The Buccaneers are feeling good right now after beating the Browns 17-14 in the season opener.  But now they face a measuring stick game at Carolina this weekend.  The Panthers swept the Bucs last season by a combined score of 44-27.  Here is a close look at the match-ups in this game:

When the Buccaneers have the ball:  The Buccaneers should try to run a balanced offense like they did against the Browns last week.  Cadillac Williams carried the ball 33 times for 169 yards (5.1 ypc) with 1 TD run in the two games against the Panthers last year.  The Bucs will likely feed him the ball quite often in this game.  But, the Giants passed for 258 yards against the Panthers last week so the Bucs might be tempted to go to the air more than usual.  They need to be careful though as Freeman threw 5 pickoffs in his only start against the Panthers last year and the Panthers swiped three passes off Eli Manning last week.

When the Panthers have the football:  QB Matt Moore is iffy for this game due to a concussion.  That could mean that Jimmy Clausen could be starting against the Bucs this week.  It doesn’t really matter who is handing off to DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart though.  The Panthers rushed for 424 yards on 81 carries (5.2 ypc) with 4 TD runs against the Buccaneers last season.  The Buccaneers gave up 104 yards on 23 carries (4.5 ypc) against the Browns last week so look for the Panthers to pound at the D with the running game.  The Bucs would also be very smart to have safety help on whichever side of the field Steve Smith is on because he can make plays no matter who is throwing to him.

PREDICTION:  PANTHERS 20, BUCCANEERS 10

The Buccaneers didn’t do anything to make the personnel better in the off-season besides the NFL Draft.  They are the cheapest team in the NFL as they are taking full advantage of having no salary cap in 2010.  Call them the Pittsburgh Pirates of the NFL.  The Browns come into this game on a 4-game winning streak while the Bucs won 2 of their last 3 games to end 2009.  Here is a close look at the match-ups this weekend against the Browns:

When the Buccaneers have the ball:  The Buccaneers would prefer to run the ball to protect QB Josh Freeman who will be playing this game with a broke right thumb.  The means that Cadillac Williams could get a lot of work in this game.  The O-Line will have to be on it’s game as the Browns look like they will be improved against the run in 2010.  When throwing the ball, look for Freeman to throw to TE Kellen Winslow a lot as the Browns’ safeties lack size.  The WRs are really young but look for rookie Mike Williams to also get quite a few looks.

When the Browns have the ball:  The Buccaneers will have to go all out to stop Browns’ RB Jerome Harrison who was running wild at the end of last season.  That means that DTs Gerald McCoy, Roy Miller, Brian Price and middle linebacker Barrett Ruud better be ready for the attack.  The Bucs also better give help to CB E.J. Biggers who will be starting in Aqib Talib’s place as he serves a 1-game suspension.  The Bucs also better blitz a lot because of Jake Delhomme is comfortable in the pocket, they are going to pay for it.

PREDICTION:  BROWNS 17, BUCCANEERS 13

The Falcons and Bucs are both on two game winning streaks currently.  The Bucs lost 20-17 in Atlanta just six weeks ago so they have to be confident going into tomorrow’s football game.  The Bucs will likely lean heavy on the running game tomorrow against a Falcons’ D that is allowing 111.4 yards rushing and 4.1 yards per carry with Cadillac Williams getting a heavy workload.  Another player who will be busy tomorrow is TE Kellen Winslow against a Falcons’ D allowing 247.0 yards passing per game.  If Josh Freeman doesn’t turn the ball over the Bucs will have a great chance to win tomorrow.

Defensively Barrett Ruud will be busy as the Falcons will likely be running the ball a lot with Jerious Norwood and Jason Snelling due to the fact that the Bucs are allowing 156.5 yards rushing per game this season and 4.8 yards per carry.  The Bucs will need to put pressure on Matt Ryan or he will be playing catch with Roddy White all day long.

PREDICTION:  FALCONS 20, BUCCANEERS 17

I hope the Buccaneers had fun winning on the road last week because they won’t have that feeling Sunday afternoon.  The first time the Bucs played the Saints in Tampa they got destroyed 38-7 and I have to reason to think this Sunday it will be any closer.  It’s really too bad that the Bucs don’t run the ball too well because the Saints are giving up 114.4 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry.  The Saints already have 24 interceptions this season so if the Bucs get behind look for Josh Freeman to start throwing the ball to them.

I have a feeling that the Saints will come out more balanced than normal this week.  That means the Bucs will have to defend the run and the pass and they just don’t have the manpower to match up with the Saints’ O.  The Bucs will have to try to slow down Drew Brees who is one of the best QBs in the NFL, but, even if they have some success doing it then the Saints will just unleash Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell and Reggie Bush on them.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 38, BUCCANEERS 0

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 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

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-9) are heading to the Georgia Dome to take on the Atlanta Falcons (5-5) Sunday.  The Falcons are a much better team at home (4-0) than they are on the road (1-5), so the Buccaneers need to be prepared to play a solid football team.  The Bucs’ defense has been giving up way too many rushing yards all season (169 yards per game), something the Falcons are going to try and take advantage of.  Good news for the Bucs is that the Falcons’ star running back Michael Turner probably wont play in this one and is listed as questionable due to an ankle sprain.  Even if Turner does play, he wont be as effective without his ankle 100%.  Jason Snelling will likely get the bulk of the carries for the Falcons, and although he is a back-up he is a very capable back.  He has had some good games for the Falcons and is averaging 4.2 yards per carry this season.  Although I expect the Falcons to run the ball a lot, the Bucs defense cannot forget about quarterback Matt Ryan.  Ryan has been having a “sophomore slump” this season, but he is coming off one of his best games of the season.

Josh Freeman will stay the starter for the Bucs’ at quarterback, despite having 11 turnovers in his three starts.  The Falcons don’t have a very good pass-defense though, so I would expect some improvement from Freeman compared to last week where he threw three interceptions.  The Falcons also give up 126 rushing yards per game so Cadillac Williams and Derrick Ward could have their first good game in weeks.  I don’t think the Bucs’ offense will be able to keep up with Matt Ryan and the Falcons’ offense, so it looks like the Bucs will get their tenth loss of the season.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13, Atlanta Falcons 27

The Saints are sitting at 9-0 on the year and you would think that this week would be a laugher for them against the 1-8 Bucs.  It won’t be as easy as most people think it will.  The Saints are having big defensive issues as of late due to injuries so they will likely try to dominate this game on offense.  Drew Brees will likely have a lot of time to throw against a Bucs’ D that is lacking pass rushers.  That is bad news for the DBs of the Bucs in having to deal with Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Jeremy Shockey and Robert Meachem.  The Bucs are allowing 211.9 yards passing per game so the Saints will likely have a good day throwing the ball.  But, don’t think for a minute that Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush and Mike Bell won’t get to have their fun too against a Bucs’ D that is allowing 167.3 yards rushing per game and 4.9 yards per carry.

The Bucs look like a different football team with rookie QB Josh Freeman under center.  The Bucs would still likely want to get a running game going in an effort to keep the Saints’ offense on the sideline.  That means that Cadillac Williams, Derrick Ward and Ernest Graham will have to run hard against a Saints’ D that is allowing 115.3 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry.  If the Bucs are effective running the ball that will open up some play action passing for Freeman against a Saints’ D that is allowing 227.7 yards passing per game. 

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 35, BUCCANEERS 27

The Buccaneers travel to Miami to deal with the Dolphins on Sunday and this should be a interesting football game.  A lot will fall onto the shoulders of rookie QB Josh Freeman in this game as Cadillac Williams could have a hard time finding running room against a Fins’ D that is only allowing 94.5 yards rushing and 3.7 yards per carry so far this season.  The Bucs will still try to run the ball early in this game to keep the Dolphins’ D honest.  If they can’t then the Dolphins will be bringing the blitz early and often against the Bucs.  If that does happen then Freeman should look to get the ball into the hands of Kellen Winslow on the short stuff.  Young WRs Maurice Stovall and Sammie Stroughter seem to be on the same wave length with Freeman so they should get a lot of work in this game against the rookie corners (Sean Smith and Vontae Davis) of the Fins.

The Dolphins’ offense has been licking their chops looking at gamefilm of the Bucs’ front seven as the Bucs are allowing 163.4 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry.  Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams and the Wildcat Formation will likely be used quite a bit in this game and for good reason as the Fins’ are averaging 150.9 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry this season.  Chad Henne will likely just be managing this game as the passing will be kept to the shorter stuff.

PREDICTION:  DOLPHINS 30, BUCCANEERS 13

The Packers really need this game on Sunday and they are mad after getting dumped on for the second time by Brett Favre.  They will likely take out their frustrations on the poor Tampa Bay Buccaneers and this game won’t likely be too pretty.  Like they did against the Browns they will likely lean on the running game a little bit more than usual.  Ryan Grant will be taking aim at a Bucs’ D that is allowing 162.4 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry.  The Bucs don’t have the pass rush to likely bother Aaron Rodgers much despite the fact that he has been sacked 31 times already this season.  Donald Driver, Greg Jennings and newly found TE Spencer Havner could all have big games against the Bucs on Sunday.

This game could get ugly quick as Josh Freeman is making his first start of his NFL career this Sunday.  The Bucs should try to lean on the running game against the Packers on Sunday.  Cadillac Williams should get a lot of work in this game in an attempt to protect Freeman.  But the Packers have a good run defense as they have only allowed 99.4 yards rushing per game and 3.5 yards per carry so it won’t be easy for Williams.  Look for Freeman to lean on Kellen Winslow in the passing game as he should avoid taking on Al Harris and Charles Woodson. 

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 38, BUCCANEERS 7