Tag: Tampa Bay Bucs (Page 5 of 12)

      NFL Week 12 ROY power rankings

      December 5, 2010 /

      It’s turning out to be a pretty awesome rookie class.

      1. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—Turning out to be a very strong rookie campaign—on pace for 3586 yards, 25 TDs and 13 picks. And the upstart Rams are now in a tie for first with the Seahawks.

      2. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—Suh is like Albert Haynesworth—doesn’t put up huge numbers, but teams have to game plan around him. Just think how good he’s going to be in five years.

      3. Earl Thomas, Seattle Seahawks—Leads all NFL safeties with 5 picks, and averaging 6 tackles a game.

      4. Colt McCoy, Cleveland Browns—Averaging almost 200 yards a game and has a stunning 63.8 completion percentage. If only he didn’t get hurt, we would be putting him up there with Bradford.

      5. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys—Let’s see if Jon Kitna gets him the ball a bit more today.

      6. Devin McCourty, New England Patriots—Funny how Bill Belichick manages to lose guys like Asante Samuel and replaces them with rookies.

      7. Mike Williams, Tampa Bay Bucs—Strong start and will hopefully finish strong and move up. He has the talent.

      8. Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs—Numbers are fading, but that might be because no one is throwing in his direction.

      9. Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals—Give him a couple of years, he’s going to be a star.

      10 (tie). Aaron Hernandez/Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots—Combined, here are their numbers—61 catches, 772 yards, 9 TDs.

      External Sports, NFL

      NFL Week 12 COY power rankings

      December 5, 2010 /

      The coach of the year carousel continues to spin each week in this crazy NFL season….

      1. Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs—Bonus points if he runs up the score today against the Chiefs at home.

      2. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams—Yes, they are just 5-6 but that is good for a tie of first place in the NFC West. Say it out loud—the Rams could be playoff bound.

      3. Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles—Temporary setback against the Bears last week but in the driver’s seat for the NFC East crown.

      4. Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons—Tough win at home against the Packers keeps Smitty in the hunt.

      5. Lovie Smith, Chicago Bears—That mid-season swoon seemed to be an aberration rather than the rule, and Lovie has this bunch believing.

      6. Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Bucs—Lost big to Pittsburgh and Baltimore, which knocks Raheem down from the top.

      7. (tie) Bill Belichick, New England Patriots and Rex Ryan, New York Jets—We’re going to leave these two tied until after they face each other on Monday night.

      8. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers—If Stevie Johnson hangs on to that OT pass, we’re probably knocking Tomlin off this list, fair or not.

      9. John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens—He knows this is the Ravens’ favorite time of year and expects to win in December.

      10. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants—Holding his team together through injuries, some mental lapses on the field and a tough schedule.

      External Sports, NFL

      NFL investigating whether or not Bucs’ corner Talib threatened official

      November 30, 2010 /
      ATLANTA - DECEMBER 14: Cornerback Aqib Talib #25 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers watches play against the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome on December 14, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

      Cornerback Aqib Talib is one of the many bright young stars on the Buccaneers’ roster. His six interceptions tie him for second in the league behind the Eagles’ Asante Samuel (who has seven), and Talib continues to play at a Pro Bowl level this season.

      But he can’t help the Bucs if he’s suspended, which may be the result of his actions following last Sunday’s game against the Ravens.

      The St. Petersburg Times is reporting that the NFL is looking into a run-in that Talib had with a game official following Tampa’s 17-10 loss at Baltimore. Talib was furious with field judge Boris Cheek during the game about a pass-interference call on teammate Myron Lewis. Per the report, Talib lobbed a couple of expletives at Cheek as he left the field.

      As the story goes, a member of the officiating crew told Talib, “You play like a (expletive).” To which Talib intelligently replied: “I’ll (hit) you in your (expletive) mouth.”

      This isn’t the first time that the young corner has been in trouble. He’s already hit a teammate with a helmet in practice and he also punched a taxi driver in August of this year (which earned him a one-game suspension earlier this season). One more strike against him and it’s not unrealistic to think that he could be suspended for multiple games.

      Of course, the league can’t have officials taunting and cursing at players. Talib was wrong to say what he did, but part of an official’s job is to keep the peace. How can a referee be trusted not to be biased if he’s verbally fighting with players after a game?

      However the situation turns out, Bucs coach Raheem Morris would be wise to sit Talib down and express to him how much Tampa needs him on the field. I don’t see how this (below) helps Talib grasp the situation:

      “He didn’t do anything wrong,” said Morris. “He was just in conversation, so I’m not going to sit here and act like Aqib did anything wrong toward the official because I’m not into that. That’s between those two men, and whatever happened happened.”

      Morris has done a great job in his second year and who am I to tell him how to run his team? That said, I’ve seen coaches play the role of friend with players before and it never works out. Teams can fracture when it’s perceived that one player is getting special treatment, especially when he acts like an idiot.

      The Bucs have a good young team and it would be unfortunate if things were to unravel for Morris, who has transformed the Bucs into a competitor in only his second year. He has to find a way to get through to Talib so that these types of issues don’t keep surfacing.

      External Sports, NFL

      Josh Freeman needs more help if the Bucs want to make playoffs

      November 28, 2010 /
      SAN FRANCISCO - NOVEMBER 21: Josh Freeman of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in action against the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park on November 21, 2010 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

      Josh Freeman can beat bad teams by himself. He’s done it all year.

      But when the Bucs play good teams like the Falcons, Saints or their counterparts on Sunday, the Ravens, the second-year quarterback is going to need more help.

      In Tampa Bay’s 17-10 loss to Baltimore, Freeman completed just 17-of-37 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown. But those subpar numbers weren’t entirely his fault.

      The Bucs got a couple of good runs out of LeGarrette Blount and Carnell Williams, but they couldn’t move the ball with any consistency on the ground. Rookie receiver Mike Williams was targeted seven times, but he caught just two passes for 20 yards. And yes, Freeman misfired on plenty of passes, several on third down.

      The Bucs gained respect by hanging with the Ravens in Baltimore, but they already had people’s respect. Now what they want is to beat good teams and they just haven’t done that. They’re 7-4 and only two games back of the Falcons in the NFC South, but if they want to contend for a playoff spot (whether it be this year or next), they have to figure out ways to win tough games.

      They’ll get another shot next Sunday when they host the Falcons, who currently own the best record in the NFC.

      External Sports, NFL

      NFL Week 11.1 ROY power rankings

      November 28, 2010 /

      Every week, I have to add a new name to this list, and that’s really saying something as players have to make major adjustments to the NFL game their first year.

      1. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—Hung in tough against Patriots, racking up another sack and three tackles. Not huge numbers, but it’s more his presence in the middle.

      2. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—Hung tough in Atlanta despite a loss; but who was really expecting Rams to win that or to be still in contention at Thanksgiving?

      3. Earl Thomas, Seattle Seahawks—55 tackles and 5 picks through 10 games after a fine game in a losing effort at New Orleans.

      4. Colt McCoy, Cleveland Browns—Of all his numbers, the 63.8% completion percentage as a rookie is the most impressive, especially because you probably can’t name more than one of his receivers.

      5. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys—He made it clear on Thanksgiving that he wants the ball more, as his 0 catches proves. And maybe he should get the ball more.

      6. Mike Williams, Tampa Bay Bucs—Continues to put points up on a team that might surprise with a postseason berth.

      7. Devin McCourty, New England Patriots—61 tackles, including 30 in his last four games; and 5 picks, most notably two on a national stage this past Thursday.

      8. Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs—Don’t look solely at his numbers, just watch the kid play on Sunday.

      9. Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals—Slowed recently, but still a bright spot on a crappy team.

      10. Jordan Shipley, Cincinnati Bengals—A tough TD against the Jets on a national stage surely won’t hurt his chances here.

      External Sports, NFL

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