The Bucs had injury problems among their running backs but that gave a career backup an opportunity to shine and that’s exactly what Earnest Graham did in 2007. Graham played in 15 games (10 starts) last season for the Bucs and he carried the ball 222 times for 898 yards (4.0 ypc) with 10 TD runs.  He also caught 49 passes for 324 yards (6.6 avg).  Graham has now played in 56 games (10 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 274 times for 1,113 yards (4.1 ypc) with 10 TD runs.  He also has caught 50 passes for 328 yards (6.6 avg).

Michael Pittman only played in 10 games (3 starts) last season for the Bucs and he carried the ball 68 times for 286 yards (4.2 ypc).  He also snatched 26 passes for 191 yards (7.3 avg).  Pittman has now played in 143 games (79 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 1,316 times for 5,307 yards (4.0 ypc) with 21 TD runs.  Pittman has also caught 415 passes for 3,400 yards (8.2 avg) with 8 TD grabs in his career.

Carnell Williams got injured again last season.  I will refuse to call him Cadillac until he earns that moniker with his play on the field.  Williams played in 4 games (all starts) last season for the Bucs and he carried the ball 54 times for 208 yards (3.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 3 passes for 17 yards (5.7 avg).  He has now played in 32 games (all starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 569 times for 2,184 yards (3.8 ypc) with 10 TD runs.  He also has caught 53 passes for 294 yards (5.5 avg).

Michael Bennett was acquired during the season from the Chiefs.  He played in 14 games (1 start) last season for the Chiefs and Bucs and he carried the ball 41 times for 189 yards (4.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 5 passes for 54 yards (10.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Bennett has now played in 89 games (50 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 810 times for 3,615 yards (4.5 ypc) with 13 TD runs.  Bennett has also caught 150 passes for 1,218 yards (8.1 avg) with 6 TD grabs.

Fullback B.J. Askew played in 13 games (9 starts) last season for the Bucs and he didn’t carry the ball even once.  He did, however, catch 18 passes for 175 yards (9.7 avg).  Askew has now played in 68 games (15 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 27 times for 102 yards (3.8 ypc).  He also has caught 30 passes for 248 yards (8.3 avg). 

Rookie Kenneth Darby only played in 1 game this season for the Bucs and he carried the football 2 times for 9 yards (4.5 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 16 yards (8.0 avg).  Fullback Byron Storer played in 9 games (3 starts) for the Bucs this season and he caught 2 passes for 3 yards.

The Bucs don’t have a lot of talent on the current roster so Jon Gruden deserves a lot of credit for getting them to the playoffs.  The Bucs won the NFC South with a 9-7 record but they got popped 24-14 at home in the playoffs by the New York Giants.  Gruden has now been the head coach of the Bucs for six years now and he is 48-48 (.500 %) during the regular season and he is 3-2 (.600 %) in the post season.  His post season career with the Bucs includes a Super Bowl Championship in 2002.  Gruden has now been an NFL head coach for 10 years now and he has a record of 86-74 (.538 %) in the regular season and he is 5-4 (.556 %) in the post season.

The Buccaneers season ended with a thud Sunday as the Giants beat them up physically.  Jeff Garcia wilted under a heavy pass rush as he completed 23 of 39 passes for 207 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions.  Ernest Graham was busy as he carried the ball 18 times for 63 yards (3.5 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 4 passes for 27 yards (6.8 avg).  Michael Pittman only carried the ball 1 time for 5 yards but he also caught 5 passes for 62 yards (12.4 avg).  The Giants hurt the Bucs bad by taking Garcia’s favorite target out of the game as Joey Galloway only caught 1 pass for 9 yards.  The Bucs finished up with 69 yards rushing on 22 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 39 passes for 202 yards.

The Bucs defense played tough but it just wasn’t enough in the end.  Jermaine Phillips and Derrick Brooks led the way for the Bucs defense with 11 tackles apiece.  The Giants finished up with 100 yards rushing on 30 carries (3.3 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 27 passes for 177 yards.

It will be interesting to see which coach did the right thing down the stretch between Jon Gruden and Tom Coughlin.  Gruden rested his starters the last couple of weeks (the Bucs lost both games) while Coughlin played his regulars last week as he tried to beat the Patriots despite having nothing to gain.

When the Giants have the football they will likely try to bully the Bucs small but fast defense with the running game.  Look for Brandon Jacobs and rookie Ahmad Bradshaw to pound on the Bucs defense which is allowing 107.9 yards rushing per game.  If the Giants are effective running the football it will set up play action passes which is one thing Eli Manning is good at.  The Bucs safeties (Tanard Jackson and Jermaine Phillips) will be the key for the defense against the Giants because they will have to take the tight end (Kevin Boss) out of the Giants offense because Manning loves throwing the short pass over the middle.  The safeties also will need to help Ronde Barber with Plaxico Burress who has a huge height advantage and Manning is good at throwing the jump ball.

The Buccaneers must keep the ball on the ground in this football game.  Ernest Graham and Michael Pittman must carry the load against a Giants defense that is allowing 97.7 yards rushing per game.  The reason the Bucs need to be effective running the ball is to slow the Giants pass rush.  The Giants had 53 sacks this season and will no doubt be bringing the heat against the young offensive line of the Bucs.  Osi Umenyiora (13 sacks), Justin Tuck (10 sacks) and Michael Strahan (9 sacks) will likely put a lot of pressure on Jeff Garcia who will make mistakes if rushed.  But, if the Bucs line can give Garcia time to throw the ball he should be effective against a Giants defense that is allowing 207.3 yards passing per game.

PREDICTION:  NEW YORK GIANTS 24, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 13

The Bucs thought that Jeff Garcia would be pretty good but they had no idea that Luke McCown could play like he did this season.  The depth allowed the Bucs to rest Garcia at the end of the season so that he could be fresh for this weekend’s playoff game against the Giants.  Garcia played in 13 games this season for the Buccaneers and he completed 209 of 327 passes (63.9%) for 2,440 yards with 13 TD passes and only 4 interceptions (94.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 35 times for 116 yards (3.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Garcia has now played in 112 games in his NFL career and he has completed 2,020 of 3,000 passes (61.2%) for 22,825 yards with 149 TD passes and 77 interceptions (87.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 430 times for 1,994 yards (4.6 ypc) with 25 TD runs.

Luke McCown stepped up and passed Bruce Gradkowski on the depth chart with his excellent play this season.  McCown played in 5 games this season and he completed 94 of 139 passes (67.6%) for 1,009 yards with 5 TD passes and 3 interceptions (91.7 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 12 times for 117 yards (9.8 ypc) with 0 TD passes.  McCown has now played in 10 games in his NFL career and he has hit 142 of 237 passes (59.9%) for 1,617 yards with 9 TD passes and 10 interceptions (75.5 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 18 times for 142 yards (7.9 ypc) in his career.

Bruce Gradkowski will be lucky to make the Bucs next season….that’s how far he has slid.  He played in 4 games this season for the Buccaneers and he completed 13 of 24 passes (54.2%) for 130 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 interception (52.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 7 times for 20 yards (2.9 ypc).  Gradkowski has now played in 17 games in his NFL career and he has completed 190 of 352 passes (54%) for 1,791 yards with 9 TD passes and 10 interceptions (65.0 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 48 times for 181 yards (3.8 ypc).

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