bucs 20, panthers 7
Well, let’s get the bad news out of the way first, Cadillac Williams and Luke Petitgout are out for the season. I’m not sure which loss hurts the Bucs more, Earnest Graham failed to punch the ball in from the goal line even though he had four chances late in the third quarter. But left tackle has been a huge weakness before Petitgout came to Tampa in the offseason. If you put me on the spot I would go with Petitgout as the bigger loss since with Anthony Davis out the talent dropoff from Petitgout to Donald Penn is so vast.
On the bright side the Bucs are the clear favorites to win the NFC South as they’ve manhandled both the Saints and Panthers. As great as Jeff Garcia has been for the offense, it is the defense which is winning games. For three consecutive games the defense has shut out their opponent through half time. What was especially impressive was the job the secondary (especially Philip Buchanon) did in shutting down Steve Smith, who was limited to 5 catches for 32 yards.
The Bucs travel to Indianapolis next week for the most difficult game on their schedule. The Bucs team this year reminds a good deal of the ‘05 squad which was overlooked, won the division but lost in the first round of the playoffs. That ‘05 team got destroyed by the best team on their schedule, the Patriots, which exposed the Bucs’ weaknesses. This Colts team will pose the same test to a Bucs team which has so far racked up wins against very bad teams.
Tags: buccaneers, tampa
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