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The Buccaneers have placed 28-year old DT John McCargo on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a triceps injury. McCargo played in 4 games for the Bucs this year and he had 5 tackles. He has now played in 37 games in his NFL career and he has 52 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 6 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 5 passes defensed. The Buccaneers won’t miss him much.
The Buccaneers have placed 23-year old LB Jacob Cutrera on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to an undisclosed injury. Cutrera played in 8 games for the Buccaneers this year and he had 3 tackles. He has now played in 16 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 7 tackles. This isn’t much of a loss for the Buccaneers going forward.
The Buccaneers raced out to a 14 point lead yesterday, before the roof caved in on them. Josh Freeman had a rough game as he completed 16 of 30 passes for 181 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs. He also carried the ball 4 times for 26 yards (6.5 ypc) with 1 TD run. Freeman got sacked in the end zone which caused him to lose a fumble that resulted in a TD for the Jaguars. Josh Johnson replaced Freeman late yesterday and he completed 1 of 2 passes for 3 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT. LeGarrette Blount led the way on the ground for the Bucs yesterday with 74 yards on 18 carries (4.1 ypc) with 1 TD run. Kellen Winslow (2 rec, 38 yards), Preston Parker (3 rec, 35 yards) and Mike Williams (3 rec, 35 yards) led the way for the Bucs in the passing game. But, Parker lost a fumble on a punt return that Colin Cloherty of the Jags returned 8 yards for a TD. The Buccaneers finished up with 110 yards rushing on 24 carries (4.6 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 32 passes (53.1%) for 170 yards as they had possession of the ball for 27:11.
The offense and special teams kept setting up the Jaguars with short fields, so the Bucs’ D doesn’t deserve much of the blame for the 41 points the Jaguars scored yesterday. Safety Tanard Jackson (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss), LB Quincy Black (6 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss) and CB E.J. Biggers (6 tackles) led the way for the Bucs in this game on D. CB Ronde Barber (5 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and LB Mason Foster (5 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) also pitched in for the Bucs on D in this game. The Jaguars finished up with 116 yards rushing on 33 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 33 passes (57.6%) for 209 yards. The Buccaneers are now 4-9 on the season.
The Buccaneers have placed 26-year old DE Tim Crowder on the Injured Reserve List due to a nasty concussion. Crowder played in 10 games for the Buccaneers this year and he had 14 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 pass defensed. He has now played in 41 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has 88 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries and 7 passes defensed. The Buccaneers are going to miss Crowder as head coach Raheem Morris likes to rotate his DEs.
The Buccaneers have lost six games in a row. Last weekend they got thumped hard by the Panthers in Tampa (38-19)! The Jaguars got punished 38-14 at home on Monday Night Football by the San Diego Chargers. The Jaguars have lost 3 games in a row. Here is a look at the matchups in this game:
When the Buccaneers have the ball: The Buccaneers need to come out throwing the ball in this game. They need to get a quick lead on the Jaguars to force them to pass the ball instead of pounding Maurice Jones-Drew at the Bucs’ hapless D. Josh Freeman is likely to be back this weekend, but if he can’t go, Josh Johnson will get another start under center. The Jaguars don’t have much of a pass rush and their secondary is hurting bad due to injuries. This all sets up Josh Freeman to have a big game. He will need WR Mike Williams and TE Kellen Winslow to step up and lead the way in the passing game. Arrelious Benn could get deep against the Jags in this game and make some plays too, as the corners the Jaguars are playing now are pretty awful. LeGarrette Blount will also get his share of carries against a Jags’ D that is allowing 111.6 yards rushing and 4.1 yards per carry so far this year.
When the Jaguars have the ball: The Buccaneers are giving up 141.7 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry so far this year and that doesn’t bode well for them in Jacksonville. Maurice Jones-Drew has 1,137 yards rushing so far this year and he has also caught 29 passes for 297, as he is a main man for the Jags. The Buccaneers need to stop Jones-Drew if they want to win this Sunday. The safeties will need to cheat up to help the front seven of the Bucs in this game. The Bucs will also need to get a solid pass rush on rookie QB Blaine Gabbert, as he makes mistakes with the football.
PREDICTION: BUCCANEERS 20, JAGUARS 17
24-year old WR Preston Parker didn’t do much as a rookie last year for the Buccaneers. He caught 4 passes for 42 yards (10.5 avg) and he also returned 10 kickoffs for 178 yards (17.8 avg) last year for the Bucs. This year though, Parker has stepped up. He has played in 12 games so far this year and he caught 32 passes for 429 yards (13.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs. He has also returned 20 punts for 213 yards (10.7 avg) and 14 kickoffs for 307 yards (21.9 avg) for the Bucs this year. Parker has now got his mitts on the ball 66 times for 949 all purpose yards (14.4 yards per touch) Parker is averaging 79.1 total all-purpose yards per game so far this year.
The Buccaneers need 22-year old DT Brian Price to step up. Head coach Raheem Morris sent Brian Price home last weekend during the game after he got a personal foul that gave the Panthers a first down! Price has played in 12 games for the Bucs this year and he has 22 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss and 3 sacks. He has now played in 17 games in his first two years with the Buccaneers and he has 23 tackles, 3 sacks and 6 tackles for a loss. The Buccaneers need him to step up or sit down.
The Buccaneers got dominated at home yesterday by the Panthers. Josh Johnson started at QB in this game due to Josh Freeman’s sore right shoulder. Johnson completed 16 of 27 passes for 229 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT. He also carried the ball 5 times for 45 yards (9.0 ypc) in this game. Mossis Madu led the way on the ground for the Bucs yesterday with 8 carries for 25 yards (3.1 ypc). LeGarrette Blount had a rough time with 11 carries for 19 yards (1.7 ypc). WR Mike Williams led the way for the Bucs in the passing game with 5 grabs for 93 yards (18.6 avg). WR Arrelious Benn (3 rec, 46 yards), TE Kellen Winslow (4 rec, 41 yards) and Dezmon Briscoe (1 rec, 23 yards, TD) also pitched in for the Bucs in the passing game yesterday. The Buccaneers finished up with 78 yards rushing on 27 carries (2.9 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 27 passes (59.3%) for 207 yards as they had possession of the ball for 27:19.
The defense was awful for the Bucs yesterday, but you can’t blame rookie DE Da’Quan Bowers for that. Bowers had 8 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 5 tackles for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 2 QB hits! Safety Sean Jones (10 tackles) and CB E.J. Biggers (7 tackles and 1 pass defensed) also had solid games for the Bucs in this game. The Panthers finished up with 163 yards rushing on 39 carries (4.2 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 22 passes (59.1%) for 222 yards in this game. The Buccaneers are now 4-8 on the season.
The Buccaneers have waived 26-year old linebacker Zac Diles. Diles played in 7 games for the Buccaneers this year and he had 1 tackle. He has now played in 57 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 224 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 inteception and 3 passes defensed. This isn’t going to be much of a loss for the Bucs, as Diles literally didn’t help too much with 1 whole tackle.
The Buccaneers have lost five games in a row and they have looked awful in doing it. The Panthers broke a 3-game losing streak against the Colts in Indy last week. Here is a look at the matchups in what should be a high scoring game this Sunday:
When the Buccaneers have the ball: Josh Freeman has a sore right shoulder and he will be a legit game time decision this weekend. Josh Johnson will get the call at QB if Freeman can’t go. Regardless of who is playing QB, the Buccaneers need to feed the ball to LeGarrette Blount for as many carries as he can give them. 25-30 carries will be needed from Blount if the Bucs are going to have a good chance of winning this game. It’s going to be hard for the Bucs to throw the ball due to the situation they now have at QB. The Panthers are giving up 137.5 yard rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry, so Blount should have a lot of running room. TE Kellen Winslow and WR Mike Williams are starting to step up for the Bucs, so they hope that either Freeman or Johnson will get them the ball.
When the Panthers have the ball: The Panthers are going to try to be more balanced than usual in this game to keep the Buccaneers off track. The Buccaneers have to be worried about the Panthers’ running game as Cam Newton, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart give them three very lethal runners to deal with. The Buccaneers are going to have to try to contain Cam Newton in the pocket and that is not going to be easy. Newton will likely be attacking the Bucs down the field as he will try to connect with WR Steve Smith on some bombs. Greg Olsen, Jeremy Shockey, Brandon LaFell and RB Jonathan Stewart are also nice targets in the passing game for Newton.
PREDICTION: PANTHERS 31, BUCCANEERS 27