"why the heck are you still blitzing!"

How bout them Cowboys! Well if the Bucs take that same Casino Blitz mentality into this week's game at Dallas they will see the same results as last week...a record setting day for an elite quarterback. The Bucs coaching staff features 2 coordinators who were with the Giants last year. You would think they would know better than to play right into the Giants strengths and expose the Bucs weaknesses. When you review the coaches' film (available every Wednesday on nfl.com rewind) you see the Bucs blitzed early, often and most times with disastrous results. Given the Bucs built an early lead it's even more surprising they wouldn't sit back in their vaunted Tampa 2 and make the Giants work their way down the field for scores. Defensively the Bucs Blitz happy scheme was smoked for 510 yards passing by an elite quarterback using experienced receivers well versed in exploiting the blitz. As I wrote in the pre-season, the Bucs defensive game plan appears to be predicated on the blitz and when you are facing elite QB's in 12 of your 16 games that is a recipe for disaster. As we do every week, with the help of opinions from players, coaches and former NFL coaches...let's review the game quarter by quarter and pick out the good, the bad and the "why the heck are you still blitzing!"

First Quarter

It's clear from play one the Giants game plan is to isolate Hakeem Nicks on Aqib Talib and go after him. Talib had an awful day. When he wasn't holding he was getting beat and sometimes both on the same play. To keep saying this guy is an elite corner is ridiculous because obviously other teams think he's extremely vulnerable. On the second play Manning hits Nicks for 40 yards down the sideline beating Talib. After a David Wilson dropped pass, Manning goes after Talib again and this time Talib makes a nice play forcing a field goal but the Giants were just getting started. 3-0 G-Men

The Bucs first possession they try and establish the run with Doug Martin behind Carl Nicks and Donald Penn. Nicks obliterates the linebacker but the Giants are waiting for Martin's cutback move and he only gets 4. If he hugs the double team he might get more. Freeman then checks to a hot route to Mike Williams as the Giants threaten blitz. He throws on time, on target, perfect execution as Williams makes a guy miss and gets 11. As I predicted on my show on 620 WDAE Saturday morning the Bucs would take an early shot deep to Vincent Jackson off play-action and they execute to perfection. VJax uses a veteran nudge on Cory Webster to create space (replacement refs aren't calling this subtle move) and Freeman drops it in for 41. The drive stalls when the Bucs can't execute 2 screen plays. On 3-7 DJ Ware (not LaGarrette Blount) stumbles to get to his receiving point throwing the timing off, Dallas Clark whiffs his block (not unusual) and Jason Pierre Paul (JPP) runs down the play from the backside. Conner Barth hits from 45 and it's 3-3.

On the Giants next possession rookie LB Levonte David shines. On a 1st-10 the Giants go misdirection but David is not fooled. He takes no false steps reads his keys, slips the block and makes the tackle! This kid is going to be fabulous. David hurt his hand/wrist later in the game and simply wasn't as effective playing with one hand obviously and it really aided the Giants comeback in my opinion. Later in the drive on 3-5 the Bucs come again with the blitz and get burned. Victor Cruz finds an opening and beats Eric Wright and gets 20 to keep the drive alive. On 2nd and goal from the 2, David, Roy Miller and Gerald McCoy do a great job slipping blocks and stopping Bradshaw short. On 3rd and goal from the 6, the Bucs rush 3 this time and Bennett can't handle the pass from Eli forcing a field goal. Notice the Rush 3 working, the blitz not working...a theme of this game and the Bucs never adjusted. 6-3 Giants.

Bucs next possession another great play action pass to VJax where Freeman throws on time and on target. These plays will be the staple of the Bucs offense and when you can execute like this they are unstoppable! Especially when you combine them with deep routes off play-action which the Bucs do on the very next play. VJax is wide open but Freeman overthrows him! You have to give your guy a chance in 1 on 1 coverage and the overthrow is the cardinal sin. The Bucs have to punt instead of hanging 6 more on the Giants.

Second Quarter

The second quarter starts with a nice pick by Mason Foster on a very badly thrown ball by Eli off pressure from Bennett while just rushing 4. No Blitz! The Bucs covert the turnover into 7 points when the Giants get burned by the Blitz, Freeman reads it perfectly and floats the ball up to VJax who again uses the subtle nudge to gain separation and secure the touchdown. 10-6 Bucs. Freeman and VJax are developing great chemistry against the blitz just like Eli has with Nicks, Cruz and Bennett. Even though the Bucs lost they are developing winning tools. Play action passing with VJax, Martin in the running game but they need more weapons and certainly an identity on defense.

The Bucs have a nice couple defensive series on next 2 NY possessions. Mason Foster with a rare quick read and beats the tackle to the spot to stuff the run. Clayborn, Bennett and McCoy overpower blocks. This is how Schiano wants his team to play against the run. On the next Giant possession 3rd-6, the Bucs rush 3, drop 8 and Brandon McDonald is there to collect the Manning overthrow and get the pick. From there the Bucs running game needs just 2 plays to score. A well blocked first down play to Martin that gets 5 and then Martin shows his incredible talent and vision, he presses the hole inside then spins outside and outruns everyone to the corner. Give Nicks, Penn and Lorig credit for dominating blocks but Martin makes an incredible individual play 17-6 Bucs.

The Giants next possession they start running the football as Andre Brown the Giants 3rd string back gets 46 yards on 4 carries. On 2 plays Mason Foster gets blocked and can't get off, David hurts his wrist missing the tackle, Talib looks unwilling to tackle Brown and the d-line is getting handled as the Bucs work in some back-ups. The lack of depth is startling. Later in the drive Eric Wright is called for holding Cruz on a 2nd-20 to keep the drive alive. Killer penalty. Then on 1-10, the Bucs blitz 6 and get burned again. Talib 1 on 1 can't get a good jam on Cruz who easily scores on a skinny post. 17-13 Bucs lead.

After a Bucs 3 and out, Eli beats the Bucs blitz on back to back plays for 11 and 13 yards. Then Wright throws out the bait and Eli bites, he fakes the blitz and drops back in the passing lane and picks Manning taking it to the house just before halftime! The Pick 6 puts the Bucs up 24-13 at the half and they classy Giant fans are booing Eli off the field after 3 interceptions! The Super Bowl Honeymoon didn't last long! Notice the free agent pay-offs for the Bucs. VJax, Wright, Nicks paying huge dividends! Hmmm...maybe this spending money thing does help! While Bucs fans must be feeling good, the coaches should be making adjustments to stop blitzing and getting burned but clearly they did not.

3rd Quarter

The Bucs special teams played well and put 3 points up on the first possession. Arrelious Benn rips off a 55 yard return showing the guts to hit the hole with speed. After a 3 and out Conner Barth hits from 52 right down the middle. On the Giants next possession on 3-5 the Bucs rush 4 and Dakoda Watson knocks the ball down to force a punt.

On the Bucs next possession on a 1-15 Freeman goes back shoulder fade to VJax with perfect execution. This play takes detailed execution and chemistry which we saw little of in the passing game last year. A huge leap for Freeman and a staple of many great offenses including the Giants. On a 2-8 the Bucs new staple running play. They pull the massive but incredibly agile 360 pound Nicks from the off side, they also pull 6-9 330 pound Demar Dotson (Who played well and will start again this week for Trueblood) and wham! 8 easy yards as the 5-7 Martin hides behind the human wall! Next, a key missed call by the "replacements" on 2nd-6 Martin sweeps left and clearly gets his facemask yanked right in front of the side judge! No Call! Instead of 1-10 at the Giants 35, the Bucs get stuffed on 3rd-1 and must punt it away. Killer no-call .

On the next Giants possession Talib gets called for holding and pass interference one of the calls negating a possible Ronde interception. On the final 2 plays of the drive from the Bucs 18, the Bucs decide NOT to blitz and Mark Barron makes a great diving knock away to save a touchdown and Ronde almost gets a pick 6 to deny the next play. The Bucs rarely blitzed in the Red Zone and forced 4 field goals while they got burned from long range on the blitz giving up huge plays for TD's and let the Giants score too quickly.

On the Bucs last possession of the third quarter the "replacements" strike again. VJax is hammered by Kenny Phillips in a text book example of defenseless receiver and a helmet to helmet hit. Aikman exclaims on the broadcast "I'm not sure there is an easier call to make!" On the next play Freeman throws a horrific pick. He throws off his back foot, late over the middle and high. The "Triple Lindy" of QB mistakes!

Fourth Quarter

The Giants have to settle for another field goal as the Bucs rush 3 (no blitz) on 3rd and goal from the 5 forcing Manning to throw it away. 27-19 Bucs still lead.

On the Bucs next possession a crucial mistake by WR Mike Williams that reminds of last years lack of attention to details. On 3rd-8 a crucial possession play, Williams runs his rout 2 yards short of the stick. The Bucs pick up the Blitz, Freeman delivers on time and on target but Williams dances instead of diving for the first down! Details men! Details! The Bucs would have had a first down at the Giants 48 with 7:52 to play. Instead they have to punt the ball away.

3 plays later on a 3rd-2, The Bucs call a Nickel/Will blitz with Eric Wright comes off the slot man on a blitz and Mason Foster blitzes from the middle. Foster almost gets home but at the last second Brown reaches out and just forces Foster wide of Manning. Meanwhile Ronde is now 1 on 1 with Cruz. Ronde squats on the route expecting Cruz to cut the pattern off in the face of Wright's blitz but Cruz takes it deep and he's wide open for an 82 yard score. The Giants covert the 2 point conversion and it's 27-27 with 6:48 to play. If the Bucs play 2 high safeties and make Eli check it down they might score but it would eat up a ton more clock. Schiano gambled and lost again with the Blitz.

The Bucs can't answer on offense and go 3 and out. On the critical 3rd and 6 VJax can't come up with the back shoulder fade and the Bucs punt it away to a red hot Manning. The Bucs get burned on the next blitz as Nicks gets wide open inside for 15. Then on 1st-10 the Bucs don't blitz and the 5-10 Mcdonald is in perfect position but plays the bigger man instead of the ball. The 6-6 Bennett beats him up high for the touchdown. By the way where is 6-2 Myron Lewis the Bucs biggest corner? Now it's 34-27 Giants with 3:59 to play.

Now that the Bucs have to score they go wide open. The new Bucs offensive coaches OC Mike Sullivan and QB coach Ron Turner have worked extensively with Freeman's mechanics and "quieting his helmet" and making him more focused in the pocket. Freeman is spot on with three darts to the previously invisible Dallas Clark for 3 straight completions. Then Freeman shows incredible arm strength throwing deep off his back foot 60 yards in the air to Mike Williams who is 1 on 1 with Tryon and Williams makes a great adjustment, cuts in front for a terrific TD and we are tied at 34 with 1:58 left.

On 1-10 the Bucs rush 3 and get burned in the seam by a wide open Barden for a 24 yard gain. So the Bucs go back to the blitz sending Barber and Barron and guess what...Hicks beats Talib again! This time down the sideline for 50 yards. With 1:20 left Schiano calls for the Bucs to allow the score, a gutsy and brilliant call that few rookie coaches would make. But the Giants are too smart, just like in the Super Bowl they take a knee at the one and eat up another 40 seconds as they score on the next play. Now the Bucs get it with 25 seconds instead. Freeman almost pulls off a miracle with 2 great throws. The first to VJax for 21 then a laser down the sideline to Mike Williams that would have set up the Bucs at the 16 yard line with 2 shots at the end zone. Williams makes the catch in bounds but coughs it up on a crunching hit. The replay assistant challenges the call and the "replacements" get the call right as Williams needed to control the ball to the ground and did not. Freeman throws a desperation pick on the next play and game over....except for "kneel-gate" which we dealt with in our previous post.

The Bucs are in trouble defensively this week at Dallas. They certainly can't live by the blitz against Tony Romo who will do exactly what Eli did if the Bucs go that route. The good news is the Bucs have some offensive weapons to work with mainly VJax and Doug Martin. Freeman is much improved, the running game is dangerous and if they can just slow teams down, make them work for their scores they can possibly outscore teams. Until they can find some credible pass rushers they will struggle on defense. No question this team is much more competitive and will rarely get blown out. However...if they get some key injuries...they will get blown out!

OK we are back with another breakdown of the game film from the Bucs extremely impressive win over the Patriots…the NFL gold standard for longevity of success. Belichick was pissed after the game which tells us he wasn’t holding back and expected his team to perform. The Bucs were more physical and more effective in so many areas that some of the ex-NFL coaches I spoke with this week were frankly shocked! Here are some main observations both pro and con.

1. The talent additions through the draft and free agency have dramatically changed the identity of the Bucs. Vincent Jackson, Carl Nicks, Doug Martin, Mark Barron, Levonte David and Eric Wright are all significant upgrades at their positions and can consistently win in their individual match-ups. Ronde Barber once told me that football is the ultimate team sport but the winning edge in the NFL is how may “one on one” battles you can win on each play. All these guys can do that.

2. Josh Freeman’s accuracy is becoming a problem. He is wasting golden opportunities. This game was a microcosm of Freeman’s career. Extremely inconsistent. The first drive was spot on…the rest of the game was indifferent.

3. Adam Hayward should be the starting Mike. He was all over the field and played fast, physical and downhill.

4. The pass rush was the best we’ve since the days of the dancing Simeon Rice. Great pressure through blitzing the linebackers and safeties.

5. The run defense was excellent at times with Gerald McCoy and Mason Foster on the sidelines. Coincidence?

Talent Additions and Improvement

The first drive showcased most of the Bucs new weapons. LG Carl Nicks was dominating up front in the run and pass game. Vincent Jackson caught 3 passes for 48 yards. The first throw of the game was flawless execution. Great protection off the play fake, Freeman hits his plant foot and delivers with anticipation throwing before the out cut and on the numbers of Vincent Jackson…gain of 25. On 3-12 Freeman again throws before VJack curls up at the marker. His 6-5 230 pound frame shields the defender to covert the first down. On first down from a bunch formation VJack and Freeman hook up again on time and on the money. The final 6 yards Doug Martin gets in behind Nicks and scores in 2 carries. 7-0 Bucs…a Picasso of an opening drive using most of the Bucs new palate of weapons.

Martin showed some other flashes in the game getting 20 yards on a perfectly blocked shotgun draw play. Zuttah, Nicks, Joseph (pre injury) Penn all get a hat on a hat and Martin hits the hole with speed and power. In the second level he makes the first guy miss, runs through another tackle and carries a defender for the final 4 yards…at least 10 yards after contact! He’s special. On another staple run play the 5-9 Muscle Hamster hugs up behind a double team of Penn/Nicks (combined 690 pounds of athletic force) and gets 8 yards. He’s tough to find behind those guys. Martin also caught the ball well (in practice and in games) and picked up a couple line stunts quickly in pass protection. He allows the Bucs to do anything on any down…something they couldn’t do last year with Blount. He’s got a great football IQ from his Boise State days. Dallas Clark also showed his worth running a great route bouncing off a LB creating separation then breaking a tackle for 8 YAC yards and a first down. Mark Barron of course had the opportunistic pick 6 (thanks to Ronde Barber reading the eyes of Tom Brady, under cutting Gronkowski’s route and tipping the ball…we will see plenty of that) and also showed some great run support physicality. Free agent CB acquisition Eric Wright also flashed in run support and blew up Aaron Hernandez over the middle to deny a third down conversion. Wright has also played great one on one coverage allowing some of the Bucs blitz packages to get home. Rookie LB Levonte David also had some splash plays getting a vicious hit on Brady on the blitz and making some quick reads and hits in the run game. All this new talent makes the Bucs so much better. Add a more detailed and organized coaching staff and the building blocks are in place for a huge turnaround.

Josh Freeman…Inconsistent.

Freeman came out of the box with his best drive since the 2010 season. Virtually perfect! Three passes to Vincent Jackson thrown on time, in rhythm with laser like accuracy. He completed 5 of his first 6 then went 4 of his next 11. This is what we have seen in practice and the coaches are talking about it as well. His footwork seems to get lazy. Maybe after watching Tom Brady all week deliver with great balance, superior footwork and spot on mechanics…you notice Freeman’s inconsistency in this area. On a 1-10 bootleg, to a wide open Vincent Jackson, the throw is late and a little low. VJack drops it but the throw could have been better.

On the next play, 3-7, Free gets great pass protection, doesn’t let the play develop and dumps it down to Mike Williams three yards in front of the marker where he is dropped immediately. On the next series it’s 2-8 and Free throws behind a wide open Vjack on a cross! Lazy mechanics! He made the right read catching the Pats in a blitz and should have had a huge gain on a simple 10 yard throw. Now it’s 3-7 at 21 instead of a 1-10 at the 40 (assuming the catch and run). These are the little things that Schiano is talking about. Later on in the drive, Free throws into coverage but gets bailed out with an interference call on Dallas Clark. Then on 3-6, with great protection again, he misses an open Preston Parker for a first down. On a later series he rolls left and misses a wide open Doug Martin over the middle and almost throws a pick. On the next series it’s 3-4 and Freeman misses Parker again who had just a step on the defender…but a good pass makes a first down. Next series Freeman misses high and behind a wide open Dallas Clark on a crossing route. Then he forces one to Sammie Stroughter who wasn’t open. On most, if not all of these passes, he has great protection and open receivers. That rarely happens in the NFL. If you can’t make these throws consistently in this league you cannot be a franchise quarterback. He knows that, and the coaches know that. He simply has to get better and with some mechanical work he can do it. 

Adam Hayward should be the starting Mike LB.

Foster was held out with a hamstring injury and Hayward made the most of this opportunity. He was much quicker to read and react than Foster has been and he plays downhill…moving forward which is what Schiano is looking for. He finished with 7 tackles and a sack of Brady but it was how he played that really stood out. On the Pats first series on 3-2, he flows quick to the ball and blows up the running play. On the 4^th and 1 he keeps his legs clean as he flows to the ball and knocks Ridley back short of the marker! His finest play of the night was a perfectly timed blitz with so much speed Brady had no chance to even throw it away. He made so many key plays on third down the vaunted Pats offense had more than 14 yards only once in their first 8 possessions! And he did this while playing on special teams as well. Hayward is also the consummate professional on and off the field and the personification of the Buccaneer Way. Schiano will make a clear statement by sitting Foster. If you do things the right way and produce when you get your chance, you get rewarded.  If Heyward doesn’t start week one then it’s not because he didn’t beat out Foster on the field.

Pass Rush Shows up!!!

Wow…this was maybe the most impressive part of the Bucs game because it is the most crucial key to their defensive success. Schiano put constant heat on Brady by sending 6 from his nickel and dime packages…and sending them from all angles. Brady usually eats the blitz alive but the Bucs got there with speed and an attitude. Yes Brady held the ball too long a couple times and the Pats were missing 2 starters on the offensive line but it’s still a huge step in the right direction. Michael Bennett continues to beat his man off the edge with a huge hit and sack/fumble. Hayward and Levonte David also got hits on Brady. Credit Myron Lewis and all the corners with some great man to man coverage to allow the Bucs to blitz.

Run Defense…good at times.

The Bucs gave up a couple of chunk plays in the run game but also did a great job in short yardage. With Gerald McCoy and Mason Foster out the Bucs stooped the Pats on 3^rd and 1 and fourth and one. George Johnson was a monster at the point of attack and credit E.J. Wilson who filled in for McCoy. The Bucs had 5 tackles for loss! They were routinely manhandled up front all last year and last week by the Titans. Overall they did give up a 5.4 average to Ridley( the starter) and they need to be better but the first team made the plays to stop drives and get off the field.

Obviously the loss of Davin Joseph was the huge negative in this game as he is out for the season with a torn patellar ligament. I thought the Bucs might call former captain and starting center Jeff Faine back and move Zuttah back to guard but Faine is on his way to Cincinnati for a physical and may sign with the Bengals. The Bucs missed an opportunity there in my opinion. All in all this was a great litmus test and the Bucs were shockingly dominant. Check back later for some thought on the first round of cuts.