The Bucs didn’t play very well yesterday, but amazingly had a chance to win the game.  Chris Simms completed 13 of 24 passes for 139 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.  Cadillac Williams didn’t find much running room as he had 19 carries for 48 yards (2.5 ypc) and a TD.  TE Alex Smith had a good game catching 4 passes for 72 yards.

CB Ronde Barber had 12 tackles and Derrick Brooks had 11 tackles for a defense that was on the field alot.  The Bucs held the Panthers to 101 yards rushing and 3.6 yards per carry.  The Panthers completed 61.1% of their passes for 249 net yards passing.

Both of these teams were butalized by the Atlanta Falcons, and this is an important game for two teams that expected much more this season.

The Panthers will attempt to run the football to slow up the Bucs pass rush.  RBs DeShaun Foster and D’Angelo Williams should find running room against a defense that has give up 409 yards rushing in their first two games.  WR Keyshawn Johnson (9 rec, 146 yards) is having a good start to the season and would love nothing more than to stick it to Coach Gruden.

The Bucs need to get back to running the football.  Cadillac Williams should be able to get it going after a rough start against the Panthers’ D that has given up 392 yards rushing this season.  The Bucs need to get a quick lead to lessen the pressure on QB Chris Simms who has thrown 6 INT and 0 TDs this season.  If the Bucs establish the run, look for Simms to run some play-action and try to get the ball deep to Joey Galloway.

I think the QB that makes the least mistakes wins this football game, so I have to side with the Panthers.

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The Bucs got beat much worse than the score indicates. QB Chris Simms had another terrible football game, completing 28 of 53 passes for 313 yards and 3 pick-offs. RB Carnell Williams ran the ball 15 times for 37 yards (2.5 ypc). WR Joey Galloway caught 9 passes for 161 yards (17.9 avg). Michael Clayton caught 5 passes for 62 yards (12.4 avg). Ike Hilliard caught 6 passes for 53 yards (8.8 avg).

The defense looked pitiful against the Falcons despite only giving up 14 points. The Falcons ran the ball 44 times for 306 yards (7.0 ypc)….as two Falcons ran for over 100 yards (Dunn 134, Vick 127). The Falcons only threw 16 passes and completed 10 (62.5%) for only 76 net yards.

The Bucs are falling fast.

The Buccaneers swept the series against the Falcons last season, but so did the Panthers….and the Falcons kicked their butt all over the field.  The Buccaneers would like to establish a running game with Cadillac Williams, so it will make it easier to throw the ball.  QB Chris Simms was absolutely terrible last week, and he needs to get the ball to Michael Clayton and Joey Galloway.  It could be another rough day for the offense against a physical Falcons defense that only allowed the Panthers to get 215 yards of total offense.

The Falcons just line-up on offense and try to punch you in the mouth with their running game.  They rolled up 252 yards rushing against a usually tough Carolina Panther defense.  The Bucs played a good game on defense last week, only allowing the Ravens 271 total yards.  The Bucs have the speed on defense to match up with the Falcons offense, and they will try to take the Falcons out of their running offense and force them to pass.  If the Bucs can do that, they can stay close in the game……but if not, this game will get ugly quick.

The thought here is that the Falcons will win this game, because Chris Simms is awful!