Gameday Tampa Bay
September 11th, 2011
Week 1
Lions at Bucs
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
TV: Blacked out locally. Those living outside the Tampa/Orlando TV markets can watch the game on DirecTV 711. The game can be viewed for free on NFL.com at midnight via Game Rewind (free registration required), and is available after midnight via NFL Sunday Ticket’s “Short Cuts” after midnight.
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); Sirius Channel 94.
Weather: Per Accuweather.com, thunderstorms are expected at kickoff with the temperate at 89. The rains will dissipate quickly and will be partly sunny the rest of the game with temperatures holding steady at 90.
Odds: Per Bodog.com, Bucs -1.
Outlook: Ah, for a while there this summer, Joe never thought this day would happen. The asinine lockout is in the rear view mirror. Happy Opening Day. … But this day won’t exactly be happy. Somber, more like it. There will be remembrances of 9/11 which happened 10 years ago today when animals hijacked and kamikazed passenger jets into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and a cornfield in Pennsylvania, murdering and maiming thousands. Throw in the a memorial of sorts for the passing of “The Original Buccaneer,” Lee Roy Selmon, and it’s kinda of hard to believe it is a day of celebration, pounding beer and yelling at people who can”t hear you. … Key to this game is to play keep-away. The Bucs have to control the clock so that Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson can’t burn the Bucs. So the key to that key is the Bucs offensive line. Simply put, if the Bucs control the trenches — no small feat — look for a Bucs win.
Linkage: Albert Breer of the NFL Network says this game is too close to call. … Mitch Albom says Stafford is ready. … Woody Cummings believes the pass rush is a priority for Bucs management.
September 11th, 2011 at 10:08 am
Im enjoying my cup of joe right now … wow !
September 11th, 2011 at 10:14 am
Just finished my cup of joe, now I need a nap.
September 11th, 2011 at 10:23 am
[Sorry Pete, that’s grossly inaccurate. People have been doing it for years.]
Also…VERY IMPORTANT…
…if you pray, pray that no car bombs go off in New York City today…or anywhere else for that matter. A threat from Pakistan was revealed a few days ago that there would be multiple attempts. Terrorists like doing things on aniversaries of previous attacks…and this one could be judged their most successful attack.
September 11th, 2011 at 10:25 am
My prediction:
Bucs start slow and are down by 7 at the half. Bucs defense stiffens in the third quarter and the offense narrows the lead to 4 at the end of the third. Freeman outduels Stafford in the 4th and the bucs win by 3.
Although I am not sold that this bucs team is a playoff contender, I think that their offense, with the exception of the megatron factor, is ahead of detroit.
September 11th, 2011 at 10:37 am
So, Thomas, basically you’re saying the team will be exactly the same as last year. Start slow, get behind, D clamps down in 2nd half, Free leads comeback. Yep, we saw that a lot last year. It’s possible nothing has changed and that is how it will be this year too. Personally, I think you’re gonna see better D in the first half and by virtue of our D getting off the field, more points in the first half by the offense as well.
September 11th, 2011 at 11:15 am
I would love to see Rah start Freeman off in the No-Huddle Spread, make Detroit declare and pick on their weak secondary.
September 11th, 2011 at 11:30 am
My Thoughts:
1) – Turnovers are going to be numerous in this game…on both sides.
2) – Our old friend Maurice Stovall is backing up Johnson. We need to force them to give him playing time. His tendency to drop passes will help us. Covering Johnson is up to Talib…but if its possible, we need to give him some help.
3) – Since Bennett is playing so well, it might be smart to toss Bowers in as an OLB for blitzes. It seems a shame to waste such a talent as a backup. Or have him as a 5th man on the line.
4) – We weary of blitzes against our offense. The Patriots showed other teams how to shut our offense down…by bringing the pressure. With the D-Line they have, if they blitz a lot, our O-Line is going to struggle.
5) – The Bucs need to use Lumpkin a lot in the first half. Just pound that line as hard as he can to wear down the D-Line. Last year, we were able to shut down Suh…but we still lost. We need our Offense to excel, and to do that Freeman has to stay on his feet. Wearing down that line will help…and it will also help us finish strong in the second half.
6) – Expect Blount to catch a lot of passes…more than usual. The Lions will be prepared to shut down his running game, but they will be unprepared for him to catch the pass.
Today…Blount may just turn out to be a nothing more than a tight end. We’ll see.
7) – Don’t expect anything from our Fullback. Earnest Graham is back at it. He hasn’t done anything at that position so far and I don’t expect that to change. Personally, I would like to see Bradford play the position a little. He has the right size for it weight-wise. If not him, I’d rather Lorig get time.
8) – Pen vs Suh. Going to be awesome.
9) – This is going to be Arrelious Benn’s breakout year. The Lions will be expecting Mike Williams to be a go-to guy. And he will be. But the Bucs play more of a spread offense. IF the Lions give Freeman time to pass, he will go to Benn the most at first. If the Lions start covering him better, he’ll go to Stroughter and Spurlock. I don’t expect Williams to see many passes until the second half, after the Lions realize they can’t double team him.
10) – Preston Parker. I think he’s a disaster waiting to happen, but I HOPE I’m wrong.
What I fear is that he will be afraid to run it out. He’s not just one kick returns…he’s also on punt returns. Spurlock would take a chance to get more yardage if a punt is going to pin him back…I don’t think Parker has enough sense.
I think there is an element of fear in him…much like Dexter Jackson had, but maybe not as bad.
The other issue I fear with him are fumbles or missed catches. He has stiff hands…and that’s a bad thing.
BUT…I hope he proves me wrong. We need a replacement for Spurlock, so I kind of understand Morris trying someone new there. Spurlock is getting up in years, and he’s more reliable in the passing game than he was before. Not to mention he is a third string QB now as well.
The new rule change may have extended Spurlocks career as a wide receiver…because he can QB as well.
September 11th, 2011 at 11:32 am
Wow… I was just watching a live stream on my Android Phone from a link that has been working all preseason. Always have used my computer before, but today did it on my phone.
This means I’m goin to the local sports bar and will be watching the Bucs games on my phone, with one earbud in.
September 11th, 2011 at 11:32 am
@flmike
I also would like to see this. But I would be happy with the fast huddles as well…I think the Packers were using it.
When I watched that Packers vs Saints game, I thought, “Wow. I hope our offense looks that good!” in regard to the Packers.
September 11th, 2011 at 11:33 am
By the way… go to BucsChat and you will find those links 🙂
Enjoy the game everyone!
September 11th, 2011 at 4:40 pm
So does the Buccaneer Radio Network only consist of two radio stations? I get mostly Orlando radio and last year we had the games on an FM station but this year I couldn’t find it anywhere.