SB Nation - Sean Mahan

Analysis: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Through 7 Games

Brandon — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:15:17 -0000

You might have noticed that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the only NFL team without a win this season, and the Green Bay Packers are going to play them on Sunday. And rookie QB Josh Freeman will have his 1st NFL start. The Packers should be favored, but they still have to travel to Tampa and win the game. Though I don't expect Mike McCarthy will let his players overlook any team.

Since I haven't watched a Bucs game this season, and don't know how the team that beat the Packers last season in week 4 has managed to become the only remaining winless team, I asked Buc 'Em blogger Niko Houllis a couple questions:

Brandon: What happened to the formerly great Tampa defense? The draft hasn't been kind in recent years, but they were still very good in early 2008. The collapse seems sudden to me.

Niko: That is a fanastic question. Most would say it's on the sideline singing "Rocky Top"! People can say what they want to, but the collapse started the game after Monte Kiffin announced he is headed to Tennessee to coach his son's defense. Other things happened around the same time too though. We got hurt on our D line, which wasn't that good to begin with. Carolina found a weakness. They were able to put 3 receivers on the field and keep us in a defense which favored their running attack. They were able to gash us for almost 300 yards on the ground in that Monday night game that Bucs fans were waiting all day for so we could finally pronounce our team for real...and give us an inside edge on the 2nd seed just like we had in our Super Bowl year. Little did we know we would not win a game again! Truth is, the Bucs misfired on their #1 draft pick Gaines Adams, and were lucky to get a #2 for him. But the defense had gotten old, and started to patch things up with bandaids like the offense had been doing too. Instead of tearing the team apart and starting over like were doing this year, the team kept using bandaids, and drafting poorly just about every draft.

Brandon: Are their offensive problems solely due to poor QB play, or have other areas on offense let you down?

Niko: Some feel the offensive line has not been playing up to its potential, but truth is it was a FAR drop from starting Center Jeff Faine to second string Sean Mahan, who was released in preseason, only to be called up again due to Faine's injury during game one. Teams were blitzing the heck out of our gap between our left guard and center, and we couldn't do anything about it. So that is not a fair assesment. The biggest problem has been the quarterback play. I'm not sure what the Bucs were thinking during preseason, everyone just knew Byron Leftwich wasn't starting material anymore, and then they traded Luke McCown, who really didn't beat anyone out to prove his worth this preseason anyways. Josh Johnson has some upside, but he doesn't have the pedigree Josh Freeman has. This team has now taken the step, this is the 6th generation of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and we will build around Freeman, though it may be ugly to watch at first.

Brandon: I've read articles that made it seem like Tampa's coaches have been unprepared. Is Raheem Morris a capable NFL head coach?

Niko: This is a hot topic. Any article I write about Morris gets many comments. Mostly negative. The older football fan (not trying to tick off any younger fans...) tend to be more patient because they have seen more seasons of football and understand this happens, while the younger fan tends to be more impatient and want him gone now for the big name guy . Funny how we forget the past, when Steve Spurrier and Jimmy Johnson were wanted but a guy named Tony Dungy came instead!

Positives are there, if you can find them.

Niko Houllis — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:06:29 -0000

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NFL leading pass dropper, currently with 8 drops in 5 games.

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Most fans knew going in this was going to be a David vs Goliath. Looking back on the game, the Bucs did show up with some pretty impressive sling shot materials. Just enough to, at times, leave you thinking that they could make a game of it.

Until Sean Mahan played Matador (Ole) letting Eagle pass rushers through untouched, or Michael Clayton dropping 4 more passes, for a total of 8 on the year, leading the NFC. Doesn't Raheem Morris understand, Clayton needs 20 touches a game before he can be expected to catch every ball. If Michael Clayton thought he caught heat this week already, that is nothing compared to what this next week will be like. Several fans have already started a website 80sucks.com that is getting mentioned on sports radio shows including the Bucs own, and it is bound to get worse. He can no longer be relied upon to catch a football, and no matter how good he blocks, Tampa Bay pays other guys to do that. Some of those guys are called Tight Ends, who coincidentally did not get it done when it came to blocking assignents.

But just when we think we have the Bucs where we want them, players like Kellen Winslow Jr come up and show the youngsters how its done. Numbers are one thing, but K2's 9 catches for 102 yards was not as impressive as the fact two of them were Touchdowns, and that the catches were all seemingly at key moments of the game. Winslow's receptions were PLAYS the team needs to start making. Young guys like Josh Johnson at times looked like the players the Bucs need to turn this losing streak around. Then on other occasions they don't, like losing a simple snap on 4th down, or throwing up the ball when under pressure instead of throwing it away and living for another play. The positives were there to see for Josh Johnson, who had the team moving the ball in between the 20's. Four red zone turnovers killed several scoring drives.

Jimmy Wilkerson led the defense with 3 sacks, but the pass rush from the Bucs otherwise was virtually non-existant. Gaines Adams, who had the best quarter of his life last week, did not record a tackle.....again. We heard all preseason that this team was going to abandon the Tampa Two but jam up receivers at the line and hold them up until pass rushers get to the quarterback. Sounds good in theory. Problem is this team has no one that can get to the Quarterback, and corners that cannot cover consistantly if at all. The Bucs have given up 8 TD passes of 30 yards or more. There were back to back seasons the Bucs would not give up that many deep scoring plays.

All of this is sure to bring on even more pressure on first year Head Coach Raheem Morris, who is now having to start to explain the reasons for this, the poorest start in 14 seasons. College Freshmen were not yet in kindergarten the last time a Bucs team was 0-5. The offense was supposed to be a running team with deep throws off of the play action, but shouldn't a team run the ball first successfully before a play-action is effective? The Bucs are currently wasting one of the deepest backfields in team history, including a remarkable return from not one but two career threatening injuries to Cadillac Williams. Not tot mention the valuable experience Josh Johnson is getting that's probably being wasted as Josh Freeman will be getting the start soon when Center Jeff Faine returns, and the lessons for the young QB will have to be repeated. If the losses continue to add up, the calls for Josh Freeman will start to be heard if they aren't already.

Week 4 Preview: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Washington Redskins

Buc Wild — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:00:27 -0000

by David Duprey - AP

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We're about to hit the quarterpole of the regular season, and it's not pretty. We know the Bucs had a late four game slide last year, and couple with the first three games this year, we haven't seen a real win in our last seven regular season games. Ugh. This week, the Bucs go on their second road trip of the year to the nation's capital to face off against the Washington Redskins. The Redskins are coming off an embarrassing defeat that saw them hand the Lions their first win in 19 games. Can they hand us our first win in 7 games? Let's take a look inside at some of the key points.

I generally write this preview mid-week, before I have all of the injury data. Last week I had Kenny Phillips playing a big part in the game, and he ended up being out for the year. Just realize that this is written ahead of time.

When Washington has the ball

I don't think Washington is a world beater this year. That being said, they have the type of team that scares me when faced off against the Bucs. They have a quarterback with a strong arm who needs time to operate. They have two receviers who can stretch the field and a tight end who is equally comfortable patrolling the middle or heading downfield. Their running game has stalled a bit, but Clinton Portis can still move the ball.

Moss and Randle El might give us fits if we don't get pressure on the quarterback. They both are the small, quick receivers. They also can throw Devin Thomas or Malcolm Kelly, two big bodied receivers at us. The issue has been Campbell having time to throw, which against the Bucs, hasn't proven to be an issue.

If the Bucs double Moss or Randle El, that leaves Cooley open. He's already matched his TD total from last year, and could up it against the Bucs. He should draw Quincy Black in coverage, and Black will have to position himself well, not rely on athletic talent.

I expect against our beaten down defense to see Washington go to a balanced attack. They have to get Portis on track and after seeing how the Giantsdid with a balanced attack, look for Washington to mimic that.

I've watched Campbell for 6 years now, including college. He's an athletic guy with a big arm, but he needs time to throw. The best thing the Bucs can do to shut the Redskins down is to pressure him. Get in his face. Don't allow him to step up, make him throw on the move. At some point Bates will have to pick his poison. Either you sit back, rush 3-4 guys and let them dink and dunk down the field with the hopes you can stop them or you pressure them and trust your secondary to cover. I don't advocate blitzing every play, but i watched the Giants manhandle Campbell in Week 1 with pressure. We have to do the same.

Assuming we bring pressure, our safeties will either be asked to be part of the blitz or to single up on a receiving target. This is a huge responsibility for them, given the lapses we've seen in the past. I'd be more comfortable if Bates threw a few zone blitzes at them, as long as everyone maintains their assignment. In fact, Here's a pretty standard zone blitz. (Note: The circles aren't big enough, but they should represent the areas covered by respective players. There shouldn't be a gap between the Free Safety's zone and the two cornerback's zones. Blame it on my art skills)

It isn't exactly to scale, but here is what's going on. The two cornerbacks and the free safety are responsible for the deep thirds and thus, they drop off. The right end starts pushes on the inside shoulder of the tackle, with the defensive tackles stunting. The goal is to create confusion with two linebackers coming. The WLB should end up singled on the left tackle with the SLB hopefully coming free on the outside. The defensive end (Gaines Adams in my scenario) starts up field and then drops off to cover the underneath route. The middle linebacker slides out into the short flat vacated by the corner with the strong safety coming down into the middle.

Now, this is just one variation. The strong safety can attack the flat with the MLB staying put, you can bring corners, drop DT's etc. The goal is to make the opposing QB think blitz from the LB's but not account for the dropping DE's or DT's, who slide into passing lanes. With Campbell using Cooley as a dump off, the hopes are that you confuse him to a quick release and it's right into the hands of a sliding Ruud or dropping Hayes/Black.

When Tampa Bay has the ball

Run the ball. This is key. The Bucs have to run the ball, run it consistently and run it well to have an opportunity to win. This is the strength of the team. They need to get everyone involved. I'm not a big fan of the rotation, but you have to get each guy on the field and let them do their thing. Running the ball 10-15 times won't work. We went through that with Gruden. This is supposed to be a different team, let's see it. Being down 7-14 points early is not cause to give up. The line has to provide some lanes for the backs to get through.

With a new and young QB, the focus needs to be on easy throws to get going. Don't overwhelm him. Johnson can escape if there's pressure, but he can't be Garcia. Our line is having enough trouble blocking now, let alone when they don't know where the quarterback will be. I look for a lot of Winslow and quick passes, slants, to set Johnson up. The deep ball will be there, but let's not confuse the young man.

On a similar note, I'm somewhat confident that Johnson can run the playbook as is, but the playcalling needs to be tailored to his game. That means rollouts, sprint outs, passes and plays that utilize his talent. He can move the ball with his legs, and while we want him to throw first, a timely quarterback draw can be another issue the defense has to worry about. This isn't immobile Leftwich, let's adapt accordingly.

The Redskins should focus on shutting down the run game. You take away the legs and force Johnson to go through the air all day, it could be an issue. If Haynesworth plays (as of this writing, he is assumed to be in the game), he can cause all kinds of havoc being matched up over top of Mahan. This could be an issue all day, and it's a matchup I expect the Redskins to exploit.

A young quarterback usually favors the dump off and the tight end. With Bryant hurting, Clayton not demanding attention, and the running backs staying in to block, if I'm the Redskins, I'm taking away Winslow and Stevens. Make the young quarterback throw downfield, through outside. Don't let him use his security blankets. If the Redskins can get pressure with just a 4 man rush (something Buffalo and New York did), this will allow them to drop 7 into coverage and limit Johnson's reads.

Statistics

Bucs	Stat	Redskins
13.7	Points/Game	13.3
30.3	Points All/Game	16.3
296.3	Yards/Game	341.3
86.3	Rush Yards/Game	91.7
210	Pass Yards/Game	249.7
432.3	Yards All/Game	325.7
187.3	Rush Yards All/Game	127.7
245	Pass Yards All/Game	198
26:47	T.O.P.	27:19
-1	Turnover	-1
3	Sacks	4
2	Sacks Allowed	6

Key matchups

Albert Haynesworthagainst Offensive Line - Mahan will be matched up with Haynesworth and will need help. If Fat Albert is healthy, he will look to collapse the pocket and cause chaos from the center of the line. This could cause more plays to bounce outside and it might not be a bad idea to move JJ off a spot. As with any game, the trench battle is key.

Black vs Cooley - Campbell's favorite target will draw Black in coverage on most plays. Black showed decent coverage skills last week, but will have to be on his game to take out the security blanket

Redskins WR vs Bucs secondary - The deep ball has been our nemesis this year and when Campbell has time, Moss and Randle El can get down field. The Bucs will have to be disciplined in their coverage and finish plays. No free-lancing.

Things to watch

The biggest thing to watch is how Josh Johnson handles his first start in the early going. Instant pressure or a few bad throws could make this a long day. He needs to get the team moving right away as we have a tendency to fall behind early.

UNFNole did a good analysis of the Bucs and how they performed against the Giants. He pointed to our average 3rd down as 3rd and 7.1 yards to go. To combat that figure, the Bucs will have to make sure they are moving forward on first down. Runs for no gain, incomplete passes, sacks, penalties; these things can not be part of the first down game plan.

I'm gonna keep harping on this point until something changes. We have to get pressure. We watched pressure decimate us last week while Manning had all day to sit and throw. We need to flip the picture on this one. Pressure Campbell, make him move around, punish him. In turn we need to protect Johnson, allow him time to make his reads.

Players to watch

Josh Johnson - For reasons we all know. First start, on the road. Bring us a win.

Antwaan Randle El & Santana Moss - Pick one. Both are small, fast receivers. We can't allow them to get deep on us. When they catch it, hit them hard.

Sean Mahan - The whipping boy on the offensive line. He must make the right reads at the line and then give Johnson time. The center has to do it all and right now he isn't doing much.

Prediction

Washington is playing for their season and their head coach. Both are about to be lost. The Bucs are playing for their new quarterback and some pride. Both teams have been ridiculed and put through the public ringer. Washington lost to Detroit and returns home. Another loss and they are sitting 3-4 games behind the NFC East leaders. The Bucs need a win. The schedule doesn't have a must win. I think Johnson and the offense come up and can put up some points and I'm hoping that Bates and the defense can just hold on. I could go either way on this, but I'm taking the Bucs, for maybe the last time this year. Bucs 17 - Redskins 16

Week 2 Preview: New York Giants (2-0) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-2)

Buc Wild — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:00:15 -0000

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Two games are in the books. The Bucs record is 0-2. We knew the schedule was tough coming in to the season, but I didn't imagine that our biggest opponent would be us. The Bucs have been beaten with the help of some self destruction. The trend has to be stopped or the season will get out of hand.

Next in town are the New Yok Giants, fresh off of a last second win against the Dallas Cowboys. New York rolls into town a crisp 2-0 and looking to continue their streak. The last meeting the Bucs and Giants had seems like ages ago, but it was January of 2007 when the Giants came into Tampa as the wildcard winner and walked out of the stadium a winner, on their way to a Super Bowl win.

Both teams have changed drastically since then, so let's take a look at some of the keys to the game.

As previously mentioned, the Giants are coming off of two big wins over division opponents. The Bucs are coming off two huge losses against non-division opponents. This would seem to be a case of two teams heading in drastically different directions. The Giants are led by (almost) $100 million dollar man Eli Manning. They feature a run game with two speeds; run you over and run by you. Their receivers aren't household names, yet, but are getting the job done. I'll get into some basic stats later in the column.

The Bucs seem to be a hodge podge team thrown together at the last minute. Our offense can be efficient when the run game is working, and our defense, well, I can't even come up with a joke here. Let's just move on.

When the Giants have the ball.

Pick your poison against the Giants. They can run the ball down your throats with bruiser Brandon Jacobs and back up Ahmad Bradshaw. This used to be a team that needed Jacobs and crew to run well to win. But with Manning growing up, and with no prima donna to appease, the passing game is clicking. They have several options to use on any play and are seeing a true deep threat in Manningham emerge with a classic possession guy in Steve Smith come of age.

The targets over the first two weeks have been evenly distributed. It's ahrd to shut a guy down when Manning shows no favoritism. It will be important for the Giants to mix up the play calling and keep the Bucs on their toes. The more they feature all receivers, the tougher it is to stop someone.

On the Bucs defensive side, it's still all about the big plays. There was improvement from Week 1 to Week 2, but the big plays were still there. WIth Phillips out, we wil be relying even more on backups to help shut down the deep stuff. I almost wonder if going to zone coverage for half the game would benefit us. You have to be disciplined in zone coverage and can't sneak up (Sabby), but it takes the island responsibilities away from each guy.

Of course, man to man coverage works fine when there is a pass rush. The good news? The Bucs recorded a few sacks last week against the Bills, so it can be done. The bad news? The Giants have given up one sack all year. Adams and company have to get in the backfield. If we have to blitz, then so be it, but thus far I think we've seen that bringing four and dropping seven hasn't worked. It's time to adapt Mr. Bates.

When Jacobs gets the ball, we need the early 2000's Bucs to come to play. We need multiple people hitting and holding the carrier. Play through the whistle. Wrap up. Bring help defense to the game. Or, as we can now call it, play Pop Warner football. Everyone runs through the play. If the Bucs don't tackle well, you will see alot of Mr. Jacobs bouncing around in our secondary.

When the Bucs have the ball

18 carries last week. If we have less than 20 carries in a week, call it a loss. This goes hand in hand with throwing more than 35 times. We aren't built for it. We have to establish the run. We've got three great backs, including an ex-Giant. I bet he'd like to run wild this week, let's give him the chance. Stay in the game plan. If we're down 7-10, so be it, run the effing ball.

With Leftwich enjoying a statuesque performance in the backfield, the Bucs OL and RB/TE's have to pick up the blitz. When the heat is brought, we need to protect Leftwich. He has shown that with time, he will deliver a strike. The Bucs may luck out and not have to face Justin Tuck, but the Giants DL is as deep as any in the league. It will be important to pass block well and I wouldn't be opposed to going to a shorter passing game to start. Use Clayton, Stevens and Stovall in the short stuff. Keep Leftwich clean. Run the ball. Then go deep off of that. Easy enough to say, let's see what Olsen cooks up.

We have to find a big play threat in the absence of Bryant. Winslow stepped up last week, but while he led the team in targets, I was surprised we didn't go over the middle more. To be blunt, Stovall won't get it done as a go to guy. He might work as the red zone threat, or a chuck and pray type of offense, but we need to get Winslow and the RB/s more involved. We ran one screen last week. It failed. Let's use the whole playbook here. Keep the Giants guessing. This only helps Leftwich as he won't be getting slaughtered in the pocket.

Playaction passing has to be part of the plan. This means establish the run. Please see the first paragraph of this section.

The Giants have to do one thing to beat us. Make us one dimensional. If I'm the Giants, I load up early, stop the run, and let the DL loose to hit Leftwich. If he gets hit, he gets antsy and starts mis-firing. The run game makes our offense go. WIthout it, we're severely handicapped.

Traditional Team Stats

Bucs	Stats	Giants
20.5	Points Per Game	28
33.5	Points Allowed/Game	24
401.5	Yards For/Game	389
286	Pass yards/game	289
115.5	Run Yards/game	100
31:50	T.O.P.	35:28
450	Yards Allowed/Game	325
282	Pass Yards All/Game	157
168	Run yards All/Game	168
2	Sacks against	1
3	Sacks for	3
0	Turnover Ratio	+4
31.03%	3rd down % For	42.86%
31.81%	3rd down % against	47.83%

Oh man. They gain alot of yards through the air, we give up alot of yards through the air. Wonder how they will attack us? Their defense has been pretty stingy also, so this will be a good test for our new offense. 3rd downs will be key, check out the differences there.

Advanced Team Stats (remember positive good for offense)

Offense

		DVOA	Pass	Rank	Run	Rank
8	TB	16.90%	27.80%	14	16.10%	8
9	NYG	15.70%	68.70%	3	-29.40%	29

Pretty close in total offense, but look at the differences in pass and run. We're above average in pass offense, but the Giants are excellent in the air. On the ground, this almost seems backwards. The Giants are near the bottom. It should be noted they have zero rushing TD's currently.

Defense (negative good for defense)

		DVOA	Pass	Rank	Run	Rank
13	NYG	-1.60%	-36.20%	4	32.80%	32
32	TB	42.60%	69.00%	31	16.80%	28

See that 32 next to TB? That's not good. We are 31st against the pass in adjusted value over average. The only good news here is the Giants are awful against the run thus far and should allow us to exploit the ground game.

Traditional Player Stats

	Comp %	TD	INT	Sack	Rating
Byron Leftwich	56	4	2	2	80.5
Eli Manning	67.2	3	1	1	103.2

	Carries	Yards	YPC	TD
Derrick Ward	21	94	4.5	1
Cadillac Williams	20	106	5.3	1
Brandon Jacobs	32	104	3.3	0
Admad Bradshaw	21	97	4.6	0

	Rec	Yards	YPC	TD
Kellen Winslow	12	120	10	2
Michael Clayton	7	120	17.1	0
Steve Smith	16	214	13.4	1
Mario Manningham	13	208	16	2

Key Matchups

Penn/Trueblood vs Giants DE - If Justin Tuck is out, this gets a bit easier. But the edge rushers on the Giants are no joke. The tackle duo has to keep the pass rushers at bay. A one sack day from these two will be a win. Anything more and Leftwich might be an on-field casualty

Derrick Ward vs his old team - Truth is, Ward as one of our lead RB's has to get going. There's no doubt he wants to show well this week. He, Cadillac and Graham need a minimum of 30 total touches (carries and receptions).

Manningham vs Ronde/Talib - I couldn't tell you who will be on who. Smith seems like the number one receiver, which means he would draw Talib, but with Manningham having the speed, Talib might shift over there. This will be a battle to watch. The Bucs can't let Manningham run deep. He has the speed to beat us.

Players to Watch

Sean Mahan - It's a different OL with him instead of Faine. This will be a huge test. He has to lead the line and open up holes for the running game. The Giants DL will bring it, let's hope Mahan is up to the task.

Gaines Adams - I want one sack. That's all I ask. Get started this week.

Bo Barrett Ruud - Ruud has to be leading the attack on defense. Needs to be quick to the ball, be decisive and wrap up. Jacobs isn't a guy to be tentative with.

Brandon Jacobs - WIll just wear a defense out. He knows players like to go low on him once he gets outside, so don't be surprised to see a few low tackles that are missed. He could make this a long day for the Bucs.

Kenny Phillips - He may draw Winslow at times. Let's see if he can keep up.

Things to watch

Line of scrimmage - We've all heard it. You win the line of scrimmage, you win the game. Well, the Giants DL looks to be a menace, the Bucs OL has been fairly stout but will miss Faine. On the flip side, our pass rush is pretty weak. This doesn't set up well.

Field Position - Our offense can move the ball but our defense can't stop anyone. If the Giants have to move the ball 80 yards on every drive, I think we can get a stop or two. If they are starting around the 50, look out.

Assignments - This has been an issue I've harped on for both games. With Phillips out, our safeties are in the msot precarious position. Keep an eye on Sabby and Will Allen. Stay true to the scheme guys.

Prediction

Well, I've never been a rose colored glasses kind of guy. I've seen the Bucs play two games with the offense being a shade above average overall and the defense just allowing plays to happen at anytime. The Giants are still one of the elite teams in the NFC. I don't see this being pretty. Giants 28 Bucs 17.

Bills will have a job unbalancing Tampa on Sunday

Brian Galliford — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:30:17 -0000

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Prior to the start of the NFL's regular season, the Buffalo Bills were one of three teams to fire their offensive coordinator. Buffalo's opponent this week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was one of the other teams to make this move, relieving Jeff Jagodzinski of his duties and promoting Greg Olson to the position of Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks. If Buffalo's offense scored a mild surprise with 276 yards, 17 points and relative efficiency in their Week 1 loss, then Tampa Bay's 450-yard, 21-point outburst was nothing short of shocking.

Blessed with one of the better young offensive lines in the league, a deep stable of running backs, and talent at tight end and receiver (when healthy), QB Byron Leftwich - a temporary starter until first-round pick Josh Freeman is ready to assume command of the offense - has found himself unexpectedly rich with surrounding talent. Considering Buffalo's mediocre second-half defensive performance in New England, defensive coordinator Perry Fewell has a large task in front of him trying to slow down Tampa's surprising offense.

Examining the Bucs' O-Line
At first blush, essentially the entirety of Tampa's starting offensive line - Donald Penn, Jeremy Zuttah, Sean Mahan, Davin Joseph and Jeremy Trueblood - well, let's just say these aren't names that jump off the page at you. Joseph, a 2006 first-round pick, is probably the best player of the group, and likely the most recognizable name as well. This line didn't come together in a traditional manner, but boy, are they talented.

Penn is one of the more athletic tackles in the league; the former 2006 undrafted free agent was a pinch starter under Jon Gruden and hasn't looked back. He's an outstanding pass protector, and while he isn't dominant against the run, the Bucs have clearly procured themselves a diamond-in-the-rough left tackle (something the Bills are currently trying to emulate for a second time). Zuttah ('08, third round), Joseph ('06, first round) and Trueblood ('06, second round) all represent significant draft pick investments in the line, and they've paid off.

The weak area, for now, is center, where starter Jeff Faine is missing with a triceps injury. Mahan - himself a 2003 fifth-round pick by the Bucs - was re-signed after Faine went down, and spoke earlier this week as if he'd start in Faine's stead. If he doesn't, rookie Jonathan Compas will get the call.

Even factoring in the change at center, Tampa's offensive line routinely flashes dominance. They weren't perfect in 2008, allowing 32 sacks and finishing a rather average No. 15 in the NFL in rush offense, but that looks to change this season. With two "new" runners in Cadillac Williams and Derrick Ward, the Bucs gouged a usually stout Cowboys defense on the ground to the tune of 160 yards and two scores on 26 carries. Yes, folks, that's over six yards per carry. To say that the running game is the lifeblood of Tampa's offense is a severe understatement.

Balance is crucial to Tampa's attack
With that running game leading the way, Leftwich's job was simple in Week 1: manage the game. He did it relatively well, getting passes to ten different receivers. The play-action pass, obviously, is a weapon for the Bucs when their run game is clicking, and Leftwich has a huge arm; it's quite enough to keep defenses honest.

The fact that the Bucs have two athletic, productive tight ends - Kellen Winslow, Jr. and Jerramy Stevens - doesn't make the job any easier for the Bills. Both of these players have size and can stretch a defense vertically. They'll play an even more important role on Sunday, as top receiver Antonio Bryant is expected to sit out with an ailing knee. You don't need me to tell you that the Bills struggled to defend tight ends in New England.

This offense still has a lot to prove - one game does not an offensive juggernaut make - but let's not pretend that they're going to be easy for the Bills to contain. It would help them tremendously, first and foremost, to get off the field; going up against a pretty solid Pats offense last week, Buffalo gave the Patriots too many chances to make plays by allowing conversions on 10 of 16 third-down situations. That's not going to cut it.

Beat Tampa at their own game?
An early lead is crucial, as is containing - note the lack of the term "stopping" - the run and limiting allowed third-down conversions defensively. Tampa's defense is extremely vulnerable, so the Bills would do well to try beating the Bucs at their own game - running the ball, taking shots down field, and controlling the clock.

Those are the easiest ways to force the ball into Leftwich's hands more often. That theory, by leaps and bounds, represents Buffalo's best chance at scoring a victory in their home opener. If they can't find a way to take balance out of the equation, however, this is a Bucs offense that could really put the hurt on Fewell's unit. Buffalo needs to be careful, and they'll need to stay sharp offensively if things don't go well in this area.

Cannon Shots: Tuesday practice - injuries, drills, battles

Buc Wild — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:52:45 -0000

Tuesday morning practice has concluded, with another practice to begin around 5 PM. The morning practice included some field goal kicking, some live hitting, goal drills and 9 on 7 drills.

Hit the jump for the details

- Here we go with the injury updates. Antonio Bryant had his surgery this morning. It was considered a success and he should be back in 3 weeks. He might be available for the last preseason game, but all indications are he'll sit until Dallas. We'll take a look at his injury here on Buc 'Em later this week.

- Michael Clayton is still out. He should be back any day, but still may sit out the first preseason game. Angelo Crowell, Kelly Campbell, Jeremy Trueblood and Sean Mahan are all out still. Outside of Bryant, nothing serious here.

- Raheem Morris announced that Thursday night's practice will be closed and held at the stadium. He wants to simulate the game environment and get the team ready for their first preseason game.

- In kicker battles, both Nugent and Bryant went 3 for 3 in the kicking game (Still 0-2 in Bryants favor). But Bryant did seem concerned with his hamstring with it flaring up again. Also, apparently Bryant made a field goal but the ball missed the net and hit a little kid in the face. Ouch! Morris found the kid and gave him a game ball.

- McCown started to get acquainted with Kellen Winslow, hitting him for a TD in the red zone. He better get to know him well. With no AB or Clayton, Winslow is McCown's best friend if he wants to earn the starting job.

- Morris did say that Josh Freeman is still in the hunt for the job and will see the bulk of the playing time on Saturday. This tells me two things. One is that Josh Johnson is all but gone. Two is that Freeman has played ok in camp, but not well enough to really earn the job. Morris has to dangle the job to keep Freeman working hard. I don't think he has any shot unless he just wows us in the preseason.

- Morris (and Buccaneers.com) are really hyping Stroughter saying he is in the mix for the slot position. Only problem? He's towards the bottom of the depth chart thus far. Could be a motivational tool, just seems if he was that close to winning the job, he'd be higher.

That takes care of the AM practice, we'll recap the PM practice after it happens.

Cannon Shots: A look at Monday's training camp session

Buc Wild — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:53:15 -0000

The players were back at it on Monday. After a pretty light workload this weekend (Friday afternoon off, Saturday afternoon off and a day of rest on Sunday), it was time to get back into gear and get ready for the week build up to the first preseason game. Let's take a quick run through Monday's practice.

- The depth chart was released on Monday, and is available on Buc 'Em, right here.

- Let's get the injuries out of the way. Antonio Bryant will miss the entire preseason with some work to be done on his knee. I've heard reports of meniscus pain, draining fluid, or a torn meniscus. I'll admit I'm no doctor, but it looks like he should be available week 1 at this rate, per Raheem Morris (as interviewed by Steve Duemig).

Other injuries are Michael Clayton, Jeff Faine and Derrick Ward. Matt Bryant was back in action and looked to be healed from his leg injury. Jeremy Trueblood and Sean Mahan were also absent from practice.

- The defense looked to be the sharper of the two units, as during quick change drills, both McCown and Leftwich were picked off. Both Freeman and Johnson got some more reps, but Freeman was put forth a reportedly "Disappointing effort". Leftwich did make some good throws and still is very much in the QB race.

- Elbert Mack continues his hot play, with another interception in camp. Adam Hayward contributed a pick and Ronde Barber broke up a pass on a scenario where the offense had to score from the 20 to win.

Just the one practice session today, but the big news is Bryant being out for a few weeks. Lets hope he gets that cleaned up and can be on the field in Dallas. May be a good thing to get him some rest and allow the young guys a few more reps in training camp.