Chinese Restaurant

Prediction Beast
Three picks and two Earnest Graham touchdowns later Tampa Bay is 2-1. Ill have to point out that I did predict late game desperation from St. Louis that would lead to multiple picks. I also predicted big games from Graham and Micheal Pittman, combined they had 131 rush yards to add to Cadillac's 46. Ill give credit where it is due. St. Louis played Tampa tough. At one point it was 10-3, in the fourth. A tired Ram defense couldn't stop Tampa's rush attack as they pounded the ball on the ground for the last 10 minutes of the game. Oh I predicted that too. It was no doubt a good game, close up until the end, and kept me on the edge of my seat.

Graham the Man
Tampa Bay's rush game was certainly praiseworthy last Sunday. Cadillac fumbled twice and managed 42 rush yards through the first three quarters, nothing spectacular. Enter Earnest Graham, 4th quarter. He put up 75 yards on the ground on 8 attempts and scored twice. Pittman added another 50 or so yards in the fourth. The fact that Tampa has these guys sitting on the bench throughout the game to come in fresh in the late quarters has got to be scary to defenses around the league. Earnest Graham is in his fourth season as an NFL player and put up 75 yards in one quarter on Sunday, eight yards shy of his career high for a season! This guy looked great in the preseason as he led the Bucs in rush yards. I hope Tampa will continue to take advantage of Graham and Pittman as a late game tandem because they definitely showed potential Sunday against the Rams.

Honorable Mentions
Other notable mentions from the St. Louis game are Jeff Garcia and Barret Ruud. Garcia continued his effectiveness against the Rams Sunday. Garcia hasn't thrown an interception in three games so far this season. Although he only has two touchdown passes, he is fifth in the league with a passer rating of 105.6. Garcia should be commended for his elusiveness as well. He's only been sacked four times this year and has eluded the sack more times than that. Barrett Ruud continued to stand out on defense last week. He led the team in tackles with nine and had the first interception of his career. Ruud leads the NFL in tackles and I heard a certain NFL analyst use his name and the words "defensive player of the year nominee" in the same sentence. I believe it is far too early to predict something like that. It's not like analysts are known for making ridiculous predictions, always trying to top the ridiculous prediction which preceded their own. *cough* Salisbury likes to expose himself to random people *cough*

Implications
I guess I should talk about this weeks match up now. Tampa Bay at Carolina, it goes down Sunday at 4:05 p.m. This will be one of Tampa Bay's most important games of the season. There are many implications. The first being the winner takes sole possession of first place. The second being that Tampa has already beat the Saints, who were chosen by certain analysts as a Super Bowl team, and are now 0-3. If they beat the Panthers this week they will have beat both teams that are major threats to their chances of a divisional title. Every week there is something to prove. This week Tampa proves that they are a viable threat to win the NFC South. I don't consider the Atlanta Falcons in this equation, not as long as they have the golden boy, Joey Harrington, leading their team. A win puts them in sole possession of first place and gives them a 2-0 divisonal record. The divisonal record is key later on in the season in case of tie breakers and what not. Also a win puts Tampa more than half way to Salisbury's ever so insightful five wins on the season prediction. A Sunday win will put the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a commanding position in the NFC South.

Statistically Speaking
Tampa Rush D VS. Deshaun Foster and Deangelo Williams
The Bucs D moved up to 11th in the NFL this week. Tampa Bay's 2007 21st ranked 2006 17th ranked rush D will take on Carolina's 2007 6th ranked ground attack, which was ranked 24th last year. Carolina still has some proving to do on the ground. The Carolina tandem of Deshaun Foster and Deangelo Williams put up 169 yards on the ground last week against a 25th ranked ATL Falcon D. In week 1 they put up 172 yards against the Rams, the 28th ranked rush D. However in week two they faced Houston's 6th ranked rush D they only managed 53 yards. Tthe Panthers rush attack is ranked 6th, but their big numbers came against the 25th and 28th ranked rush defenses. When faced with Houston's 6th ranked rush D the numbers went down by two thirds. Tampa Bay's D certainly has the ability to shut down their rush game and it is important, however I am more worried about Carolina's pass attack.

Tampa Pass D VS. ? and Steve Smith
It is unknown at this point who will start for Carolina. Big cat, or should I say big puss, Jake Delhomme hasn't practiced for Carolina this week so backup David Carr will likely start. The quarterback doesn't matter though as it's Steve Smith who is the Buccaneer Killer. Over the past two seasons Smith has 25 receptions and 474 receiving yards against the Bucs. It is key for Tampa's 9th ranked pass D to shut down Steve Smith if they have hopes of shutting down Carolina's 21st ranked pass attack. Even further, Steve Smith makes up 41% of Carolina's pass attack. Of 682 reception yards for Panthers receivers this year, Steve Smith has 281 of them.

The CaddilaPittmaGraham Tandem VS. Carolina rush D
Tampa's 13th ranked rush offense, the CaddilaPittmaGraham Tandem takes on Carolina's 13th ranked rush defense. Carolina held Steven Jackson and the Rams to 58 yards in week one. In week two they gave up 130 yards to Ahman Green and Ron Dayne of the Texans. In week three they only gave up 82 yards to the Falcons who have been a top five rushing attack since Michael Vick came on board, but he's gone now. Steven Jackson was 5th in rushing last year and is a proven back. Carolina's D altogether is no joke and Tampa will need their trio to put up big numbers against them in week 4.

Jeff Garcia VS. Carolina pass D
Jeff Garcia and Tampa's 23rd ranked pass attack will need some numbers against Carolina's 21st ranked pass D. Carolina has allowed big numbers through the air this year and Tampa Bay will need to take advantage. Garcia should stay conservative but will need at least one passing score this week. If Carolina's pass D is their weak point then Tampa must expose it. Im expecting and predicting a pass touchdown from Garcia this week.

Recipe for success
Jeff Garcia should be efficient again through the air but must put a few in the end zone. The Tampa Bay Trio should supplement Garcia's conservative pass attack by pounding away at Carolina's defense, tiring them out and opening the door to the end zone for Garcia. The biggest key on defense is stopping Steve Smith. Follow the recipe and like a Chinese restaurant we will be cooking up dead cat this Sunday.

Final Score Tampa Bay 27 Carolina 16

1-1 Baby!

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in first place, their tied I know, and it's a beautiful thing. After knocking off the NFC South Champions in week 2 analysts will take us serious. Fans will start paying attention. Band-wagoners will storm down their respective dirt roads sporting Buccaneer T's and flags, and drink their coffee from Buccaneer mugs.

Jeff Garcia went 10 for 16 passing with 243 yards and two touchdowns against the Saints Sunday. He hit Galloway four times for 135 yards and with both TD passes. Just as predicted Saints CB Jason David struggled as he was burned by Galloway early for a TD. Caddy earned his 61 yards as he had 24 attempts and only averaged 2.5 yards a carry. He ran hard, with bruised ribs, and poked the ball into the end zone twice from the one yard line. The defense gave the home crowd a show on Sunday. They took a shut out into half time, the first time for the Bucs in three years. MLB Barrett Ruud had 10 tackles and two forced fumbles and was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week. The fact that the TB D was able to shut out the NFL's No. 1 offense from a year ago for a half says something about this D. If they can keep up Sunday's pace for the entire year they will be exciting to watch.

Trends: Tampa hosts the St. Louis Rams this Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Statistically Tampa Bay and St Louis match up well. Tampa Bay and St Louis are 23rd and 18th respectively in total offense, 15th and 9th respectively in the pass game, and 25th and 28th respectively in the rushing game. Two weeks of statistics don't mean two much but trends can begin to show. 2006 statistics show St. Louis as 4th in the NFL in passing while they where 17th in rushing, so St. Louis is beginning to show a trend this year, as they did last year, as a primarily pass oriented team. Tampa Bay's D is 20th in pass defense this year, and last year was 19th. However their secondary is very similar to 2005's secondary in which they were 6th against the pass. St. Louis is 4th against the pass so far this year and 25th against the rush. Last year they where 8th against the pass and 31st against the rush.

Matchups: Tampa Bay pits their 2007 25th ranked, 2006 28th ranked rush offense against the Rams' 2007 25th ranked , 2006 31st ranked rush defense. Tampa's 2007 15th ranked, 2006 26th ranked pass offense will face a proven St Louis pass defense. St. Louis' pass defense is ranked 4th this year and was 8th all of last year. St Louis' 2007 9th ranked, 2006 4th ranked pass offense will face off against Tampa Bay's 2007 20th ranked, 2006 19th ranked, 2005 6th ranked (their roster reflects the 2005 secondary) pass defense. St Louis' 2007 28th ranked, 2006 17th ranked rush offense will take on Tampa Bay's 2007 20th ranked, 2006 17th ranked rush defense.

Digestion: It seems the No. 1 priority for Tampa should be stopping the pass. St Louis is known to be a passing team and the statistics show it. If Tampa's D-Line can put substantial pressure on Marc Bulger and eliminate the need of blitzing from the secondary, then Tampa's secondary should be able to handle star wide receiver Tory Holt. Tampa put good pressure on Brees last week and should be able to pressure Bulger this week. No. 2 priority should be getting the running game going. Cadillac Williams will have to have a better yards per carry this week than last week. Look for Tampa to switch up the pace, throwing bigger bodied backs Micheal Pittman and Earnest Graham into the mix against St. Louis' soft rush defense. Garcia again will be expected to just make the throws and no mistakes as he did last week. All he has to do is be efficient. I expect a pounding rush game and a consistent pass game against the Rams Sunday.

A shutdown secondary, pressure on Bulger from the D-line, and a successful Buccaneer rush game that includes Cadillac, Pittman, and Graham make up the recipe for success for the Buccaneers this Sunday against the Rams.

If Tampa can get an early lead, pound the ball, and run the clock they may be able to put St. Louis into desperation mode. We may see alot of picks in this one, especially if Tampa is keeping the pressure on Bulger.

Final Score: Tampa Bay 27 St. Louis 10

Staying Positive

Maybe I got a little ahead of myself last week. For a football fan the NFL opening weekend is very exciting and I might have gotten a little emotional. I still don't like Sean Salisbury but that's besides the point.



The Seattle Seahawks are last years AFC West Champions so they are a good team. Tampa Bay missed opportunities. Two early red zone appearances stalled out and resulted in field goals. A 56 yard punt return, the result of a blown assignment. A 34 yard pass to a back up running back who didn't have a single touchdown catch last year, blown coverage. Three forced fumbles. I'm making excuses. Derrick Brooks put it best, "There's no silver lining in losing" So on to next week...



Last week Tampa had the AFC West Champions and this week they get the NFC South Champion New Orleans Aints. I mean Saints. I remember the glory days when the Saints fans were so embarassed to be at their teams games that they would wear paper bags on their heads. Haha loser Saints fans. At least Tampa Bay never got called any names, like the Yucs or anything, or wore paper bags on their heads to games. Hey we got the paper bag thing from you though.




So Tampa will take on last season's number one pass offense and will likely be without starting cornerback Brian Kelly. New Orleans didn't look that great last week against New England, but then again that's the Patriots. The positive is this will be an early test to see if the Tampa Bay D is for real. If they do win then I get to talk mad smack to every New Orleans fan I see and bash them in their blogs, if I so happen to read any.


The Buccaneer offense has got to get going this week. It's their home opener and they're playing against a N.O. D that gave up 41 points last week to the Patriots, but then again, that's the Patriots. New Orleans defense was 30th in total defense last year but 3rd against the pass. Jeff Garcia will need Carnell Williams healthy for this one. New Orleans was 23rd against the rush last year and gave up 165 yds last week. Carnell Williams, is ? with a rib injury so who knows if he will contribute. When I say ? I don't mean questionable I mean who knows Unless your close with the trainers or head coaches, Under new NFL procedure teams can't "officially" declare a player probable, questionable, doubtful, etc. until the Friday before the game. The Buccaneers need to get Joey Galloway running against Saints CB Jason David who gave up three touchdowns and over 100 yards receving last week. Cadillac needs to have his engine running as well as the Bucs likely will have to put points up to win this matchup.




The defense left more to be desired last week as they allowed 343 total yards, 204 through the air and another 139 yards on the ground. Home opener. Pride. Step it up D. They no doubt underperformed and face a stauncher offensive opponent this week.




I can't call a Buccaneer win a long shot this week although the thought did cross my mind. A healthy Cadillac Williams pounding the ball, a Jeff Garcia that will manage the pass game and not not commit turnovers, and a defense that steps it up from last week along with a turnover or two and a paid off referee should be a recipe for success this week for Tampa. Tampa Bay is getting 3 1/2 pts. this week if your a betting man but I, of course, have them winning outright. Final Score: Tampa Bay 27 New Orleans 24

LET'S GO TAMPA BAY!

Kick off

5 wins? Come on Salisbury, idiot. I apologize that I don't like to listen to a washed up quarterback as ESPN's lead football analyst. It's too early to say my Bucs will only win 5 games this season (On NFL Live I have Sean Salisbury quoted as saying Tampa Bay will go 5-11 this season, a one win improvement from last season's 4-12), unless you've got a reason. I say they win more than 5 games this year. Here's why.

Tampa Bay D. Their stacked. Let's start at the line. DE Simeon Rice, gone. That's ok he's playing in Denver, AFC. How does a team replace the man who was second among active players in sacks. I guess by signing the man who is 4th among active players in sacks, DE Kevin Carter. Next DT Chris Hovan, solid in the middle. At the other DT is a possible weak point but with a 6'5" 286lb. Greg Peterson lets just call it an unproven point. Finally add Tampa's No. 4 overall selection in the 2007 NFL draft, Gaines Adams, into the mix and you gotta be optimistic about this D-line. I guess I'll go secondary next. At the cornerback position you have twin pro bowlers and 2002 Super Bowl winners Ronde Barber and Brian Kelly. At Free Safety Will Allen and at Strong Safety Jermaine Phillips. I thought it would be good to note that this is the exact same secondary the Bucs had in 2005 when they were No. 1 in the NFL in total defense. Finally, at the heart of your defense, are your linebackers. This is surprisingly Tampa's strongest defensive point. The offseason signing of Colts pro bowl linebacker Cato June and the recent signing of Eagle's pro bowl linebacker Jeremiah Trotter will only make Tampa Bay legend and future hall of fame pro bowl linebacker Derrick Brooks that much better.

TB's D is a force to be reckoned with Sean. A Defense like that only equals one additional win? I mean come on, it's not like D wins championships. Dingbat. I knew there was a reason I didn't like you. It's because your a bandwagon analyst. A pretty face with diarrhhea of the mouth. That's right you BS with the best of them. Or maybe I don't like you because of this.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers kick off their season this Sunday at 4:30p.m. in Seattle. Come on Tampa don't make me eat my words.