Sports weekend

I had a light posting week because of the preparations for a high definition television set. The Bucs game against Jacksonville looked beeyootyful.

And that goes beyond the visuals provided by the new telly. Yes, the Bucs lost to the Jags, but there were many positives to draw out of the game aside from some sloppy play (particularly from a rusty Jeff Garcia).

The Bucs ran the ball on Jacksonville. The Bucs pass-protected well against Jacksonville. The defense let the Jags do very little offensively aside from the traditional first-string vs. second string thing that the Jags like to do in the preseason. In this case, that was the first drive of the second half.

A few player notes:

Jeremy Zuttah filled in nicely for injured right guard Davin Joseph.

The Bucs are stacked at tailback. I like Cadillac Williams, who remains on the PUP list, but I don't think he'll be seriously missed in terms of production. Each of the backs the Bucs have in camp appears to catch the ball and block better than Williams. That's a pleasant surprise coming from Michael Bennett, second year RB Kenneth Darby and rookie free agent Clifton Smith. Earnest Graham and Warrick Dunn figure to get most of the touches come regular season.

Wide receiver Maurice Stovall edged Michael Clayton for the best performance. Clayton notched a TD catch during the game, which was nice to see even if it was only preseason. Antonio Bryant sat with a swollen knee.

The pass rush looked good against Jacksonville, continuing the trend from the first two games of the preseason. The Bucs are getting a good rush off the edges from Gaines Adams and free agent signee Jimmy Wilkerson. The defensive tackles so far are doing a good job of squeezing the pocket with the inside rush. Plus the run defense has looked pretty solid despite an occasional blown assignment.

The defensive backfield looks to turn in a whole bunch of splash plays this year. Aqib Talib continues to excel and I'm getting on the Elbert Mack bandwagon. Mack had an INT last week along with a bone-jarring hit. He continued with stellar play this week, showing great athleticism in defensing a pass. He was also called for pass interference, which may have been a bad call (I initially agreed with the call but questioned it after the replay). Safety Sabby Piscitelli continued to show up around the football.

Cuts will be tough at One Buc Palace this year. Clifton Smith has outperformed Dexter Jackson on kick returns thus far, and the competition is spirited at quite a number of positions. This team will improve from last year if the coaches make the right roster picks.

Devil* Rays

The Rays still haven't lost a series since the All-Star break, which is making life delightfully miserable for Yankeefan and Red Sox fan. The team has continued to rely on team play spearheaded by strong pitching and solid defense while stars Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria and Troy Percival continue to mend. Willie Aybar has had a notable August, which merits him a two-weektime achievement award instead of a series MVP award.