NawlinsBucFan
Practice Squad
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2005
- Messages
- 495
- Reaction score
- 0
It’s time to talk Fins/Bucs. With both teams coming off ugly losses this could be a huge swing in momentum for the team that wins. So lets see how we stack up. Now, even though I am a big time Bucs fan I’m going to try to call this one down the middle. I fully expect all the die-hard Fin-homers to attack everything that I give the nod to the Bucs on but that’s just part of the fun. Here we go….
QB- Brian Griese vs Gus Ferrot (I know). Frerotte is an ok QB as a #2 option. He doesn’t have great decision making skills and seems nervous and uncomfortable in the pocket. He does have a pretty decent arm for deep passes. Griese is Gus Frerotte without the arm strength. That’s bad. Real bad.
Fins.
RB- C Williams, M Pittman, M Alstott and E. Graham vs R Williams, R Brown, S Morris, T Minor, J Chatman. Brown may be the most versatile back in the game and Morris and Minor are all very good back ups. Ricky is a huge question mark. There’s little question that he’s still a good back but there are big questions about his passion and commitment. Chatman is unremarkable. For the Bucs the major question is how is Cadillac feeling. If he’s 85% or better he should be a huge part of the Bucs’ gameplan. Pittman is a back up that could start on a lot of teams. Last year he nearly reached 1000 yards despite sitting out the first 4 games. He is also one of the best receivers on the team and is actually used as such. Alstott remains one of the best power backs in the league. Graham may be the fastest RB in the game (Yes he has better football speed than Ronnie) but he won’t likely see much playing time. Frankly folks I see this as a push. The edge will come down to which coach better utilizes the talent in their backfields.
Push (I expect this will stir it up but I call it like I see it folks)
TE- Alex Smith and Anthony Becht vs Randy McMichael and ????. Becht is a very good blocking TE with decent hands. Smith is a decent blocker with excellent hands. Randy is an elite TE and a legitimate weapon. Smith will be that type of TE soon, but he is a rookie.
Fins
WR- Michael Clayton, Joey Galloway, Ike Hillard vs Chris Chambers, Marty Booker, David Boston. This is a tough one to call. I really think that Chambers and Boston give Miami the edge in athleticism but Tampa’s WRs have been more consistent and more productive. Clayton has played almost to the level of Hines Ward when it comes to blocking downfield for the running game and Galloway has 23 fewer yards than Chambers and Booker combined.
Bucs
O-Line. I don’t think the Fins o-line is as bad as some Dolfans claim. I also don’t think the Bucs line is as bad as some Buc fans think. However, the Bucs line has dominated at times, particularly late in games when the Bucs have the lead. I haven’t seen that kind of play from the Fins.
Bucs
D-Line- Spires, McFarland, Hovan, Rice vs Carter, Traylor, Holliday, Taylor. These are two of the strongest units in the NFL. Carter, Traylor and Holliday are definitely more recognizable names but they aren’t necessarily more productive. Fins line has more tackles but the Bucs line has more sacks. Both teams have great depth. Miami’s backups are more experienced but Tampa’s are younger and more explosive off the line. This is another one that I expect a fight about.
Push
LB- D. Brooks, S Quarles, R Nece vs J Seau, Z Thomas, C. Crowder. I’m not sure if Seau is healthy yet or not but if he isn’t that will improve Miami’s lineup. As a fan of the opposition I can only hope Seau is healthy because he is a weak spot. Zack Thomas may be the best middle linebacker in the league against the run and that includes Ray Lewis but he also is a liability in pass coverage. The Bucs’ LBs are solid against the run and great in coverage and regularly produce big plays and turnovers. The fact that Miami occasionally drops Taylor back into coverage makes this closer but not close enough.
Bucs
DBs- R. Barber, B. Kelly, J. Phillips, D. Jackson, Will Allen vs Sam Madison, T Jones, L Schulters and R Howard. I know most of you are going to jump on this also but I don’t know what the deal is with Madison. He should be a guy who takes half the field away but so far this year he’s been getting burned a lot. Has he lost a step? Tebucky is still a very athletic guy but I think he’s missing something upstairs. Tampa basically has 2 shut down corners right now and would be #1 against the pass if not for dropping to the prevent defense in the 4th quarter of the first 4 games. Only one guy on the field has the words “Super Bowl MVP†on his resume and he’ll be playing in the Tampa secondary.
Bucs
Coaching. Jon Gruden vs Nick Saban. This is another close one. I think Saban is a terrific coach who make good decisions. He seems, from the outside looking in, to be more involved in the defensive side of the game and is willing to trust Linehan to run the offense. Jon Gruden has a ring but he also has two consecutive losing seasons. While Bill Muir and Jay Gruden help with the offense Jon is the offensive coordinator. Tampa has a Hall of Fame caliber DC in Monty Kiffin. Miami has the edge offensively while Tampa gets the defensive nod. Both teams seem even on special teams which makes this a….
Push.
Bucs- 4
Fins- 2
Push- 3
Obviously when you have the #1 defense (TB) verses the #17 offense (MIA) and the #4 defense (MIA) verses the #19 offense (TB) you can expect a low scoring game. Don’t be surprised if someone’s D outscores their own O. The key will be which coach will be more patient and stuck with the run even though both running games will likely struggle. The team with the most pass attempts in this one will lose.
My prediction,
Tampa Bay 17
Miami 13
QB- Brian Griese vs Gus Ferrot (I know). Frerotte is an ok QB as a #2 option. He doesn’t have great decision making skills and seems nervous and uncomfortable in the pocket. He does have a pretty decent arm for deep passes. Griese is Gus Frerotte without the arm strength. That’s bad. Real bad.
Fins.
RB- C Williams, M Pittman, M Alstott and E. Graham vs R Williams, R Brown, S Morris, T Minor, J Chatman. Brown may be the most versatile back in the game and Morris and Minor are all very good back ups. Ricky is a huge question mark. There’s little question that he’s still a good back but there are big questions about his passion and commitment. Chatman is unremarkable. For the Bucs the major question is how is Cadillac feeling. If he’s 85% or better he should be a huge part of the Bucs’ gameplan. Pittman is a back up that could start on a lot of teams. Last year he nearly reached 1000 yards despite sitting out the first 4 games. He is also one of the best receivers on the team and is actually used as such. Alstott remains one of the best power backs in the league. Graham may be the fastest RB in the game (Yes he has better football speed than Ronnie) but he won’t likely see much playing time. Frankly folks I see this as a push. The edge will come down to which coach better utilizes the talent in their backfields.
Push (I expect this will stir it up but I call it like I see it folks)
TE- Alex Smith and Anthony Becht vs Randy McMichael and ????. Becht is a very good blocking TE with decent hands. Smith is a decent blocker with excellent hands. Randy is an elite TE and a legitimate weapon. Smith will be that type of TE soon, but he is a rookie.
Fins
WR- Michael Clayton, Joey Galloway, Ike Hillard vs Chris Chambers, Marty Booker, David Boston. This is a tough one to call. I really think that Chambers and Boston give Miami the edge in athleticism but Tampa’s WRs have been more consistent and more productive. Clayton has played almost to the level of Hines Ward when it comes to blocking downfield for the running game and Galloway has 23 fewer yards than Chambers and Booker combined.
Bucs
O-Line. I don’t think the Fins o-line is as bad as some Dolfans claim. I also don’t think the Bucs line is as bad as some Buc fans think. However, the Bucs line has dominated at times, particularly late in games when the Bucs have the lead. I haven’t seen that kind of play from the Fins.
Bucs
D-Line- Spires, McFarland, Hovan, Rice vs Carter, Traylor, Holliday, Taylor. These are two of the strongest units in the NFL. Carter, Traylor and Holliday are definitely more recognizable names but they aren’t necessarily more productive. Fins line has more tackles but the Bucs line has more sacks. Both teams have great depth. Miami’s backups are more experienced but Tampa’s are younger and more explosive off the line. This is another one that I expect a fight about.
Push
LB- D. Brooks, S Quarles, R Nece vs J Seau, Z Thomas, C. Crowder. I’m not sure if Seau is healthy yet or not but if he isn’t that will improve Miami’s lineup. As a fan of the opposition I can only hope Seau is healthy because he is a weak spot. Zack Thomas may be the best middle linebacker in the league against the run and that includes Ray Lewis but he also is a liability in pass coverage. The Bucs’ LBs are solid against the run and great in coverage and regularly produce big plays and turnovers. The fact that Miami occasionally drops Taylor back into coverage makes this closer but not close enough.
Bucs
DBs- R. Barber, B. Kelly, J. Phillips, D. Jackson, Will Allen vs Sam Madison, T Jones, L Schulters and R Howard. I know most of you are going to jump on this also but I don’t know what the deal is with Madison. He should be a guy who takes half the field away but so far this year he’s been getting burned a lot. Has he lost a step? Tebucky is still a very athletic guy but I think he’s missing something upstairs. Tampa basically has 2 shut down corners right now and would be #1 against the pass if not for dropping to the prevent defense in the 4th quarter of the first 4 games. Only one guy on the field has the words “Super Bowl MVP†on his resume and he’ll be playing in the Tampa secondary.
Bucs
Coaching. Jon Gruden vs Nick Saban. This is another close one. I think Saban is a terrific coach who make good decisions. He seems, from the outside looking in, to be more involved in the defensive side of the game and is willing to trust Linehan to run the offense. Jon Gruden has a ring but he also has two consecutive losing seasons. While Bill Muir and Jay Gruden help with the offense Jon is the offensive coordinator. Tampa has a Hall of Fame caliber DC in Monty Kiffin. Miami has the edge offensively while Tampa gets the defensive nod. Both teams seem even on special teams which makes this a….
Push.
Bucs- 4
Fins- 2
Push- 3
Obviously when you have the #1 defense (TB) verses the #17 offense (MIA) and the #4 defense (MIA) verses the #19 offense (TB) you can expect a low scoring game. Don’t be surprised if someone’s D outscores their own O. The key will be which coach will be more patient and stuck with the run even though both running games will likely struggle. The team with the most pass attempts in this one will lose.
My prediction,
Tampa Bay 17
Miami 13
