The Buccaneers really need to wallop someone and I think they are going to do that on Monday Night Football against the undermanned Colts.  The Colts finally showed signs of life against the Steelers last weekend before falling just a tad short.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Buccaneers have the ball:  The Bucs are likely going to be really balanced on offense this Monday Night against the Colts.  LeGarrette Blount is going to pound away against a tough Colts’ run D that is allowing 113.3 yards rushing per game so far this year, but only 3.3 yards per carry.  If the offensive line can keep DEs Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney out of the backfield, then Josh Freeman is going to have by far his best passing game of  the year.  WR Mike Williams and TE Kellen Winslow have not really had a big game yet, but that’s going to change with the whole country looking on.

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts are going to start Curtis Painter at QB on Monday Night.  This is great news for the Buccaneers as he is downright horrible.  Joseph Addai and Delone Carter are going to try to run the ball on the Bucs this Monday Night, so it will be up to the front seven to step up like they did against the Falcons last weekend.  CBs Aqib Talib and Ronde Barber are going to need to win their matchups with WRs Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon in this game, and they should be able to accomplish that.  TE Dallas Clark and WR Austin Collie are likely to be really active on the short passes in this game.

PREDICTION:  BUCCANEERS 23, COLTS 9

31-year old RB Earnest Graham is the backup RB for the Bucs this year.  But, he’s the main man when the Bucs fall behind as LeGarrette Blount isn’t much of a pass catcher.  Graham has played in all 3 games for the Bucs so far this year and he has carried the ball 11 times for 30 yards (2.7 ypc).  But, he has also caught 20 passes for 116 yards (5.8 avg) so far this year.  Graham has career highs of 49 receptions, 324 receiving yards and 1 TD grab so far in his career.  He’s likely to set new career highs in all three of those categories in 2011.

24-year old starting free safety Cody Grimm for a while due to a serious knee injury.  Grimm has played in all 3 games for the Bucs so far this year and he has 10 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  He played in 11 games as a rookie last year for the Bucs and he had 57 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 2 passes defensed and 2 interceptions (1 returned for a TD).  26-year old Corey Lynch and 23-year old Larry Asante will compete for the right to start in Grimm’s spot.  Lynch has played in 3 games for the Bucs so far this year and he has 3 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  Larry Asante has yet to play in a game this year for the Bucs.  He played in 2 games for the Bucs last year and he had 2 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.  Losing Grimm is going to hurt the Buccaneers going forward.

UPDATE:  (9/29/2011) – Cody Grimm has a torn ACL and he is going to miss the rest of the season.

The Buccaneers made big plays on both sides of the ball when they needed them yesterday and the result was a hard fought division win!  Josh Freeman completed 22 of 32 passes for 180 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 10 times for 35 yards (3.5 ypc) with 1 TD run in this game.  LeGarrette Blount was busy again as he rushed for 81 yards on 24 carries (3.4 ypc) yesterday.  Earnest Graham only carried the ball 2 times for -1 yard (-0.5 ypc) yesterday but he also caught 7 passes for 37 yards (5.3 avg).  WR Mike Williams (5 rec, 43 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Bucs yesterday.  The Buccaneers finished up with 115 yards on 36 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 32 passes (68.8%) for 180 yards as they had possession of the ball for 35:52.

The defense gave up a lot of passing yards yesterday, but they shut down the Falcons’ run game which was impressive.  CB E.J. Biggers (9 tackles, 2 passes defensed), LB Geno Hayes (7 tackles), CB Aqib Talib (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and safety Sean Jones (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) led the way for the Buccaneers’ D in this game.  CB Ronde Barber (4 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 3 passes defensed, 1 interception and 1 fumble recovery) and DT Michael Bennett (fumble recovery) also made some big plays for the Bucs in this game.  The Falcons finished up with 30 yards rushing on 15 carries (2.0 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 47 passes (55.3%) for 295 yards.  The Buccaneers are now 2-1 on the year.

The Buccaneers have a big game this Sunday against the division rival Atlanta Falcons.  The Falcons swept the Bucs last year by a combined score of 55-45, including a 28-24 win in Tampa.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Buccaneers have the ball:  The Buccaneers would be smart to feed the ball to LeGarrette Blount in the running game.  He ran the ball 33 times for 149 yards (4.5 ypc) with 1 TD run against the Falcons last year.  The Falcons are giving up 110.5 yards rushing per game and 3.9 yards per carry so far this year.  The Buccaneers will also be attacking the Falcons through the air in this game as they are giving up 301.5 yards passing per game so far this year.  WR Mike Williams could have a big bounce back game this week as he caught 10 passes for 157 yards (15.7 avg) with 2 TD grabs against the Falcons last year.  Preston Parker, Kellen Winslow, Dezmon Briscoe, Arrelious Benn and Earnest Graham will all also be in on the action in the passing game.  The key will be giving Josh Freeman time to throw the ball against the Falcons’ suspect secondary.

When the Falcons have the ball:  The front seven of the Bucs is going to be seriously challenged by RB Michael Turner of the Falcons.  Turner carried the ball 48 times for 195 yards (4.1 ypc) with 3 TD runs against the Bucs last year.  The Buccaneers are giving up 156.0 yards rushing per game so far this year and 4.6 yards per carry, so it’s going to be hard for them to stop Michael Turner.  The Buccaneers need their DEs and OLBs to get a rush on Matt Ryan or he’s going to shred up the secondary.  Corners Ronde Barber and Aqib Talib are going to have their hands full with WRs Julio Jones and Roddy White, without much help from the safeties.  That’s because the safeties are going to have to deal with TE Tony Gonzalez.

PREDICTION:  FALCONS 27, BUCCANEERS 23

23-year old QB Josh Freeman is off to a good start this year for the Bucs.  He has played in both of the games for the Bucs so far this year and he has completed 50 of 74 passes (67.6%) for 502 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs (84.4 QB Rating).  Freeman has also carried the ball 7 times for 42 yards (6.0 ypc) this year.  Freeman is probably going to get even better this year, but the Bucs are happy with his performance so far.

The Buccaneers fell behind 17-0 at the half, before rebounding with a vengeance in the second half to prevail.  Josh Freeman had another solid game as he completed 22 of 31 passes for 243 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 16 yards (5.3 ypc) yesterday.  LeGarrette Blount led the way on the ground for the Bucs with 71 yards rushing on 13 carries (5.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs in this game.  Earnest Graham carried the ball 3 times for 18 yards (6.0 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 21 yards (4.2 avg).  WR Preston Parker led the way for the Bucs in the passing game with 6 grabs for 98 yards (16.3 avg).  TE Kellen Winslow (4 rec, 44 yards), WR Dezmon Briscoe (4 rec, 42 yards) and WR Arrelious Benn (1 rec, 25 yards, TD) also pitched in for the Bucs in the passing game.  The Buccaneers finished up with 105 yards rushing on 19 carries (5.5 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 31 passes (71%) for 230 yards as they had possession of the ball for only 26:30.

The defense was truly awful for the Bucs yesterday.  Rookie MLB Mason Foster led the way for the D with 10 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit.  Safeties Sean Jones (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) and Cody Gramm (6 tackles) also pitched in for the Bucs on D yesterday.  The Vikings finished up with 186 yards rushing on 33 carries (5.6 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 30 passes (60%) for 212 yards in this game.  The Buccaneers are 1-1 on the year now.

This is going to be a interesting matchup as the Bucs got behind early last week before rallying late.  The Vikings got a quick lead before folding up the tent in the second half.  This will be the Vikings’ home opener.  This is going to be a good game and here is a look at the matchups:

When the Buccaneers have the ball:  The Buccaneers want to be more balanced than they were last weekend but it isn’t going to be easy.  LeGarrette Blount is going to be taking aim at a Vikings’ D that only allowed 77 yards rushing on 27 carries (2.9 ypc) last week against the Chargers.  If the O-Line can keep DE Jared Allen, DE Brian Robison and OLB Chad Greenway out of the backfield and give Josh Freeman time to throw the ball….he will have a good game.  Mike Williams and Kellen Winslow will likely be the players that get the most passes from Freeman this Sunday.  But, he will also need to get the ball to Earnest Graham, Dezmon Briscoe and Arrelious Benn this weekend to loosen the coverage on Williams and Winslow.

When the Vikings have the ball:  The new look defensive line is going to have to put pressure on Donovan McNabb while at the same time helping slow down Adrian Peterson.  Young linebackers Mason Foster, Geno Hayes and Quincy Black will have to keep Peterson in check and that’s highly unlikely to happen.  The Bucs didn’t have any sacks last weekend, so look for Donovan McNabb to be confident in the pocket.  CBs Aqib Talib and Ronde Barber match up pretty well with Bernard Berrian and Percy Harvin.  With that in mind, don’t be surprised to see Michael Jenkins and TEs Visanthe Shiancoe and Kyle Rudolph to challenge safeties Sean Jones and Cody Grimm over the middle of the field.

PREDICTION:  BUCCANEERS 23, VIKINGS 20

24-year old RB LeGarrette Blount had a solid rookie year for the Bucs last year.  He played in 13 games for the Bucs last year and he carried the ball 201 times for 1,007 yards (5.0 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  Blount also caught 5 passes for 14 yards (2.8 avg) last year.  Blount is not much of a receiver, so the Bucs replaced Blount for a huge part of the game as they were playing from behind.  Blount only carried the ball 5 times for 15 yards (3.0 ypc) against the Lions last Sunday.  Earnest Graham only carried the ball 6 times for 13 yards (2.2 ypc) but he caught 8 passes for 58 yards (7.3 avg) against the Lions.  Blount needs to either improve as a receiver out of the backfield in practice, or he needs to keep his trap shut.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed 23-year old Scott Albritton to be the new “starting” long snapper.  He will replace 23-year old Christian Yount out of UCLA who has been released.  Yount played in the season opener for the Bucs against the Lions last weekend.  He didn’t appear to screw anything up in his NFL debut, but he still got cut.

UPDATE:  (9/17/2011) – The Buccaneers have re-signed Christian Yount and they have released Scott Albritton.