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

The Buccaneers are too quick to give up on the running game so far this year.  They need to stick with it and feed the ball to 24-year old RB LeGarrette Blount.  In his last two games, Blount has carried the ball 38 times for 210 yards (5.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 4 passes for 62 yards (15.5 avg) in his last two games.  Blount has played in 9 games this year and he has carried the ball 138 times for 644 yards (4.7 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He has also caught 11 passes for 128 yards (11.6 avg) so far this season.  Blount has now played in 22 games in his first two years with the Bucs and he has carried the ball 339 times for 1,651 yards (4.9 ypc) with 10 TD carries.  He has also caught 16 passes for 142 yards (8.9 avg) so far with the Bucs.  Blount is an outstanding power back and the Buccaneers should be building the offense around him instead of QB Josh Freeman.

The Buccaneers were sloppy offensively today as they turned the ball over five times!  It’s hard to win that way, and the Bucs didn’t.  Josh Freeman completed 18 of 33 passes for 199 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also lost a fumble.  LeGarrette Blount rushed for 103 yards on 20 carries (5.2 ypc) and he caught 3 passes for 56 yards (18.7 avg), but he also lost 2 fumbles.  Mike Williams led the way in the passing game for the Buccaneers today with 6 grabs for 84 yards (14.0 avg) with 1 TD grab but he also lost a fumble.  TE Kellen Winslow pitched in with 5 grabs for 52 yards (10.4 avg).  The Bucs rushed for 122 yards on 25 carries (4.9 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 33 passes (54.5%) for 186 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 26:37.

The defense was awesome against the pass but pathetic again against the run today.  CB Ronde Barber (7 tackles) and CB E.J. Biggers (6 tackles and 2 passes defensed) led the way for the Bucs’ D today.  Safeties Sean Jones (5 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 fumble recovery) and Tanard Jackson (5 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 fumble recovery) also had solid games for the Bucs today.  CB Aqib Talib picked off a pass that he returned 27 yards for a TD and LB Geno Hayes also had an interception today.  The Titans finished up with 202 yards rushing on 35 carries (5.8 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 34 passes (55.9%) for 150 yards.  The Buccaneers are now a very disappointing 4-7 on the season.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have lost four games in a row by a combined score of 123-69!  The Titans have alternated wins and losses the last five weeks and they lost to the Falcons 23-17 in Atlanta last weekend.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Buccaneers have the ball:  After watching what Michael Turner did to the Titans’ D last weekend, you would have to think that the gameplan will revolve around getting the ball in the hands of LeGarrette Blount as often as possible.  The O-Line will give Josh Freeman time to throw the ball, the question is, what will he do with it?  Freeman has been very inconsistent this year with 11 TD passes and 15 INTs.  The Titans are giving up 233.4 yards passing so far this year, so there will be plays to be made down the field.  He is going to be looking a lot to WR Mike Williams and TE Kellen Winslow this weekend, to they will also need to step up.

When the Titans have the ball:  RB Chris Johnson is having a terrible year (509 yards rushing, 3.2 yards per carry) but the Bucs’ D might be the tonic he needs to get going this year.  The Buccaneers are giving up 133.5 yards passing per game and 4.7 yards per carry so far this year.  Matt Hasselbeck should have time to throw the ball and that is going to be a problem for the Bucs’ D.  The Bucs are giving up 265.4 yards passing per game, so look for Hasselbeck to pick the secondary apart.  WRs Nate Washington, Damian Williams and TE Jared Cook are Hasselbeck’s top targets in the passing game.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 27, BUCCANEERS 17

Last season, 23-year old QB Josh Freeman had a 95.9 QB Rating as he had 25 TD passes and only six interceptions!  Many thought that Freeman was going to be a rising star, and he still might be, but he has played pretty poor so far this year.  Freeman has played in 10 games for the Buccaneers so far this year and he has completed 236 of 378 passes (62.4%) for 2,516 yards with 11 TD passes and 15 INTs (75.0 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 35 times for 147 yards (4.2 ypc) with 2 TD runs so far this year.  There have been whispers around Tampa that Freeman is having thumb problems again, but he played well early last year with the same problem, so I’m not buying that excuse.  The Bucs need Freeman to step up.

The Buccaneers have waived 26-year old DT Frank Okam.  Okam played in 6 games for the Bucs this year and he had 10 tackles.  Okam played in 9 games in his two years with the Buccaneers and he had 22 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 fumble recovery.  The Buccaneers like the players they have recently signed better than Okam, so they won’t miss him too much if at all the rest of the season.