Make no mistake about it, this is the toughest defense the Bucs have faced off against since taking on the Jets last season, and we all know how that went! But the way Pittsburgh plays is quite different; the Steelers under Defensive Assistant Dick Lebeau are a very physical team. Now here is the good news, the Cleveland Browns, and to be sure the Carolina Panthers, are also two physical teams. The Bucs actually out-played them both in that department in the first two weeks. Can they do it again, and can they do it to the Pittsburgh Steelers? Alot of it will have to do with how well the Bucs are able to do in their running game. Pittsburgh is well equipped to shut down anyone’s running game, and they did just that last week, but they cant really do both; shut down a good running attack AND a clicking passing attack. It would seem the Bucs passing offense is farther off than its ground game. Of course that includes two major execptions- 1) Air attack featuring the backfield; Cadillac Williams has improved as a pass catcher over the past two years, and with space around him, Cadillac can get some yardage with the ball. Another dangerous pass catcher is fullback Earnest Graham.
2) Getting ground yards out of the passing game with Josh Freeman’s feet extending the play.Josh Freeman can slide, but he can take on defenders too, although I may not recommend doing that vs the Steelers this week too much.
The common denominator with all of this of course is the play of the offensive line. A line that is dangerously close to being considered over-rated if they continue their mediocre play. Center Jeff Faine has not played at the same level as 2008, although it has come out he had an injury. Jeremy Trueblood continues to sabatoge drives with penalties, and newcomer Vincent appears to be a run blocker, but a liability in pass blocking. Its still early for the offensive line, and for the Bucs as a whole, but a 3-0 would do wonders for the Bay Area who are about to become home to a playoff baseball team, and the numbers are high to support the odds of a 3-0 team making the postseason as opposed to missing it. IN OTHER WORDS… An article in Sports Illustrated is talking about the NFC West and how poorly the division is playing, and how its possible a team with a losing record could emerge from the division as a playoff team. Well here is a snippet of what was thought of Tampa Bays two games so far….
Could the Niners finish 8-8 or 9-7? Of course. Their remaining home games: Philly, Oakland, Denver, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Seattle and Arizona. That’s seven non-playoff teams unless Tampa is for real. (Which isn’t as impossible as it sounds. These past two weeks, Josh Freeman looked like a young Ben Roethlisberger with faster legs: impossible to take down and consistently able to extend plays. And no, I can’t believe I just wrote that, either.)
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