Sunday Review: So Close, Yet So Far Away

Sunday was a game the Bucs needed to present their dominance among NFC teams. They didn’t get the game, and didn’t establish that dominance, but they didn’t destroy it either. Yeah being 0-4 against teams that are actually good doesn’t look good, but it wasn’t a blow out and it actually did look like Tampa Bay was gonna pull off the shocker. Even with that not being the case, there is a lot to be hopeful for in the final stretch of the season.

Let’s put it as bluntly as possible: Josh Freeman had another mediocre game. Anytime a quarterback goes a game without throwing an interception is impressive, but anytime a quarterback throws for less than 200 yards, it’s equally as depressing. Freeman only completed roughly 45% of his passes, going 17 for 37 on the day. He only hooked up once with Mike Williams for 20 yards and his one deep connection went to John Gilmore for 30 yards. That’s the day in a nutshell basically. Baltimore had a weakness at the corner spots on the Bucs failed to take full advantage of it and get into the endzone enough times. On the positive side, Kellen Winslow got called for a team leading 44 yards, he even got his number dialed in the endzone scoring another touchdown. It was really good to see Winslow get a lot of work, and taking a look into the future for a moment, it looks as though Freeman and Winslow will have a relationship similar to that of Brett Favre and Visanthe Shiancoe had last season where the big tight end got dialed up in huge spots and delivered big. Cadillac Williams also saw a lot of action in the passing game which means Freeman did accomplish one of the goals he needed to do in this game and that was spread the ball around. The creative play calling on the Bucs side was unfortunately absent yesterday. The Ravens used the hurry up to stunt the Bucs defense which was most likely the deciding factor in the game. One could argue that had the creative play calling we saw in the previous two games been present in Baltimore, the game may have had a different outcome. But overall the Bucs offense deserves a lot of props for giving the Ravens such a difficult time. It may not have been overpowering but it was a lot more than people expected. But at the same time expectations were rising regarding the Bucs.

The run game saw another decent performance. LaGarrette Blount didn’t have his best day, but against a defense like the Ravens, the day he had was pretty impressive. He managed to break free for a 16 yard gain but most of his action was in the first half. Cadillac Williams had an alright day as well, but his action was more in the passing game. The run game has been decent all year for the Bucs and Sunday’s game was no exception.

Defensively Tampa Bay played incredibly well. Save for a few (massive) mistakes, such as the pass interference call near the end of the first half that led to what turned out to be a game deciding score, the defense brought it’s A game. Aqib Talib added to his interception total and Ronde Barber recovered a fumble. Those two  guys needed to step up and they did. The 65 yard TD pass to Todd Heap in the first half was a rather large blemish on the day’s record defensively, but it was almost expected that the Bucs were going to give up at least one big play. Barrett Ruud was as present as ever getting another 6 tackles. Ray Rice was held under 100 yards as well which shows the Bucs are playing faster and stronger against the run. The secondary also did a very good job of making Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmandzedah rather irrelevant in the game. The Bucs did suffer a loss in the injury to Cody Grimm who had to be carted off the field. The game was being hailed as a game of defenses and niether unit disappointed. Tampa Bay’s game on Sunday proved they are a young, dangerous team that is only going to get better. Last year, not once was a game involving the Bucs a game of defenses. That right there should tell you something about how far they’ve come and how good this unit really is.

Overall, the Bucs really should have won this game. They weren’t ever really out of it at any point in the game. The lack of creative play calling really hurt this week. Baltimore ran 18 no huddle plays, 17 of them in the first half scoring on one. This kept the Bucs defense constantly on their heels and it payed off for the Ravens numerous times. The Bucs really should have mimicked these calls. They allowed the Ravens defense to get set, and when that defense gets set it gets focused and when it’s  focused it’s really bad news for whoever they’re focused on. That was Tampa Bay Sunday, and it showed. When you get mauled by something call Jarret Johnson, who’s postgame profile says he never plays like that in big games, you know you’ve done something very wrong. This should have been treated as a playoff game and although it was close, the final score really should have been 24-10, as a Ray Rice TD was nullified by an illegal block penalty on Anquan Boldin. I hope the play calling goes back to the formula that works because what was used in Baltimore Sunday doesn’t.

Although a mere playoff birth would be vastly impressive given where this team was last year,  if you want to hang your hat on that alone then go home or give up the playoff spot to a team that does want to win. I believe the Bucs do want to win and will learn from this and build towards a shot at the title. I like the chances the Bucs win at least 4 of the last 5 games remaining. Tampa Bay can rebound from this loss nicely next week by beating Atlanta at home, which to me is very possible because I think this team can operate as good as any when they’re in enormously huge spots like they will be in next week. Tampa Bay has a legitimate shot at the playoffs, after all, we have the tools, we have the power and the knowledge, now lets build.