. How about that? 

I had a great time yelling at the TV as the Bucs creamed the Falcons play after play. Here is how I think they did in particular...

Quarterbacks: B

There was a lot of murmuring this week not only in Tampa but throughout the nation about Jon Grudens controversial decision to bench veteran QB Jeff Garcia in favor of fellow journeyman Brian Griese. Though the decision was made on Tuesday of last week, Garcia came out in the media saying that he was not too injured to play and wished he was given the opportunity to "work through" his problems on the field. This decision threw me for a bit of a loop as well, prompting me to write an article that began as an informative piece on the QB change and ended up as a rail against Gruden himself.

Whatever the implications, Griese held the line in his first start, completing 18 of 31 for 160 yards and a touchdown. He wasn't helped by a number of dropped passes from Alex Smith and Antonio Bryant, though. He did overthrow a number of great down field passes, however, including a huge one to Joey Galloway that would have been a sure 6 points. All in all he performed well. 

The true intrigue begins now that Gruden has announced that Griese will start next week in Chicago. Hmmmm.... I wonder what Garcia will say about that to the media...

Runningbacks: A

Earnest Graham rushed for a solid 116 yards and a touchdown, including a 68 yard tear on one carry. Warrick Dunn strung together 49 yards for a crucial touchdown, his long being the 17 yard run that earned him that TD. The stats speak for themselves. The running game dominated the field Sunday, proving that the combo of Graham and Dunn is a serious threat to score on any given carry. 

This combination will be huge for us down the stretch as teams with one featured back like Minnesota and San Diego start to see the carries add up as their star runningbacks begin to succumb to injury later in the season. Graham had 15 carries and Dunn had 12. Perfect. Each stays fresh and ready to work on the next play while they each offer different traits that linebackers have to worry about. Beautiful!

Recievers: C 

It was an up and down game for our receiving corps. A lot of dropped passes and clutch catches. Tight End John Gilmore lead the Bucs in receiving yards with 41 yards for one touchdown. Yeah, it was that kind of day. For the second straight week Joey Galloway was a none factor, catching two passes for 18 yards. He was missed a couple times on deep routes by Griese, but his presence in the medium to short game was very unimpressive. This leads me believe that Galloway may be injured in some way because he can't seem to be able to get open quickly enough to be an option on many passing downs. Galloway left the game in the 4th quarter due to an ankle sprain.

Ike Hilliard put together a nice outing, catching 4 passes for 41 yards. What the stats don't tell you is that all of these catches were clutch, with many of them being on 3rd down. He is quickly rising to the top as our go to guy on the field.

Oh, and drop addled Micheal Clayton caught a pass for 6 yards! And then promptly spent the rest of the game struggling to get open. Hi Ho.

Offensive Line: A

When your QB only gets sacked twice against a defensive end like John Abraham you're doing your job. When you block to allow for 164 yards rushing you're doing it well. String that together and you get to see how good this O line is beginning to get. Jeremy Zuttah redeemed himself this week, helping hold back Atlanta's large defensive line. These guys can do a lot better than they are doing now. They are really starting pick up the pace. Look to next week for another strong showing.

Defensive Line: B

Despite not getting the maximum pressure they are capable of, the D line managed to pummel the FOX poster boy Matt Ryan 4 times, 2 of which were tacked on by human monster defensive end Gaines Adams. Against the rush they were decent, stopping some runs in the backfield but allowing most to pass to the linebackers and secondary. They gave the Falcons offensive line trouble all day, often coming within inches of Ryan before he released the ball. Greg White turned in a great performance as well. Bravo, boys!

Linebackers: B

Barret RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUD has a great showing, clocking 8 solo tackles and 5 assists. He always finds a way to get to the ball and Sunday was no different. The linebackers were generally responsible for holding runningback Micheal Turner to only 42 yards, down from the franchise high 220 yards he racked up against Detroit next week. Along with Cato June and Derrick Brooks, the line backers allowed only 106 yards rushing on the day. Good stuff.

Defensive Backs: A

This crew turned in some great business. Rookie cornerback Aqib Talib intercepted his first pass in the NFL as well as deflected one as well. Ronde Barber put up 3 solo tackles and kept Falcons receivers covered up for most of the game. While tackling well, Matt Ryan picked on starting left corner Phillip Buchanon, allowing Falcons receiver Roddy White to break from coverage and catch several clutch passes. 

One big standout was the play of second year safety Sabby Piscitelli. Check these stats: 2 solo tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 1 pass deflection, and 1 interception. Solid play. I like Sabby a lot. He reminds he a lot of a young John Lynch. But his bone head play in the 3rd quarte could have cost us a lot.

Sabby forced a fumble by dislodging the ball from runningback Jerious Norwood. The ball fell on the ground, only to be recovered Sabby as well. Your boy then, with his knees still off the ground (a.k.a. still in play), attempted (and accomplished) an illegal forward pass. This illegal pass rolls on the ground, now live. The Falcons recover. And gain about 12 yards in the process. Most player are called for this in college bacaue the rules are different. 

In college, a player is considered down and out of play when their knees touch the ground. Some players try to make the most of a fumble by "bumping" the ball forward toward another one of their players that are still up and running in the hope that they will pick the ball up and advance it farther. It's still illegal in college, but, like most interactions between players and refs, it's all a matter of selling it.

I don't know what went through Sabby's mind when he tried that gimmick, but I can guarantee that it won't happen again. He's probably sitting in the film room right now watching that play over and over again, having to face the music.

All in all, though, the defensive backs provided great coverage of the passing game as well as plenty of support for the running game. Next week we'll get to pick off Kyle Orton. Can't wait.

Special Teams: A

Special teams did their job this week. Josh Bidwell did hid usual job of earning Pro Bowl rights by punting his ass off. Matt Bryant kicked off well and hit a 33 yard field goal right through the middle, once again disproving over dramatic "journalist" and book burning hypocite Martin Fennelly. Coverage was as good as can be expected. Kickoff and punt returner rookie Dexter Jackson had a couple of good returns but other wise just fell on his face a lot.

Coaching: A

For once I don't really have much to say about Gruden or his playcalling. Halftime adjustments were pretty good and the Bucs kept a handle on the Falcons in check throughout the game. Monte Kiffin kept up the pace as always, sending in the right players and guiding the Bucs to their first victory by securing turnovers and keeping the Bucs offense on the field. 

Conclusion

The Bucs looked great defensively this week. We kept Atlanta to three field goals on three redzone shots. That looks a lot like the Bucs defense of a few years back. Offensively, we managed the game well and kept the ball in our hands or in the endzone. If we keep this up, we may be yelling at the TV, telling the commentators on the Superbowl broadcast to shut the hell up. The Bucs are here to win, bitches! 

(photo courtesy of AP photo/ Reinhold Matay)

Due to not being "the same guy that he was", Garcia is benched. Brian Griese, you're up. After that, Gruden, can I have a shot?

Well, it seems that Garcia, suffering from a possible ankle injury, is being benched for the week in favor of one time starter Brian Griese. I feel a few ways about this, but more importantly, I wonder how this change will impact the team.

If you listen at all to the local AM radio stations like 620 or 1250, the only message tearing through their microphones is speculation on whether the relationship between Garcia and Gruden is damaged, destroyed, or totally demolished. To me, someone who is turning more and more against Gruden as the time goes on, I think that we have to do what it takes to win, especially since the NFC South is looking to not be the cupcake it was last season. Besides, the connection between Gruden and any player always eventually come to a bitter end. Maybe Garcia's time has come.

The way I see it, if it takes a week off to get Garcia back in shape, than it's worth it. The only concern I have is that if Griese wins handily this Sunday, I think Gruden will have a hard time sitting him on the bench and giving Garcia the start again, even if he is healthy. Gruden has been here 7 years and we have never really had a franchise starting QB yet. In fact, I don't think we have ever had one. Which leads me to my point.

The fact that Brian Griese left here and went to Chicago for two years and couldn't beat out Rex Grossman or Kyle Orton for the starting job is a little concerning. In Chicago, he's a benchwarmer. In Tampa, he's a starter. Hmmm...

We are a national joke at QB. We fell all over ourselves in a half baked attempt to get Brett Favre only to not only lose out on signing him, but also made our starting QB remark that he was a "dead man walking". Nice. We release Chris Simms and retain Luke McCown to complete a lineup of first place losers. With the exception of rookie Josh Johnson, everyone of our QBs have started and then been sat in favor of someone else. Beautiful.

Don't get me wrong, I like Garcia as much as the next guy. He lead Philadelphia to the playoffs, only to lose. And then he lead us to the playoffs, only to lose. This is coming from the same team that benches our Superbowl QB Brad Johnson the next year after he wasn't playing up to Gruden's snuff. I don't know. A lot of other teams have great franchise QBs:  Tom Brady, Ben Rothelisberger, Jay Cutler, Donovan Mcnabb, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Phillip Rivers, Matt Hassellbeck, Jamarcus Russell.... okay, that last one was a joke.

Anywho, we can't seem to get one to save our life. If this teams hopes to do anything of significance down the road, we have to change a lot of things. Most notably, our head coach. Gruden is poisonous to every player he gets a hold of. No free agents want to come here. No rookies want to start here. Gruden not only screws our chances of building a dynasty, he stops us from building a better team. If we fired him today I'm sure he wouldn't be able to get a head coaching job anywhere else. That says a lot.

 

Week 1: @ New Orleans Saints

Despite Strong Showing, Bucs Get Edged By Saints 24-20.

It was another one of those games. The first week of the NFL season is always a time of adjustment and trial and error, being only one week removed from exhibition football played by back ups and young hopefuls. Most teams appear sluggish and that was no exception as the Bucs showed sparks of brilliance among a back drop of, well...sluggishness.

Quarterbacks: C-

Jeff Garcia looked pretty rusty. 21 of 41 for 221 passing yards with 1 TD and 1 Interception, respectively. There were several situations where ball was thrown too low, too high, or just into the ground. Don't get me wrong, I think it takes a mature QB to know when a play has been busted to the point of no return and to throw it out. On the other hand, though, when there is an opportunity to make a play, you gotta make the throw, not throw it to the other team, as he did on the last play of the game. I think the game turns out differently if Garcia throws those bad passes on the mark. Maybe next week....

Runningbacks: B

Earnest Graham rushed for 91 yards on 10 carries. Warrick Dunn had 54 yards on 9 carries. Each averaging well over the 5 yards per carry mark. These guys were the saving grace of the offense, basically. The way the game changed in the second half limited their use in the end, though. Both Graham and Dunn ran especially well against an intense Saints defense.

As for fullbacks, B.J. Askew had 3 receptions for 20 yards, including one for a gain of 11 yards. 

Recievers: C-

Ugh. Everyone knows that the passing game requires intricate timing between the recieving corps and the quarterback. What do you get when your leading reciever and your starting QB both miss training camp and the entire preseason due to injury? A poor showing. 

Joey Galloway had 6 receptions for a paltry 56 yards with his longest being a whoping 13 yards deep. That's only 2 yards deeper than B.J. Askew was able to do at fullback. At fullback. His timing was all over the place, giving up on two plays that looked designed for him, one a deep pass and the other being a hook route that should be easily caught. The Bucs could not stretch the field when needed, so the Saints stayed home, often putting 8 men in the box to stuff the running game. 

Ike Hilliard and Alex Smith made some clutch catches but neither was able to break free enough to contribute down the field. Antonio Bryant managed to drop more passes than Micheal Clayton, which says a lot. The recievers can't be totally put to blame for all of this however, considering a lot of missed opportunities were due to Garcia being very inaccurate. Ugh.

Offensive Line: B

The line struggled from time to time but were nonetheless improved over last year. They managed to open huge holes for the runningbacks and protect the QB. The only downside I saw was that Jeremy Zuttah was getting beat pretty often while filling in for the injured Davin Joseph. There were several times that the line fell apart, but that's just first week stuff. I look to this line for great stuff in the weeks ahead.

Defensive Line: C-

Very unlike themselves, the defensive line was pretty much a no factor this week. Greg White accounted for the only sack in the game while Gaines Adams and his ill fitted helmet were basically stopped cold by the Saints O line. Chris Hovan seemed to have his hands more than full trying to break through as well. 

It's not all doom and gloom, though. The line has the peices to be fierce and they will be once the season gets going. Look for a more dominant performance next week at home.

Linebackers: C+

This group of guys were hot and cold all through the game. Hot: How about Mr. Barrett RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUD leading the team with 9 solo tackles and one assist as well as a tackle for loss? Cold: How about allowing allowing 110 yards rushing and giving up 112 yards in short passes thrown to Reggie Bush alone?

It seemed like the LBs were a bit sluggish. Whenever Reggie Bush would get moving it seemed like our backers were stuck in quicksand. Derrick Brooks left the game with a hamstring strain and is questionable for this week's game against Atlanta, putting his franchise record 209 consecutive start streak in doubt as well. Before he left the game he managed to put up 3 solo tackles. He also missed about 2 that I saw, so I don't know what to make of that.

I like our linebackers, though. Look to them to make a splash at home in the heat next week.

Defensive Backs: B-

The other half of the reason that this game was so close was due to these guys. Unfortunately they also cost us a lot as well. Phillip Buchanon returned an interception for a touchdown to tie the game at 7 early Sunday. Aqib Talib cost us 7 points, however, when he failed to to cover his reciever, opting instead to try a leaping interception that resulted in a TD for the Saints.

One play that got me really flustered was Jermaine Phillips half hearted tackle attempt on Reggie Bush's 26 yard touchdown run. Bush managed to pickup great tackles from his O line, shake off Ruud and Buchanon. Standing between Bush and 6 point is Phillips, an NFL starting strong safety. As Bush runs past, Phillips whifs and runs out of bounds on a weak juke move by Bush. When you watch the play it's apparent that Phillips was totally unprepared for Bush and was likewise unable to present even the slightest opposition to Bush. Pathetic.

A notable play was Ronde Barber's sick hit on Reggie Bush that caused what is still in my mind a fumble. The refs didn't see it that way, but you can bet the next time Reggie sees the ball coming in from the right and Ronde flying in fom the left, he'll be thinking about more than Pepsi commercials and paychecks.

Special Teams: B

Special teams were pretty solid, allowing only 16.8 yards per return on Sunday. Punter Josh Bidwell a.k.a. The Notorius B.I.D. punted for an average of 44 yards per punt, including one that was downed by special teams at the 1 yard line. Bidwell is always solid, every game, every punt. It was great to see him get off to a great start.

Matt Bryant, ripped by professional assclown shithead Martin Fennelly for being inconsistent through the preseason, hit two field goals for the Bucs. Just a further sign that Fennelly knows dick about what he speaks of.

Coaching: D

I think it goes without saying that Monte Kiffin always does the best job he can do. Besides a few miscues on coverage, the Bucs stayed competitive throughout the game defensively. As usual, though, Gruden's mistakes ultimately cost us the game. 

Like I mentioned before, when the timing between the Garcia and Galloway is rusted and blurry, why would you repeatedly call for plays that depend on that relationship to be executed? When you are out of touch, that's when.

Gruden has showed his inability to grasp the reality of situations before, when doubting Chris Simms poor performance being due to his spleen injury, when promising Keenan McCardel a contract extension only to go back on that word, and calling plays that go against what appears to make sense in the game situation, putting his players in awkward situations and inevitibly costing the team a victory. All of this is becasue to Gruden, it's either his way or the highway, even if the highway mean losing the game.

Another reason the Bucs couldn't get the win yesterday was because Gruden's offensive play calling makes the two minute drill almost impossible, ruining our efforts at clock managment totally, killing our chances of quickly scoring to win the game, and putting a rusty Jeff Garcia in a position to throw the game ending interception. Most football playnames are specific to a certain play, it's just coded so that the defense doesn't know what the specific words mean. In Gruden's system the play calls are very long, containing coded messages for each specific player concerning what they are to do. When you start to have to basically explain an entire play in code to each player, the chances of making good use of time is very unlikely. 

It's the difference between asking "Dude, could you get me a Coke?" versus saying "Dude, get me a Coke from the fridge while I sit here and work on writing this blog. The handle is on the left side of the fridge and the Coke should be on the top shelf. And don't drop the Coke because if you do, it may explode all over me. That would suck." Garcia got Gruden to lighten up a little on the audibles and the various trickery in favor of a more straight approach last year, so you can drop the "that would suck." line from the play.

Conclusion:

All in all, though, I hope that Gruden gets the message this week. We have to do what we have to do to win football games. If that means changing the method a little to maximize on what we can do then that's what it takes.

Half of the teams in this league are 0-1, just like us. If we are going to take advantage of this season we have to start doing so next against a Falcons team that everyone counted out this year but managed to stomp the Lions 34-21. We have our work cut out for us. 

Martin Fennelly Is An Assclown

I logged on to TBO.com tonight to check up on some sports news and came across another one of Martin Fennelly's retarded fucking articles about the Bucs. For those of you who don't know who this guy is, he is one of the staff writers for The Tampa Tribune sports section. He earns his keep mainly during the football season, when he reports almost exclusively on the apparently permanent dark side of the Buccaneers franchise. His column usually appears along the side of the front page, where he can make the most use of his overly dramatic writing style by writing ominous one line statements and then leaving like 4 or 5 lines before the next bit of actual writing.

Anyways, this guy's default setting is decidedly Negative Ned. He always talks all this trash about the Bucs and makes them out to be the worst team ever. Until the season starts, that is. Then he changes his tune according to how they perform. 

A few wins = "You gotta love it............................(a million fucking lines of gap)...................................The Bucs playing football.............................(a zillion more fucking spaces)...................................The Bucs way.............................

A few losses = "How much more?..................................................................(Fennelly sucking like usual)...........................Gruden has lost the drive................................................(Fennelly filing his nails while wearing a french maid costume).......................................................The Bucs have lost the drive.....................

Basic point: Fuck that guy.

I mean, what an assclown, right?

I bet he doesn't get paid by the word

If he did, you could bet he wouldn't waste so much space writing his retarded poems in the Trib.

If you want to read the article that set me off on this prick, check out tbo.com under the Bucs section. It's under the title Q&A with Fennelly title. He is the example of what would happen if one of those stupid, rowdy, somewhat creepy Bucs fans that roam the message boards got his very own article in the Tribune. It would be full of half baked criticism, vaguely pointed accusations, hamfisted attempts at guilt tripping the coaching staff into subsribing to said half baked criticisms, and.............................. a shit ton of fucking spaces so that they wouldn't have to fill thier article with...well... rationl thoughts.

I have put up with his shit forever. Open the Trib, grab the Metro and the Sports sections. Sit on the can. And then I get to read this jerks infantile cries of doom. Fucking jerk.

I mean, this guy throws everyone under the bus. In that retarded Q&A thingie he manages to totally abandon Matt Bryants kicking skill based solely on the preseason. Nevermind the 62 yard field goal he made, or the last few years of solid kicking he provided. According to Mr. Pube Floss,  "This team is putting way too much on this guy. It’s been a while since he booted the Bucs past the Eagles with that memorable Tom Dempsey impersonation—a long while. It’s taking a chance, especially given the fact that this is looking, to me at least, like a field-goal offense." 

Okay, junior. Let's check back on that statement in a few weeks when we are doing great. Field goal offense? Fuck that. HAVE YOU SEEN THE PRESEASON GAMES??? You were obviously watching enough to see Matt Bryant struggle. What about the killer running game? Ugh.

I've said my piece and I hope he reads this. I'm gonna tag it with his name and every other related phrase I can, in the vain hope that he just might read this. He won't change. But at least I'll have said my piece. 

I mean, after all, can't I just hope?

Hope that maybe that prick will read this.

That maybe, just maybe, he'll weep?

One can hope.

Hope.