How do the Bucs follow up the most exciting game of the season? With the most aggravating one. Aggrivation is making 3 FGs of more than 50 yards, yet losing. Thanking the officials for stopping the clock under 2:00 to go in the half to review a play you know will give you a catch and a first down, only to give Miami the Ball on a fumble!!! ..to be followed by a Corey Sperry TD catch from Henne just before the half.
Aggrivation is giving up another FG only 1:05 later, not being able to get out of the half.
Now you have the most frustrating part of the afternoon; because the offense came alive in the second half, and on a beautiful pass to Stovall in the end zone for a TD, and you could feel a second straight comeback game! Problem is, the Bucs got the ball back after Miami scored a FG, and ran the game winner (or so they thought) a little too soon!
The most frustrating part of this game was the negative nancys who criticized Morris for too much celbrating on the sideline after the TD instead of worrying about the Dolphins and playing Defense.
PLEASE!! Did you complain about Gruden’s fist pumps and “boom boom booms”?!?!?
The problem was the defense couldnt close out the game, and that is something that was just addressed this 2010 draft, with two rookie defensive tackles to train.
Instead of focusing on the negative, focus on the positive; on how the Bucs got the ball back after a failed 4th down effort around the two minute mark. Here the Bucs showed they had heart, they never quit, and that was a testament to coach Raheem Morris, not a knock against him.
The game next week would be the final straw for the defense under Jim Bates.
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No one really thought anything good was going to come out of this game, except for maybe the few hundred Bucs fans that attended this home game in their home country, the BUCS UK organization. The rest of us knew what to expect, a powerful New England team that beat Tampa Bay 35-7 and it could have been worse if not for an improving secondary led by Aqib Talib and Tanard Jackson. The lone bright spot on the day was the nice TD pass from Josh Johnson to Antonio Bryant, who injured himself even more on the plane ride home. One other positive was the feel good story of Bucpower.com’s Paul Stewart, a life long Bucs fan like myself who started following the Bucs in 1982 and on top of having his team travel across the ocean to play in their home, He gets to join Gene Deckerhoff in the booth and call Josh Freeman’s very first pass play.
He will also be immortalized in the 2009 Bucs team video according to NFL films.
Michael Clayton is as good as gone when 2010 camp is out Training camp is only a couple days away folks, and I will look at players and positions that are on the bubble or have heavy competition. But first up, Three Buccaneers I think are doomed this camp, three Bucs fighting for their NFL lives, at least in Pewter and Red. Michael Clayton- Second in voting for the offensive rookie of the year in 2004, Michael Clayton has spent his career as a Training Camp darling, consistently inconsitent during the regular season, but the August “Looks Great” player who drops balls. Clayton is known as an excellent blocker, and he in fact is one of the best, but with this years bumper crop of WR coming in, and last years Sammie Stroughter, the writing is finally on the wall for #80. He got a big contract before last season when the GM didnt want to go into ’09 without any WRs, but now is the time the Bucs can cut their ties with Clayton and not worry about the cap hit, as there is no cap.
Maurice Stovall- See Michael Clayton above; Stovall has made the roster each year as a special teamer, but the Bucs are going to keep Michael Spurlock this year and cannot afford to keep TWO Wide Receivers that serve special team duties. He is another guy who steps up for camp, then takes a seat from September on. This time the seat becomes more permanent. Ryan Simms-Last year was his swan song, as the Jim Bates project called for big slothy linemen to occupy the middle of the line. This year, the Bucs went out and drafted defensive tackles for both positions, Price and McCoy, and with Roy Miller left over from last year, leaves no room for Simms who just doesn’t fit the mold anymore for this defense. Of the three, Simms may be the first to be picked up by someone else.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Mark Dominik and Co., I know Donald Penn put on a great deal of weight last season. But wasn’t he part of the whole LOSE WEIGHT for the zone offense then GAIN WEIGHT for the end of the season? Maybe he just gained a little too much!! But Donald Penn is a dominant left tackle guys! Teams have to have 3-13 losing seasons to get into position to acquire a left tackle via the draft, which is about the only way to get one because no one ever lets one go via free agency. Penn can hold off the best defensive ends, and he already has, and we have a second year quarterback that is a right hander and NEEDS a dominant left tackle. Well, we have one, or rather we did, or do, depending on how the contract is looked at. You obviously understand his value, because you gave him the highest tender. Donald Penn, at some point your going to have to lighten up. No No NO don’t take that the wrong way, I just mean your stance is a weak one in this matter, unlike your stance on the field. The Bucs can let you rot for 2010, and there is nothing you can do about it. Check out Errict Rhett for one example of how holding out can end up for you, or better yet, Keenan McCardell for a more recent example. Maybe those arn’t good examples, because those guys were under contract, you are not. But you have to understand the Bucs position; They want to be careful, they cant afford to throw you all that money and the risk that comes with it. So Gentlemen, It is Wednesday the 28th, and Camp starts in two days; and were going to need the both of you to cave in on something, some part of what you want, so a deal can be done. Do it for the right reasons; do it for the Bucs, for her fans, for US fans. With three of the last four games being blow out losses, the pressure was mounting for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Fans were feeling it too, Steve Duemig had started a weekly ritual of playing the 80′s classic reggae tune “Don’t Worry Be Happy” as his opening music for his Monday monologues. In week 6, the Bucs delivered…a close game. As with the 2009 season, it was a game of swinging momentums and emotions. The Bucs started the game out with inspired defensive play, as they won the coin toss but deferred to kickoff and receive in the second half. With a stop of the Panthers, the Bucs took the opening possession and took it down the field and scored on a Cadillac Williams 20 yard TD Run.
Click Here to Watch the Video FULL normal size…. With the momentum still with them in the first quarter, the Bucs force the Panthers into a three and out, and begin another promising drive into Carolina territory. However a recurring theme from the 3-13 season, place kicking woes, reared their ugly head. New kicker Shane Andrus missed a 43 yard attempt. Actually, the kick was straight on, but short. The snap from Economus was an errant one, but the holder Dirk Johnson did his job and got the ball down. It would not be the last time we will talk about Andrus.
Click Here to Watch the Video FULL normal size…. The Panthers being a veteran team, did not miss their chance to swing the momentum into their favor, and drove for a TD to tie the game, instead of a 10-0 Bucs lead. Then the game really starts to get out of control when Derrick Ward takes his eyes off the football and a toss to him goes into the hands of a Panther. Tanard Jackson strips Stewart and the Bucs recover inside the 5 yard line. The main event, pardon the pun, of the first half was the melee that followed a Panther punt with :20 seconds left in the half, and the subsequent early hit on Clifton Smith that sent him sprawling to the turf and sent the Panther gunner to the showers early. But if the Bucs were going to get fired up over that, you couldnt tell. The Bucs came out in the second half and let Carolina get the momentum right back, and build a 21-7 lead in the 3rd quarter, the last score being a Stewart TD run. Then it all changed; AGAIN! Sammy Stroughter returned the kickoff for a 97 yard TD return, the longest in Bucs history! With the game going back and forth, the Bucs had their fans convinced this was going to be win number One! Tanard Jackson intercepts Jake Delhome and brings it back for a game tying touchdown that ignites the crowd!
Click Here to Watch the Video FULL normal size…. This story doesn’t have a happy ending however, because we know where the Bucs got their first win of the year. Instead, the Panthers drove the ball right down Tampa Bays ssoft Jim Bates run defense, picking up 76 rushing yards of the 80 total yards on the winning drive. This wouldn’t be the last heartbreaking loss for the Bucs, in fact the Miami game was probably worse, as was the @ Carolina game too. But better days were around the corner for this franchise, it just had to travel a few thousand miles and suffer another lop-sided loss to a dominant team first. Perhaps the day was predetermined, when assistant Panthers coach, and former Bucs head coach Richard Williamson, took the field. Williamson led the Bucs to a 3-13 season in 1991, and helped contribute toward another one in 2009. Not much can be said in a positive light in a game like this one, although there were moments of entertainment and comedy, both good and bad. When you have Cadillac Williams running out of the option, and Donald Penn barreling forward with ball in hand, its bound to end up in a chuckle or two.
Click Here to Watch the Video full size…. If Josh Johnson impressed in the Washington game, he asserted himself as a Quarterback with legitimate promise; after all he was the leading rusher too amassing 40 yards to Derrick Wards 37 and Cadillac’s 8 on ten carries. Another Bucs player on offense asserting himself was tight end Kellen Winslow Jr who caught 9 passes for 102 yards and both of Tampa Bay’s touchdowns on the day. Head Coach Raheem Morris continued some controversial decision making when at the Eagles 27 yard line, Morris passed on a FG by new kicker Shane Andrus with only 6 minutes left in the first qtr. If you went out and got a new kicker, why not use him? He repeated this decision again later in the 2nd qtr with a 4th and inches from the 22 yard line with 7 minutes left in the first half. The first, Michael Clayton dropped the ball, and the second resulted in a fumble that the Eagles returned for a TD, though that play was overturned by replay. Still, It’s game day decisions like these however that will be the difference in Raheem Morris 2009 and this years Morris 2.0 who learned from his year of experience just like the rest of his players.
Credit has to be given to the Bucs for answering back immediately; and again this goes back to coaching. The ’09 Bucs were bad, but they didnt play like a bad team. Raheem Morris coached the team well, and the squad never quit or gave up on the season. They answered with a quick scoring drive to bring themselves back to within 14-7, but the defense could not hold back McNabb and Co. as former starting safety Will Allen was burned for a late TD.
Things were looking pretty bad for the Bucs, and it was best summed up by this bay area sports writer: “On this team, the blockers don’t block and the runners don’t run and the tacklers don’t tackle and the pass rushers don’t rush and the safeties aren’t safe”. So we’ll end off todays recap with two clips, two Plays of the Game! Resign Donald Penn if not for what he can do in this video! The Bucs entered the second phase of 2009, the first being the Leftwich phase where the Bucs were trying to sneak in a win or two. It never happened, and after the Giants game, it became apparent the Bucs needed to start working on Tomorrow rather than today. And so the second phase, the Josh Johnson phase, had begun. More prevalent than a quarterback change was the different tempo the defense took. It was truly the swan song for Gaines Adams, who had probably his best game as a pro. It was a performance he was never able to duplicate again. It started almost immediately, first possession he gets a sack and fumble recovery, one that Josh Johnson capitalized on with a sweet TD pass to Antonio Bryant. It was the first time the Bucs had taken the lead in over 12 games extending back to 2008!
It wasnt just Adams, Geno Hayes was having his best day of the year, and Aqib Talib was spectacular in the secondary, his three interceptions tied a Buccaneer record, and gave the Bucs three prime possessions in Washington territory.
But Freeman was not ready; nor was this a good time to throw him to the wolves, with the Skins Defense, Philadelphia’s Defense too, and the absence of Center Jeff Faine due to injury. Most fans would agree that the bye week was probably when the final transfer of power would take place. Another player who started to seperate himself in a negative way was kicker Mike Nugent. His first kick emulated his short-lived career with the Bucs, at least audio wise and it hit the upright and left a big THUD sound.
In the end, the young Bucs let the Redskins back in the game, but had a chance to run a two minute offense. The result was a change in the rushing strategy for the rest of the season, because Clifton Smith fumbled the ball to end the Bucs comeback attempt, and raised questions as to why he was in the game when Cadillac Williams was the hot runner in the game. As a result, Smith went back to full time KR duties, and we saw less and less of the 2/2/1 running formula, and more of the hot runner staying in the game, as well as a change away from the zone blocking scheme. The Bucs wiffed on 24 missed tackles against the Buffalo Bills, and were ranked dead last in most defensive categories. Its something Tampa Bay Fans were simply not used to. The coaching staff was trying to get the players to buy into the system, but it was a hopeless cause. The players were not drafted for the system, so there is no way they could buy into something they knew was not right for them. But it would be several weeks before the defense would be scrapped, and this Giants game was one pivotal game in the season for the transition of the team.
Byron Leftwich would be removed after the NY Giants game, as an 0-3 Bucs team was obviously going nowhere, and Josh Freeman wasnt ready just yet. Unlike most weeks, todays review does not have much in as far as game content as it does in events that occurred. The offense was completely blanked, and did not achieve a first down until 5 minutes were left in the 3rd quarter. It was a complete 180 degree turn around for an NFL 4th ranked offense that was the most prolific is years. But the Giants defense put intense pressure on Leftwich, and left a blueprint for other dynamic defensive teams to duplicate.
It was because of this Leftwich and his 7 of 16 for 22 yards passing was removed as Quarterback, and the duties would go to 2nd year man Josh Johnson who led a march down the field at the end of the game that was 36 yards worth of passing in his only drive, thus the most offense Raymond James patrons had seen all day. The Giants were not world beaters, they simply did what any team would do when your opponent decides to only show up with defensive players. With no offensive support, the Giants quietly scored once in each period, and once the third period came, it became clear a FG would be the winning points. The Defense after all did not play that bad of a game. The poor tackling bug raised its ugly head again, but over all the defense did play better. After giving up two early TDs, it forced the Giants off the field on several occasions and made several stops on the heels of their own end zone. Still though, it ended up giving up 397 yards, which at last check the running count is 1297 yards in three games. That would be horrible for a 4 game total, much less three.  Eli Manning had a better day at it than Leftwich The offensive futility would have been recorded as being much worse if not for that final drive by Josh Johnson. All together including J.J.’s leadership drive, the Bucs amassed 5 first downs, with 86 total yards. This loss would lead Raheem Morris to issue his famous statement about the Bucs being beaten by a Grown Man team. No one could have said it better, as it seemed the Bucs were at times Boys among men. Gary Shelton said it best: ” Three games in and the Bucs are winless, And helpless, and Hopeless, and Clueless. ANd no, they do not look like a team that is getting better”. The whole game was exciting for me because the Bucs had never, ever in their existence (in the regular season) played in Buffalo, and the one time they did was preseason way before the ’79 season when I became a Bucs fan! As we know, this game became a Bills blowout loss, but it didn’t need to be. Much as the Dallas Cowboys loss didn’t need to be as lopsided as it was because of the secondary playing the wrong defense, this game got out of control early when Byron Leftwich decided not to take the sack and toss up an easy Pick 6!
Only a moment or two after the 14-0 score, the Bill get the ball back on a turn over that was controversial but correct call when a ball came out of the hands of K2 and was recovered. So just like that, its 17-0, even though you have to give the Bucs credit for shutting down the Bills right there, when a 21-0 lead may have been totally insurmountable. As it was, 17 points wasn’t enough to kill the Bucs spirit. Don’t tell me this team isn’t well coached, they have a lot of fight left in them and they get a lot of that from the fiery nature of HC Raheem Morris. The Bucs took over control of the ball and kept possession into the 2nd qtr where leftwich fires a beautiful pass 50 yards into the end zone to Kellen Winslow JR for a Touch Down that announced to New York’s northern-most residents that the Bucs were not done with yet. Check out the beginning part of the video…how both Offensive Coordinators were hired one day apart from each other? And now Buffalo’s Alex Van Pelt is Josh Freeman’s Quarterback coach!
With under a minute left in the half, and Buffalo driving at the Bucs 14 yard line, Bills back Jackson is hit by who else, Ronde Barber, who causes Jackson to fumble the ball right into the waiting mitts of Sabby Piscitelli, who races down the sideline and is only caught by Rosco Parrish formerly of the U; Miami Hurricanes. Not that it mattered, because Tampa Bay was determined to score, and score they did with this Leftwich pass to Cadillac Williams for a TD that completely swung the momentum from Buffalo to the Good Guys in Pewter.
Instead Buffalo holds onto the ball until the 11 minute mark of the 4th and gets a FG to make it a 10 point lead that obviously was too much for these young Bucs to look at as surmountable. A 3 and out and Terrell Owens TD later, and with 9 minutes left in the game, its officially over. Taking a game that your in, and forcing your will on your opponent is something championship teams do. Winning teams will at least hang in there and try to make something happen towards the end of the game. This is how the Bucs under Tony Dungy made things happen, an art they will have to learn on the job with a very young team; but its been done before. |
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The Bucstop Video Vault comes from the largest collection of Tampa Bay Buccaneers games on the Planet. I have acquired this collection painstakingly over the last 4 years, by scouring garage sales, Craigslist.com, even Ebay.com back in the day! Now, the selling of games is strictly prohibited.
Feel Free to send any requests you may have for a certain player, or scene, or favorite game or moment from a game, and I will try my best to add it! |
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