The Bucs sucked on both sides of the football today and the score could have been much worse if they were playing a better offensive football team.  Josh Freeman continued to stink it up today as he completed 14 of 33 passes for 93 yards with 0 TD passes and 3 INTs.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 21 yards (5.3 ypc).  Cadillac Williams also had a game to forget as he carried the ball 11 times for 14 yards (1.3 ypc).  Kellen Winslow led the way in the passing game for the Bucs with 4 grabs for 26 yards (6.5 avg) today.  The Buccaneers finished up with 124 total yards on offense today (43 rushing, 81 passing) as they had possession of the ball for 25:54!

LB Barrett Ruud (11 tackles) and S Tanard Jackson (8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) did their part on D.  Too bad the other 9 guys stunk today.  The Jets finished up with 310 total yards on offense today (175 rushing, 135 passing) in this game.  The Buccaneers are now 1-12 on the year.

The Buccaneers might be inspired after seeing what the Browns did to the Steelers last night.  That is because the Jets (6-6) and the Buccaneers (1-11) have the same exact records that the Browns and Steelers had going into last night’s game which the Browns won.  For the Buccaneers to have a good shot to win the game this Sunday they will need to establish a running game with Cadillac Williams and Derrick Ward against a Jets’ D that is allowing 109.4 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry.  Josh Freeman will have to be careful when throwing the ball this week as CB Darrelle Revis of the Jets is a true shutdown corner who has 5 interceptions this year already.  That means that throwing the ball to Antoino Bryant could be dangerous.  This game is set up for Kellen Winslow to have a big game in the passing game as a young QB’s best friend is often the TE.

On defense the Bucs will need to tighten up their chinstraps as the Jets are going to come out of the locker-room trying to bully them with their running game.  The Jets are averaging 168.6 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry as Thomas Jones (1,068 rushing yards, 9 TDs) is having a great year.  Still, with Kellen Clemens starting at QB the Bucs must stop the run and force him to throw the ball if they are going to have any chance of winning this game.

PREDICTION:  JETS 20, BUCCANEERS 10

The Buccaneers have been pathetic this season as they are now 1-11 on the year.  Still, if the Bucs saw what the Browns did last night they know how much a couple of more wins would make them feel.  It won’t be easy as they play the Jets at home this weekend.  After the Jets, the schedule won’t get any easier as they then play the Seahawks in Seattle, the Saints in New Orleans and the Falcons at home.  The Buccaneers are likely going to be one of the frontrunners for the first pick in the NFL Draft next April but they need to try to win every game they can to restore some pride in the team.

Rookie 7th round pick Sammie Stroughter will replace the injured Clifton Smith returning punts and kick-offs.  Stroughter has returned 11 kickoffs for 324 yards (29.5 avg) with 1 TD return and he has also returned 8 punts for 45 yards (5.6 avg).  Stroughter is also making a mark on offense for the Buccaneers this season as he has caught 27 passes for 288 yards (10.7 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Stroughter was a outstanding pick by the Bucs last April and he should be able to do a decent job filling in for Clifton Smith.

The Bucs have lost special teams ace Clifton Smith for the rest of the season after he suffered his second concussion of the year last Sunday.  Smith played in 11 games for the Bucs this year and he returned 31 kickoffs for 902 yards (29.1 avg) and 23 punts for 232 yards (10.1 avg).  He also carried the ball 4 times for 7 yards (1.8 ypc) and he caught 2 passes for 4 yards (2.0 avg).  The Bucs will miss Smith who usually helped give the offense good starting position.

Josh Freeman had a terrible game for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-11) and they lost to the Carolina Panthers (5-7) because of it.  Freeman threw 5 interceptions and the Bucs’ offense went 0-4 in the red zone.  The only offense the Bucs got was from their kicker Connor Barth, who hit a 21 and 46 yarder in the 2nd quarter.  That is pretty bad, especially since the Bucs were able to move the ball down the field.  They had 469 total yards of offense, yet they were unable to get into the endzone.

The Bucs’ defense did a pretty good job in this game, but they couldn’t contain Panthers’ running back Jonathon Stewart.  Stewart was pretty much the only offense the Panthers could get, but since the Bucs’ offense was so pathetic it was all the Panthers needed.  Stewart rushed for 120 yards and the Panthers lone touchdown on 26 carries.  This was a very ugly game for the Buccaneers, and Josh Freeman has not been making the progress the Bucs would like to see.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-10) will have a very good shot at getting their second win of the year as they take on the Carolina Panthers (4-7).  They will still be the underdogs, but the Panthers are starting Matt Moore at quarterback as Jake Delhomme is out with a broken finger.  Moore has not started a game since 2007 and in 9 games that season he had QB rating of only 67.0.  He apparantly has a very strong arm and the deep ball is one of his few strengths, so the Bucs can’t get beat deep.  The Bucs are giving up 160 rushing yards per game, and with an inexperienced quarterback starting for the Panthers they will most likely hand the ball off a ton.  The good news for the Bucs is that both of the Panthers’ main backs, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathon Stewart, are injured and are game-time decisions.

Although the Panthers are not a very good football team, they do defend the pass pretty well.  They only give up 181 passing yards per game, so Josh Freeman is probably going to struggle.  That means Cadillac Williams and Derrick Ward are going to need to have big games.  The Panthers do give up 132 rushing yards per game, so there is reason to believe that Williams and Ward can have success.  Without a passing game though, the Bucs will have a hard time getting into the endzone, so I am going with the Panthers in this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10, Carolina Panther 21

28-year old WR Antonio Bryant is running his mouth about needing to get the ball more when he should just shut up and play ball.  After all, the Buccaneers are paying him a ridiculous $9.88 million bucks this season.  For that amount of cash, Bryant has played in 8 games catching 22 passes for 360 yards (16.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  The Buccaneers were fooled by Antonio Bryant’s big 2008 season and they gave him way too much money to stay.  He played in all 16 games last season for the Bucs when he caught 83 passes for 1,248 yards (15.0 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 22 yards (11.0 ypc) last season.  The Buccaneers should just let Bryant walk away at the end of the year as he’s way more trouble than he is worth.

The Buccaneers have signed 25-year old punter Sam Paulescu to a 1-year deal.  Paulescu will replace the injured Dirk Johnson for the rest of the 2010 season.  He has punted the ball 3 times this season for 150 yards (50.0 avg) when he played with the Redskins earlier this year.  Paulescu has now played in 12 games in his NFL career and he has punted the ball 61 times for 2,584 yards (42.4 avg).  He has 5 touchbacks (8.2%) and he has pinned the opponent inside their 20-yard line 15 times (24.6%) in his career.  The Bucs found themselves a decent punter to finish out the season.

The Buccaneers have lost starting WR Michael Clayton for the next week or two due to a MCL sprain in his left knee.  Clayton has played in 11 games this season for the Buccaneers and he has caught 14 passes for 204 yards (14.6 avg) with a TD grab.  Maurice Stovall will replace Clayton in the starting lineup.  Stovall has played in 10 games this season for the Buccaneers and he has caught 14 passes for 212 yards (15.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Buccaneers shouldn’t miss Clayton too much as Stovall is just as good as he is.