Halftime Report: So Far, So Good
By Josh Hill
Top Performers
Passing: J. Freeman (TB) – 158 YDS, 1 TD
Rushing: L. Blount (TB) – 9 CAR, 35 YDS
Receiving: M. Stovall (TB) – 2 REC, 45 YDS
NEW ORLEANS — Well, so far so good for the Bucs. They have managed to contain the Saints the best they can thus far, limiting them to just 7 points and holding Drew Brees to to 116 yards and a TD.
The defense for the Bucs, depleted as it is, actually isn’t doing bad at all. They have allowed just 7 points and keep in mind these are pretty much the second and third stringers. Fred Okam, who is growing on me, recovered a fumble in the second quarter that lead to points for the Bucs. They are capitalizing on opportunities and mistakes when they can. Even more importantly, the defense is forcing three-and-outs, not allowing the Saints to move the ball and score points. They also bailed out the offense at the end of the second half, intercepting Drew Brees as the Saints were driving for points after recovering a fumble. Maybe it’s the time of year that makes the Bucs play this way against the Saints. Or maybe it’s just the Bucs are really that good.
Josh Freeman is off to a great start, throwing for
158 yards in the first half, and is so far outplaying Drew Brees. He connected big in the second quarter with Maurice Stovall for 38 yards and the Bucs caught a huge break via a Saints penalty on a play that would have resulted in just a field goal. Instead Josh Freeman hooked up with Dezmon Briscoe for a touchdown. That is just another example of the Bucs taking advantage of mistakes by the Saints, of which they don’t make many so the Bucs are making the smart moves. It’s also reveling the brilliant strategy of the Bucs, they aren’t overusing Williams or Winslow. Instead they are grabbing receivers like Maurice Stovall, Dezmon Briscoe and Preston Parker out of obscurity and using them as deadly weapons against the Saints. So far, it’s working pretty good. The Bucs had mistakes of their own, such as at the end of the first half where they were set up pretty good in terms of field position and moved backwards 14 yards. They then proceeded to fumble the ball away to the Saints.
LaGarrette Blount needed just 59 yards to reach 1,000 coming into this game, he now needs only 24 as he goes into halftime with 35 yards. Blount has had a fair amount of carries this far, and you can bet he’s going to be featured heavily in the second half if the Bucs can get some distance between themselves and the Saints. It’s going to be a dog fight and the final decision may be determined by who capitalizes on mistakes by the other team. So far in that battle, it’s all Tampa Bay.