Winning In Halftime
December 21, 2009 at 12:44am by Scott • 5 Comments »
The best way to look at this game is to divide it into two halves. Here’s the first half numbers:
Rushing Yards: 56
Passing Yards: 61
Completion %: 5/12 (41.7%)
Touchdowns: 0
Interceptions (offense): 1
Passer Rating: 23.3
Sacks: 0
Interceptions (defense): 0
Field Goals: 1/2
By anyone’s standards, a shitty, shitty game. It’s what we’ve come to expect from this Bucs this season. For god’s sake, Josh Freeman was intercepted on his first fucking pass. It’s okay, there were other games on and my emotional involvement with the team is pretty much at a low anyway. But then something miraculous happened. The second half happened.
Rushing Yards: 78
Passing Yards: 144
Completion %: 11/14 (78.6%)
Touchdowns: 2
Interceptions (offense): 0
Passer Rating: 149.1
Sacks: 1
Interceptions (defense): 4
Field Goals: 2/2
Cadillac Williams came to life, Freeman settled down and stopped rushing his throws, the defense started making the splash plays that had been eluding them for so long. It just all came together. The team made halftime adjustments that worked. Let me repeat that: The team made halftime adjustments that worked.
Do you realize how huge that is? The third quarter has been disastrous for this team this year. It’s been one of the most infuriating things about the season. They’d come out flat, go into the locker room at halftime and actually get worse in the third quarter. It’s a sign of maturity for the coaching staff that they can make this kind of change. Now Freeman knows that he can recover from a bad first half. Now the defense knows that their efforts to get the back back won’t necessarily be wasted. The offense kept the gas down when they got the lead and worked to increase it instead of collapsing under its weight and finding a way to lose. What this team learned about itself this afternoon is so much more important than any draft pick.
Other notes:
- What happened to Maurice Stovall? Two drops and one catch for three yards. If that’s what they wanted, they could have just dressed Michael Clayton.
- Is there any doubt that Elbert Mack is a system corner suited for the Tampa 2? The guy was falling apart under Jim Bates, but now that Raheem Morris is coordinating the defense, he’s like a whole different player.
- I know the Seahawks are one of the worst teams the Bucs have played this season, but winning in Seattle is no small feat. That’s a tough stadium to play in.
There were a lot more specifics in this game that are worth mentioning (the Donald Penn false start that turned into an offensive catalyst, Sabby Piscitelli‘s continued insistence on missing tackles, the Geno Hayes explosion, etc.), but it’s late and I’m done for the night. I’ll be back tomorrow night to go over more of the game. Leave your comments and I’ll address them then.
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5 Comments to “Winning In Halftime”
HouseofG (December 21, 2009 at 10:10am) :
Glad you brought up Donald Penn (it was like every member of the O-line felt left out if they didn’t get a stupid penalty). I really thought that something positive might come from that free hit on Freeman. Can’t remember whether that was the second half, but I think it was…
Hope Tanard Jackson is alright.
christomahon (December 21, 2009 at 03:00pm) :
Good summary about how they turned things around and actually kicked a team like Seattle down and did not let them back up. I know we have New Orleans to deal with next week, but since this is called Bucstats, I came up with some interesting ones.
Under Jim Bates, 29.4 points allowed, 378 avg yards allowed, and 169 avg rushing yards allowed Opposing QB’s had a 94 QB rating, with an avg attempt of 7.93, avg completion of 13.11, TD% of 8% and an interception percentage of 4.3%.
Under Raheem, 17.3 points allowed, 324 avg yards, 134 avg rushing yards. Opposing QB rating of 68.4, avg per attempt of 6.05, avg per completion of 10.28, TD% of 2.2%, interception percentage of 3.7%. Now I know this was against some average QB’s, but still, it is progress from where we were at and it is nice to feel good about something again. I haven’t looked at average per play and 3rd down percentage yet, but I have a feeling those should show improvment also. It looks like the Defense is back on their way to at least being considered good or average again, as opposed to whatever the heck was going on earlier in the year. Brees next week will be the real test.
HouseofG (December 21, 2009 at 04:08pm) :
Bummer….
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -Tampa Bay rookie receiver Sammie Stroughter will miss the remainder of the season after breaking his right foot during the Buccaneers’ road victory over the Seattle Seahawks . The seventh-round draft pick was hurt during the second half of Sunday’s 24-7 win. He was placed on injured reserve Monday. Stroughter is third on the team with 31 receptions for 334 yards and one touchdown. He also averaged 29.5 yards on 11 kickoff returns, running one back 97 yards for a TD.
JScott (December 21, 2009 at 06:27pm) :
I hate to hear that HOG (ha!).. At least the injuries this season havent felt as plenty as when Gruden and Allen were here.
campyone (December 21, 2009 at 08:18pm) :
You’re right, Seattle isn’t very good but beating them at home on the west coast (of the U.S., not Tarpon Springs) is no mean feat. I’d like to have the #1 pick but a choice between Suh and Eric Berry is a pretty good choice to have.
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