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Bucs vs. Rams: Game Time, Preview, TV and Live Stream: Where to Watch and Listen

Josh Hill — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 13:00:28 +0000

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-8) vs. St. Louis Rams (6-7-1)

What happened last week was a bigger deal than was initially made. Major pundits used it as the reason to finally bury the Buccaneers and their “college” coach for good this season. But underneath the national attention — now that it’s officially gone for the season– is a larger problem that I’ve been pointing at with a giant neon sign, manically shouting from the corner of the street on my soapbox about: this team is incomplete.

And it goes beyond the secondary.

Teams on the brink don’t get blown out and post a grand total of zero points in a game. Something else happened and the troubling thing is we don’t know what we’re looking for. It’s only after today’s game against the Rams that we will know what is really going on in Tampa, and even then the picture will only be hazy at best.

Josh Freeman is on a seriously unhealthy passionate love-violent hate relationship with the fan base in Tampa and that’s one issue leading to the larger one. Another is the suspect offensive line play that we’ve been waiting to see for the past few weeks when they were getting lucky.

The defense allowed 41 points last week and were gashed all over the place after maintaining for almost a full season with a weak defense. To be honest, that defense could have been allowing 41-plus each week and they weren’t, so surprisingly enough they deserve a little more than a sliver of props.

But perhaps the breaking down after maintaing is the issue. This team was not a playoff team from the very start, but they did they best impression of trying to be one for a serious stretch of this season. That’s like trying to go to the gym and lift more weights than possible just so you can impress the women there.

It all starts out great, but after five reps you realize you overreached.

The time for the playoffs is the future, and we’re seeing that in the classic school’s almost out attitude the Bucs seem to have. You know the feeling, the year is almost over, you know there won’t be any homework so why the hell try when it’s not really going to help your grade?

Either the Bucs are in that mood or something horrible misfired on Sunday. We can’t gauge it until after we see how they do against the Rams, but it’s an all too familiar pit in our collective stomachs and it’s not a welcome one. Hopefully last week was just a case of the Bucs collapsing under their own weight which they’re not ready to support yet. I still believe this team is on the brink of something, but 41-0 blowouts don’t calm the mind.

It could be overreaction, it could be under-reaction. But you find out a lot about who a team really is from how they play when there is nothing to win other than dignity. So which Bucs team do we really have?

We will find out.

Location: Raymond James Stadium

Time: 1:00pm ET/Noon CT

Nat’l TV: N/A

Bucs TV: BLACKED OUT

Away TV: FOX

Announcers: Ron Pitts/Mike Martz

Live Stream: NFL Live Stream

Radio: WDAE 620AM (Tampa), WXOS 101.1FM (St. Louis)

Satellite Radio: Sirius 829 (Bucs Feed), Sirius 819 (Rams feed Feed)

Weather: Sunny, 65 degrees

Line: Bucs -4.0

Last Week: Buccaneers lost to Saints 41-0, Rams lost to Vikings 36-222

Last Meeting: October 24, 2010 – Buccaneers 18, Rams 17

Series History (Since 2001): Bucs lead 4-1

Key Bucs Storyline: Can the Buccaneers right the ship before the season comes to an end?

Opposing View: Can the Rams ride into the offseason on a hot streak?

Prediction: Rams 17, Bucs 24

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Enemy On The Plank: New Orleans Saints

Josh Hill — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 16:54:53 +0000

Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

The Buccaneers aren’t officially eliminated from the playoffs, but they’re backs are against the wall. Even a win in New Orleans on Sunday doesn’t mean they will stay alive as the Bucs playoff dreams are officially out of their hands and they do no control their destiny. That being said, there is still a game on Sunday and it’s a big one against the Saints.

We sat down with Saints writer Katherine Terrell of the Times-Picayune and NOLA.com to find out how the recent bountygate rulings are effecting New Orleans, if Drew Brees status as a legend has been hurt by this season and if the Bucs can pull one out on the road.

Bountygate is going dominate the game day news cycle since both the Bucs and Saints are basically out of the playoff hunt. Before we dig into things, what side were you on when this all started: were you with the players or did you side with the NFL trying to protect other players. Or were you an undecided voter, so to speak?

Katherine Terrell: As a reporter, I just try to look at all the facts, so I really didn’t take a side. I did think that the NFL overstepped their reach in the way the punishments were conducted and the whole thing was drawn out. You can point to Scott Fujita as an example. The NFL first suspended him for three games, then for one, but chided him for not telling the coaches to stop the bounty program. Then they cleared him completely. A lot of things in this whole drawn out process haven’t been handled correctly. I don’t think both sides or completely innocent or guilty in all of this though.

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What’s the feeling in New Orleans after the ruling by Paul Tagliague? Did it erode whatever little favorability there was for Roger Goodell, or was that gone well before Tagliabue came into the picture?

Terrell: People are very excited, I think a lot of fans, and the players obviously, feel vindicated right now. Honestly, I don’t think Goodell had any favorability left in New Orleans, so it didn’t make much of a difference. More than anything I think it’s a little comfort to the fans that at least something went right for them, after the way the season has gone.

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To say this has been a tumultuous season for the Saints would be to understate things greatly. Has Sean Payton’s absence really had that great an effect, or has that been a crutch to lean on as to avoid saying the Saints just had an off year this season?

Terrell: Oh it definitely had an effect. You can’t take away a team’s leader and expect things to go on as usual. You could point to some games and say “this would have happened with or without Sean Payton,” but I really think it just changed the entire season. Not only that, the position groups lost two long-time assistant coaches for some time—Vitt for several games obviously and Kromer in a way, because he had to turn his attention to head coaching duties. I think a lot of fans were still expecting Super Bowl despite all of it, and it was just too much to overcome.

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Does this “lost” season do anything to harm Drew Brees status as an untouchable legend in New Orleans? Many of his critics are citing this season and Payton’s absence as proof Brees isn’t the leader in New Orleans we thought he was. Are those people looking into stats too much and overlooking how Brees may have held this team together, or are they on to something in their critique?

Terrell: Not at all. Drew Brees will always be a popular figure in New Orleans, and a few bad games won’t change that. You’ll always find someone who wants to grumble about the contract situation and how it may have affected the season, but I really think as a whole, this season isn’t going to change Saints fans reception of Brees. I think people understand there were just too many extenuating circumstances for this season to end the way they wanted. When all is said and done, particularly if next season is successful, people won’t dwell on it too much.

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Both of the secondaries on Sunday are bad, and that’s a pleasant and politically correct way of putting it. How confident are you that this Saints defense can rattle Josh Freeman enough to keep him a step behind Drew Brees?

Terrell: They are definitely capable of it. Last week’s score aside, this defense keeps getting better every week. Last week the penalties, turnovers and kickoff coverage put the defense on a short field much of the game, so you really have to throw that out. They forced Manning into throwing two interceptions last week. It really just comes down to how they bounce back from that performance.

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How afraid of Doug Martin are you? Last time the Saints played the Bucs, Martin had yet to breakout. Now that he has, and New Orleans is a week removed from being gashed by another rookie running back, do you think Martin plays a more fatal role this time around against the Saints defense or will New Orleans hold their own?

Terrell: The Saints definitely won’t be overlooking Martin. He’s on the verge of one of the best seasons in Buccaneers’ history. I think he’s going to make some big plays today. It’ll be hard for him not to, just considering the Saints have only had one game where they allowed less than 100 yards rushing this season. But I think they’re willing to accept that if they can just play good red zone defense. I think he’ll play a big role.

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If there’s one way the Saints can lose this game, what is it and will it happen?

Terrell: Turnovers. The Saints have been bleeding turnovers lately. If they continue to be their own worst enemy, they’re not going to win.

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Alright, money is on the line. Who wins on Sunday in the Superdome? Is it a one horse race, or do we get more of a photo finish?

Terrell: These are two desperate teams right now. You can throw conventional logic out the window. I think it’s going to be a close one similar to their last meeting, but ultimately the Saints win.

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Bucs at Saints: Game Time, Preview, TV and Live Stream: Where to Watch and Listen

Josh Hill — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 13:15:18 +0000

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7) at New Orleans Saints (5-8)

Both of these teams lost big time games last week in very different ways. The Saints had a chance to barely stay alive in a wide open NFC playoff hunt, and take a shot at the World Champs in the process. Instead they were thumped in the rain, and alloed 52 points and about a billion yards to a rookie running back.

The Bucs, on the other hand, lost a game they kind of floated through. They were either distracted by the Super Bowl aspect of the day or they just weren’t into the game but no matter which way you look at it, the Bucs lost yet another game that they should have won.

I want to cite the 2010 Detroit Lions here. That team was a step behind and a second too late in so many games that year but for the first time in a while we say the outline of actual talent on a team in Detroit. They used that in the 2011 season to make the playoffs for the first time since 1999, and while they took a step back this year, they proved that teams on the cusp don’t go away.

The hope here is that whatever the Bucs have going on right now, snowballs into next season. The schedule might be a little tougher but it will by no means be a brutal tour. The offense is coming together like it never has before for any team in franchise history, and it feels like the defense is a few pieces away form being pretty close to lights out.

Tampa’s secondary is holding it back from being amazing this season, and it’s the fact that this team is just one step away from exploding that makes this so exciting. The prospect of making the playoffs is dead (which is good in my opinion, bad in the eyes of my colleague who argues his point very well). But no matter which side of the playoff isle you’re on, one thing is certain that we can all agree on: this team is going somewhere.

It’s games like this we have to gauge the progress. No, it’s not a classic Saints team but it’s one that sucker punched the high riding Bucs a few weeks back. While the playoffs may not be on the line here, pride is and when it’s the Bucs and the Saints, had the playoffs been on the line that would have taken a back seat.

This team is going up, it has no ceiling it seems. But we’re not to the point where we can flex our Bucs muscles freely yet and it’s still games like this that can harsh this awesome buzz that’s starting to go around Tampa.

Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome

Time: 1:00pm ET/Noon CT

Nat’l TV: N/A

Bucs TV: FOX

Away TV: FOX

Announcers: Thom Brennaman/Brian Billick

Live Stream: NFL Live Stream

Radio: WDAE 620AM (Tampa), WWL 870AM (New Orleans)

Satellite Radio: Sirius 829 (Bucs Feed), Sirius 819 (Saints feed Feed)

Weather: Dome

Line: Saints -4.0

Last Week: Buccaneers lost to Eagles 23-21, Saints lost to Giants 52-27

Last Meeting: October 21, 2012 – Buccaneers 28, Saints 35

Series History (Since 2001): Series tied 11-11

Key Bucs Storyline: Will the Bucs get revenge on the Saints and get back to .500 in the process?

Opposing View: Can the Saints bounce back from a brutal loss last week against the Giants?

Prediction: Bucs 24, Saints 31

You can follow Josh Hill on Twitter and you can also’Like’ us on our new Facebook page.

Follow @ThePewterPlank for the latest Buccaneers news.