I was really excited to watch the Bucs play their third preseason game live on FOX. With the #1 announcing team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, no less. (The typical announcing team for Bucs games tend to be made up of one undergrad broadcast journalism major and one guy who played football during the strike.) Thing is, the game wasn’t quite as fun as I’d hoped it would be, and having Troy and Joe around didn’t help much. Case in point, this Aikman gem:
The hard part is, as a coach and oftentimes even as players, coming out of a game like this, that’s this sloppy, and trying to maintain some level of confidence that we’re a good football team.
Um, thanks Troy.
So Troy has no confidence in the Bucs. But me? I have lots! Or, ok, I have a little. Because there were a few good things that happened in this game. For instance:
1) We have a QB with an arm! Saturday morning Raheem named Byron Leftwich the Bucs’ starting QB over Luke McCown and Josh Freeman. And considering the fact that new offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski wants to create a vertical passing game, we need someone who can throw deep. Leftwich can.
(Now if he can just throw the ball to someone, we’ll really be in business.)
2) Caddy is back! Yep, Cadillac Williams had an awesome game. He looked liked the old Caddy, charging ahead and finding the hole every time he got the ball. Why’s this so great? Because the former Rookie of the Year has come back from two season- and potentially career-ending injuries, one in each of his knees. Plus, the Bucs need a strong running game this year, seeing as the passing game may be something less than stellar.
(Let’s just keep our collective fingers crossed that he stays healthy.)
3) The defensive line looked good! Even though the Bucs didn’t really score much (the final score was 10-6 in the Dolphins’ favor), the first string defense only gave up a single field goal. The pass rush wasn’t huge, but the Dolphins’ run game (featuring Ronnie Brown and Rickie Williams) was rendered inefffective, and Chad Pennington didn’t throw for a single first-half touchdown.
(What happens when our secondary is really challenged? Outlook not so good.)
4) The Chucky Face will NOT be replaced with the Bambi face! FOX made sure to get a close-up of Josh Freeman when he took to the field in the third quarter, and dude had a deer-in-headlights look that does not exactly inspire confidence. Twenty-one year old Freeman has a baby face to begin with, and you have to think that opposing defenses are psyched to beat the poor guy into the ground. That being said, Freeman isn’t starting this season, and he likely won’t even be the #2 guy.
(Until after the bye week, when all bets will likely be off.)
QB Josh Freeman faces an undersized defensive line.