I'll admit that I saw little hope of winning the game as the clock slipped under 5:00 to go in the fourth quarter. The Bucs' offense simply had not provided enough consistency to think they could come back from 10 points down.
The win was sweet, and there were plenty of great plays to talk about by both sides. Chicago fans can stew over the fact that the officiating significantly affected the outcome of the game. I certainly know how that feels, but it's a better feeling when you have the win in the books.
I'll just focus on two aspects of the game.
First, people may make a big deal about Chicago's success running the ball on the Buccaneer defense, having chalked up a total of 158 yards and a 4.3 ypa average.
That's an illusion. The Bucs gave up a total of seven first downs rushing, and one of those first downs skewed the stats. Those who saw the game know where I'm going with this.
Late in the game, the Bears fake a punt and Garrett Wolfe reeled off a 38 yard gain, giving Chicago an important first down deep in Buc territory. Adjust the stats for Wolfe's run and they look quite a bit different: 120 yards rushing on 36 carries for a 3.3 ypa average. The best average other than Wolfe's eye-popping 38.0 yards-per-attempt came from quarterback Kyle Orton, who averaged 3.5 yards per carry.
Orton wasn't supposed to rush except on one of those plays, where he gained one yard on a sneak to pick up a first down. So Chicago was picking up about 3.3 yards per rush on average--not the kind of average that leads to consistent first downs.
In short, not much to worry about regarding Tampa Bay's rush defense. Minus Orton's scrambles and the fake punt the defense gave up just 100 yards rushing to Chicago.
So that brings us to the slightly bigger concern: The Bucs gave up 268 yards passing, and quite a few of those came against Ronde Barber.
Again, not a big concern.
The hits against Barber came late in the game with the Bucs on the short end of time of possession. Barber's coverage was decent in each case, but credit goes to the Bears for making the plays. Gruden called Barber the least of his worries during his Monday press conference.
True, that.
Showing posts with label Ronde Barber. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ronde Barber. Show all posts
Monday, September 22, 2008
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Bucs flambe Falcons 37-3, cinch NFC South title
The Bucs gave game announcers one less hackneyed stat to reference during Buccaneer football games by breaking an amazingly long streak without a kickoff return for a touchdown.
Oh, and the team beat the Falcons and clinched a home playoff game by beating the Falcons 37-3.
Special Teams
Special teams coach Rich Bisaccia deserves a great deal of credit for prying one 500 lb gorilla of a monkey off the backs of the Buccaneers. The rest goes to Michael Spurlock, a speedy wide receiver who played quarterback at Mississippi, a player who won the job as kick return specialist thanks to an injury to wide receiver Mark Jones.
I had a feeling about this particular kick return, but not enough of a feeling to match that of a guy in the row behind me, who not only had the feeling but was drunk enough to predict that the return would go for a touchdown. He's made the prediction before, but that can't possibly detract from the satisfaction of getting it right!
The return looked like the prototypical kickoff return for a touchdown. A lane forms, the returner speeds through it, then just has to outmaneuver the kicker and a couple of other guys to make it to paydirt. The Bucs went delirious. The crowd went delirious. The Bucs were up 14-3 and the offense hadn't scored a point.
Defense
The defense gave up several big runs on the ground, but none for touchdowns, and more importantly played great pass defense. Greg White and Gaines Adams have begun to look like the real deal rushing from the ends the past month or so. Adams rang up the Bucs' only sack of the game, stripping the football in the process--it was recovered by ball hawk Jovan Haye inside the Falcons' 10 yard line and led to a touchdown. On the Falcons' third play from scrimmage to open the game, Ronde Barber intercepted and carried the ball in from 29 yards. Barber now has 10 touchdowns in his 11-year NFL career, which should help him earn Hall of Fame consideration.
Offense
Quarterback Jeff Garcia played as well as he needed to play. The offensive line had its problems with pass protection, but with the early lead they had the luxury of bearing down on the running game.
Part of Garcia's post-game commentary:
A very satisfying win against a struggling opponent. The improvement of the pass rush continues to encourage.
Next Up
San Francisco in San Francisco. The Bucs have a history of playing poorly on the West Coast, but the 49ers aren't going to beat the Bucs through the air. Frank Gore needs to have an excellent day for the Niners to have a chance. The Bucs should register win No. 10 on the season.
Oh, and the team beat the Falcons and clinched a home playoff game by beating the Falcons 37-3.
Special Teams
Special teams coach Rich Bisaccia deserves a great deal of credit for prying one 500 lb gorilla of a monkey off the backs of the Buccaneers. The rest goes to Michael Spurlock, a speedy wide receiver who played quarterback at Mississippi, a player who won the job as kick return specialist thanks to an injury to wide receiver Mark Jones.
I had a feeling about this particular kick return, but not enough of a feeling to match that of a guy in the row behind me, who not only had the feeling but was drunk enough to predict that the return would go for a touchdown. He's made the prediction before, but that can't possibly detract from the satisfaction of getting it right!
The return looked like the prototypical kickoff return for a touchdown. A lane forms, the returner speeds through it, then just has to outmaneuver the kicker and a couple of other guys to make it to paydirt. The Bucs went delirious. The crowd went delirious. The Bucs were up 14-3 and the offense hadn't scored a point.
Defense
The defense gave up several big runs on the ground, but none for touchdowns, and more importantly played great pass defense. Greg White and Gaines Adams have begun to look like the real deal rushing from the ends the past month or so. Adams rang up the Bucs' only sack of the game, stripping the football in the process--it was recovered by ball hawk Jovan Haye inside the Falcons' 10 yard line and led to a touchdown. On the Falcons' third play from scrimmage to open the game, Ronde Barber intercepted and carried the ball in from 29 yards. Barber now has 10 touchdowns in his 11-year NFL career, which should help him earn Hall of Fame consideration.
Offense
Quarterback Jeff Garcia played as well as he needed to play. The offensive line had its problems with pass protection, but with the early lead they had the luxury of bearing down on the running game.
Part of Garcia's post-game commentary:
“We basically got into a very run-oriented mode and we used a lot of two tight end sets and just pounded the ball. That really became our offensive scheme from what seemed like the second quarter on. We were protecting the lead and we turned it over to our offensive line and said, be physical with Earnest Graham and Michael Pittman and we were able to get Michael Bennett involved late in the game. Those guys did an outstanding job of running the football.”Summary
(Buccaneers.com)
A very satisfying win against a struggling opponent. The improvement of the pass rush continues to encourage.
Next Up
San Francisco in San Francisco. The Bucs have a history of playing poorly on the West Coast, but the 49ers aren't going to beat the Bucs through the air. Frank Gore needs to have an excellent day for the Niners to have a chance. The Bucs should register win No. 10 on the season.
*****
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Bucs take win over Redskins, 19-13
The Redskins giveth, and the Bucs taketh away.
Though the Bucs lost quarterback Jeff Garcia to injury for most of the game, the Washington Redskins were unable to recover from a 19-3 deficit built on four lost fumbles in the first half.
The four fumbles each led to points for the Bucs: a touchdown and three field goals. The Bucs added a fourth field goal late in the first half after forcing a Washington punt from deep in Redskin territory.
Bruce Gradkowski spelled Jeff Garcia a few plays after the Bucs' first play from scrimmage. Garcia scrambled for a 1 yard gain and was tackled with a sideways hit to the ribs.
The Bucs failed to pick up a first down in the second half, but the defense salted the game away on the strength of a fourth-down hold inside their own 10 yard line, a Ronde Barber interception at about their own 30, and an end zone interception by Brian Kelly with under 25 seconds to play.
Barber's interception made him the all-time leader for the Buccaneers in that category, with 32.
Special Teams
Though the return team turned in a mediocre performance (including a muffed punt by normally reliable Ike Hilliard), kicker Matt Bryant nailed four field goals and punter Josh Bidwell boomed 7 punts for a heady 50.4 yard average. Special teams earned a big share of the victory.
Defense
The defense played well, but ceded the Redskins quite a bit of second half yardage. Much of that fell to the ineptitude of the Buc offense which made a custom of three-and-out in the second half. The hard tackling contributed to the four first half fumbles, and the defense came up with the key interceptions late in the game to preserve the win.
The pass rush maintained its intensity from last week against a better offensive line. Elderly rookie defensive end Greg White picked up another sack and forced two fumbles. Though the team gave up over 100 yards rushing to the 'Skins, the visitors were not able to run consistently. The Bucs forced third-and-long a number of times in the first half, and produced a key second-half stop on fourth-and-one. Rookie defensive end Gaines Adams made the tackle behind the line of scrimmage on that play.
Offense
I have suggested that Bruce Gradkowski may have been one of the steals of the 2006 NFL draft as a sixth-round selection.
I'm not going to back off on that statement, but if Gradkowski doesn't learn to throw an accurate long ball then he will struggle to work his way into the starting lineup, let alone serve as an effective backup.
The offense started the game well, with Earnest Graham breaking off a number of runs in excess of 5 yards. Aside from a short touchdown drive that depended on Graham's running, Gradkowski could not get the Bucs into the end zone even with excellent field position.
In the second half, the Redskins make adjustments and the Bucs failed to pick up a first down. Gradkowski threw one deep ball to Joey Galloway. Galloway was open by a couple of steps and the ball went where nobody could catch it.
On the next series Garcia returned to the game and tried another long pass to Galloway on third and long. Again, Galloway was open but the pass was nowhere near the target. At least Garcia had the excuse that his arm was hit as he was releasing the ball.
All in all it was a bad day for the Bucs offense except in one respect: no turnovers.
Officiating
Great job. I have no complaints, though I probably won't get to review the game since my DVD recorder flubbed up its part of the bargain. I thought I saw some holding by Redskin offensive linemen, but as likely as not the same thing was happening on the other side of the ball.
Next Up
The Bucs travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints in the Superdome. While I wasn't confident enough to predict a win over the Redskins, the Bucs should win in New Orleans.
That's not to say the outcome is guaranteed. The Saints are the best team in the division on paper and they have weathered the loss of Deuce McAllister pretty well. However, I expect the Bucs to move effectively against the Saints defense while the Bucs defense hold their offense in check.
That said, losing the turnover battle probably spells a Bucs loss. Nor would a fast start by the Saints' offense bode well. Regardless of the caveats I'm wrong if the Bucs lose.
Though the Bucs lost quarterback Jeff Garcia to injury for most of the game, the Washington Redskins were unable to recover from a 19-3 deficit built on four lost fumbles in the first half.
The four fumbles each led to points for the Bucs: a touchdown and three field goals. The Bucs added a fourth field goal late in the first half after forcing a Washington punt from deep in Redskin territory.
Bruce Gradkowski spelled Jeff Garcia a few plays after the Bucs' first play from scrimmage. Garcia scrambled for a 1 yard gain and was tackled with a sideways hit to the ribs.
The Bucs failed to pick up a first down in the second half, but the defense salted the game away on the strength of a fourth-down hold inside their own 10 yard line, a Ronde Barber interception at about their own 30, and an end zone interception by Brian Kelly with under 25 seconds to play.
Barber's interception made him the all-time leader for the Buccaneers in that category, with 32.
Special Teams
Though the return team turned in a mediocre performance (including a muffed punt by normally reliable Ike Hilliard), kicker Matt Bryant nailed four field goals and punter Josh Bidwell boomed 7 punts for a heady 50.4 yard average. Special teams earned a big share of the victory.
Defense
The defense played well, but ceded the Redskins quite a bit of second half yardage. Much of that fell to the ineptitude of the Buc offense which made a custom of three-and-out in the second half. The hard tackling contributed to the four first half fumbles, and the defense came up with the key interceptions late in the game to preserve the win.
The pass rush maintained its intensity from last week against a better offensive line. Elderly rookie defensive end Greg White picked up another sack and forced two fumbles. Though the team gave up over 100 yards rushing to the 'Skins, the visitors were not able to run consistently. The Bucs forced third-and-long a number of times in the first half, and produced a key second-half stop on fourth-and-one. Rookie defensive end Gaines Adams made the tackle behind the line of scrimmage on that play.
Offense
I have suggested that Bruce Gradkowski may have been one of the steals of the 2006 NFL draft as a sixth-round selection.
I'm not going to back off on that statement, but if Gradkowski doesn't learn to throw an accurate long ball then he will struggle to work his way into the starting lineup, let alone serve as an effective backup.
The offense started the game well, with Earnest Graham breaking off a number of runs in excess of 5 yards. Aside from a short touchdown drive that depended on Graham's running, Gradkowski could not get the Bucs into the end zone even with excellent field position.
In the second half, the Redskins make adjustments and the Bucs failed to pick up a first down. Gradkowski threw one deep ball to Joey Galloway. Galloway was open by a couple of steps and the ball went where nobody could catch it.
On the next series Garcia returned to the game and tried another long pass to Galloway on third and long. Again, Galloway was open but the pass was nowhere near the target. At least Garcia had the excuse that his arm was hit as he was releasing the ball.
All in all it was a bad day for the Bucs offense except in one respect: no turnovers.
Officiating
Great job. I have no complaints, though I probably won't get to review the game since my DVD recorder flubbed up its part of the bargain. I thought I saw some holding by Redskin offensive linemen, but as likely as not the same thing was happening on the other side of the ball.
Next Up
The Bucs travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints in the Superdome. While I wasn't confident enough to predict a win over the Redskins, the Bucs should win in New Orleans.
That's not to say the outcome is guaranteed. The Saints are the best team in the division on paper and they have weathered the loss of Deuce McAllister pretty well. However, I expect the Bucs to move effectively against the Saints defense while the Bucs defense hold their offense in check.
That said, losing the turnover battle probably spells a Bucs loss. Nor would a fast start by the Saints' offense bode well. Regardless of the caveats I'm wrong if the Bucs lose.
*****
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