Buccaneers Are 1-0 For The First Time Since 2005

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Behind a defense that was nearly impenetrable in the second half and the first career receiving touchdowns by Mike Williams and Micheal Spurlock, the Buccaneers rallied for a 17-14 season-opening win over Cleveland.

Raheem Morris says he has two goals for his defense, and neither center around the NFL’s defensive yardage ranking.  Those two goals: Score and get the ball back.

No, Ronde Barber didn’t quite get in the end zone for his 14th career touchdown on his 38th career interception in the second quarter, but he did indeed get the ball back.  And that’s something the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did time and again in the second half to produce a 17-14 comeback win over the Cleveland Browns at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday.

Tampa Bay’s defense did not allow a single first down by the Browns for a game-time span of 24 minutes and six seconds in the second half, allowing QB Josh Freeman to produce the only points after the intermission on a 33-yard touchdown pass to WR Micheal Spurlock.  Cleveland’s eight drives of the second half ended like this: fumble, three-and-out, three-and-out, three-and-out, three-and-out, interception, turnover on downs, end of game.

Read full article and see great clips on the Buccaneers official website: Rise Up! Defense Comes Alive in Win Over Browns

 

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Pulling It Together

For any NFL team, the offseason is one long and continuous (and increasingly busy) process of getting ready for the next regular-season opener. For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a big part of that process in 2010 is constructing an offense that is more explosive, more diverse and more consistent than the year before.

Josh Freeman says that goal is very much in sight.

The Buccaneers' top 2009 draft pick, now barreling towards his first opening-day start, Freeman formed that encouraging opinion after leading his team through its initial set of organized team activity days (OTAs) last week. Freeman himself has been working tirelessly since the end of last season to put himself in position to raise his game, and team management has helped out by seriously fleshing out his array of weapons. The difference was noticeable last week.

"The first day this year and the first day last year?" said Freeman. "We're light years ahead right now."

 

Read the full article here.

 

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