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The Buccaneers played just well enough offensively to make the excellent work by the D hold up last night in Tampa. Josh Freeman has solid as he completed 12 of 23 passes for 149 yards with 0 TD passes or interceptions last night. Josh Johnson had a rough night has he only completed 4 of 11 passes for 59 yards without a TD pass or interception. He also carried the ball 1 time for 12 yards last night. Rudy Carpenter finished up the game and he looked solid in completing 5 of 8 passes for 59 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs. He also carried the ball 3 times for 10 yards (3.3 ypc) last night. Allen Bradford led the way for the Bucs on the ground last night with 12 yards rushing on 5 carries (2.4 ypc). LeGarrette Blount pitched in with 10 yards rushing on 5 carries (2.0 ypc) last night and he also caught 3 passes for 62 yards (20.7 avg). Earnest Graham only rushed for 5 yards on 3 carries (1.7 ypc) in this game but one of his carries went for a TD. He also caught 2 passes for 27 yards (13.5 avg) last night. TE Nathan Overbay (2 rec, 23 yards, TD) and WR Mike Williams (3 rec, 22 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Buccaneers last night. The Bucs finished up with 99 yards rushing on 27 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 42 passes (50%) for 267 yards last night.
Safeties Devin Holland (5 tackles) and Cody Grimm (5 tackles) led the way for the Bucs’ D last night. LB Geno Hayes also had a very solid game with 5 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 QB hit and a fumble recovery. DE Michael Bennett pitched in with 3 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit last night. The Dolphins finished up with 22 yards rushing on 17 carries (1.3 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 29 passes (62.1%) for 225 yards last night. The Buccaneers are now 2-1 on the preseason.
The Buccaneers have signed 28-year old DT John McCargo. McCargo played in 1 game for the Bills last year and he had 1 whole tackle. McCargo has now played in 33 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 47 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 5 passes defensed. He has been a bust to this point in his career but maybe a change of scenery will spark McCargo into being the player the Bills thought they were drafting.
UPDATE: (9/3/2011) – The Buccaneers have released John McCargo.
The Buccaneers were down 28-0 at the half last night as they looked pretty awful last night against the Patriots. Josh Freeman didn’t look too good last night as he completed 5 of 10 passes for 33 yards. Joe Johnson was much worse though as he completed 6 of 17 passes for 105 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT. He also carried the ball 3 times for 24 yards (8.0 ypc) last night. Rudy Carpenter looked the best of the QBs last night as he completed 6 of 10 passes for 68 yards. He also carried the ball 1 time for 15 yards last night. RB Allen Bradford led the way on the ground last night with 5 carries for 17 yards (3.4 ypc) with 1 TD run. WRs Preston Parker (2 rec, 43 yards), Maurice Price (2 rec, 35 yards) and Michael Spurlock (2 rec, 23 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Buccaneers last night. The Bucs carried the ball 15 times for 64 yards (4.3 ypc) and they completed 17 of 37 passes (45.9%) for 180 yards as they only had the ball for 26:00 last night.
The Buccaneers’ D got pushed around by the Patriots last night. LB Dekoda Watson (7 tackles) and safety Corey Lynch (5 tackles) led the way for the Bucs’ D last night. CB Elbert Mack had 3 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 pass defensed and he intercepted a pass that he returned 69 yards for a TD. LB Adam Hayward pitched in with 2 tackles and 1 fumble recovery last night. The Patriots finished up with 200 yards rushing on 36 carries (5.6 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 37 passes (56.8%) for 183 yards last night. The Buccaneers are now 1-1 on the year.
The Buccaneers have signed 27-year old cornerback Ashton Youboty. Youboty played in 13 games for the Bills last year and he had 2 tackles. He has now played in 43 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 60 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception, 7 passes defensed and 2 tackles for a loss. Youboty will give the Bucs more depth at CB in 2011, but they better hope that he doesn’t have a big role in 2011.
UPDATE: (8/29/2011) – The Buccaneers have released Ashton Youboty.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were very dominating last night on both sides of the football. Josh Freeman looked really sharp in completing 9 of 13 passes for 73 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs. He also carried the ball 1 time for 5 yards and it went for a TD. Josh Johnson followed Freeman in the game and he completed 7 of 12 passes for 108 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs. He also carried the ball 5 times for 57 yards (11.4 ypc) last night. Rudy Carpenter finished up the game at QB for the Bucs and he completed 4 of 6 passes for 50 yards. Kregg Lumpkin led the RBs in rushing yards with 24 on 6 carries (4.0 ypc). He also caught 2 passes for 10 yards (5.0 avg) last night. LeGarrette Blount pitched in with 18 yards on 5 carries (3.6 ypc) and he caught 1 pass for 6 yards. WRs Dezmon Briscoe (4 rec, 60 yards) and Michael Spurlock (2 rec, 18 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Bucs last night. The Buccaneers finished up with 139 yards rushing on 34 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 31 passes for 214 yards last night as the offense was not only effective but it was also very balanced.
The defense was out of this world with 6 sacks last night. LB Dekoda Watson led the way for the Bucs last night with 3 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 2 QB hits. DE Kyle Moore also had a very solid game with 2 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 2 QB hits. The Chiefs could only musted 86 yards rushing on 24 carries (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 8 of 16 passes for 51 yards. The Bucs looked great last night.
23-year old QB Josh Freeman had a true breakout season in 2010 for the Bucs. They are hoping that it was just a small glimpse of things to come. Freeman played in 16 games (all starts) for the Bucs last year and he completed 291 of 474 passes (61.4%) for 3,451 yards with 25 TD passes and 6 INTs (95.9 QB Rating). Freeman also carried the ball 30 times for 161 yards (5.4 ypc) for the Buccaneers last year. Freeman has it all as he has a strong arm and good mobility. He also protected the football really well as he only had 6 INTs last year. Freeman has now played in 26 games (25 starts) in his first two years with the Bucs and he has completed 449 of 764 passes (58.8%) for 5,306 yards with 35 TD passes and 24 INTs (82.2 QB Rating). Freeman also has carried the ball 98 times for 525 yards (5.4 ypc) so far in his NFL career. Freeman is now 13-12 (52%) as the starting QB for the Buccaneers so far.
25-year old Joe Johnson will once again be the #2 QB for the Buccaneers in 2011. Johnson played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Bucs last year and he completed 14 of 16 passes (87.5%) for 111 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (95.6 QB Rating). Johnson also carried the ball 4 times for 39 yards (9.8 ypc) last year. Johnson has now played in 17 games (4 starts) for the Bucs in his first two years with the team and he has completed 77 of 141 passes (54.6%) for 796 yards with 4 TD passes and 8 INTs (56.9 QB Rating). Johnson also has carried the ball 26 times for 187 yards (7.2 ypc) so far. Johnson is 0-4 as the Buccaneers starting QB so far in his career.
25-year old Rudy Carpenter was the #3 QB for the Bucs last year but he will have to hold off 24-year old Jonathan Crompton in training camp to keep the job. Neither of these guys have played in a regular season game yet in the NFL.
PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BUCCANEERS QBS IN 2011: A-
The Buccaneers have signed 24-year old QB Jonathan Crompton. Crompton has yet to play in a regular season game in his NFL career. He will battle Rudy Carpenter for the #3 QB job in training camp and the pre-season. I like this move as Crompton will challenge Carpenter and competition is always good.
UPDATE: (9/3/2011) – The Buccaneers have released Jonathan Crompton.
The Buccaneers have re-signed 26-year old DE Tim Crowder to a 2-year deal. Crowder played in all 16 games for the Bucs last year and he had 31 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 4 passes defensed. Crowder has now played in 31 games in his first two years with the Bucs and he has 74 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries and 6 passes defensed. This was a good move for the Bucs as Crowder is a solid backup DE.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have re-signed 25-year old DT Frank Okam. Okam played in 3 games for the Bucs at the end of last season and he had 12 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 fumble recovery. Okam has now played in 13 games in his first 3 years in the NFL and he has 17 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss and 1 fumble recovery. Okam was a highly thought of player coming out of college so maybe a change of scenery to Tampa will spark him to live up to his ability.