A True Test

Playing on the road; playing without their two star runningbacks, without their star fullback the Buccaneers look to be victorious and extend their record to 5-2, tallying more wins than all of last season.

But the task ahead of them won't be easy. The Lions have a dynamic quarterback in Jon Kitna, a man who has thrown for 1,333 yards and 8 touchdowns. The Lions also bring to the table some outstanding talent in their wide recievers with Roy Williams, Shaun McDonald, Mike Furrey, and rookie Calvin Johnson all running pass routes. And while Calvin Johnson hasn't had the rookie season that most had thought he would, he has still proven dangerous, especially inside the redzone. The other three recievers have proven their worth game in and game out combining for 75 receptions, 961 yards and 6 touchdowns in just five games. And with Detroit finally putting their confidence in a now healthy Kevin Jones, Detroit's running game seems to be headed in the right direction.

So how do the Bucs stop Detroit at Ford Field?

They need to blitz and blitz often. The Lions O-line has crumbled under any sort of pass rush thus far allowing Kitna to be sacked 25 times, more than any other quarterback in the NFL. Barrett Ruud, who leads the league in tackles with 62, Derrick Brooks, who has 47 tackles, and Cato June, 32 tackles, need to wrap their arms around anything that comes their way and really take control of the game. Put Ruud in man coverage against Jones and let's find out who the better player is, my money is on the linebacker. And the secondary needs to be on their toes as Kitna will be forced to get rid of the ball in a hurry.

For the first time in a long time the Bucs aireal attack has been, dare I say, threatening. Jeff Garcia has yet to throw a pick this season, take into account his five touchdowns, 1188 yards, and QB rating of 103.6 and it is easy to see why Gruden was so big on getting this guy. As always, Joey Galloway has proven a reliable target with his 22 receptions, 403 yards and 3 touchdowns. Ike Hilliard, a man who almost everyone had written off, has been a pleasant surprise this season with 27 receptions for 363 yards. And TE Alex Smith has shown how dangerous he can be inside the 20 yard line with two touchdown receptions.

However, the Bucs' running attack has been plagued with injuries. Before the season even began, Alstott was placed on IR. A few weeks ago, Carnell Williams suffered a season ending injury. The following week Michael Pittman went down.

Enter Earnest Graham. A 4th year veteran, a college superstar, a virtual unknown in the NFL. With 3 touchdowns on the season, 2 of which came in one game, Graham looked fit to lead the Bucs on the ground. However, last week against the Titans, Graham was only able to pound out 29 yards on 13 carries, an average of a dismal 2.2 yards per carry. Could this be a sign of things to come? I hardly think so. The Titans have been tough against the run all season, allowing only 319 yards and 3 touchdowns. That makes for an average of 63.8 yards allowed per game; 3.5 yards per carry. Thus far, no team has been better at stopping the run than Tennessee, doesn't hardly make Graham's performance against them seem so sub-par.

Detroit's rush defense hasn't been as solid though. They're allowing an average of 115 yards per game and have allowed 7 TD's on the ground thus far. I look for the Florida alum to really get things moving this Sunday.

The bottom line is this: Tampa Bay has played consistently well all season, losing only to the Seahawks and the Colts, both away games. The Lions, on the other hand, are hot and cold, able to defeat Chicago by ten points but also being absolutley crushed by the Redskins in week 5. The truth is you never know what Lions team you will be facing, but one fact stands out above the rest, Detroit has not allowed any team to come into Michigan and leave victoriously in the 2007 season.

Yet, I am willing to wager that that little factoid will change this weekend. The Garcia lead Buccaneers will march to Detroit and come out winners, 24 - 10.

Tune in next week for a preview of the Tampa Bay - Jacksonville game.


Bucs v. Lions Result:
Tampa Bay loses to Detroit 16-23. Jeff Garcia continued to shine, however, with two touchdown tosses and improves to seven games this season without an INT. Earnest Graham was a pleasant surprise also, 92 rushing yards and 13 receptions for 99 yards (fantasy owners who took a chance on Graham this week were well rewarded). And the Bucs were able to hit Kitna behind the line 3 times on the day. Touchdowns by Ike Hilliard and Maurice Stovall kept the Bucs in this one.

Yet it would be an impressive showing by the Lions run game and of course one could not forget the dynamic game their kicker had that gave them the win. Detroit was able to rush for a total of 147 yards including two touchdowns, one by Kevin Jones and the other by the rookie Calvin Johnson. Jason Hanson hit 3 field goals and 2 extra points singlehandidly earning his team 11 points.

In the end Ford Field was too much for the Bucs to overcome. Tampa Bay's record now stands at 4-3 while the Lions improve to 4-2.