The Juice Is Loose
09-17-2009, 10:19 AM
http://www.pewterreport.com/img/articleImages/2007_12_06_892_CadillacWilliamsrunningsmall.jpg
Allright. With all the arguing and stuff going on around here, I decided to turn the page and start looking forward to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers! Hopefully some of you will join me in discussing the game that will be played this Sunday. I'll be at the game going buck wild, so I'm really hoping for a strong performance from our Bills.
So when I decided to scout the Bucs a little bit thismorning, the first thing I notice is that their website is way better than ours. (Gotta be Jauron's fault, somehow) I also notice they are already advertising NEXT WEEKS game vs The Giants. Struck me as odd.
Here is a quick link to Tampa Bay's depth chart (http://tampabaybuccaneers.com/team/depthchart.aspx). I can sit here and copy and paste but that is a waste of time. A highlight of the game for us is that the Buccaneer's are a little banged up, as we are with Poz being out for 4-6 weeks. Starting Center Jeff Faine is expected to miss the game, and starting in his place will be Jonathan Compas, a rookie from California-Davis, or Sean Mahan, a guy they just cut on the 2nd. Their guards are Jeremy Zuttah, who has 13 career starts and Davin Joseph, 42 career starts.
So when I look at the Bucs interior o-line, do I view it as a weakness? A target, if you will? As my man Marcus Stroud would say; "Definately, definately." Williams looked good vs. the Pats and Stroud was also in on some plays. The Pats o-line obviously is vastly superior to Tampa Bay's. When I break down what MY strategy would be for this ballgame, I'll come back to this. It's definately a matchup I like for Buffalo.
Moving outside to the tackles, the man in charge of trying to shut down Aaron Schobel will be Donald Penn, a 6'5", 305lb LT who's started 28 games in his 4 year (plus one game) NFL career. At RT will be Jeremy Trueblood, a bigger stronger RT. A 3 year starter straight out of college.
Looking at this matchup, I feel like we have the advantage on the left side with Schobel, but with Kelsay out, may have some trouble holding up against the run on the right side. If I was in charge, keep in mind I'm not, but if I was in charge, I'd consider using Spencer Johnson at DE in place of Denney (Kelsay I'm thinking isn't going to play) on obvious running situations. Spencer had a hell of a pre season and I think he'll hold up against a big RT run blocking better than the tall, lean Denney. I also think that a guy the size of Trueblood, 6'8", 320, may have a hard time pass protecting against a guy like Aaron Maybin. This may be the game Maybin get's his first career sack and if he does, I bet he'll be coming off Trueblood's side.
Obviously, that's kind of a no-name line, but that is not the case for their skill position players. I don't have to explain to you all who Cadillac Williams is, because the last time we played Tampa he gave us fit and we lost the game. He's had two major knee surgeries, but still managed a nice game against a tough Dallas defense last week. They also have Derek Ward from the NYG and Antonio Bryant out at WR.
Two guys that I'm particularily worried about are Maurice Stovall and Kellen Winslow. With Poz out, I'm worried about our interior pass coverage. Ellison is experience, and I don't think he'll get himself out of position really. I think its just a case that I don't think he'll be able to cover Winslow. I also don't think Whitner can. If we have R. Corner on Stovall, that can be scary as Corner is still relatively green and a few mistakes can be expected. I'm worried about Kellen Winslow in this game.
Antonio Bryant has a knee injury that is still bothering him. He didn't have a super-productive game last week. He's obviously dangerous, but I feel like after running around with Randy Moss and Wes Welker all night, our corners should be more up to the task on this guy. Michael Clayton has never really accomplished anything, I feel our corners overall win the matchup on the outside. But, as I said, I worry about the slot WR and TE.
Finally, starting at QB is the well known Byron Leftwich. We remember him because the last time he was in the Ralph, he threw a TD on the final play of the game to steal a win from us. (Lawyer Milloy was terrible in pass situations) He's been around now, got on board the Pittsburgh Super Bowl run and even looked impressive the time he got some action. His big weakness has always been his long windup and immobility.
Us here in Buffalo know exactly how to give an immobile quarterback fits, as we watched teams do it to Drew Bledsoe for 3 years. Blitz, and blitz up the gut. They have an inexperienced C and G and a relatively inexperienced G. If you rush Leftwich up the gut and force him to roll out, and also take into account his sllooooow delivery, I think our quick corners can get some picks on the outside WR's.
Overall, I think it's going to be a tough outting for Tampa Bay for our home opener. I think our weakness will be interior coverage and if Tampa finds a way to exploit us there, it could make for a long afternoon of dinks and dunks to TE's and inside receivers. I'm not so familiar with Marcus Buggs, so I can't say for sure what I expect from him from a pass coverage standpoint. I really think we'll need a good game from Kawika. Not only in pass coverage but in pass rush. I expect him to be sent up the gut at Tampas backup center. I really think if we frazzle Leftwich and get pressure, it'll lead to some picks. I also worry about their run game, but not as much as I would have had A) Cadillac hadn't had so many injuries, B) We didn't do so well against the run last week. I really think Stroud, Schobel, Williams and Johnson could have big days Sunday. I'd like to see McCargo do something.
Well, that breaks down our defensive side of the game. If you guys actually enjoyed this and it leads to some good conversation, I'll post my breakdown of their defense and how I think we should attack them from an offensive standpoint. Let me know what you guys think!!!!!!!:eb:
Allright. With all the arguing and stuff going on around here, I decided to turn the page and start looking forward to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers! Hopefully some of you will join me in discussing the game that will be played this Sunday. I'll be at the game going buck wild, so I'm really hoping for a strong performance from our Bills.
So when I decided to scout the Bucs a little bit thismorning, the first thing I notice is that their website is way better than ours. (Gotta be Jauron's fault, somehow) I also notice they are already advertising NEXT WEEKS game vs The Giants. Struck me as odd.
Here is a quick link to Tampa Bay's depth chart (http://tampabaybuccaneers.com/team/depthchart.aspx). I can sit here and copy and paste but that is a waste of time. A highlight of the game for us is that the Buccaneer's are a little banged up, as we are with Poz being out for 4-6 weeks. Starting Center Jeff Faine is expected to miss the game, and starting in his place will be Jonathan Compas, a rookie from California-Davis, or Sean Mahan, a guy they just cut on the 2nd. Their guards are Jeremy Zuttah, who has 13 career starts and Davin Joseph, 42 career starts.
So when I look at the Bucs interior o-line, do I view it as a weakness? A target, if you will? As my man Marcus Stroud would say; "Definately, definately." Williams looked good vs. the Pats and Stroud was also in on some plays. The Pats o-line obviously is vastly superior to Tampa Bay's. When I break down what MY strategy would be for this ballgame, I'll come back to this. It's definately a matchup I like for Buffalo.
Moving outside to the tackles, the man in charge of trying to shut down Aaron Schobel will be Donald Penn, a 6'5", 305lb LT who's started 28 games in his 4 year (plus one game) NFL career. At RT will be Jeremy Trueblood, a bigger stronger RT. A 3 year starter straight out of college.
Looking at this matchup, I feel like we have the advantage on the left side with Schobel, but with Kelsay out, may have some trouble holding up against the run on the right side. If I was in charge, keep in mind I'm not, but if I was in charge, I'd consider using Spencer Johnson at DE in place of Denney (Kelsay I'm thinking isn't going to play) on obvious running situations. Spencer had a hell of a pre season and I think he'll hold up against a big RT run blocking better than the tall, lean Denney. I also think that a guy the size of Trueblood, 6'8", 320, may have a hard time pass protecting against a guy like Aaron Maybin. This may be the game Maybin get's his first career sack and if he does, I bet he'll be coming off Trueblood's side.
Obviously, that's kind of a no-name line, but that is not the case for their skill position players. I don't have to explain to you all who Cadillac Williams is, because the last time we played Tampa he gave us fit and we lost the game. He's had two major knee surgeries, but still managed a nice game against a tough Dallas defense last week. They also have Derek Ward from the NYG and Antonio Bryant out at WR.
Two guys that I'm particularily worried about are Maurice Stovall and Kellen Winslow. With Poz out, I'm worried about our interior pass coverage. Ellison is experience, and I don't think he'll get himself out of position really. I think its just a case that I don't think he'll be able to cover Winslow. I also don't think Whitner can. If we have R. Corner on Stovall, that can be scary as Corner is still relatively green and a few mistakes can be expected. I'm worried about Kellen Winslow in this game.
Antonio Bryant has a knee injury that is still bothering him. He didn't have a super-productive game last week. He's obviously dangerous, but I feel like after running around with Randy Moss and Wes Welker all night, our corners should be more up to the task on this guy. Michael Clayton has never really accomplished anything, I feel our corners overall win the matchup on the outside. But, as I said, I worry about the slot WR and TE.
Finally, starting at QB is the well known Byron Leftwich. We remember him because the last time he was in the Ralph, he threw a TD on the final play of the game to steal a win from us. (Lawyer Milloy was terrible in pass situations) He's been around now, got on board the Pittsburgh Super Bowl run and even looked impressive the time he got some action. His big weakness has always been his long windup and immobility.
Us here in Buffalo know exactly how to give an immobile quarterback fits, as we watched teams do it to Drew Bledsoe for 3 years. Blitz, and blitz up the gut. They have an inexperienced C and G and a relatively inexperienced G. If you rush Leftwich up the gut and force him to roll out, and also take into account his sllooooow delivery, I think our quick corners can get some picks on the outside WR's.
Overall, I think it's going to be a tough outting for Tampa Bay for our home opener. I think our weakness will be interior coverage and if Tampa finds a way to exploit us there, it could make for a long afternoon of dinks and dunks to TE's and inside receivers. I'm not so familiar with Marcus Buggs, so I can't say for sure what I expect from him from a pass coverage standpoint. I really think we'll need a good game from Kawika. Not only in pass coverage but in pass rush. I expect him to be sent up the gut at Tampas backup center. I really think if we frazzle Leftwich and get pressure, it'll lead to some picks. I also worry about their run game, but not as much as I would have had A) Cadillac hadn't had so many injuries, B) We didn't do so well against the run last week. I really think Stroud, Schobel, Williams and Johnson could have big days Sunday. I'd like to see McCargo do something.
Well, that breaks down our defensive side of the game. If you guys actually enjoyed this and it leads to some good conversation, I'll post my breakdown of their defense and how I think we should attack them from an offensive standpoint. Let me know what you guys think!!!!!!!:eb: