Tampa Bay Buccaneers

the playoffs, they have a chance for the first winning record in franchise history. 

(3-12) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20
(13-2) New Orleans Saints 17

This game was the WTF? moment of the weekend. The formerly 13-0 Saints have dropped two straight, but losing on a last second field goal to the lowly Buccaneers is inexcusable. Cadillac Williams ran all over the Saints defense, but it was the New Orleans offense struggling to put up points that lost them the game. That defense isn't good enough to keep teams under 17.

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 16"

Their last two games haven’t been pretty, but the Colts are still undefeated.

(1-7) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38
(4-4) Green Bay Packers 28

Oh Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers won’t be able to finish the season at this rate. Rodgers was sacked six times and tossed three interceptions against the Bucs, who had a rookie quarterback making his first NFL start. Josh Freeman only completed 14 of his 31 pass attempts, but he certainly made them when they counted, putting it in the endzone three times. Head coach Raheem Morris finally gets his first win of the season, ensuring no team will go winless in 2009.

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 9"

Their last two games haven’t been pretty, but the Colts are still undefeated.

(1-7) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38
(4-4) Green Bay Packers 28

Oh Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers won’t be able to finish the season at this rate. Rodgers was sacked six times and tossed three interceptions against the Bucs, who had a rookie quarterback making his first NFL start. Josh Freeman only completed 14 of his 31 pass attempts, but he certainly made them when they counted, putting it in the endzone three times. Head coach Raheem Morris finally gets his first win of the season, ensuring no team will go winless in 2009.

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 9"

Wes Welker needs to be healthy for Tom Brady to have success in this one. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-3) at Washington Redskins (1-2) 

You’re obviously wondering why I would even mention this game. It’s simple, there’s drama. Tampa Bay benched QB Byron Leftwich after their offense failed to put up points, switching to second-year Josh Johnson. For the Redskins, this is a game they could once mark down as an easy win, but not anymore. If they lose a second straight contest to a supposedly inferior foe, heads could roll in DC.  

Continue reading "Joe's Opening Drive: Week 4"

Now there’s no going back.

Dallas Cowboys 34, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21

T.O. leaves for Buffalo, and Tony Romo sets a career high in touchdowns (3) in his first game without him? Coincidence? I think not. Hopefully Romo’s ankle is fine, but as he found three different receivers on those scores, sharing is the key in Dallas.

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 1"

Well now that the fans have had some time to adjust to the firing of Head Coach Jon Gruden, what is the mood like in Tampa?

I understand that teams struggle, and that many times coaches pay the price for it. I'm just not so sure that letting Gruden go was the best thing to do. While Tampa has been up and down the past few years there is more to notice than just Grudens ability or lack there of. in this modern era of winning and championships, Gruden has got to be heralded as the greatest coach in Bucs history delivering their only Super Bowl in 2002. They have had several playoff years in his tenure, and despite an unexpected collapse at the end of this season were on pace to make the playoffs again safter starting 9-3.

Continue reading "Passing the Torch in Tampa?"

In the aftermath of Tony Dungy's recent retirement from the NFL, there really isn't much more I can say about him that hasn't already been said.  He proved that an NFL Head Coach doesn't have to yell and scream at his players in order to motivate them to play football.

Continue reading "How I Will Remember Tony Dungy"

The Final Drive of week 15 fills you in.

Atlanta Falcons 13, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10

If the Falcons are going to make it into the playoffs, this will be the win that propelled them. Matt Ryan played one of his worst games of the season, throwing two interceptions against a hard-nosed Tampa defense. Coming to his aid was running back Michael Turner, who posted 152 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Atlanta abused Tampa QB Brian Griese by sacking him four times, three of which came from defensive end John Abraham. Griese filled in for the injured Jeff Garcia, who sat out with a calf injury. If Garcia is out for any significant period of time, it could spell doom for the Bucs’ playoff chances after being in the driver’s seat only a few weeks ago.

Continue reading "Joey A's Final Drive: Week 15"

Carolina Panthers 38, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23

With a daunting task in the form of the Broncos, Giants, and Saints next on their schedule, beating a main division competitor gives Carolina

Continue reading "Joey A's Final Drive: Week 14"

Week thirteen is in the books and online in this Final Drive!

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23, New Orleans Saints 20

The Bucs needed to fight off a fourth quarter rally with a late field goal and two interceptions in the final four minutes, but they managed to come out on top over Drew Brees and the Saints. Tampa’s secondary picked off the MVP candidate Brees three times in total and held the Saints to 44 rushing yards to prove their defense is still one of the best on football. Jeff Garcia had a sub-par outing, going 9 for 23 and one touchdown, but Jon Gruden’s squad found a way to win. The Saints would need to win out and get a lot of help in order to get into the playoffs, so they’ll need to start looking at ways to improve that defense… again.

Continue reading "Joey A's Final Drive: Week 13"

layed fairly well, but the Packer defense hasn’t backed him up.

New Orleans Saints (6-5) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-3)

Losing to a division opponent this weekend would almost certainly eliminate New Orleans from playoff contention. The NFC South is a much-improved landscape, and the Saints have suffered too many injuries to keep pace. Reggie Bush is listed as questionable, but has declared his intention to be on the field. Tampa Bay has fought off the returning Panthers and the rising Falcons to hold a share of the South lead after twelve weeks. Jon Gruden has done a solid coaching job, but keeping Jeff Garcia out of the starting line-up for so long may have cost his team a win. Even if the Bucs can’t hold onto the division, they should be in a prime spot to take a wildcard slot. Expect to see them come January.

Continue reading "Joey A's Opening Drive: Week 13"

Seasons Greetings!!!!

     I am giving you a gift in this holiday season. Over the next few weeks most of us will spend our time meeting and greeting, traveling and shopping, and stuffing and laughing - so I thought that I would share one of my favorite pastimes, ogling and drooling.

Continue reading "Giving Thanks!-Houston Texans Cheerleaders Video"

Wow...I don't think I've ever pegged a Vikings matchup as exactly as what I did before last Sunday's MN-TB contest.  Unfortunately, my incredibly accurate prediction came in a losing effort.

Continue reading "Tampa Bay 19, Minnesota 13: A Tale ..."

Tomorrow's contest between the Minnesota Vikings and the Tampa Bay Buccanneers will likely shape up to be a tight, defensive-type struggle.  The Bucs can stop the run, which doesn't bode well for the Adrian Peterson-led Vikings, while the Vikes can do the same, neutralizing the Bucs' main threats as well.

Continue reading "Minnesota-Tampa Bay Preview: A Slim ..."

Holy crap, the Oakland Raiders suck! How do you take a once proud franchise and systematically drain it down the toilet? John Madden, put down the turkey leg and race your Winnebago straight to Oakland and do something about this please!

Continue reading "The Blackest of Holes"

n! And apon my return to the annals of sports legions, in a tribute to my Giants of old, I became a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan. The Bucs had a great beginning to this decade and after a coac

Continue reading "A Connecticut Buccaneer in King Brady's Court"

of his draft day drama and has his team in a great position to repeat.

Minnesota Vikings (5-4) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3)

Instead of former starter Tavaris Jackson’s 150 yards, one interception outings, the Vikings have Gus Frerotte’s 300 yards, three interception days. I suppose that’s an upgrade. Quarterback is still the issue in Minnesota, as Frerotte is not the present or long-term solution. Adrian Peterson must stay healthy for his Vikings to secure the NFC North crown, which is the only way any North team will make it into the post-season.

Continue reading "Joey A's NFL Week Eleven Preview"

A week filled with late game nervousness and dominant performances. The Texans were the ones doing the prowling as they tore apart the Bengals. 'America's Team' didn't look so sharp, but they found a way to win. The NFL brought a real shootout to London (hopefully no one was hurt!) and Brett Favre didn't look good for the second consecutive week, but thankfully for the Jets, they played the Chiefs. I'll cover those games in this week's Fallout report!

Continue reading "NFL Week 8 Fallout"

s go to a tough 0-8.

Winners - Houston Texans

UPSET SPECIAL
4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Dallas Cowboys

My crystal ball is back! The upset special portion was scrapped from last week's predictions due to the crystal ball's suspension, but after a lengthy talk and a few laughs the crystal ball has promised not to act up and has promised to get this week's upset special pick correct. Dallas has tumbled the past couple weeks with its injuries and an embarrassing loss to the Rams last week. Brad Johnson didn't look good against St.Louis as he made his first start in quite some time. He'll get the start again as Romo is not expected to return until mid-November. Dallas will face a good Tampa Bay team. Some could say Tampa could be favored in this game after everything Dallas has been through the last couple of weeks. Tampa does have the better record. Their coming off a drumming of the Seahawks on Sunday Night Football last week. I looked into my crystal ball and I saw the score and I saw the future. "Pleasant" is not a word that describes Cowboy fans' mood next week. My crystal ball is back. My crystal ball picks Tampa Bay!

Continue reading "NFL Week 8 Predictions"

Louis to the Titans of Tennessee, what's not to love? I can't wait for week seven in the NFL!

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-2) at Dallas Cowboys (4-3)

Now that Dallas officially won’t have Tony Romo until after their bye week in November, let the drama begin. After losing two in a row, the ‘Boys can’t afford another loss. However, as far as I’m concerned, the show gets more entertaining if they lose. (I probably shouldn’t be so biased, but it’ll make for good television.) Brad Johnson will need to quickly rebound from his three interception showing against the Rams. For that happen though, Marion Barber must take even more of a central role to the Dallas offense. Roy Williams and Terrell Owens have to find ways to coexist as tight end Jason Witten will get the bulk of Johnson’s throws. Defensively, Dallas was a train wreck last week, getting abused on the ground. With Jon Gruden’s proclivity towards running the ball, I’ll have my eyes intently focused on this outcome.

Continue reading "Joey A's NFL Week Eight Preview"

th, that might be enough to sneak into the playoffs, given Pittsburgh’s difficult schedule.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 37, Carolina Panthers 3

What a difference a Jeff Garcia makes. Hopefully this is the game that proves to Coach Jon Gruden that Garcia is the man for the starting job (everyone else knew). Warrick Dunn was able to put up 115 yards on the ground against the vaunted Carolina defense. The Tampa defense showed its mettle, picking off Jake Delhomme three times. Delhomme did hit Steve Smith for 112 yards, but the star receiver never made it into the end zone. The Panthers QB had his worst game of the season at probably the worst time possible. Now the Buccaneers have tied the Panthers’ record at 4-2, but in essence hold a one game lead thanks to the head-to-head win. In a scrappy division, this game could come back to haunt John Fox and the Panthers.

Continue reading "Joey A's Final Drive: Week 5"

offense to give their defense a much-needed break without Bob Sanders.

Carolina Panthers (4-1) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2)

The NFC South is surprisingly more competitive than anybody wanted to predict. Carolina has been the “sexy” pick for years, and now may be poised to finally claim that title. John Fox can rest easy, as his coaching seat is now only lukewarm. The Panthers’ plan of giving Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams 35-45 total carries a game to set up Jake Delhomme’s play action pass has worked to perfection this season. Don’t expect that to change on Sunday against Tampa Bay, who along with Atlanta, sits directly behind Carolina in the standings. The Bucs will have an ornery Jeff Garcia starting under center, who returns to the line-up after Brian Griese was knocked out of last week’s contest with a swollen right elbow. He’ll be looking to impress Jon Gruden in hopes of keeping the job, which will work if he wins and won’t if he loses. Or maybe not, who can really tell what Gruden thinks when it comes to his quarterbacks?

Continue reading "Joey A's NFL Week Six Preview"

NFC East

Week 6

Hello East Fans,

Well after a week of Hiatus to curse the football gods for my team’s embarrassing losses. I felt a preview of the Best division in Football was the only way to quench the thirst. Every team in the division except for Washington is on the road, let’s start with the leaders of the pack.

Continue reading "The East!"

       Sean Salisbury offers his fantasy football preview for week 6 of the NFL. Check this out every week at my blog.

Continue reading "Sean Salisbury's Fantasy Preview for Week 6"

It was an interesting week in the National Football League. A few surprises, a big meltdown by one team and one bruised and battered team found a way to win a big prime-time game. Let's get right to it--game by game.

Continue reading "NFL Week 5 Fallout"

First off, I want to introduce myself. My name is Jake, I live in Houston. I'm glad I found this place. I've read a lot of bloggers material today from predictions to their favorite teams' rants, it's great. I enjoyed it. Sports, baby sports!

Continue reading "NFL Week 5 Predictions"

ir chance to return to .500 and to start catching up to the division-leading Titans.  

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) at Denver Broncos (3-1)  

Brian Griese will try again this week to lead the Bucs to victory against a former team. If he’s still hung up on leaving Denver though, he holds a grudge really well. Still, holding down Denver’s high-powered offense will be an impressive feat if the Bucs defense can manage it. In fact, if they can it will make this match-up pretty even in terms of offense on defense. Going up against two tough defensive units the past two weeks in Chicago and Green Bay, Griese should welcome the chance to throw against one of the worst defenses in the NFL. Denver needs to start playing up to their potential on both sides of the ball. With Dre’ Bly and Champ Bailey in their secondary, I expect more interceptions than the one they’ve nabbed so far. Jay Cutler and the offense should rebound after their showing against Kansas City, but they can’t be required to score 35 every week. Holding Tampa under 20 should be enough to get the Broncos to 4-1.  

Continue reading "Joey A's NFL Week Five Preview"

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won two consecutive emotional games against the NFC North. Despite these ups and downs, both are tied for first place in their respective divisions after four weeks.

Continue reading "Buccaneers and Packers have Questions ..."

The Crying Game

The Terrell Owens story

Hello NFL fans,

Well here we are, week four of the third year with his last team. This will be his last team, I truly believe that. If I were an owner I would rather get a letter full of anthrax and then imprisoned IN Cuba to spend the rest of my days. The continuous onslaught of reporters and fans condemning my name and wanting my head on a stick would be too much for me to bare.

Continue reading ""

His wide receivers need to help out if they want to be a .500 club.

Green Bay Packers (2-1) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1)

If you’re a fantasy football player and are wondering if I think Brian Griese will pass for 400 yards again this week, let me fill you in: that won’t happen ever again. There’s no way Green Bay’s defense is that porous against the pass, even if Al Harris is out for an extended period of time. They still have Charles Woodson, who won’t have to chase around Terrell Owens like he did in their loss last week. Their other cover corner Al Harris may be out for the season, but nothing definitive has been announced yet. Recent reports suggest he may even be back by mid-season. Green Bay’s running game needs to find its rhythm with Ryan Grant; otherwise Aaron Rodger’s solid play won’t mean anything.

Continue reading "Joey A's NFL Week Four Preview"

              The economic “crisis" is not that complicated. The stock market always wants positive press to continue its trading

Continue reading "Economic Crisis"

This is an ongoing record of the funniest sports' quotes from the major and local sports talk shows like ATH, PTI, Jim Rome, etc.  I missed a few during Hurricane Ike and could use your help. Feel free to contribute some of you own from TV and radio or comment on the ones you see here. Your new quotes will be integrated daily as part of the ongoing record.  To post a quote or make a comment just follow the comment link at the bottom.

Continue reading "Funny Sports Quotes"

Your favorite method of getting your football returns this week . The popular video series can be found at my blog.

Continue reading "Fantasy girl returns"

Well, this game ended just how it started: ugly. That’s really the only way to describe yesterday’s return of Brian Griese. From the opening play when Tommie Harris got involved with Bucs offensive lineman Donald Penn, it was obvious Tampa Bay was playing dirtier than usual. After early penalties on both teams, the referees seemed to contain most of the emotion. Though it proved to not be enough as another fight broke out in overtime with the game on the line. After the defense halted Tampa on third down, one of the Bucs offensive lineman refused to get off of a Bears defender, even going so far as to forearm the Bear in the facemask. Obviously, this starts an old-fashioned scrum. Entering late, Bears cornerback Charles Tillman got involved with a Buccaneer trying to helmet him in the back. Tillman throws that player to the ground and gets flagged for unnecessary roughness, giving the Bucs new life in the form of a first down. Brian Griese then methodically leads his offense down the field and sets up the game winning field goal.

Continue reading "Griese Returns with a Vengeance in Bears Loss"

If you had told me six months ago that the Bears and Bucs would play in week 3 and Brian Griese was going to be involved in a quarterback controversy, I would’ve had no problem believing you. In fact, I would’ve had money on it. The weird part is Brian Griese is playing for Tampa Bay…again. I’m sure Brian’s pretty excited at the prospect of beating the team where he wasted two years of his career. Honestly, I might be more afraid of facing Brian Griese in this game than I would be if Jeff Garcia was starting. Now, before you stop reading because I’m an idiot, let me explain why.

Continue reading "Joe's Gameday Preview: Bucs at Bears"

   I just wanted to let you know that I may be unable to post for a few days. I live south of Houston, near Galveston, Texas. As hurricane Ike approaches there may be power outages and loss of internet access. If that is the case, I will be unable to write my column. Remember though, there are things much more important than sports. If you need Ike information, you can go to:

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   After observing The Vikings-Packers game on Monday night I came to a very surprising conclusion.

   No I knew that Rodgers would be a good quarterback. Look back on my previous blog on why I was glad that the Bears didn't get Favre.

Continue reading "The Bears Have a chance to be Players ..."

Houston Texans injury update:

Megan Manfull of the Houston Chronicle has reported these injuries -

               Running back Ahman Green - It wasn't a cramp that limited his play Sunday. He has a sprained ankle.

Continue reading "Injury Update"

Here is the great Jack Buck's poem that was given on September 17, 2001."Since this nation was founded ... under God
More than 200 years ago
We have been the bastion of freedom
The light that keeps the free world aglow

Continue reading "Jack Buck's Poem remembering 9-11"

Believe. Believe. It’s the one word in sports that says so much but says so little. You’ve seen signs in every NFL stadium at some point with this simple word. ”Believe.” When MLB baseball approaches the postseason every year, the word reappears. “Believe.” But believe in what I ask you? Do the Chicago Cubs “believe” that they will win a World Championship? Or do they “believe” that some strange twist of fate will ruin another promising season. What does your team “believe” in?

Continue reading "Believe!"

NFL Week 1 Results
NY Giants 16 Wahington 7
Pittsburgh 38 Houston 17
Atlanta 34 Detroit 21
Tennessee 17 Jacksonville 10
Baltimore 17 Cincinnati 10
Philadelphia 38 St. Louis 3

Continue reading "NFL SCOREBOARD"

You can get your fantasy football updates here as well as columns, funny sports quotes, injury updates and anything else sports related. If your not already seeing this video just hit the sportspoet link and you will get everything that you need to keep up with your favorite sports teams. Thank you for visiting this site.

Continue reading "Fantasy Football Video by Sportsgirl"

This is an ongoing record of the funniest sports' quotes from the major and local sports talk shows like ATH, PTI, Jim Rome, etc.  Feel free to contribute some of you own from TV and radio or comment on the ones you see here. Your new quotes will be integrated daily as part of the ongoing record.  To post a quote or make a comment just follow the comment link at the bottom.

Continue reading "Funny Sports Quotes-September 10"

ight as the Jags effectively won a "war of attrition" type contest last night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, expected by most to be a considerably better opponent than both the Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins, the first two teams Jacksonville unimpressively faced this preseason. Apparently, the Jags were able to get some good work done this past week, despite the lingering Tropical Storm Fay.

Continue reading "A Bit of Reassurance as Jags Win ..."

So as I sit on my couch, watching the weather, I am waiting...and waiting. For the madness to hit. And while I should be lesson planning on my second unexpected day off, the question on my mind is, 'How will this affect the Jags?' And they're playing Tampa this weekend, which I have to imagine is also being affected by all this.

Continue reading "Hurricane/Tropical Storm Fay Getting in the Way"

*Editor's Note: This piece was written Tuesday night but, due to Internet problems, is being posted just now.

Only the NFL can make headlines with the release of its regular season schedule. Granted, there are only a handful of games for fans to absorb, so the attention given to each week is natural. However, this speaks increasingly to the booming popularity of the league.

Continue reading "Bears Schedule Analysis"

Brian Griese was traded back to his old team today for an undisclosed 2009 draft pick. We all knew this was coming, especially since he was due a $300,000 roster bonus tomorrow and wouldn’t have stayed on the roster even if he hadn’t been traded. This is comforting news for Angelo, who got something, anything, for Greesee rather than just giving him the ol’ das boot. I don’t really understand what the Bucs were thinking. Take a gander at their current QB roster for ‘08:

Continue reading "Griese traded to Bucs for '09 draft ..."