B.U.C.S.-Buccaneers Unit Currency Stock- Rising and Falling Bucs Week 4

Former Buccaneers’ head coach Jon Gruden repeatedly said the key to success was for an NFL team to be 3-1 in every quarter of the season.  Well, the Bucs currently sit at 3-1 after losing their first game.  As a random fact, the Bucs lost their first game in 2002, went on to be 3-1 after 4, and we all know how that season ended.  After a quarter of the seeing, let’s look and see how the Bucs are faring in their stock value.

Rising: The Defensive Line – Is there any unit that has shown more improvement over the last season?  Gerald McCoy and Brian Price seem to be living in the backfield.  McCoy had his best game of 2011 against the Colts.  Michael Bennett notched 2 sacks.  Adrian Clayborn had a sack and just looks like an animal.

Falling: Cornerbacks – The cornerbacks haven’t been bad, but they can be better.  A few big plays have been given up.  Biggers needs to play, well, for lack of a better term, bigger.  Talib needs to finish off the big play and catch interceptions, especially when there isn’t a single offensive player between him and the end zone.

Rising: Donald Penn – Jared Allen, John Abraham, and Dwight Freeny.  Check, check, and check.

Rising Further: Stopping the run – 2 weeks in a row holding opponents to under 100 yards rushing and Mason Foster gaining experience is no coincidence.  Watch closely at the plays Foster makes at the line of scrimmage.  Barrett who?

Falling: Dropping the ball – Mike Williams, Earnest Graham, and Luke Stocker all had drops last night.  Those hurt.

Rising: Josh Freeman in the 4^th quarter – I didn’t know he could rise any bigger in the last 15 minutes, however the Bucs have 3 close victories this year and all have had huge 4^th quarter plays by Josh Freeman, whether by arm or legs.

Falling: Josh Freeman in the 1^st through 3^rd quarters – At times, Josh looks a little lost in the pocket.  He has happy feet.  He hasn’t been stepping into throws.  He has been overthrowing receivers.  He has been throwing red zone interceptions, or coming dangerously close to it (one was dropped by Indy).  Josh has just seemed slightly off this entire season.  Josh needs to be better earlier in the game, otherwise there may start to be some insurmountable leads.

Rising: Team health – 4 weeks into the season, and only 1 starter has been seriously hurt.  I am currently knocking on as much wood as I can find.

Falling: Gruesome injuries – Did the cameraman at Raymond James really have to zoom in on Eric Foster’s leg?

Rising: The 12^th man in the crowd – The fans deserve a lot of credit for selling out Raymond James stadium last night and making it a raucous crowd.  Hey fans, keep it up!

Falling: The 12^th man on the field – Any Buc fan who watched the game knows exactly what I’m talking about.