Bolts Win Streak Ends at 3 - Offense/Shootout Woes Continue

By JC De La Torre

Well, it was nice while it lasted. The Tampa Bay Lightning's modest three game win streak was snapped when the offense failed to produce and the bugaboo of the shootout reared its ugly head in a 2-1 shoot out loss to the Montreal Canadiens.

It was a tough, competitive hockey game for the Lightning against a playoff caliber opponent, a good measuring stick to see how far away they are from being a contender. The answer? Not too far if the last four games are to be believed. Tampa Bay has scoring power with superstars like Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and young players like Ryan Malone and Steven Stamkos. They just haven't been converting on their opportunities. Tampa Bay has scored three or less goals in thirty-four of their thirty-six games this season and in the new NHL, where scoring is a premium - that's just not going to get the job done.

Tampa Bay took the lead midway through the first on a power play goal by Vaclav Prospal. The 1-0 lead would hold until early in the third period, where 46 seconds into the period, Guillaume Latendresse tied the game on the rebound that hit Mike Smith and went into the net. Each team had chances to win in winding minutes of regulation, Tampa Bay's 6'5" behemoth Evgeny Artyukhin showed his strength and speed, bulling past the Montreal defense with 1:48 left in the period and slipped the puck through the five hole of Montreal goalie Carey Price but the odd angle saw the puck skid through the crease and safely wide of the net. Montreal's Andrei Kostitsyn's blast went off the goal post with six seconds left in regulation, sending the game to overtime.

In the extra session, Artyukhin again showed his skill, bulling past a defender, exuding patience as Price flopped to the ice, but he couldn't get the shot high enough to finish the play, a minute later, Montreal's Maxim Lapierre had Mike Smith down and dead to rights but Smith robbed him with an unbelievable glove save that had Lapierre looking up to the hockey gods.

In the shootout, Smith wasn't very good, allowing Montreal's Alexei Kovalev and Maxim Lapierre to score pretty easily. The Lightning got a nifty goal from Jussi Jokinen, but Vaclav Prospal and Vincent Lecavalier failed in their opportunities to give Montreal the victory.

Tampa Bay earned points for the fourth straight game, while Montreal improved to 5-0-1 in their last six. Montreal did lose Alex Tanguay in the first period after being checked hard into the boards by Artyukhin. He reportedly has an upper body injury and is expected to undergo an MRI exam on today.

Bucs Collapse Not the Worst in NFL History, just the last 15 years...

By JC De La Torre

As it turns out, the Buccaneers four game collapse from 9-3 to 9-7 wasn't the worst in NFL history, its just the worst in over a decade. The 1993 Miami Dolphins started the season off at 9-2 before collapsing with a five game losing streak to finish 9-7 and out of the playoffs.



Some other notable late season collapses included -
1996 Washington Redskins - started 7-1 and finished 9-7, missing the playoffs.
2003 Minnesota Vikings - started 6-0 and finished 9-7, missing the playoffs.
2007 Detroit Lions - started 6-2 and finished 7-9, missing the playoffs
2008 New York Jets - started the season 8-3, finished 9-7, out of the playoffs
2008 Denver Broncos - were the first team in NFL history to be in or tied for 1st place in their division from Week 1-Week 16 and lose the division in Week 17.

Still, the Bucs choke job was the worst in the league since the 93 Dolphins and that is not something anyone can be proud of.

On the bright side, though, the Buccaneers are no longer the last team to go through an entire NFL season (that was not strike shortened) winless. Thank you Detroit Lions. If the Lions lose their first 10 games of 2009, Tampa Bay will no longer have the longest losing streak in NFL history (26 straight) either. Detroit made a good first step by promoting Tom Legwand to President and Martin Mayhew to general manager. Who gives out promotions after an 0-16 season? The Detroit Lions do.

Cadillac's Injury Not As Severe As Originally Feared

By JC De La Torre

Finally, some good news out of the debacle against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. Pewter Report is reporting that Carnell Williams' tear of the patella tendon in his left knee was not as severe as the one he sustained last season to his right knee that jeopardized his career.

“It is. It’s torn, but it’s not the severity of the last one,” Williams told Pewter Report, “It’s more of an off the bone tear, so this process should be much easier. If it is the way it was explained to me, it’s like the Mark Jones tear. After six or eight weeks he was rolling. I’m just hoping for the best and go in for surgery and look forward to rehab."

"That’s the encouraging word,” Gruden told PR, “It’s a patella injury that is the same type of injury that Mark Jones had. Mark Jones, obviously, has returned to full health. It will be another grueling process for him. I’m just excited to see him come back to life as a ballcarrier. I thought he caught the ball well. All indications are that he has a chance to be ready for training camp, but it will be a long road to recovery.”

The TBSB wish Cadillac the best in his recovery.

Bucs 2009 Opponents...YIKES....

By JC De La Torre

The Pewter Report has given us the 2009 opponents after Tampa Bay's 3rd place finish and historic late season choke job. Its not pretty Bucs fans - Tampa Bay will only face three teams with losing records going into next season and have 8 games against 2008 playoff teams.


Home
Atlanta (11-5)
Carolina (12-4)
New Orleans (8-8)
Dallas (9-7)
New York Giants (11-5)
New York Jets (9-7)
New England (11-6)
Green Bay (6-10)

Away
Atlanta (11-5)
Carolina (12-4)
New Orleans (8-8)
Philadelphia (9-6-1)
Washington (9-7)
Buffalo (7-9)
Miami (11-5)
Seattle (4-12)

Historic Collapse By the Buccaneers, Caddy's Career May Be Over

By JC De La Torre

It was one of the greatest late season collapse in NFL history. Since 1993, every team that has started a season 9-3 has made the playoffs....until now. It will rank up there with the 1964 Philadelphia Phillies blowing a 6 1/2 game lead with 12 to play to the St. Louis Cardinals, losing their last 10 games or the 1958 Brooklyn Dodgers, who led by 13 games in August but blew the lead to the New York Baseball Giants. Its worse than the 1996 Washington Redskins starting 7-1 and missing the playoffs. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers blew a ten point fourth quarter lead with 11:27 left in the game and lost to the woeful Oakland Raiders 31-24, completing an epic collapse that could cost Jon Gruden his job.

Its only rumor and speculation now but when you go from 9-3 to 9-7 and in the process lose to two west coast teams with losing records at home while giving up 72 points, your job security can expected to be questioned. Remember, the Buccaneers owners, the Glazer family, is the same group that fired Tony Dungy after a playoff loss. At least none of Dungy's teams never fell apart like this. What's worse for the Buccaneers is the fact that had they won, all they would have needed would have been a Dallas Cowboys loss to Philadelphia. The Eagles beat Dallas 44-6. We will never know if Philadelphia would have given the same effort if the Bucs could have eliminated them by proxy.

Also in this one, Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, who inspired everyone with his remarkable comeback from a career threatening torn patella tendon in his right knee suffered a similar devastating injury, this time to his left knee midway through the fourth quarter and his NFL career could be over.


The horrible horizontal offense engineered by offensive genius Jon Gruden stalled through the first 15 minutes of the ball game, failing to secure a first down against an Oakland defense that came into the league ranked 27th in the NFL until 0:43 was left in the first quarter.

Seven seconds into the 2nd quarter, Johnnie Lee Higgins 31 yd punt return put Oakland at the Tampa Bay 40 yd line. After three straight runs secured a first down, Oakland Quarterback JaMarcus Russell found Higgins for a 17 yd completion to the Buccaneer 12. Oakland pounded beefy back Michael Bush at the Bucs undersized front four three consecutive times, the third time being the charm as Bush slipped into the end zone for 4 yd score to give Oakland a 7-0 with 10:44 left in the first half.

The Buccaneers offense finally rumbled to life, driving 80 yds on 12 plays, including big passes to Michael Clayton for 29 yds and Antonio Bryant for 15 to set up Carnell Williams 9 yd dart and score to tie the game at 7 with 5:45 left in the first half. After the teams exchanged punts, Oakland took the ball over at their own 39 with 1:45 left in the half. Jamarcus Russell connected with tight end Chaz Schilens 19 yds and tight end Zac Miller for 26 yds putting the Raiders at the Tampa Bay 8 yd line. After a couple runs, Russell avoided a strong rush and tossed it to a wide open Schilens in the endzone with only 0:35 left in the half to give Oakland a stunning 14-7 halftime lead.

The Bucs would tie the game at the 10:14 mark of the third quarter when Bucs quarterback Jeff Garcia scrambled and found a wide open Michael Clayton streaking down the sideline, Clayton hauled in the pass and raced the rest of way for a 58 yd touchdown, Clayton's first score since October 15th, 2006. After forcing the Raiders to punt, the Bucs began at their own 13 yd line and drove 76 yds in 13 plays before settling for a 29 yd Matt Bryant field goal to give the Bucs a 17-14 lead with 14:51 left in the game.

Russell would find the suddenly potent Schillens for 24 yds to the Buccaneers 45 yd line, then two runs by Michael Bush would set up 3rd and 6. On third down, Russell was rushed by Gaines Adams and threw an interception to former Raider Phillip Buchanon but unfortunately during the rush, Adams grabbed Russell's face mask and nullified the pick, giving the Raiders a first down at the Tampa Bay 26. Russell dropped back to pass again and tried for a deep pass to tight end Zac Miller but was picked off by Bucs Safety Sabby Piscitelli. Piscitelli tight roped the sideline then crossed the field for a spectacular 84 yd return before being bulldogged down by Russell at the Oakland 11. From there, Cadillac Williams would take it in from 8 yds out and with 11:35 left in the game, Tampa Bay led 24-14.

Back came Oakland, a short run by Michael Bush and a short pass to Johnnie Lee Higgins achieved a first down, then Russell pitched to Bush, who fired a pass deep down field intended for little used wide receiver Todd Watkins. Bucs safety Will Allen, playing for the winded Sabby Piscitelli, scrambled to get back in coverage and ended up interfering with Watkins, setting Oakland up at point blank range at the Tampa Bay 12. From there, Russell hit Higgins in the end zone for a touchdown, closing the gap to 24-21.


The Bucs tried to strike back, beginning their drive on the 33 yd line. Cadillac had his best run of the season, making a wicked cut in the hole and busting out for a 28 yd run before being pushed out of bounds by Raiders DB Chris Johnson. As he went out, Cadillac reached down to his left knee and buckled in pain...it was a left knee injury, similar to the one he miraculously recovered from last season. The Bucs players surrounded, knelt and prayed for Williams who fought back tears and cursed, knowing that this injury could mean the end of his career. Cadillac had a solid game, rushing for 78 yds on 12 carries and 2 touchdowns. He also caught 5 passes for 37 yds. Tampa Bay had the ball at the Raider 39. Warrick Dunn gained 6 yds off tackle, then was held to no gain. On 3rd and 4, QB Jeff Garcia went deep for tight end Alex Smith, who made the catch but had one foot out of bounds at the one yard line. On 4th and 4, the Bucs decided against going for the field goal and went for a first down. Garcia tried to hit Michael Clayton on the sideline but Clayton was unable to hold on to the ball, giving the ball to the Raiders. Oakland wasted little time, as Michael Bush busted off right end through a gaping hole and raced 67 devastating yards for a decisive touchdown, giving Oakland a 28-24 lead with 7:16 left.

On the Bucs ensuing possession, Jeff Garcia attempted to go deep to Antonio Bryant, but Oakland safety Rashad Baker set under the fluttering pass and picked it off. Oakland would go 51 yds in 10 plays, bleeding 5:31 off of the clock and driving all the way to the Bucs 2 yd line to set up a 25 yd Sebastian Janikowski field goal with 1:13 left in the game, giving Oakland a 31-24 lead.

The Bucs would drive the ball all the way to the Oakland 45 with Tampa Bay facing 3rd and 5 and only 0:13 left in the game. Garcia scrambled but would be sacked by Oakland defensive end Greyson Gunheim to end the game and by result the Tampa Bay season.

In the aftermath of the greatest late season collapse in NFL history, it will be interesting to see what occurs at One Buccaneer Palace over the next week. If Jon Gruden remains head coach of the team, one would have to expect changes in the coaching staff will be made. If Gruden is fired, will general manager Bruce Allen go with him? Will Jeff Garcia, Joey Galloway, Antonio Bryant, Derrick Brooks, Ronde Barber, Luke McCown and Kevin Carter return for 2009? Will the Bucs actually spend their massive surplus of salary cap space or will they sit on it as they did this off-season, bringing questions on whether the Glazers are devoting their monetary resources to the Manchester United soccer club instead of the Bucs. Interesting times, indeed.

Three of a Kind - Tampa Bay wins their 3rd straight

By JC De La Torre

The Tampa Bay Lightning's stars aligned for a 6-4 smashing of cross state rivals, the Florida Panthers in a game that was not as close as the score indicated. The Lightning's Vincent Lecavalier nabbed two goals and an assist while Martin St. Louis and Ryan Malone scored four points each as Tampa Bay won their third straight game for the first time in the Rick Tocchet era.

Steven Stamkos opened up the scoring at the 7:06 mark of the first, then, midway through the period, Evgeny Artyukhin on a rare power play chance powered home a goal on a 5-on-3 opportunity to give the Lightning a 2-0 going into first intermission. Tampa Bay outshot the Panthers a remarkable 21-3 in the first and it was the play of Panther goalie Tomas Vokoun that kept this one from being ugly early.

The second period got a little dicey for Tampa Bay. Usually their strongest period, it was the Panthers who showed some fire coming out of the dressing room as David Booth sliced the Bolts lead to 2-1 at the 3:09 mark of the 2nd. A little over a minute later, Vincent Lecavalier would net his first of the night to restore the Lightning's two goal cushion. They say the two goal lead is the most uncomfortable in hockey and Tampa Bay found out why. With Tampa Bay defensemen Matt Smaby and Paul Ranger off for interference and tripping respectively, the Panthers took advantage of their 5-on-3 advantage, getting a goal Nathan Horton at the 16:27 mark of the second period. Seconds later, the Panthers would strike again on the second half of the two man advantage, this time it was David Booth getting his second of the period and Tampa Bay's commanding lead suddenly evaporated. Vincent Lecavalier found a gift in the closing seconds of the period as he gloved a flying puck, dropped it quickly to the ice and blasted it past Vokoun with only five second left in the period to give Tampa Bay the lead going into intermission.

The Bolts reestablished their dominance (boy, its been a long time since I typed that) in the third getting a beautiful spin-a-rama goal from Malone to make it 5-3 and then a crazy goal by Marty St. Louis. St. Louis missed badly but stayed in front of the net, the puck ricocheted off the boards, right back to his stick and St. Louis dropped it past a thoroughly confused Vokoun to give the Lightning a 6-3 advantage at the 7:46 mark of the third. Six goals was a season high for Tampa Bay. Stephen Weiss' seeing-eye goal at the 13:57 mark sliced the lead to 6-4 but that would be as close as the Panthers would get. Tampa Bay killed off a questionable holding call on Ryan Malone and missed a couple chances at an empty netter for Lecavalier to get his first hat trick of the season.

"The last three games, I really feel guys are on the same page - the most we've been on the same page all year," right wing Marty St. Louis told the Tampa Tribune, "We're seeing it in the results."

Tampa Bay's third straight victory gets the Lightning to the 10 win plateau (finally) and shockingly gets the Bolts out of the cellar in the Southeast division with a 10-16-9 record that's good for 29 points. Despite their little surge, the Bolts remain 10 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Lightning go for their season high fourth straight victory Tuesday night against the Montreal Canadiens.

Break Up the Bolts - Lightning win 2nd Straight

By JC De La Torre

The Tampa Bay Lightning won their 2nd straight game - Lightning fans, that's called a winning streak - for the first time since October and did it in shocking fashion - a shoot out victory over the Florida Panthers 4-3. Its only the second victory for the Lighting in a shoot out this season (Tampa Bay is now 2-6 in shoot outs, snapping a 5 game losing streak in games decided by shootout) and the Lightning will go for their first 3 game win streak of the season tonight at the St. Pete Times Forum on the second half of the home-and-home with the Panthers.

The teams exchanged goals in the first period with Tampa Bay's Steve Eminger opening the scoring at 11:24 mark, then Florida's Keith Ballard tied it with only 1:32 left in the period. Tampa Bay took control of the game late in the second, getting goals from Mark Recchi and Evgeny Artyukhin with two minutes of each other, the last coming with only 1:23 left in the period to make it 3-1 after two.

The Lightning held that advantage until the 13:37 mark of the third, when former Bolt Corey Stillman converted on the power play to shave the Tampa Bay lead to one. It would hold up until the final minute of the game, when the Panthers pulled their goalie for the extra attacker and it paid off with 0:14 seconds left when Bryan McCabe tied it at 3, a devastating blow to a Tampa Bay hockey team struggling for victories.

Still, the Lightning proved some resiliency, fighting through the overtime and getting it to the shoot out, where Ryan Malone won it with a wrister past goaltender Craig Anderson and sent the Bolts into celebration.

"We talk about building on things," Steve Eminger told the St. Pete Times, "We played a pretty good game, and we ran into some trouble in the end, had some penalty trouble, and that will happen. To build on it, you have to find some way to win, and if it's a shootout, then it's a shootout. We just have to keep on."

Tampa Bay goes for double digit victories tonight as they remain the only team in the NHL not to reach 10 victories on the season. Goalie Mike Smith was solid again, making 25 saves on 28 shots.

Raheem Morris takes over as Bucs Defensive Coordinator

By JC De La Torre

The Monte Kiffin era is officially over. Tampa Bay has named defensive backs coach Raheem Morris as Defensive Coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the Pewter Report reported first on Christmas Day. The move solidifies the future of the Buccaneers defense while Kiffin joins his son at the University of Tennessee.

Morris is well liked by the players, energetic and has been schooled for many years under Kiffin. Morris was with the Bucs from '02 to '05 before leaving to become the Defensive Coordinator at Kansas State. That Kansas State team led the Big 12 in sacks and was one of the catalyst's behind K-State's first bowl appearance since 2003 and an upset of #4 Texas.

Morris was expected to be a sought after commodity for defensive coordinator around the league, viewed in the same light as current Steelers head man Mike Tomlin. Morris could still even be considered for some head coaching vacancies in the NFL, although that opportunity may still be a couple years off.

Buccaneers defensive players were happy with the news of Raheem's promotion.

"That's great. He deserves it," cornerback Ronde Barber told the St. Petersburg Times, "He's put in a lot of good work. His time is now. Good for him; it's a perfect opportunity for him. It's almost a natural opportunity. I look forward to working with him. I think everybody does."

"He's a young coach with a lot of energy and we can relate to that," safety Tanard Jackson said to the Tampa Tribune, "He does some of the same things we do. At the same time, he knows how to separate the business side from the personal side."

"Personally, yes, that would be a great big deal to me because me and Coach Raheem, we talk almost every day," Potential free agent cornerback Phillip Buchanon told the Times regarding whether this would have an impact on his decision to return to Tampa Bay.

"It made things a lot smoother," Tanard Jackson told the Times, "Everyone in this locker room knows Raheem and what he's capable of. The trust has always been there. I'm not going to say it was expected, but guys knew he was going to be the next D-coordinator, and everybody is going to respond well to that."

Morris, as one would expect, was generally excited about the promotion, "I'm just trying to beat Oakland right now, but I am pretty excited about this," Morris told the Tribune, "It's a great accomplishment and I'm proud they're giving me the keys to drive this defense. It's awesome."

My take on this? While there may have been more experienced candidates, you have to believe that Raheem Morris is ready to be a defensive coordinator in the NFL. One of the greatest fears for the organization this season was losing Raheem in the off-season. Under Morris, the Bucs secondary is 5th in the NFL in pass defense and 4th in interceptions and his return to the Bucs defense has helped return Tampa Bay to a Top 10 defensive unit.

Hopefully, the naming of Morris will ease the players minds about next season and they can return to the play that got them as high as #4 in total defense at one point this season (they've fallen to #9 since their defensive slump). Morris should bring a new energy and new ideas on how to attack an offense. While losing Monte is a tough blow for the Bucs organization, Kiffin wasn't going to be around forever. Morris seems to be ready to step in and take over. Hopefully, it will be for awhile.

Merry Christmas from TBSB

By JC De La Torre

JC De La Torre's Tampa Bay Sports Blog would like to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas. For our readers who aren't of the Christian belief, we'd also like to extend our wishes for Happy Holidays as well.

Thanks for reading and we look forward to bringing you even more exciting Tampa Bay sports action in 2009.

Rays Add Bullpen Depth

By JC De La Torre

The St. Petersburg Times is reporting that the Rays have signed 34yd old right handed relief pitcher Joe Nelson to a 1 yr $1.3 million dollar contract. Nelson walked away from some lucrative opportunities with other teams (reported as many as 20 other teams were interested) but felt that being close to home and playing for the American League champs was what he wanted to do.

Nelson pitched 54 innings for the Florida Marlins in 2008, putting up a 3-1 record, 1 save, 2.00 ERA, 60 strikeouts in 59 games.

A Merry Christmas for Bolts, Blank Pittsburgh 2-0

By JC De La Torre

The Tampa Bay Lightning have given what is tantamount to a lump of coal in Lightning fans stockings all season, but on Christmas Eve, Tampa Bay's coal broke into a gem of a game against one of the NHL's best offensive powers, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tampa Bay limited the Penguins to just 15 shots and no goals while getting some unexpected offensive production from one of their role players to defeat Pittsburgh 2-0.

It was the first victory for Mike Smith since November 21st. "It's like a sigh of relief," Smith told the Associated Press, "You almost forget how to win."

After a scoreless first, Tampa Bay's Matt Pettinger lit the lamp at the 5:15 mark of the 2nd period on a great feed from behind the net by Paul Szczechura to give Tampa Bay a 1-0 advantage. Tampa Bay's defense limited the opportunities of the Penguins, especially superstars Malkin and Crosby, holding the Penguins to only 4 shots in the second period.

At the 11:14 mark of the third period, Szczechura would put the Lightning up 2-0 with a redirect of Jussi Jokinen shot toward the goal. Tampa Bay's much maligned defense would once again play strong, limiting the powerful Penguins to only 3 shots in the third and held on for a surprisingly easy 2-0 victory.

While definitely not playing their best hockey, the Penguins described the loss as embarrassing and coach Michel Therrien blamed the schedule but also his team's effort.

"The schedule is pretty tough. We just played four games in six days. Those are excuses," he told the AP, "We don't have the right attitude. We like to complain about each other on the bench and on the ice. They better wake up pretty quick. ... I'm really disappointed with their work ethic and the concentration. Until they change their attitude, we are going to have the same results."

Tampa Bay on the other hand was happy to give this Christmas gift to their fans, "You can't say enough about the way the guys played," Goalie Mike Smith said, "The defense was great. As a core, they played outstanding. The forwards were coming back and helping the defense out. In order for us to win, we have to have that full commitment from everybody."

Fly Eagles Fly...a Call to Philly Fan

By JC De La Torre

Okay Philly fan...you don't like us, we don't like you. We took your Super Bowl and Stanley Cup, you took our World Series. Our teams have had bitter, titanic battles over the years and if one thing is certain, we will again. But now is not the time to dredge up all that hatred, now's the time to come together with a common goal - keep the Cowboys out of the playoffs.

While I expect (okay, the way the team has played the last few weeks maybe hope is a more operative word) that the Buccaneers will defeat the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, the game is meaningless if the Eagles fall. As disappointing as a Bucs victory would be for the Eagles and their fans - it doesn't mean there's nothing left to play for. When you kickoff at 4:15, its entirely possible that Philadelphia will already be eliminated from post season contention and its left some Bucs fans wondering if the Eagles and their fans will lie down for Dallas. I know some Eagle fans, even begrudgeonly call some my friends - and I couldn't imagine that happening.

Its still Dallas. And if your boys can't go, what would be better than keeping T.O., Romo, and Jerr-ruh Jones out of the post season? What would be better than sending ESPN and NFL Network's favorite into the off-season with two straight defeats to open their new mecca of Pro Football? Imagine the chaos that would ensue if Tampa Bay, with their dearth of names that anyone but true pro football fans would recognize goes to the post season while Dallas' galaxy of stars have to sit at home and watch on TV...

So, no matter what happens around 4pm eastern time, Eagle fans - there's still something to cheer for. We'll be cheering for your team and you just can't imagine how difficult that is for Tampa Bay fans...imagine having to cheer for Dallas or the Giants to get you into the playoffs - that's how it is for us. So give it all you got, Philly Fan...you'll feel better about it because no one brings out the hate like Dallas does...and we'll feel better for it because we'll be able to salvage something out of this late season collapse.

Of course, if the Bucs continue to circle the drain and choke against Oakland, all this is moot...but you know what? We'll still root for you guys because nobody wants to see Dallas in the playoffs (except Cowboys fans).

GO BUCS....and (ugh) E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!

TBSB Buccaneers NFC Playoff Madness - Week 17

By JC De La Torre

NFC Playoff Picture - Week 17
1.z-NY Giants 12-3 (9-2) @Min
2.x-Carolina 11-4 (7-4) @NO
3. Minnesota 9-6 (7-4) NYGiants
4.y-Arizona 8-7 (6-5) Seattle
5.x-Atlanta 10-5 (7-4) St. Louis
6.Dallas 9-6 (7-4) @Phi
---------------------------------------------
Tampa Bay 9-6 (8-4) Oak
Chicago 9-6 (7-5) @Hou
Philadelphia 8-6-1 (6-4) DAL


z-Division Champs,Home Field Advantage
y- Division Champions
x- Clinched Playoff spot

The following is the a deep dive breakdown of playoff scenarios for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the NFC for the final week of the season, Week 17. Yahoo has put together this awesome Playoff Scenario Generator that helps you put everything in perspective.

Clinched
NY Giants have clinched the NFC East, a first round bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs

Arizona has clinched the NFC West

Carolina and Atlanta have clinched a playoff spot.


This Week’s Clinching Scenarios
Carolina clinches the NFC South and a 1st round bye with a victory over New Orleans or an Atlanta loss.

Atlanta clinches the NFC South and a 1st round bye with a victory over St. Louis AND a Carolina loss.

Minnesota clinches the NFC North with a win or a loss by Chicago at Houston

Chicago clinches the NFC North with a victory Houston and a loss by Minnesota vs. NY Giants

Dallas clinches a playoff spot with a win

Chicago clinches a playoff spot with a win over Houston AND losses by Dallas at Philadelphia and Tampa Bay vs. Oakland

Philadelphia clinches a playoff spot with win over Dallas AND losses by Tampa Bay vs. Oakland and Chicago against Houston

Bucs Scenarios
Tampa Bay clinches a playoff spot with a win over Oakland AND a loss by Dallas at Philadelphia

Future Cast – Buccaneers Bucs Defeat Oakland

Its pretty simple for the Buccaneers, if they defeat Oakland, they must have Philadelphia defeat the Dallas Cowboys to make the playoffs. Tampa Bay owns the head-to-head tie breaker against the Chicago Bears, while Philadelphia cannot reach 10 wins due to their tie with Cincinnati. Tampa Bay loses the head-to-head tie-breaker with Dallas. So Bucs win, Dallas loses, Bucs are in.

Bucs lose to Oakland
Jon Gruden should be fired immediately following the game.

Week 17 - Who to root for
Tampa Bay to beat Oakland (obviously)
Philadelphia to beat Dallas

Electrocuted - Bucs Playoff Hopes on Life Support

By JC De La Torre

There are losses and then there is the excrement the Tampa Bay Buccaneers put on the football field Sunday against the San Diego Chargers. In control of their own playoff destiny (sorry, Bob Costas), all the Buccaneers had to do was win their next two games against sub .500 teams at home (where they were undefeated) and they could make reservations for the playoffs. Instead, the Buccaneers continued their downward spiral, getting blown out by the Chargers 41-24.

The formerly formidable Bucs defense continued is horrid play, getting torn apart by San Diego quarterback Phillip Rivers for 287 yds and 4 touchdowns. Since word came that Monte Kiffin was leaving Tampa Bay for the University of Tennessee, the Buccaneers are 0-3 and the defense has given up 30.7 points per game, 402.3 yds per game, and 188 yds rushing per game. However, on this day, it wouldn't be LaDanian Tomlinson and the Charger running game that would do the Bucs in, San Diego was held to 90 yds rushing. It would be the passing game that would do the damage in this one as Rivers carved up the Bucs defense, extending drives on 3rd down by converting 53% of their 11 opportunities.

After the initial drive of the game by the Chargers was stuffed, Tampa Bay drove to the San Diego 42 yd line. Quarterback Jeff Garcia connected on a screen to Wide Receiver Antonio Bryant, who appeared to have blocking and a developing lane in front of him. Bryant was hit from behind by Chargers defensive lineman Luis Castillo, fumbled and San Diego safety Clinton Hart pounced on the ball to end the Bucs threat. The Chargers took the ball at their own 41 and drove 58 yds in 8 plays, culminating in a 11 yd touchdown pass to Brandon Manumaleuna in the the flat for a touchdown to give San Diego an early 7-0 lead.

Bucs kick returner Clifton Smith showed why he's headed to Hawaii, returning the ensuing kickoff 72 yds to the Chargers 11 yd line, setting up B.J. Askew 1 Yd hurdle to tie it at 7. Back came the Chargers, driving back down the field as the 1st quarter bled into the 2nd and finishing up with a 69 yd, 7 play drive where Rivers found Tight End Antonio Gates wide open for an easy touchdown, giving the Chargers the lead back with 13:37 left in the 1st half.

After the Bucs offense stalled, San Diego marched right back down the football field, converting two 3rd and long situations along the way before setting for a 28 yd Nate Kaeding field goal with 5:24 left in the second to give the Chargers a 17-7 lead. After the teams exchanged 3 and outs, the Bucs offense showed a little life after the two minute warning, driving 49 yds in 8 plays to set up a 49 yd Matt Bryant field goal with 0:17 left in the half to cut the advantage to 17-10. After the ensuing kickoff, Phillip Rivers connected with an inexplicably wide open Vincent Jackson for 25 yds to the Tampa Bay 39, from there Nate Kaeding drilled a 57 yd field goal to reestablish the Chargers 10 point lead going into the locker room, 20-10.

After the Bucs received the 2nd half kickoff, Jeff Garcia drove Tampa Bay 78 yds, converting three 3rd downs on the drive with both his arm and his feet and using those feet to scamper into the endzone to cut the Charger lead to 20-17. The Bucs defense forced a 3 and out and the Bucs got the ball back at their own 18. A run by Warrick Dunn and a pass to Dunn achieved a first down at the 29. On 1st and 10, Garcia took the snap, scambled keeping the play alive then spotted a wide open Antonio Bryant deep down field, Garcia heaved the ball while Bryant waited what seemed an eternity and fielded the catch like a punt, Bryant hauled it in a raced 71 yds for the touchdown giving the Buccaneers their first lead of the game, 24-20 with 5:19 left in the 3rd quarter.

The Chargers would take over the game from there. Phillip Rivers engineered an 11 play, 63 yd drive that extinguised the remainder of the 3rd quarter. On the first play of the 4th quarter and facing 3rd and goal from the Tampa Bay 5, Rivers scrambled, avoiding the rush and keeping the play alive long enough to find Antonio Gates in the back of the end zone for his second touchdown of the day, the Chargers retook the lead 27-24.

After the teams exchanged 3 and outs, the Bucs again had their drive stall. Punter Josh Bidwell blasted a 58 yd bomb to the San Diego 11, but returner Darren Sproles returned the punt 43 yds to the Buccaneer 46, nearly breaking it for the score. Sproles would get his score as 4 plays later, Rivers dropped a screen pass to Sproles who bolted 32 yds for a killer touchdown to give San Diego a commanding 34-24 lead with 7:18 left.

The Bucs tried to rally one last time, Garcia passing and scrambling the to San Diego 48, in the process getting a severe gash over his nose that gushed blood. Facing 3rd and 4, Garcia tried to fit in a pass to Ike Hillard between two defenders, the pass was deflected and intercepted by Antoine Cason, who raced down the sideline 59 yds for the touchdown to provide San Diego their final margin of victory.

Luke McCown came in for mop up duty but accomplished little and the Chargers ran out the clock, keeping their playoff hopes alive and severely damaging the Buccaneers in the process.

Tampa Bay now needs help to make the post season and face a resurgent Oakland Raiders team that has put 26 or more points on their last two opponents. A team that just three weeks ago was 9-3 and hoping to win a first round bye now faces the reality that they will be home for the post-season. A loss to Oakland and the Bucs promising season comes to a crashing close.

Cowboys Go Down Against Baltimore

By JC De La Torre


The first part of the clinching scenario for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell into place when the Baltimore Ravens stunned the Dallas Cowboys 33-24 at the final game at Texas Stadium. If Tampa Bay defeats the San Diego Chargers Sunday, all they would need to clinch this week is a loss by Atlanta on the road against the tough Minnesota Vikings.

Carolina has clinched a playoff spot as a result of Dallas loss. The Bucs still have division hopes but need Carolina to lose Sunday Night against the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants and the following week at New Orleans.

Bolts Lose Another 1 Goal Game

By JC De La Torre

The Tampa Bay Lightning's inability to win close games reared its ugly head once again as they fell 4-3 to South East division rivals, the Atlanta Thrashers 4-3 in a wild contest at Phillips Arena. Kari Lehtonen was making his first start in a couple weeks for the Thrashers and gave up goals on the first two shots he faced but saw his team rally in the first period to give him a lead going into the 1st intermission.

Just 0:18 into the hockey game, Slava Kozlov found a lose puck, skated in and put it past Tampa Bay goalie Mike Smith to give the Thrashers a quick 1-0 lead. Tampa Bay would tie it at the 3:54 mark of the first period when Martin St. Louis ended an 0-for-26 power play streak for the Lightning with his eleventh goal of the season. At the 8:15 mark of the first, Adam Hall would get a rare goal to give Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead. Atlanta exploded back late in the 1st period, getting goals from Eric Perrin and Todd White to jump back ahead 3-2.

After a scoreless 2nd period, Atlanta increased their advantage at the 4:06 mark of the third period to make it 4-2. Tampa Bay would make one last rally, as St. Louis got his second of the night on the man advantage to pull the Lightning within 1. Tampa Bay dominated the third period, outshooting the Thrashers 24-6, benefiting from three straight penalties called on Atlanta. The Lightning could only cash in on one of their opportunities and that would be the difference in the game. Lehtonen was sensational in the third, making 23 saves to preserve the Thrasher lead.

Frustration has set in for the Tampa Bay Lightning, who now have lost 17 of their last 19 games.

"It's frustrating," St. Louis told the Associated Press, "I don't think there are enough guys that really want to win."

Bulls Blow Out Memphis in St. Pete Bowl

By JC De La Torre

I don't know if South Florida really wanted to be there...the fans sure didn't as a the paltry attendance of 25,205 would attest, but if they didn't, they at least decided to make the most of it by crushing their opponent, the Memphis Tigers, 41-14 in the inaugural (and possibly only) MagicJack St. Petersburg Bowl.

USF used "special" uniforms with a white helmet sporting the USF logo and a different shade of green making them resemble the New York Jets, and they played like the Jets as well as they jumped on the Tigers quickly. Dontavia Bogan returned the opening kickoff 56 yds to the Memphis 43 yd line. Two plays later, Matt Grothe found Taurus Johnson for a 26 yd score to put the Bulls up 7-0 just 1:02 into the ball game. After an exchange of punts (two by Memphis), USF marched back down the field on a 6 play 58 yd drive, capped off by Benjamin Williams 3 yd score to make it 14-0.

The Tigers finally came to life late in the first quarter, driving 73 yd on six plays, with quarterback Arkelon Hall keeping it into the end zone from 3 yd out to cut the USF lead to 7. The Bulls answered, moving into the second quarter with a 63 yd, 14 play drive the culminated in a 23 yd field goal by Maikon Bonani to increase the South Florida lead to 17-7. After the Memphis drive stalled at their own 42, USF would add yet another score with Grothe connecting with reserve tight end Ben Busbee for a 13 yd score to give the Bulls a commanding 24-7 advantage with 4:15 left in the half. To the Tigers credit, they wouldn't quit as Arkelon Hall led Memphis back down the field and connected with Duke Calhoun on a 2 yd score with 0:04 left in the half. The Bulls led 24-14 at halftime.

That would be as close as it got as the USF defense dominated the second half, shutting out the Tigers, while Matt Grothe connected with Dontavia Bogan on 24 yd touchdown, Maikon Bonani added another field goal, and Moises Plancher plunged in from 2 yds out, giving the Bulls a 41-14 advantage that they would not relinquish.

South Florida quarterback Matt Grothe had one of his best games of the season throwing for 236 yds, 3 touchdowns and most importantly - no interceptions. He also added 83 yds rushing, leading all rushers for the game. The Bulls earned their first bowl victory outgaining the Memphis Tigers 496 to 238 making the plays they needed to make and getting superb play from their quarterback.

Refs Rob Lightning in Shootout

By JC De La Torre

The Tampa Bay Lightning have found a myriad of ways to lose this season but in this game, the Bolts deserved a better fate. A terrible call by referee Tim Peel cost Tampa Bay in the shootout as the Bolts fell 2-1 to the Colorado Avalanche. Peele ruled that Lightning goalie Mike Smith threw his stick at Milan Hejduk during his shootout attempt and awarded a goal. Video replays showed that there was no throwing motion, Smith went for the poke check, missed then spun around to try and get his blocker on the shot, as Smith lifted up his blocker, he dropped his stick to the ice and made the save.

The call ruined a terrific performance by Smith, who made 34 saves, some in spectacular fashion to get the Lightning to the shootout. Paul Stastny scored at the 3:46 mark of the 1st period to give Colorado an early 1-0 advantage, the lead would hold until the midway through the second, when Jeff Halpern made his triumphant return to the Lightning line up with a goal. Halpern's offense was sorely missed and as he works himself back into the flow of the game, he'll make a big impact on the Lightning.


Tampa Bay outshot the Avalanche 38-35 and dominated the overtime, with Vinny Lecavalier, Vaclav Prospal, and Martin St. Louis each just missing opportunities to end it. Then came the controversial shoot out where Jussi Jokinen, Wojtek Wolski, and Vincent Lecavalier were stopped on their chances setting up Milan Hejduk's opportunity. Hejduk skated in, deked and fired a shot toward the Lightning goal that Tampa Bay goalie Mike Smith saved with his blocker. Hejduk then yelled at the referees that Smith threw his stick, the officials huddled for several minutes, then referee Peel made the call. Mike Smith darted from his goal line screaming at the officials, the Lightning bench exploded in protest. Head coach Rick Tocchet demanded from the officials "Who made the call, who made the call?" and was told by Peel, "Its a consensus of all of us." Tocchet said he asked again, "Who saw him throw the stick at Hejduk?" but no one would take responsibility. Martin St. Louis pointed to the video replay on the jumbotron and shook his head in disgust when told by the referees that it wasn't a reviewable play. With the call made, St. Louis tried his penalty shot, but fired into the pads of Andrew Raycroft and the giddy Avalanche erupted in celebration, causing the frustrated Lightning fans to shower the ice in debris. Definitely not the proudest moment for Lightning fans but their dismay is definitely understandable.

This hockey team needs every victory they can get to have a victory robbed from them is just a travesty of justice. The NHL instituted the shootout as something exciting for the fans, something that would eliminate sister-kissing ties but the fact they don't have the foresight to make something like this reviewable is just ridiculous.

"I guess if you're winning, if you're up in the standings, those calls seem to go your way," Mike Smith lamented to the Sun Sports Network after the game.

If, by some miracle, the Lightning rally but miss the playoffs by one point - this will be a game that will be remembered. If Colorado wins a division or beats out another team for the final playoff spot by 1 point - it will be because of this farce. I don't believe the fix was in, I just believe in what I've always believed, the NHL referees' incompetence.

Tampa Bay Sports News Cavalcade

By JC De La Torre

The local fishwraps were actually worth reading today as they had several interesting stories about our various favorite teams.

Rays

The St. Petersburg Times is highlighting Rays Manager Joe Maddon's "Thankmas" initiative. It's a program Maddon began three years ago to raise awareness of the homeless situation in Tampa Bay. Maddon, along with a couple of dozen Rays employees, spend an afternoon cooking spaghetti, meatballs, sausage and pierogies in the Tropicana Field kitchen, then travel around the bay area for several days delivering meals at homeless shelters.

The Times also reported that Rocco Baldelli's medical condition was misinterpreted as mitochondrial disorder. Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic have reviewed more sophisticated testing that indicates his condition is a channelopathy, which is a treatable condition that involves dysfunction of ion channels for such things as potassium, sodium, chloride and calcium according to medterms.com.

"It's definitely an encouraging development," Baldelli told the Times, "Knowing this is a treatable condition, I feel this is a very positive thing for me and my baseball career. With this less severe diagnosis, I hope to be on the field on a much more regular basis."

Lightning

The Lightning return to the ice tonight against the Colorado Avalanche after a four day layoff and some good may have come out of it. Other than getting some much needed practice time to continue the process of implementing Rick Tocchet's system, Tocchet and team captain Vincent Lecavalier got a chance to get on the same page.

"Tocc is talking to players. He's listening to players," Lecavalier said to the St. Petersburg Times, "He's telling us things and how to be better. It was a good conversation. It's not like we're out of control, but we can be more precise in what we do, It's not only the coaching staff that has to tell guys to be on time, when the bus is, and all the other stuff that surrounds the locker room. It has to be the players. Myself as team captain. I have to do that."

"You've got to be in a situation where you can't let your team be sloppy," Tocchet told the Tampa Tribune, "What I mean by sloppy is sloppy with your sticks on the ice, taking stupid penalties, little trivial things, late for the bus. It has to come from the room. The coach has to mandate it, but it has to come from the room."

Player accountability has been something the Lightning have sorely lacked since Dave Andreychuck's retirement. Let's hope that Lecavalier can grow into and assume that role.

Buccaneers

Head Coach Jon Gruden is confident Jeff Garcia will be available for Sunday's critical game against the San Diego Chargers. Garcia practiced on Wednesday and told the St. Petersburg Times, "I really just have to do my best to block it out, I really just have to take the approach that I'm going to be me and do whatever I have to do in order to be successful and not think about what I'm trying to overcome. And hopefully at that point on Sunday, it won't even be a question mark."

The Tampa Tribune reports that just in case, the Bucs are getting Brian Griese ready to go. The paper also reports that Chris Hovan and Jovan Haye returned to practice, which could be great news for the Bucs run defense that has given up 474 yds in the last two games. Derrick Brooks also appears to be improving with his rib injury. He's still a gametime decision but Gruden told the Trib, ""We did get good news (Wednesday), that doesn't mean Brooks is going to be out there running around (today). But there is at least a better chance that he can play. Knowing Derrick Brooks the way I do and you do, he'll find a way to get to the field. And chances are he'll play one of his best games."

USF Bulls

There's apparently plenty of tickets still available for the inaugural St. Pete Bowl that has the powerhouse matchup of USF vs. Memphis. Yeah, the Bowls are more important to college football...who needs a playoff when you can have USF vs. Memphis in the Magic Jack St. Pete Bowl?

Tampa Bay Storm

The Arena League owners have voted to suspend the league for the 2009 season and hopes to return for 2010, but the AFLPA (who knew they had one?) has rejected the board of directors' move to suspend the 2009 season by voting against it according to an arena league blog called Arenafan.com. Arenafan.com reports a "team representative for the AFLPA told ArenaFan that the Executive Board for the AFLPA has not requested a revote of the owners. The source went on to state that the players are under belief that the vote for the Orlando Predators was not made by the majority owner, and that a minority owner gave their vote to a different team. The vote for suspending the season passed the Board of Directors by just one vote."

Brooks, Clifton Smith to the Pro Bowl

By JC De La Torre

Last year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did not get one player picked to represent them in the Pro Bowl, eventually, Jeff Garcia made it to the game as an alternate. This year, Tampa Bay will be represented by two Buccaneers, weakside linebacker Derrick Brooks and kick/punt return specialist Clifton Smith will each make the trek to Hawaii for the 2009 Pro Bowl game.

For Brooks, its his 11th trip to the NFL all-star game 2nd all time among linebackers (only Junior Seau has been to more), while Smith, a rookie, will be making his first trip. Smith is an amazing story as he was cut by the Buccaneers in training camp and spent the first half of the season on the practice squad. Smith joined the Bucs after 2nd round draft pick Dexter Jackson had proven to be ineffective. Smith went on to lead the NFC in kick and punt return average while becoming the first Buccaneer to return a kickoff and punt return for a touchdown in the same season.

Some notable Buccaneers were not selected - including middle linebacker Barrett Ruud, Free Safety Tanard Jackson, and center Jeff Faine. Jon Gruden has also said repeatedly that if "Matt Bryant does not make the Pro Bowl they shouldn't have the game." Well, unfortunately, Bryant also was left off the list.

The Super Bowl Champion New York Giants and the NFC North leading Minnesota Vikings led the NFC with 6 Pro Bowl players.

Here's the entire NFC squad, alternates should be named in the next day or so.

2009 NFC Pro Bowl Squad (courtesy of NFL.com)
Offense
Quarterback
Kurt Warner, Arizona
Drew Brees, New Orleans

Eli Manning, New York Giants

Running back
Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
Michael Turner, Atlanta

Clinton Portis, Washington

Fullback
Mike Sellers, Washington

Wide receiver
Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona

Anquan Boldin, Arizona
Steve Smith, Carolina

Roddy White, Atlanta

Tight end
Jason Witten, Dallas
Chris Cooley, Washington

Tackle
Jordan Gross, Carolina

Walter Jones, Seattle
Chris Samuels, Washington

Guard
Steve Hutchinson, Minnesota

Chris Snee, New York Giants
Leonard Davis, Dallas

Center
Andre Gurode, Dallas
Shaun O'Hara, New York Giants

Defense
Defensive end
Julius Peppers, Carolina

Justin Tuck, New York Giants
Jared Allen, Minnesota

Defensive tackle
Kevin Williams, Minnesota

Jay Ratliff, Dallas
Pat Williams, Minnesota

Outside linebacker
DeMarcus Ware, Dallas

Lance Briggs, Chicago
Derrick Brooks, Tampa Bay

Inside linebacker
Patrick Willis, San Francisco
Jon Beason, Carolina

Cornerback
Charles Woodson, Green Bay

Antoine Winfield, Minnesota
Asante Samuel, Philadelphia

Free safety
Nick Collins, Green Bay
Brian Dawkins, Philadelphia

Strong safety
Adrian Wilson, Arizona

Special teams
Punter
Jeff Feagles, New York Giants

Placekicker
John Carney, New York Giants

Kick returner
Clifton Smith, Tampa Bay

Special teamer
Sean Morey, Arizona

Stylez G. White, Kiffin, and Martin Fennelly

By JC De La Torre


I like Tampa Tribune's Martin Fennelly's writing style. Sure, his prose isn't perfect (like I can talk) and his jokes sometimes make little sense but for me he's typically an enjoyable read. I like the dry humor he brings to the serious world of sports writing. I find him witty at times and hilarious others. However, with all that said, I truly believe he crossed the line in today's article concerning Jon Gruden and Joey Galloway. Oh, it wasn't the substance of the article, which primarily I agree with - I mean if Jon Gruden is the offensive mastermind he believes himself to be, he should be able to find a way to get a weapon like Joey Galloway on the football field. No, it was how Fennelly ended his column today.

Fennelly wrote in today's Tampa Tribune, "We can't always explain Gruden's world, where a Luke McCown can be good enough to back up Garcia, but when Garcia gets hurt, McCown isn't good enough and gets to back up Griese. Tell me that logic doesn't make your eyes cross. Then again, there's always a chance Bryant will get hurt. All the Bucs are doing it these days. Don't deactivate those street clothes, Joey."

I emphasized the section I had a problem with. If you've ever been in a locker room the one thing you never ever say, write or even think about - and that's a player getting injured. Don't get me wrong, I've never believed in jinxes, karma, or anything of that ilk, its just that that type of thing just isn't done. I don't believe because Fennelly wrote something, it will happen to Bryant...hell, if I believed that than this entire blog entry would consist of "JC De La Torre will win the first Florida power ball...JC De La Torre will win the first Florida power ball..." but its just not something you do if you write about sports. So Martin, I think you fumbled today and you owe an apology to Antonio Bryant for putting the fu-fu-gato on him.


Speaking of the Tribune, nice to see Buccaneer beat writer Roy Cummings caught up with the rest of us in knowing that the Bucs still control their own destiny. As you, my few but beloved readers, know, we had the entire playoff scenarios broken down for you moments after the Giants whiffed against the Dallas Cowboys in our TBSB Buccaneers NFC Playoff Scenario Madness - Week 16, deep dive anaylsis of the NFC playoff picture and where the Buccaneers figured into it as only you can find it here. As John McClane would say, Roy, "Welcome to tha party, pal!". Now if we could only get ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio up to speed we'll be all set.

In other Bucs news, defensive end Greg White has officially changed his name to Stylez G. White. Why? Who the hell knows...White told the Tampa Tribune that he picked his new name from a character in the 1985 movie "Teen Wolf," starring Michael J. Fox.

"That was his best friend's name in the movie," White said. "I always liked that name. "

Okie dokie, Mr. Stylez G. White, I'm sure your momma is proud.

Finally, Monte Kiffin made it official, he will be leaving the Buccaneers after this season concludes to join his son Lane at the University of Tennessee. Is it any coincidence that the decline of the Buccaneer defense has coincided with the rumor of Kiffin's departure? This isn't to suggest Kiffin is working any less as hard as he has in the past or that the players are not playing as hard for him down the stretch, I just find it a bit interesting that the time line seems to intertwine.

Hopefully, now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag, everyone can concentrate on football, mainly LaDanian Tomlinson.

Phillips Done for the Year, Brooks "Very Questionable"

By JC De La Torre

On top of the tough loss on the road in Atlanta, the Bucs may have lost two key contributors to the defense. Strong Safety Jermaine Phillips broke his right arm (again) and is done for the year while future hall-of-fame linebacker Derrick Brooks was termed by head coach Jon Gruden as "very questionable" for Sunday's game with the San Diego Chargers with a rib injury the Pewter Report is reporting today from Gruden's 10am presser.

Gruden also added he will wait until Wednesday to determine a starting quarterback for the Chargers game.

Tampa Bay needs to win their final two games to make the playoffs.

TBSB Buccaneers NFC Playoff Scenario Madness - Week 16

By JC De La Torre

Current NFC Playoff Standings

Seed Team Record (conf rec) Remaining Games

1. NY Giants 11-3 (8-2) Car, @Min

2. Carolina 11-3 (7-3) @NYGiants, @NO

3. Minnesota 9-5 (7-3) Atl, NYGiants

4.Arizona 8-6 (6-5) @NE, Seattle

5.Dallas 9-5 (7-4) BAL, @Phi

6.Tampa Bay 9-5 (8-4) SD, Oak

---------------------------------------------

Atlanta 9-5 (6-4) @Min, St. Louis

Philadelphia 7-5-1 (6-4) Clev, @WAS, DAL

Chicago 8-6 (6-5) GB, @Hou

Washington 7-7 (6-4) Phil, @San Fran

New Orleans 7-7 (4-6) @DET, Carolina

Seattle 3-11 (3-8) NYJets, @Ari

St. Louis 2-12 (2-8) SF, @Atl

The following is the a deep dive breakdown of playoff scenarios for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the NFC for Week 16. You'll only find this detailed of a breakdown here at the JC De La Torre's Tampa Bay Sports Blog, we'll update it each week as the Bucs progress through the final quarter of their schedule. BTW, Yahoo has put together this awesome Playoff Scenario Generator that helps you put everything in perspective

It was an extremely rough week for the Bucs' playoff hopes, not only did Carolina pull away from the rest of the pack in the NFC South, the Bucs are now in a dog fight with the team they lost a gut-wrenching heartbreaker in overtime to yesterday, the Atlanta Falcons, for the final playoff spot. When the season comes to a close it may be a victory by the 3-11 Seattle Seahawks over the 2-12 St. Louis Rams that proves to be the difference in the Bucs making or missing the playoffs. The Bucs are currently the 6th and final seed in the NFC...barely, but despite the loss to Atlanta, the Bucs do have some control of their own destiny. If they win both their final games, they should take the final playoff spot...we think...if the Rams lose out...and the Cowboys stay ahead of the Eagles....oh boy...actually, it is a lot clearer than that. The Bucs do control their own destiny - if they win their last two games, they are in the playoffs.

Here's where we stand going into Week 16 -

Clinched

New York has clinched the NFC East

Arizona has clinched the NFC West

This Week’s Clinching Scenarios

The winner of the Carolina-NY Giants game Sunday night will clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs in the NFC.

If Carolina wins, they clinch the NFC South title.

Minnesota can clinch the NFC North with a victory over Atlanta and a loss by Chicago to Green Bay.

Dallas can clinch a playoff spot with a victory over Baltimore and a loss by Tampa Bay or Atlanta AND Philadelphia

Atlanta can clinch a playoff spot with victory over Minnesota and a loss by Tampa Bay AND Philadelphia OR Dallas.

Bucs Scenarios

The Bucs can clinch a playoff spot with a victory over San Diego and a loss by Atlanta AND Philadelphia (assuming the Eagles defeat Cleveland tonight) OR Dallas loss to Baltimore.

Future Cast – Buccaneers

If the Bucs Win Out –

The division appears to be out of reach, but if the Panthers lose their final two games at New York and at New Orleans, the Bucs can mathematically still win the NFC South. Thanks to Seattle's victory over St. Louis and Dallas staying ahead of Philadelphia, the Buccaneers would win a three-way tie between the Bucs, Panthers and Falcons. The Bucs would get the Panthers on conference record, while the Bucs and Falcons will go down to the strength of schedule tie-breaker, which the Buccaneers would win.

Here's the breakdown of the Atlanta-Tampa Bay tie-breaker scenario -

Bucs/Falcons tie-breakers

1. Head-to-Head – Even (1-1)

2. Division record – Even - Tampa Bay 3-3, Atlanta 3-3

3. Common Games – Even - New Orleans, Carolina, Green Bay, Denver, Kansas City, MinnesotaDetroit, San Diego,Chicago, Oakland (assuming both win out) – Tampa Bay 9-3, Atlanta 9-3

4. Conference Record (Assuming both win out) – Even - Tampa Bay 8-4, Atlanta 8-4

5. Strength of Victory – Currently Bucs lead - Tampa Bay 54-72 .428, Atlanta 51-75 .404, if both teams win out, they will be tied 62-94.

6. Strength of Schedule – Currently Bucs lead – Tampa Bay 106-118 .473, Atlanta 104-118-1 .466 – As long as Dallas has a better record than Philadelphia, the Bucs will win this tie-breaker

So basically, this fluid strength of victory flipped for the Bucs this week with Seattle's victory over St. Louis, if both the Bucs and Falcons win out, their strength of victory will be tied, forcing them to the sixth tie-breaker, which favors Tampa Bay. If Dallas, Tampa Bay, and Atlanta all win out, Dallas is the 5 seed, Tampa Bay the 6 and Atlanta's home for christmas.

If the Bucs lose to either San Diego or Oakland -

The Bucs are eliminated from the division race. For the Bucs to be able to make the playoffs, Atlanta must lose to Minnesota and Philadelphia (assuming they win tonight), must lose one of their remaining two games. If Atlanta defeats Minnesota, they will own the advantage in common opponents as Bucs would fall to 8-4.

If the Bucs lose out -

The Bucs are out of the playoffs.

Earliest the Bucs can Clinch a playoff spot

Week 16 - The Bucs can clinch a playoff spot with a victory over San Diego and a loss by Atlanta AND Philadelphia (assuming the Eagles defeat Cleveland tonight).

Earliest the Bucs can clinch the NFC South -

Week 17 - The Bucs would need to win out and Carolina would need to lose out.

Week 16 - Who to Root For -

Bucs to beat San Diego - if the Bucs lose this game, their chances for the post-season decrease dramatically. The final two games are MUST WINS.

Baltimore to defeat Dallas - Drops Dallas to 6 losses on the season and with a Bucs victory over San Diego would allow Tampa Bay to control their own destiny.

San Francisco over St. Louis - Need to keep the Rams down...or strength of victory could flip yet again.

Seattle over the NY Jets - Need to keep the Seahawks up...see above

Minnesota to defeat Atlanta - Would break the tie with the Falcons if the Bucs win.

Washington to defeat Philadelphia - This would pretty much eliminate the Eagles from contention.

NY Giants to defeat Carolina - It would keep the NFC South in play for the Bucs if they win.

Falcons Outlast Bucs in Overtime

By JC De La Torre

As gut-wrenching defeats go, this one stings a bit. With the Buccaneers playing their second road division game in a week and playing without two of two defensive linemen and their starting quarterback, Tampa Bay battled the high flying Falcons to a stalemate during regulation, but fell in overtime 13-10. The loss significantly damages the Buccaneers playoff chance and forces Tampa Bay into must win situations for the final two games of the season.

The full enormity likely won't be known until later tonight when Carolina-Denver, Dallas-New York, and Cleveland-Philadelphia are completed, but the defeat definitely puts the Bucs in deep trouble. With the heart of the Buccaneers defensive line, Chris Hovan, out of the lineup, the Falcons took advantage, pounding Michael Turner between the tackles to the tune of 152 yds on 33 carries.

The Falcons would jump on Tampa Bay quickly, as special teams penalty put the Buccaneer offense and backup QB Brian Griese deep in their own territory. The Bucs offensive line would commit a penalty pushing them back further and after punting, the Falcons took over at the Tampa Bay 33. The Bucs defense stood strong, allowing the Falcons to only drive it 26 yds and settle for a 26 yd Jason Elam field goal to give Atlanta a 3-0 lead with 6:53 left in the first.

After the ensuing Bucs drive stalled, Atlanta would drive 72 yds in 9 plays, highlighted by a 30 yd reception by Roddy White to set up Michael Turner's 2 yd touchdown, Atlanta held a 10-0 lead as the first quarter came to a close.

Midway through the second quarter, the Bucs defense thwarted an attempt by the Falcons to extend the lead as rookie Aquib Talib intercepted Atlanta Quarterback Matt Ryan in the end zone. Later with 1:23 left in the first half, the Bucs would get to the rookie again, this time the ageless one, Ronde Barber would victimize the rookie, picking him off at the Tampa Bay 35 yd line. The Bucs comatose offense would finally come to life, with Griese moving the Bucs 67 yds in 10 plays culminating with another touchdown grab from Antonio Bryant, who finished the day with 8 catches for 108 yds, going over 1,000 yds for only the 2nd time in his career and earning a career high in receptions. The Bucs trailed 10-7 at the half.

The Bucs opened the 3rd quarter with a 3-and-out, and Atlanta moved down the football down to the Tampa Bay 33. After scrambling away from the Tampa Bay rush, Matt Ryan found little used tigh end Jeff Rader for a touchdown and a commanding 16-7 lead...or did they? Jon Gruden challenged and it was ruled that Bucs Safety Jermaine Phillips forced Rader to fumble to football at the one and it was clearly recovered in the end zone by Phillip Buchanon, Atlanta was denied points and the football.

The Bucs offense would fail to capitalize, as Brian Griese inexplicably threw into triple coverage and was intercepted by Falcons corner Dominique Foxworth. The teams would exchange punts the remainder of the third quarter and moving into the 4th quarter until finally, Tampa Bay mounted another drive. The Bucs drove all the way to the Atlanta 30 yd line, where Jeff Faine would get called for an illegal snap and the Bucs would be penalized 5 yds, Griese's 3rd down pass would fall incomplete and Tampa Bay would have to settle for a 53 yd field goal attempt by Matt Bryant. Bryant's kick had the power but lacked the accuracy, as he pulled it to the left.

Atlanta failed to take advantage of the field position, going three-and-out, and then punter Michael Koenen's punt was blocked by Bucs special teamer Brian Clark, the block was fielded by reserve safety Sabby Piscitelli, who returned it 18yds to the Atlanta 22. Griese hit Michael Clayton at the Atlanta 11 while the two-minute warning expired, then Cadillac Williams 3 yd carry put the Bucs at point blank range at the 9. Then the Bucs offense, which we all know is red zone challeged, hit reverse. First, Griese held the ball to long and was sacked for an 11 yd loss, then Aaron Sears was called for holding, backing the Bucs back to the 30. Jon Gruden called a draw play on 3rd and 28 and Warrick Dunn scampered for 10 yds to the 20. Matt Bryant flirted with the right upright but tucked it in with 0:34 left in regulation to tie the game at 10.

The Bucs won the toss in overtime, but another special teams miscue on the kickoff pinned the Bucs at their own 7. Tampa Bay moved it out to their own 37 but Griese again held the ball to long on third down and was sacked for a 13 yd loss. Punter Josh Bidwell blasted a nice of 47 yds with no return, putting the Falcons at their own 29, but the Falcons would take advantage of the winded Bucs defense, driving it 55 yds in 11 plays, to set up veteran kicker Jason Elam's 34 yd game winner. The Falcons overcame a fumble by Matt Ryan that was recovered by a Falcons offensive lineman. Elam lined up and tucked it in the left upright - ballgame, Atlanta wins and the Bucs lose two straight for the first time this season.

The Falcons and Bucs are now tied with 9-5 records in the NFC South and the Bucs are now in a dogfight for one of the NFC's two wild card spots. The good news for the Bucs, is they have San Diego and Oakland at home to wrap up the season where they are undefeated, in Raymond James Stadium. One last note, Warrick Dunn became the sixth player in NFL history to rush for 10,000 yds and have 500 receptions in his career.

Bradford wins the Heisman, Tebow led in 1st Place Votes

By JC De La Torre

Florida Quarterback and 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow finished third in the Heisman balloting this year despite receiving the most first place votes (309) and finished a mere 151 pts behind the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner Oklahoma Quarterback Sam Bradford.

Bradford and the Sooners will face Tebow's Gators for the National Championship in January.

My take on the decision? Its the right choice, Tebow's numbers are down this year as the team around him became more complete. Tebow wasn't the entire offense this year and it helped, as the Gators improved from 9-4 to 12-1 this season.

In the end, what will mean more to Tebow isn't whether or not he beat Bradford for this prestigious award, its whether or not he beats him on January 8.

Power Outage - Bolts Blanked By Sens 2-0

By JC De La Torre

The two worst scoring teams in the NHL got together tonight and the outcome could have easily been predicted as the Ottawa Senators edged the Lightning 2-0. Ottawa didn't get their second goal of the hockey game until Daniel Alfredsson fired into an empty net with 0:45 left in the game, despite having 8 power play chances (they were 1-for-8).

Penalty was the word of the night for Tampa Bay as one after another, members of the Lightning paraded to the sin bin, eventually totaling in 29 total penalty minutes and 8 short handed situations. While on the penalty kill, the Lightning offensive attack was downright offensive, generating very little pressure on Ottawa Goalie Martin Gerber, who at times looked like he was fighting the puck a bit. Ottawa would finally break a scoreless deadlock when a former Bolt (albeit was a brief tenure) Alexandre Picard fired the puck past Mike Smith on the Power play for a 1-0 lead. Smith was sensational again on the night, stopping 31 of 32 shots against, while Gerber stopped all 24 shots he faced.

While some of the calls seemed borderline at best and the Lightning had grievances the way the linesman was dropping the puck on faceoffs (appearing to give Ottawa center men clear advantage), the coup de grâce came in the final moments of the game. With Mike Smith pulled for the extra attacker, the linesman dropped the puck on a face off in the Ottawa zone. Inexplicably, as the lineman Derek Amell tried to get out of the way of Mike Fisher and Jussi Jokinen battling for control, he flailed his legs and at one point lifted his skate arching upward behind his body, the skate would catch Martin St. Louis in the face as he reached down to try to gain control of the puck. St. Louis went immediately down, but play continued as Ottawa got control. As St. Louis struggled to the Lightning bench, Alfredsson put the puck in the empty net, clinching the game.

The Lightning were furious and Paul Ranger earned a 10 minute misconduct penalty. St. Louis suffered a nasty gash and needed eight stitches to close up two separate cuts on his forehead. It didn't matter as the final seconds ticked off, the Lightning were shut out for the fourth time this season and have scored three or fewer goals in twenty-eight of their thirty games this season.

Tampa Bay falls to 7-15-8 on the year and are 2-8-4 since Rick Tocchet replaced Barry Melrose as head coach.

After a tumultuous month with little to show for their troubles, the Lightning will get four days off, not playing again until Thursday.

"There will be a lot of practice time in the next four days," Tocchet told the Associated Press.

We can only hope that some of the time is spent re-teaching the scorers how to put the biscuit in the basket.

Rays Make Their First Move of the Off-season - And it's a Big One!

By JC De La Torre

The Tampa Bay Rays made room in their starting rotation for David Price and filled one of the few holes on their American League Champion squad by trading Starter Edwin Jackson to the Detroit Tigers for Outfielder Matt Joyce, a Tampa-born native, who hit .252 with 12 home runs and 33 rbi in 92 games for the Tigers. The 24yd old Armwood High graduate spent this season bouncing between Toledo of Triple-A and the Tigers and exploded onto the scene with 5 home runs in his first 36 at bats. Strikeouts got the better of him in the big leagues, something he's worked hard on in the Mexican Fall League. Joyce is considered to have promising big league power and excellent range in the outfield.

"We've gotten really good reports on his work ethic, his makeup, on the intangibles that elevate his tools in terms of being a 'baseball player,' and that's kind of the ultimate compliment as we go through looking at guys," Friedman told the St. Petersburg Times.

The Rays gave up a solid pitcher in Jackson, who improved to 14-11 this season. Tampa Bay's depth in the farm system, especially the rise of David Price and Jeff Neimann, made Jackson expendable. Joyce is expected to compete and potentially solidify the right field position for Tampa Bay. The Rays are still in the market for a designated hitter bat with Milton Bradley and Jason Giambi on the radar.

Garcia a Game time decision

By JC De La Torre

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may be without their offensive leader as Jeff Garcia has reinjured the calf muscle he hurt in training camp and will be a game time decision for the crucial NFC South showdown with the Atlanta Falcons.

If Garcia is unable to go, the Bucs will have to go with Quarterback Luke McCown, as backup Brian Griese is still injured as well.

Bolts Find Victory! Atlantis Next?

By JC De La Torre

Like the lost continent of Atlantis or the Ark of the Covenant, its been a long arduous search for victory for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Nine straight games, the Bolts went without the second point, making the fans begin to believe that it was a myth. Its not, Lightning fans...your hockey team just got two points for their 3-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

Its almost poetic justice that the Lightning broke their skid in Montreal, where the two stars who combined for the Lightning goals hail from, Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier.

Monteal's Patrice Brisebois scored at the 5:34 mark of the first period and the Lightning appeared to be in for another long night. Tampa Bay controlled the play in the first period, outshooting the Canadiens 11-8 and were finally rewarded when Martin St. Louis lasered a shot past Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak at the 10:49 mark of the first to tie the game at 1. A couple minutes later, Vincent Lecavalier scored his 12th of the season to give the Bolts their first lead of the game.

From there, apparently the apalling idea that Tampa Bay could potentially win the game was too much for referrees Marc Joannette, Dean Morton to take as four straight penalties were called on Tampa Bay in the 2nd period. It wouldn't matter - as with Marek Malik off for interference, Martin St. Louis rekindled some of his old magic, stealing a puck at center ice and skating in all along on Halak, putting it past him to give the Bolts a 3-1 lead that would hold through the rest of the 2nd and most of the third.

The game wouldn't end without adventure though, as Vinny Lecavalier was called for hooking Alex Tanguay with 1:39 left in the game. Lecavalier gave a little noise on the way to the sin bin and was nailed will an unsportsmanlike as well. The Lightning managed to kill it off and taste victory for the first time since November 21st and erased the disappointment of previous night's 4-2 loss in Buffalo where Tampa Bay blew a two goal lead.

Tampa Bay finally gets their 7th win and improve to 7-14-8 on the year.

Arena League to Suspend Operation?

By JC De La Torre

It appears that the Arena Football League may be on the verge of financial collapse, ending the 17 year run of the Tampa Bay Storm in the bay area.

The Rocky Mountain News is reporting that the AFL is canceling the 2009 season and the Philadelphia Inquirer and Denver Post paint an even darker picture that if the league cannot come up with financing by December 19th, the league will fold.

The New Orleans VooDoo have folded, the Orlando Predators were just quickly sold and league commissioner David Baker resigned.

According to Tampa Bay.com, the Storm spokesperson Jim Robinson said, "We're preparing for the 2009 season just as we have for each of our previous seasons."

Hey Melrose - In the Immortal Words of John Tortorella - SHUT YOUR YAP!

By JC De La Torre

So Barry Melrose went on another tirade against his former employer the Tampa Bay Lightning (again). Apparently Melrose is concerned his name hasn't been mentioned in the press for the last month so he wants to get it back out there while he waits to slink back to the four letter network where hockey is understood about as much as chess. Melrose again said some nasty things about co-owner Len Barrie (without naming names), Rick Tocchet, the players and in particular young Steven Stamkos. I'm not giving him a pass on this one.

Melrose, perhaps trying to explain why he is still whining a month after his dismissal, actually told the St. Petersburg Times, "I'm a name in hockey and Tampa made a big splash with all the stuff they did. When you do that, and when things don't work out, you become a big story."

Folks, there - in the mountain of bullshit that Melrose threw at the Lightning - lies the truth as to why he failed in Tampa Bay. Melrose is an egotistical a-hole. Its obvious. He expected to waltz in with his Conference Championship ring (delivered to him by the Great One) and decades of being an ESPN expert and expected the players to kiss his ass. He expected the ownership to follow his every word and stay out of the hockey side. He expected to never be questioned when he didn't put in a system in training camp, when his hockey team had no idea what they were doing offensively or defensively or when the players stopped playing for him because they knew he was a frickin' joke as a coach.

No, the Lightning have not let the world on fire after Melrose' firing....because they lost a training camp and the first month of the season by making a horrible decision of hiring a guy who had been out of hockey for so long that most of his players' parents barely remember him as a coach.

Melrose continues to harp on interference from ownership and lack of acceptance from the players. Perhaps if he had checked his ego at the door and understood that hockey has changed a lot since the last time he coached he could have taken some input from others in the organization and would have been able to adjust accordingly. Hockey isn't just "throw you're talented guys on the ice, give them a rah-rah speech and it should be enough to win games" anymore. Melrose was never an X's and O's coach and it was painfully evident with the Lightning players because on the ice they appeared hesitant and confused most of the time. The Lightning won the Stanley Cup under John Totorella because they had a system. The Red Wings are the Red Wings not only because they have some of the best players in the world, but because they have a solid SYSTEM that puts those players in the position to succeed. New Jersey has been a Cup contender for a decade not only because of the players that have gone through their complex but the system they play.

"I'm in the TV business now," Melrose told the Times, "I can't say no comment. I'm not going to duck questions. I'm not going to lie. That's one of the things ESPN likes about me. I'm a TV analyst. I have to look at it from a different perspective."

Exactly, Barry - that means you need to be impartial. Right now railing against the Lightning is not objective solid journalism, it's childish "its not my fault" finger pointing. It shows the world why you failed miserably and why you're a fraud as a TV analyst. The truth is Barry Melrose knows little about today's hockey and he doesn't dare admit that or there's no reason for ESPN to have him. Notice none of the Canadian hockey outlets were falling all over themselves to add him to their line up. They know hockey and only misguided ESPN believes he's worth a puck. At least John Tortorella has a gripe against the organization....I mean, he's a Stanley Cup winning coach, the winningest coach in Lightning history and they fired him for THIS CLOWN? Its no wonder Tortorella called them a joke.

To Rick Tocchet's credit, he stood up for the organization, "I wasn't with Barry every day. But I never was in meetings with him where he said they called him and said you have to play certain guys certain minutes. Like any organization, you have discussions about players. … Nobody has got a walkie-talkie saying, 'Hey, Barry, put this guy on the ice.' "

Melrose's attack included a shot at Tocchet, ""The guys in charge decided they wanted to coach. … Now they've got guys in charge who let them do what they want."

"The only reason I'm commenting on this is it was insinuated I was told what to do," Tocchet told the Times, "I'm not a puppet or told what to do by ownership. I'm the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The decisions are made by me as to who is on the ice with the help of my great hockey staff."

If the guys in charge wanted to coach, they would be coaching right now. They don't want to coach, they wanted someone that wanted to be part of an organization, not be Atillah the thickheaded "I know it all" hockey coach.

"I take it personal, to be honest, I'm not a puppet,'' Tocchet told the Tampa Tribune, "Ownership doesn't tell me who to play, they have been very supportive of me, I have a great coaching staff that helps me make decisions and we're making strides now. This is our training camp right now. We're trying to get our systems into place, and we now have a system.''

We won't dignify Melrose's attack on Steven Stamkos or the rest of the players, who are struggling to learn Tocchet's system (hey, how bout that Barry, a SYSTEM) and are fightning their butts off for him every night. Basically, the Lightning are having their second training camp NOW and its going to take some time. What's frustrating is if they could just get a win, that may break the dam of negativity and begin the turn around.

Of course, that would ruin Barry's day, "I hope that Tampa Bay doesn't win a game the rest of the year." Nice. Great way to re-start your career as career as an objective TV anaylst there, Bare.

I know its asking a lot because there's no one in Bristol that knows a thing about hockey (other than what Barry Melrose has told them), but I'm hoping somebody at the four letter network gets a clue that Barry Melrose is a sham.

The best thing Barry can do for himself is take the advice that John Tortorella gave to another coach a few years ago - shut his yap about Tampa Bay. Just give your two or three minutes of "NHL analysis" in the backside of Sportcenter stuck between curling and woman's volleyball and we'll all be better for it.

Bucs-Chargers gets Flexed Out of SNF

By JC De La Torre

The December 21st matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Diego Chargers was flexed off of Sunday Night Football, the NFL announced today. Instead of the Bucs-Chargers, America will be treated to a showdown of the two best teams in the NFC, Carolina and the Giants.

The apparent sorry state of the Chargers, lack of appeal of the Bucs, and the large playoff implications of the Giants-Panthers game made this one a no brainer.

The Bucs and Chargers will tee it up at 1pm on CBS.

TBSB Buccaneers NFC Playoff Scenario Madness - Week 15

By JC De La Torre

Current NFC Playoff Standings

Seed Team Record (conf rec) Remaining Games
1. y-New York Giants 11-2 (8-1) @dal, Car, @Min
2. Carolina Panthers 10-3 (7-3) Den, @NYGiants, @NO
3. Minnesota Vikings 8-5 (6-3) @Ari, Atl, NYGiants
4. y-Arizona Cardinals 8-5 (6-4) Min, @NE, Seattle
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-4 (8-3) @Atl, SD, Oak
6. Dallas Cowboys 8-5 (6-4) NYG, BAL, @Phi
-------------------------------------------------------------
Atlanta Falcons 8-5 (5-4) TB, @Min, St. Louis
Philadelphia Eagles 7-5-1 (6-4) Clev, @WAS, DAL
Washington Redskins 7-6 (6-4) @Cin, Phil, @San Fran
Chicago Bears 7-6 (5-5) NO, GB, @Hou
New Orleans Saints 7-6 (4-5) CHI, @DET, Carolina

y-Clinched Division, x clinched playoff spot, z-clinched home field advantage
NFL Tie-Breaker Procedures

The following is the a deep dive breakdown of playoff scenarios for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the NFC for Week 15. You'll only find this detailed of a breakdown here at the JC De La Torre's Tampa Bay Sports Blog, we'll update it each week as the Bucs progress through the final quarter of their schedule.

The Bucs had a good week last week despite the loss to Carolina Panthers, all of the “Who to root for” teams did what they were supposed to do. Unfortunately, the Bucs didn’t follow suit. So here’s where we are for week 15 –

Clinched
New York Giants clinched the NFC East
Arizona Cardinals clinched the NFC West

This Week’s Clinching Scenarios
Carolina clinches a playoff spot with victory (vs. Denver) and losses by Dallas (vs. NY Giants) and Atlanta (vs. Tampa Bay)

Bucs Scenarios
The Bucs can clinch a playoff berth with a victory over Atlanta and a loss by Dallas or Philadelphia.

Future Cast – Buccaneers
If the Bucs Win Out –
If the Buccaneers defeat Atlanta, San Diego and Oakland, the Bucs would be in the playoffs as a wildcard as the 5th seed.

To win the division, the Bucs would need Carolina to lose one of their remaining games.

If Carolina loses to Denver or New Orleans, the Bucs win the division on the third tiebreaker on victories against common opponents (10-2 to 9-3) or division record, in the case of New Orleans (4-2 vs. 3-3).

If Carolina wins those two games but loses to the Giants, the Bucs and Carolina would tie in common opponents forcing us to go to the fourth tie-breaker, conference record, the Bucs would edge out the Panthers 9-3 to 8-4.

If the Bucs lose to Atlanta, Win the Last Two
The Bucs would be in dire straights in regards to the division. Carolina would need to lose two of their last three games, and one of the losses would need to be to New Orleans. Atlanta would need to lose one of their last two games. That would knock Atlanta out of a three way tie and leave it to the Bucs and Carolina.

It would be the same scenario as above, only each team would have an additional loss.

If Carolina loses to New Orleans and Denver, the Bucs would win the tie-breaker in common opponents 8-4 to 7-5. If Carolina defeats Denver, obviously, the Bucs would need Carolina to lose their last two games to have a chance for a division title.

If Atlanta creates a 3 way tie by winning out, Atlanta would win the division based on “strength of victory”. The combine record of the opponents the Falcons defeated is 58-85 .405 win pct, the record of the teams the Bucs defeated is 58-86 (.398). The Falcons would win the strength of victory tie-breaker as it currently stands. So the Bucs would need Seattle to get a couple more wins and for St. Louis to continue to lose to help turn strength of victory around.

This goes for the wildcard too. If the Bucs and Falcons both finish 11-5, Atlanta would beat out Tampa Bay for the 5th seed. The Bucs would need to get another loss from Dallas in their final three games or they would end up out of playoffs.

If the Bucs win in Atlanta, but lose one of their final two games
Again, the Bucs would need Carolina to lose two of their final three.
If one of those loses were to New Orleans, the Buccaneers would win the division on the second tie-breaker, division record. If the losses were Denver and NY Giants, the Bucs would win on common opponents.

If Carolina wins two of their last three and takes the division, the Bucs would still be in good shape regarding the wild card. The Bucs would win the wildcard over Atlanta, due to head-to-head. Dallas, if they win out would be the #5 seed, otherwise the Bucs would be the #5. None of the other NFC contenders can get to 11 victories.

If the Bucs lose to Atlanta and Lose one of their final two games.
The Bucs would be in deep, deep trouble. The division would be out of question, unless Carolina lost all of their remaining games and Atlanta lost their last two games.

Dallas would need to lose two of their last three, Philadelphia would need to lose one game, and Washington would need to lose one of their remaining games (The Redskins would beat the Bucs in common opponents 4-1 vs 3-2).

If the Bucs Lose Out
They will be watching the playoffs at home.

Earliest the Bucs could clinch a playoff spot
Week 15 – With win over Atlanta and a loss by Dallas or Philadelphia.

Earliest the Bucs could clinch the NFC South
Week 16 – With wins over Atlanta and San Diego and losses by Carolina to Denver and NY Giants

Week 15 – Who to Root For
The Bucs to beat Atlanta

New Orleans over Chicago (keeps the Saints in contention with something to play for)

Cincinnati to upset Washington

NY Giants to beat Dallas

Cleveland to upset Philadelphia

Denver to beat Carolina

Minnesota to upend Arizona (if the Bucs do get back into the divisional race,
Minnesota has the tougher road to the bye)

Seattle to beat St. Louis (helps the Bucs strength of victory case against the Falcons...just in case)

Carolina Runs the Bucs Out of Charlotte

By JC De La Torre

To steal a term from Awful Announcing's superstar Emmit Smith, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense got "debacled" Monday Night in Carolina. The Bucs defense came into the game ranked 9th in the NFL against the run, through 12 games this season they gave up only one touchdown rushing and only one 100 yd rusher all season. Tonight they gave up 299 yds rushing and 4 rushing touchdowns with two runners (DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart) over 100 as the Panthers pulled away from Tampa Bay 38-23 to take over sole possession of first place in the NFC South. In the process, the Bucs wasted one of the best nights of a Tampa Bay Wide Receiver in team history as Antonio Bryant hauled in 9 catches for 200 yds and 2 touchdowns.

The Bucs opened the game with a three-and-out, then followed it with a terrible 38 yd punt by punter Josh Bidwell giving the Panthers excellent starting field position at their 48. Carolina would take advantage, driving 30 yds on 8 plays to set up a 33 yd Jon Kasay field goal to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead.

The Bucs tried to answer back, driving 52 yds in 14 plays and bleeding 8:36 off the clock. Unfortunately, Matt Bryant's 40 yd field goal try clanked off the left upright.

Moving into the second quarter, Ronde Barber intercepted Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme to end a threat by the Panthers. Bucs QB Jeff Garcia connected with WR Antonio Bryant on a 52 yd bomb taking the Bucs all the way down to the Carolina 3 yd line - but that old Buccaneer bug-a-boo the Red Zone offense came up and bit them again. On 1st and goal, Alex Smith dropped a touchdown pass in the end zone. On second down, Cadillac ran up the middle for no gain, then Garcia missed on a pass to Jerramy Stevens in the back of the end zone, forcing the Bucs to settle for a 20 yd Matt Bryant field goal to tie the game at 3.

On the ensuing drive, Carolina's DeAngelo Williams took over. 1st and 10 from the 27, Williams blasts for 9 yds, then rushes for 1, then explodes for 40 yds, running over several Buccaneer players to deep inside the Bucs territory. From there, Jonathan Stewart would finish the drive off, pounding in from two yards for the first touchdown of the game, only the second rushing touchdown given up by the Bucs this season, at the half it was 10-3 Carolina, the Panthers had 80 yds rushing, most coming on the big run by Williams.

In the second half, Carolina drove to their 46 yd line thanks to Jonathan Stewarts 28 yd blast. Delhomme would be victimized again as Jermaine Phillips picked him with an acrobatic tip up of a low pass and then have the ball fall into your lap play. One play later, Jeff Garcia found a wide open Bryant for a 50 yd touchdown, the Bucs tied the game at 10. Back came Carolina, drive 73 yds in 6 plays, capping the drive with Jake Delhomme's best pass of the game, a 38 yd strike to Steve Smith who took advantage of a busted Bucs coverage to give Carolina the lead back at 17-10.

Tampa Bay wouldn't quit, back they came driving 69 yds in 9 plays part of the way set up by another great play by Antonio Bryant, who caught a 39 yd pass. From the Carolina 4 yd line, Carnell "Cadillac" Williams drove into the end zone for the tying score, 17-17 with 3:37 left in the 3rd quarter.

Carolina would respond thanks to their running game. Williams and Stewart blasted down the field gashing the Bucs defense for runs of 9, 8, 14, and 9 finally culminating in a 4 yd score by Jonathan Stewart, giving the Panthers the lead back at 24-17. So the Bucs would come right back, right? Well, not quite. The Bucs drive stalled at the 43 and a 57 yd punt by Bucs punter Josh Bidwell pinned the Panthers at the 10 yd line. Perfect scenario for the Bucs defense, right?

Well....not exactly. DeAngelo Williams exploded to the right for 41 yds to the Tampa Bay 49. Jonathan Stewart blasts for 3 yds and then back to the right side for another 30 yds to the Tampa Bay 16. Williams checked back in and the Panthers continued to exploit the right side of the Bucs defense, as he busted for 16 yds and another touchdown to give the Panthers a commanding 31-17 advantage and the Bucs defense was left stunned.

The Bucs drove to the 48 yd line, but again the drive stalled and the Bucs had to punt it again, this time the defense found a way to contain the Panthers and forced a three and out. Garcia and the Bucs quickly moved down the field in the two minute drill and with 2:36 left in the game, Garcia hit Antonio Bryant again, this time on a spectacular one-handed grab by Bryant that will be on highlight reels all week. Matt Bryant's extra point was blocked and the Bucs trailed by 8, 31-23. Tampa Bay attempted the onside kick, but Carolina recovered.

Antonio Bryant's Amazing touchdown catch, courtesy of youtube.com

The Bucs had to get the ball back to have a chance. Run off tackle by DeAngelo Williams for 3 yds, time out Tampa with 2:28 left. Williams plunged up the middle, time out Bucs - 2:17 left. The Bucs defense faced 3rd and 5 at their own 36. If they held, their offense would get a chance, give up the first down, the Panthers could run out the clock. The Panthers pitched DeAngelo Williams to the right and Williams not only got the 1st down but scampered nearly untouched 36 yds for the touchdown, giving the Panthers an insurmountable 38-23 lead.

The Bucs had time for one more drive but failed to execute on 4th and 1 at the Tampa Bay 47, enabling the Panthers to run out the clock.

Carolina takes over 1st place in the NFC South with a 10-3 record, the Bucs fall to 9-4, currently the 5th seed in the NFC. The 299 yds by Carolina was only the 4th time since 1996 the Bucs have give up more than 250 yds rushing in the game and was the 2nd most in Buccaneer history. Antonio Bryant was 12 yds shy of the Buccaneer single game receiving record (Mark Carrier's 212 yds).

For the Bucs, they'll need to recover from this smackdown quickly, as they head to Atlanta on Sunday against another team that can run the football. The run defense's failure tonight is correctable and they better do it quickly or a season that appeared to be so promising may suddenly be on the brink.

Bolts Beaten In Boston

By JC De La Torre

The Tampa Bay Lightning fell behind 3-0 and their rally fell short as they dropped their 8th straight game, this time to the Boston Bruins, 5-3.

Milan Lucic, Phil Kessel, Michael Ryder scored first period goals for Boston. Tampa Bay got within 3-1 on a goal from Adam Hall, but Zdeno Chara's goal at the 18:43 mark of the second period to re-establish the Bruins three goal advantage.

The Lightning did make one last comeback bid in the third period, with Vincent Lecavalier scoring at the 9:27 mark of the third period to cut it to 4-2, it would stay that way until there were 0:28 left in the game, when rookie Paul Szczechura got his first career NHL goal to pull the Lightning within 1 but P.J. Axelsson would finish this one off with an empty net goal.

"I don't know if we're a dumb team or we just don't get it, or we don't deserve to be in this league," Lightning goalie Mike Smith told the Associated Press, "I mean, we're making the same mistakes we talk about, game in and game out."

"To me it's an embarrassment when you have more than three or four individuals not ready to play," Lightning coach Rick Tocchet said to the AP.

Tampa Bay falls to 6-13-8 on the year.

Welcome MVN Visitors

By JC De La Torre

The TBSB would like to welcome visitors from the Most Valuable Network! Yours truly was invited to participate in an article regarding Monday Nights game. The article is now posted on the MVN Outsider blog.

For those of you visiting for the first time, we cover the Buccaneers, Lightning, Rays, Arena League Tampa Bay Storm as well as our colleges USF and my favorite school, the University of Florida (sorry, no FSU or Miami here).

If you're looking for our coverage of the Bucs-Panthers showdown as well as any other Buc info here's a run down of our Buc stories going into tonight's game -

MNF Madness Bucs @ Panthers Preview - This is our breakdown of tonight's game, matchups and predicition included.

TBSB Buccaneer NFC Playoff Scenario Madness - Week 14 - Each week we will break down every angle, every possibility of the Buccaneers playoff aspirations including detailed explanations of tie-breakers and other scenarios.

Good Day for the Bucs - The Bucs had a good day yesterday - we detail why.

Thanks again for stopping by and we hope you'll visit us regularly, whether you're a Tampa Bay fan, one of our hated rivals, or just like interesting sports!

GO BUCS!

Gators going to the BCS Championship!

By JC De La Torre

The University of Florida is now officially on their way to Miami to face Oklahoma for the National Championship Fox Sports announced tonight.

Your BCS Schedule is -
Jan. 1 Rose Bowl - Penn State vs. USC
Jan. 1 Orange Bowl - Cincinatti vs. Virginia Tech
Jan. 2 Sugar Bowl - Utah vs. Alabama
Jan. 5 Fiesta Bowl - Ohio State vs. Texas
Jan. 8 BCS National Championship Game - Florida vs. Oklahoma

We would like to offer our congrats to the Florida Gators and Oklahoma Sooners for making it to the big one. Should be a fantastic championship game.

Good Day for the Bucs

By JC De La Torre

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got some help from their friends today. As we mentioned in TBSB NFC Playoff Scenario Madness-Week 14 the Bucs could use some help to improve their playoff chances - today they got it.

New Orleans defeated Atlanta 29-25 to drop the Falcons to 8-5.

Pittsburgh beat Dallas 20-13 to drop the Cowboys to 8-5

Philadelphia upset the NY Giants, dropping the G-men to 10-2 (and getting the Bucs in striking distance of the #1 seed).

Baltimore still has to play the Redskins tonight, but if they can pull off the win it will be a perfect sweep of the "Who to Root for" for Week 14...

Now its up to the Bucs to take care of their own and BEAT CAROLINA!

We would like to congratulate the New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, and Arizona Cardinals for clinching their respective division titles and as a result a playoff spot.

West Virginia Freezes out USF in Season Finale

By JC De La Torre

West Virigina honored star Quarterback Pat White's last game in a Mountaineer uniform by wearing all white. God contributed by adding a little white to the scenery with a snow storm, and in the end, the Mountaineers froze out the USF Bulls 13-7 thanks to their defense and a pitiful redzone performance by the Bulls offense.

The Mountaineers opened the game with an 11 play 59 yd drive that was completed with a White to Tyler Urban 11 yd touchdown pass to give West Virginia the early lead. USF came right back down the field, driving all the way to Mountaineer 9 yd line on a 13 play, 64 yd drive. Unfortunately for the Bulls, running back Mike Ford fumbled the football at the 5 yd line, ending the South Florida threat.

After holding West Virginia, the Bulls opened the second quarter of the game with another solid drive, going 75 yds in 12 plays that included quarterback Matt Grothe hitting Wide Receiver Jessie Hester for 20 yds and reciever Dontavia Bogan for 33 yds. Grothe would finish off the drive himself, driving into the endzone Tim Tebow-style to tie the game at 7.

After an exchange of punts, South Florida got the ball back with 3:15 left in the half. Grothe drove the Bulls 61 yds in 9 plays all the way to the WVU 15 yd line but a terrible decision by Grothe cost the Bulls as he was intercepted in the end zone by Sidney Glover with 0:33 left. The 33 seconds would be enough for Pat White, who with the help of a pass interference penalty on the Bulls moved the Mountaineers into field goal range. Pat McAfee drilled a 45 yd field goal as time expired to give West Virginia a 10-7 halftime lead.

The 2nd half got off to a rocky start for the Bulls, after receiving the kickoff, on the second play from scrimmage Quarteback Matt Grothe was intercepted by Ellis Lankste at the West Virgina 41 yd line. The pick would lead to a 42 yd McAfee field goal to make it 13-7 West Virginia. The teams would end the 3rd quarter exchanging punts. As they moved into the 4th quarter, the Mountaineers would miss two golden opportunities to put the game away. First, they drove down the the USF 22 yd line but fumbled the ball away. Then with 5:36 left in the game, McAfee missed a 48 yd attempt giving the Bulls one last chance. Grothe passed USF all the way to the WVU 14 yd line. A two yard loss by running back Jamar Taylor and two incompletions by Grothe set up 4th and 12 on the 16 with 0:30 left in the game. Grothe's desperation pass intended for Taurus Johnson fell incomplete and that was the ball game.

The Bulls finish the 2008 regular season with a disappointing 7-5 record. They have accepted the invitation to play in the inaugural St. Pete Bowl at Tropicana Field on December 20th, definitely a far cry from where they expected to be after starting the season 5-0.

Same Old Story - Bolts Close But Not Close Enough...

By JC De La Torre

The Tampa Bay Lightning have been involved in a league high 20 1-goal games. Guess how many of those they have won? That number would be four. Tampa Bay is 4-16 in one goal games (including OT and shootout losses) and that folks is why they've lost seven straight and only have six wins total on the season. It continued again at home against the Buffalo Sabres in a 4-3 loss. During their skid, four of the losses have been by one goal, two others were by two goals, with the final goal coming on an empty netter. Basically folks, this hockey team does not know how to win close games.

Drew Stafford and Martin St. Louis exchanged goals in a surprisingly chippy first period. Twice the gloves were dropped in the first with Tampa Bay's Radek Smolenak battling Buffalo's Paul Gaustad and was followed by the fiery one, Steve Downie, taking on Buffalo's Adam Mair (Mair dominated that one).

Downie vs. Mair Video Courtesy of HockeyFights.com

The 2nd Period was a wild one with pucks bouncing in from all different directions. Buffalo's Thomas Vanek broke the tie at the 9:46 mark of the second period with a goal that went off a Lightning defenseman and into the net. Second later, Lightning Defenseman Paul Ranger answered on a nice feed from Vincent Lecavalier to make it 2 all. At the 14:41 mark of the second, Jochen Hecht deflected in his third goal of the season to give Buffalo a 3-2 advantage. Again, the resilient Lightning responded when Buffalo goalier Ryan Miller lost track of the puck during a scrum in front of the net, the Bolts Vaclav Prospal found it and had the shot riccohet off the staff of a Buffalo defender, then the back of Miller and into the net. As the period closed, Lightning captain and Superstar Vincent Lecavalier showed his grit, taking on Jochen Hecht for the third fight of the night. Hecht would connect on a nasty shot to the knows that momentarily hurt Lecavalier, he would return.

Lecavalier vs. Hecht Video Courtesy of HockeyFights.com

Midway through the third period, Derek Roy slipped a shot past a screened Mike Smith to give the Sabres back the lead for good. The Lightning had a few chances to tie in the final minutes, including six shots on their final power play, but they couldn't get the equalizer past Smith and Buffalo held on for the win.

The skid continues for the Bolts as they fall to 6-12-8 on the season, last in the SE Division. While at this point even uttering the word playoffs brings to mind the image of Jim Mora's famous rant, amazingly, Tampa Bay is only 7 points out of a playoff spot. If the Lightning could just learn how to win close games, they could quickly go on a run and get right back in this thing. First things first, they gotta get win number one and now they'll have to do it on the road as they head out for a five game tour of the northeast division.

Game For the Ages: Florida Outlasts #1 Bama for SEC Title

By JC De La Torre

Photos courtesy of Gatorsports.com and ESPN.com

The Florida Gators claimed their eighth Southeastern Conference Championship, outslugging the #1 team in the country, the previously undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide 31-20 in an epic battle that was much closer than the score indicated. Barring an unforeseen travesty in the final BCS Standings, the Gators will be playing for the National Championship in Miami against either Oklahoma or Texas (depending on the results of the Big 12 Championship Game tonight). Florida played with out their offensive superstar, Percy Harvin, who was nursing a high ankles sprain, so Heisman Trophy quarterback Tim Tebow put the Gator offense on his back and basically willed Florida to victory.

After Alabama opened the game with a 3 and out, Tebow drove the Gators right down the field, rushing for 19 yds, throwing for 25 yds and completing a 9 play 59 yd drive with a touchdown pass to little used wide out Carl Moore, who caught his first touchdown pass of the season. Surprisingly, Alabama struck back quickly, as John Parker Wilson connected with phenomenal freshman Julio Jones on a 20 yd curl, Jones spinned away from Gator defensive back Joe Haden, and raced 64 yds to the Florida 18 yd line. Before the Gators could catch their breath, Alabama's Glenn Coffee powered off tackle and rumbled 18 yds for the tying score.

The Gators offense had a rare three and out and punter Chas Henry, perhaps shocked he had to go out there so quickly shanked the punt for 36 yds, which was fielded on the run by returner Javier Arenas, who raced 19 yds to the Gators 25. Wilson hit Nick Walker for 12 yds to the Florida 13, but would get no closer as the Florida defense stiffened and Alabama settled for a 30 yd Leigh Tiffin field goal. Alabama led 10-7, the first time Florida trailed in a game since the gut wrenching loss to Ole Miss.


The two defenses flexed their muscles as the game moved into the 2nd quarter. Each punched and counterpunched but neither seemed to get a foothold. Finally, midway through the second quarter, Tebow found WR Riley Cooper wide open down the sideline and hit him in stride for a 51 yd gain all the way to the Alabama 4 yd line. Like the Gators, the Crimson Tide defense wouldn't allow the score - stuffing Demps once and Tebow twice and forcing the Gators to settle for a 19 yd Jonathan Phillips field goal, tying the game at 10 with 8:59 to go in the first half..

The Gator defense 3-and-outed the Tide offense once again, and Tebow once again put the Florida offense on his back. After Brandon James rushed for 4 yds and an Alabama defender was nailed for grabbing the face mask, tacking on a 15 yd personal foul that put Florida on the Crimon Tide 38. From there Tebow figured in 8 straight plays for Florida, four rushes and 4 passes, including a 22 yd strike to tight end Aaron Hernandez to put the Gators at point blank range at the Bama 5 yd line. Tebow would scramble to his left and fire a low trajectory pass into the end zone, where underrated wide receiver David Nelson made a terrific grab just barely off the turf to give Florida back the lead 17-10, it would stay that way until halftime. Alabama trailed at the half for the first time this season.

Florida got the ball first in the second half, but Alabama's defense forced the Gators offense 3-and-out. Chas Henry blasted a massive 57 yd punt that drove returner Javier Arenas to his 9 yd line where he was wiped out by the solid coverage of the Florida special teams crew. From there, it became the Julio Jones show. Jones made three big catches for 38 yds while his teammate Glenn Coffee pounded the right side of the Florida defense for 31 yds. Alabama drove 91 yds, in 15 plays and ate up 6:53 off the clock and cashed in with the game tying touchdown on Mark Ingram's 2 yd run. The Gators tried to answer, with Tebow finding Louis Murphy for a 34 yd gain to the Alabama 37. Jeff Demps would gain 12 yds on two carries to the Crimson Tide 25. On 1st and 10 from the 25, Demps would get stuffed and Tebow would throw two incompletions, forcing Florida to settle for a 42 yd field goal attempt by Jonathan Davis. It was the longest attempt of the year by Davis and it ended up being his first miss of the season as he pushed it wide right.

John Parker Wilson hit Nick Walker for 17 yds, then Alabama went back to the running game, pounding Coffee at the Florida front 4, driving it to the Gators 37 yd line. From there, Wilson hit Julio Jones for a 22 yd gain to the Florida 12 yd line. The Gators defense stiffened again, forcing two incompletions by Wilson and stuffing Coffee on a two yd run. As the 3rd quarter expired, Leigh Tiffin kicked a 27 yd field goal to give Alabama a 20-17 advantage moving into the final quarter.

In his illustrious career at the University of Florida, Quarterback Tim Tebow had done just about everything. The one thing he had never done was lead the Gators back for a victory when trailing in the second half - he was 0-5 lifetime. The Gators patiently and methodically moved down the field on Alabama's stout defense, driving 62 yds in 11 plays, setting up Jeff Demps on the option toss for a 1 yd score, giving Florida the lead back at 24-20.

On Alabama's ensuing drive, Wilson fired an incompletion intended for Julio Jones, then saw Glenn Coffee stuffed after a 2 yd gain. On 3rd and 8, Jermaine Cunningham sacked Wilson for an 11 yd loss, forcing Alabama to kick it back to the Gators with 7:27 left. Florida would then beat the Tide at their own game. Three runs by Florida got them to the 48 yd line, then Tebow hit Louis Murphy for 33 yds and Aaron Hernandez for 15 yds, moving the ball to the 6 yd line. Tebow rumbled 5 yds to the Alabama 1 yd line....then, inexplicably, the Gators were called for a sideline infraction. The call was legit, Urban Meyer and some of the other coaches were on the field - but to make that call with the game on the line...wow. It could have been a game changing call, but Tebow made up for the penalty, finding Riley Cooper in the end zone for the game clinching score, putting Florida up by 11 with only 2:50 left in the game.

Alabama would get the ball back one last time but John Parker Wilson's desperation pass was intercepted by Joe Haden and Florida ran out the clock, clinching the SEC Championship and at least a BCS bowl berth. With an 11 point victory over the #1 team in the nation, most pundits are saying that this victory should vault the Gators into the Bowl Championship Series title game. Then again, in this fouled system you never know. One year Auburn went undefeated and was shutout of the National Championship game. Think about that, a team that went undefeated in the SEC didn't get a chance to play for the Crystal football. That's why you can never know. It will be a great injustice if the Gators are denied an opportunity to play for the title as the way they have dominated the SEC, scoring 30 or more against every SEC opponent and having double digit victories in 9 straight they are without question playing the best football in the country. If its about the best teams, I don't see how anyone can argue with Florida playing for it all.

USF and West Virginia wrap up Disappointing Campaigns

By JC De La Torre

At the beginning of the season, many invisioned Saturdays showdown between the South Florida Bulls and the West Virigina Mountineers to not only be a battle that may decide the Big East title but a BCS bowl bid. Instead, each team wraps up underwhelming seasons where both come in with 7-4 records.

USF has had success versus the Mountaineers the last couple of years, led by Matt Grothe, the Bulls' leading passer and rusher, USF looks to upset the Mountaineers for the second straight time in Morgantown. West Virginia's Pat White and Noel Devine have put up big time numbers but it hasn't shown up in the win column.

The winner of this game will likely get a more prestigious bowl bid.

Saturday Showdown - Gators Battle Tide for the SEC Championship

By JC De La Torre

The #1 team in the nation faces the hottest team in the nation as the first two teams to ever play in the SEC Championship game return to face off in a contest that should decide one of the participants the BCS Title Game. The undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide will meet the #4 ranked Florida Gators (11-2) in Atlanta to settle who is tops in the Southeastern Conference.

Let's take a look at the matchups for this titanic matchup.

The Series

Alabama leads the All-time series 21-13, while Florida won the last meeting in 2006. Florida and Alabama have met five times in the SEC Championship game, with the Gators leading 3-2. Alabama won their last meeting in the SEC Championship game in 1999, 34-7. Alabama has advanced to the SEC Championship five times, meeting Florida each time. Florida has been to the SEC Championship game eight times, and hold a 6-2 record (with their only losses to Alabama).

Florida’s Offense vs. Alabama’s defense

The Gators offense is without question, one of the most feared in the country. Florida comes in boasting the 3rd highest scoring offense in the nation. Florida's 17th in total offense, 10th rushing, 61st in passing offense. The Gators boast a galaxy of offensive stars - Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Tim Tebow, running backs Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps, wide receivers Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy, while they have one of the toughest offensive lines in the nation. Since being upset by the Ole Miss Rebels on September 27th, the Gators have outscored their opponents 414-97 in eight victories (including 4 against ranked teams). Florida has dismanted top ranked defenses in LSU, South Carolina, Florida State, and Kentucky, each came in with defenses ranked in the top ten of the nation and left with large, ugly defeats. This is the challenge that faces the 3rd ranked defense of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama has been fantastic against both the run and pass, ranked 3rd in the nation in both. The Tide are led by sensational linebackers Rolando McClain, Brandon Fanny and Dont'a Hightower. They are anchored on the defensive line by senior Bobby Greenwood and in the secondary by Rashad Johnson.

Alabama’s Offense vs. Florida’s Defense

Overlooked in the Main Event matchup of Florida's offense against Bama's defense is the flip side. Alabama offense comes in 28th in scoring, 22nd in rushing, 97th passing, and 53rd in total offense. The Alabama rushing attack is led by sterling junior Glenn Coffee who has rushed for 1,235 yds and 9 touchdowns. Freshman Mark Ingram has shown to be a force, finding the endzone 11 times himself. Another fabulous freshman, Julio Jones, is really Alabama's only receiving threat. Quarterback John Parker Wilson doesn't light up the scoreboard but has shown to be an effective game manager who commits few mistakes. Playing in the shadow of their offense, the Gators quietly have fielded one of the best defenses in the nation. The Gators are ranked right behind the vaunted Alabama defense in scoring, 4th overall in the nation. They're 7th in total defense, 12th in rushing defense, and 17th against the pass. Florida ranks second in the nation in interceptions with 23 and Florida is #1 in the nation in turnover margin (+21). The Gators are led on defense by junior linebacker Brandon Spikes. The strenght of the defense is their secondary, led by Major Wright and Ahmad Black, as well as fab freshmen Janoris Jenkins and Will Hill. Sophmore Carlos Dunlap lead the Gators with 9 sacks.

Florida’s Special Teams vs. Alabama’s Special Teams

Florida is 7th in the nation in punt returns, 59th in kickoff returns, 4th in punt coverage but 89th in kickoff coverage. Florida's Brandon James is a whizz in the return game, as he has returned two punts for touchdowns this season. Florida's Jonathan Phillips has not missed a field goal this season, however his missed extra point against Ole Miss was the difference in the ballgame. Punter Chas Henry is rarely called upon but he is averaging 42.3 yds a punt. Alabama is ranked 107th in kickoff return average, 13th in punt returns, their 73rd in kickoff coverage and 74th in punt coverage. Javier Arenas does the return job for Alabama, he too has returned 2 punts for touchdowns. Junior Placekicker Leigh Tiffin has struggled a bit, only making 71% of his kicks and missing an extra point. PJ Fitzgerald handles the punting for the Tide, averaging 41.1 yards a kick.

Coaching

Florida's Urban Meyer is 40-9 at Florida and has the Gators in position for the 2nd SEC and National Championships of the Meyer era. Nick Saban is in his second season with the Crimson Tide. After a 7-6 first season, Saban has returned the Tide to national prominence with a stunning 12-0 record and a return to the SEC Championship game for the first time since 1999.

The Spread

We always mention the spread because Urban Meyer has always been well aware of the betting line due to many boosters that partake in the short term investment market. Florida is favored by 10 by most oddsmakers.

Final Score Prediction

Without question, Florida is the best team Alabama has faced this season. While the Gators have won roughshod over the SEC East, Alabama has won ugly most of the way to the #1 ranking. Good defense and a strong running game has been their hallmark all season. Florida comes in with speed and speed typically trumps strength, as has been the case in the last few BCS Championship games. Simply put, Alabama is overmatched in two of the three phases (on offense and special teams) and Florida has an argument on defense because of how opportunistic they are. The Tide simply do not have the horses to hang with Florida. If the Gators avoid beating themselves with costly turnovers, Florida should pull away from the Tide and win this one comfortably.

My Pick: Florida 30, Alabama 13

Power Outage Continues for Bolts

By JC De La Torre

Despite a stellar goaltending performance by Mike Smith and solid performances from superstars Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, the Tampa Bay Lightning's inability to put the biscuit in the basket saw them fall to one of the hottest teams in hockey, the Boston Bruins, 3-1.

For Lightning fans, its maddening to see spectacular saves from Smith, world class moves from Lecavalier and laser shooting from St. Louis go to waste. Tim Thomas had a superb performance in net for Boston as well, stopping multiple chances by Lecavalier and St. Louis, as well as point blank chances from Steve Downie and Vaclav Prospal to give Boston another victory. The Lightning are so close to being a good hockey club but one lapse in concentration here, one bonehead play there seem to be the difference between winning and losing for Tampa Bay.

Just 1:21 into the game, Vincent Lecavalier deked a Bruin defenseman and then deposited a perfect pass on the stick of Martin St. Louis, who lasered it past a sprawling Thomas to make it 1-0. Unfortunately for the Bolts, that would be the extent of the scoring on the night. Oh, they would have other chances to score, but Thomas met every challenge. Boston tied it in the 2nd period, as Marc Savard found Phillip Kessel all alone in front of the Tampa Bay net and Kessel wasted no time in putting it behind Smith. It would remain tied until 8:17 in the 3rd period with Tampa Bay on the powerplay, young David Krejci extended his scoring streak to six games by picking up a Lightning turnover, making some sparkling moves, then faking out Mike Smith to put it in the net giving Boston a 2-1 lead. Kessel would add an empty-netter with 1 second left to give Boston their final margin.

It was a night and day performance for Tampa Bay Goalie Mike Smith, who struggled in his last outing, was sensational, outright robbing the Bruins on several chances while putting up a 92% save percentage. The Lightning outshot the Bruins 31-26, one of their better defensive performances of the season.

Tampa Bay has now lost six straight games and fall to 6-11-8. Tampa Bay remains in 4th in the Southeast division with 20 pts.

MNF Madness - Bucs @ Panthers Preview

By JC De La Torre

3 months and 13 weeks of football - 12 games have led to this moment. While the so-called experts fawned over the likes of the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints - these two teams just went about their business. Both boasted stingy defenses, both had offenses that did just enough to win - and really, isn't that what its all about? Winning? The Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been joined in their anonymity. Neither boasts many stars, although there are names that are known - Julius Peppers, Steve Smith, Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber among them.

Neither has had features on them on ESPN, the network broadcasting Monday Night's titanic battle that may go a long way in deciding the NFC South title. Neither have been the Fox National game or been on NFL Network's game of the week. Tampa Bay has had one Sunday Night NBC game, but shared the spotlight in their own town with the Tampa Bay Rays, who were playing Game 7 of the American League Championship Series at the exact same time. Both teams have been described as boring. Yet when the Buccaneers and Panthers take the field Monday night, the team's will walk in tied for the 2nd best record in the NFC and 3rd best record in the entire NFL. Once 60 minutes (or more) of hard fought football is completed, one of these teams will be in the drivers seat - but who will it be? One thing is certain, we should have one heck of a show for the national audience.

Let's look at the match ups of these two unappreciated power teams in the NFC -

Carolina's Offense vs. Tampa Bay's defense
The advantage in this match up is clearly the Buccaneers defense. Tampa Bay comes into this ballgame ranked 4th in the NFL in total defense, 3rd against the pass, 9th against the run, 4th in scoring, they're tied for third in the NFL in interceptions (17) and defensive scores (3). Carolina comes in with the 17th ranked total offense in the NFL, 7th rushing, but 22nd passing, and 14th in scoring. The strength of the Panthers offensive attack is their powerful running game, led by shifty DeAngelo Williams and powerful rookie James Stewart. Williams is coming off a 4 touchdown performance against the Green Bay Packers. The Panthers passing game is struggling this year, but with a big time threat like Steve Smith, you can never be relaxed. The Buccaneers defense, led by the immortal Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber, along with young budding stars Barrett Ruud, Tanard Jackson and Gaines Adams have allowed only one 100 yd rusher this season (Jamaal Charles, Kansas City), and only one rushing touchdown. The secondary, bolstered by Jermaine Phillips return and the solid play of Phillip Buchannon and rookie Aquib Talib, has shown big play capability.

Tampa Bay's Offense vs. Carolina's Defense
Like Carolina, the Buccaneers offense is a middle of the road work in progress. Tampa Bay ranks 14th in total offense, 11th rushing, 12th passing, and 17th in scoring. They'll face a Panthers defense ranked 11th in total defense, struggling a bit against the run at 18th, while ranking 12th against the pass and 7th in scoring defense. The Buccaneers offense took a significant blow when leading rusher Earnest Graham went down with an ankle injury that ended his season. Coincidentally, Carnell "Cadillac" Williams has returned the Buccaneers lineup to bolster the running attack that now has fallen on the diminutive shoulders of veteran Warrick Dunn. The jitterbugging QB Jeff Garcia's mobility is both a blessing and a curse for the Bucs offense, with Garcia, the play is never dead but at the same time, Garcia will miss a lot of opportunities down field as he jumps and scatters around. Antonio Bryant has buoyed the passing game while Michael Clayton has played better and vet Ike Hilliard still proves to be dependable. Tight ends Alex Smith, Jerramy Stevens, and John Gilmore have made impacts in both the passing and running game. The greatest improvement in the Buccaneers offense is without question their offensive line. Led by center Jeff Faine, the Bucs boast an athletic, powerful line that can get to the second level and make plays. The two big issues for the Bucs offense has been red zone efficiency, the Bucs are second to last in the league in TDs scored in the red zone, as well as turnovers (Tampa Bay is ranked 19th with 21 turnovers).

The Panthers defense has been kind of bend-but-don't-break style that gives up a lot of yards but not a lot of points, they rank 7th in red zone defense. Julius Peppers continues to terrorize quarterbacks, while linebacker Jon Beason and corner Chris Gamble lead the second and third levels. The defense started the season off strong but has struggled of late, giving up 98 points in their last three games.

Carolina Special Teams vs Tampa Bay Special Teams
The Bucs have had a resurgence in their special teams thanks to the emergence of young return Clifton Smith. Thanks to Smith, Tampa Bay is ranked 2nd in the NFL in kick returns and 15th in punt returns (after being dead last in the NFL before Smith was called up from the practice squad). Smith is ranked #1 in kickoff return average (29.5) and is 2nd in the NFL in punt return average (17.6) and he became the first Buccaneer to have a kickoff return and punt return for touchdown in the same season. Tampa Bay also has the dependable Matt Bryant kicking and Punter Josh Bidwell, who continues to change field position and pin opponents in holes. Tampa Bay boasts some of the best coverage units in the NFL as well, ranking 5th in kickoff coverage and 11th in punt coverage.

Carolina is no slouch on special teams either. The Panthers are 9th in kickoff returns and 8th in punt return average as former Buccaneer Mark Jones does the returning for Carolina. Like the Bucs, the Panthers are very strong in coverage as well, ranking 8th in kickoff coverage and are 6th in the NFL in punt return coverage. The Panthers are in good hands in the kicking game with veteran John Kasay hitting 95% of his field goals and punter Jason Baker boasting a solid 45.3 punting average.

Coaching
Jon Gruden won his 100th victory as a head coach in the NFL with last week's victory over New Orleans, John Fox put to rest rumors of his replacement by former Steelers coach Bill Cowher with a solid season by his football team.

Intangibles
Obviously, a raucous crowd will be a big advantage for the Panthers as they go bananas for the Monday Night Football cameras. The Panthers have a significant incentive to avenge the early season 27-3 beat down by the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay has not played as well on the road as they do at Raymond James Stadium, where they are undefeated, but only .500 away from Ray Jay.

Final Prediction

After facing the dynamic New Orleans Saints passing offense, the Bucs will get a different test with a very tough Carolina running attack. The Bucs jumped on the Panthers early in their contest in Tampa, forcing Carolina to abandon the running game in an effort to catch up. As always, the Buccaneer offense must avoid the costly turnover and turn red zone opportunities into touchdowns, not field goals. If Carolina can force the Bucs offense into errors (turnovers, drive killing penalties), the Panthers can win this football game. Jeff Garcia is 9-2 lifetime against the Panthers and the Bucs have won 2 of the last three meetings overall and in Charlotte. I think the Bucs defense will stand tall, Clifton Smith will provide field position in a field position critical game, and the Bucs offense will do just enough to pull off a huge road win.

Final Score: Tampa Bay 24, Carolina 17

Lightning Again Fall Short

By JC De La Torre

For the Tampa Bay Lightning it equals baby steps back to respectability, for the rest of the NHL - it equals failure. Failure to earn a second point in a game they clearly had ample opportunity to win, failure to snap a long losing streak, and failure to erase the stigma of having the least victories of any team in the NHL. In the end, the Lightning gave a clinic on how to fail, falling in overtime to the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3.

Mike Smith did not play one of his better games last night, managing a very un-Smith-like .875 save percentage. Jeff Carter opened up the scoring for the Flyers on the power play early in the first as his seeing-eye blast some how found a hole and snuck past Smith to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead. The Lightning would answer back with former Flyer Mark Recchi putting in a rebound on the power play to tie it at 1 with 9:10 left in the 1st. With 2:33 left in the first, Scottie Upshall was given a 5 minute major and a game misconduct for viciously boarding Evgeny Artyukhin - giving Tampa Bay a full five minutes of power play time. They failed to take advantage during the final 2:33 of the 1st period and it carried over to the second.

Unfortunately, it would be a scoreless second where both teams failed on the man-advantage. During the period, Tampa Bay goalie Mike Smith violently collided with Vaclav Prospal's shinpad with 5:50 left in the period while making a save on Scott Harnell. Smith was down for a few minutes before continuing. Each teams had their opportunities but could not cash in, which would lead to a third period with Tampa Bay carrying over a power play thanks to a late penalty by Luca Sbisa for tripping Ryan Malone.

It wouldn't help Tampa Bay as a turnover led to Mike Richard's short handed goal, giving the Flyers a 2-1 lead. With the Flyers back on the power play, Jeff Carter would get his second of the game at the 4:36 mark of the 3rd period, another softie that got past Smith. On the ensuing face off, Ossi Vaananen was called for hooking the Lightning's Vaclav Prospal, setting up a power play chance for Tampa Bay. The Bolts would waste little time taking advantage, as at the 4:57, Prospal would pound in a power play goal to draw the Lightning within one at 3-2. It would stay that way until 4:35 left in regulation, when former Flyer Steve Downie deposited a rebound of a Radek Smolenak shot to tie the game at 3. It was the fiesty Downie's first goal as a member of the Lightning.

In the closing seconds of regulation, Ryan Malone broke loose on a breakaway but hit the post on his shot, during the chase, Philadelphia's Scott Hartnell inexplicably threw his glove at the puck. An automatic penalty shot for Malone. Malone skated in, but his attempt trickled wide to the left as Flyers goaltender Martin Biron appeared to get a glancing blow on it to change its trajectory.

Malone's failure would be compounded in overtime, when he was whistled for interefering with Biron while engaged in a scrum with a Flyers defenseman. It appeared the defenseman was pushing Malone into Biron, but he made no effort to avoid contact, thus a penalty. At 2:05 of overtime, Richards would fire a seeing eye blast past Smith, who was late reacting to the laser shot - game over - Lightning lose....again.

Tampa Bay, which hasn't had a victory since November 21st, has lost 5 straight and now is 1-3 in games decided in overtime and lead the NHL with 8 overtime losses (5 by shootout loss). The point in the standings did enable Tampa Bay to break a tie with the Atlanta Thrashers for least points in the league and moved them into 4th place in the Southeast division, 9 points behind division leader Washington.

TBSB Buccaneers NFC Playoff Scenario Madness - Week 14

By JC De La Torre

The following is the a deep dive breakdown of playoff scenarios for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the NFC. You'll only find this detailed of a breakdown here at the JC De La Torre's Tampa Bay Sports Blog, we'll update it each week as the Bucs progress through the final quarter of their schedule.

This Week’s Clinching Scenarios

NY Giants can clinch the NFC East with win AND Dallas loss.
Arizona can clinch the NFC West with win OR San Francisco loss.

Bucs Scenarios
The Bucs cannot clinch the division title or a playoff spot this week

Futurecast – BUCCANEERS
If the Bucs win out –
They will win the NFC South and at worst the #2 seed in the playoffs.

Tampa Bay can take the #1 seed in the playoffs if the Giants lose two games. The losses would need to be to Dallas and Carolina OR Carolina and Minnesota OR Dallas and Minnesota. The Bucs and Giants would go to the third tie-breaking procedure (best record among common opponents, minimum 4). The Bucs-Giants common opponents are Dallas, Carolina, Minnesota, Seattle. If the Bucs win out, Tampa Bay would have beaten Carolina twice, Minnesota, and Seattle. They lost to Dallas giving them a 4-1 record with common opponents. The Giants would have beaten Dallas (once), Seattle, and either Carolina or Minnesota, giving them a 3-2 record in common opponents.

If the Bucs go 3-1 (with loss to Carolina) –

The Bucs would be in the playoffs as a wildcard. If Dallas does not win out, they would be the 5th seed.

To win the Division, the Bucs would need Carolina to lose one more game to an NFC opponent, preferably to the New Orleans Saints, this would allow the Bucs to claim the division title based on divisional record (4-2 vs. 3-3). If the Panthers beat the Saints, but lose to the Giants, the Bucs and Panthers would fall to the fourth tie breaker, conference record, where the Bucs will win 9-3 vs. 8-4

If the Bucs go 3-1 (with loss to Atlanta) –
If the three teams (Carolina, Atlanta, Tampa Bay) all remain tied and finish at 12-4, the Bucs would win the NFC South based on best head-to-head record between the three (3-1 vs 2-2 for Atlanta, 1-3 for Carolina).

If the Falcons lose, leaving just the Bucs and Panthers, the Bucs would win the division based on head-to-head with Carolina in this scenario.

If the Panthers lost, leaving just the Bucs and Falcons, it may come down to the fifth tiebreaker, strength of victory. Tampa Bay current has 91 pts between them and their opponents in their 9 victories (10.1 average margin of victory), the Falcons have 103 pts between them and their opponents in the 8 victories (12.9 margin of victory). The Falcons would win the strength of victory tie-breaker as it currently stands. So the Bucs would need blow out wins in their 3 remaining victories in this scenario and hope the Falcons have some squeakers to get their strength of victory down.

If the Bucs lose the division to the Falcons under this scenario, they would make the playoffs as a wild card. If Dallas won out, they would take the 5 seed, while Tampa Bay would be the 6 and the Panthers would be out. If Dallas lost somewhere along the way, Tampa Bay would be the 5 and the Panthers (if they won the rest of their games) would be the 6.

If the Bucs go 3-1 (winning both road games, losing one of the last two to AFC West opponents).

The Bucs would win the NFC South, even if Carolina won out, due to better divisional record.


If the Bucs go 2-2 (losses to Carolina and Atlanta)
Doomsday scenario for the Bucs which could definitely happen. The Bucs would be all but out of the divisional race. They would need BOTH Carolina and Atlanta to lose twice with one of the losses to New Orleans to win the division.

To make the playoffs, the Bucs would need one of Carolina, Dallas, and Atlanta to lose two of their final four games and Washington to lose at least 1 more game.


If the Bucs go 2-2 (winning both on the road, but losing the last two to AFC West opponents).

The Bucs would need Carolina to lose one of their remaining games to initiate a tie between the two teams (or three if Atlanta wins the rest of their games), the Bucs would win the division based on division record.

If Carolina wins out and the Bucs had to settle for a wildcard, the Bucs would need one loss by Washington to make the playoffs, winning the tie breaker over Atlanta and would either be the 5th or 6th seed depending on if Dallas lost two of their last four.

If the Bucs go 2-2 (Win in Carolina, lose in Atlanta, lose to one of the AFC West opponents) –

The Bucs would need both Carolina AND Atlanta to lose one more game to have a shot at the division. If the three teams (Carolina, Atlanta, Tampa Bay) all remain tied and finish at 11-5, the Bucs would win the NFC South based on best head-to-head record between the three (3-1 vs 2-2 for Atlanta, 1-3 for Carolina).

If one of the two don’t lose and the Bucs have to settle for a wildcard, Tampa Bay would need Atlanta or Carolina to lose ONCE or Dallas to lose twice to make the playoffs.

If the Bucs go 2-2 (Lose in Carolina, Win in Atlanta, Lose to one of the AFC West opponents) –

Carolina would have to lose twice, Atlanta at least once for the Bucs to have a chance at the division. If the three teams (Carolina, Atlanta, Tampa Bay) all remain tied and finish at 11-5, the Bucs would win the NFC South based on best head-to-head record between the three (3-1 vs 2-2 for Atlanta, 1-3 for Carolina).

If Carolina does not lose twice and the Bucs have to settle for the Wildcard, the Bucs would need the Redskins to lose at least once and would likely the 6th seed (unless Dallas lost twice, allowing them to be the fifth seed).

If the Bucs do worse than 2-2 in their final four games
Most playoff scenarios appear unrealistic if the Bucs finish the season 1-3 or 0-4 at this point. Lets just say they’d need a miracle.

Earliest the Bucs could clinch a Playoff spot:
Week 15 – with wins over Carolina and Atlanta, combined with two losses by Dallas and 1 loss by Washington OR wins over Carolina and Atlanta, another loss by Carolina or Atlanta and a loss by Washington.

Earliest the Bucs could clinch the NFC South
Week 16 – With wins over Carolina, Atlanta, and San Diego OR wins over Carolina, Atlanta and another loss by Carolina.

Week 14 – Who to Root For

Obviously, the Bucs to beat Carolina.
New Orleans to Beat Atlanta
Pittsburgh to beat Dallas
Baltimore to beat Washington
Philadelphia to beat the NY Giants

Bucs Going to London Next Year, Lose Home Game

By JC De La Torre

The horrible experiment of NFL American Football in England continues next year and this time around, its the Bucs who lose a home game because of it. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will "host" the New England Patriots in London's Wembley Stadium on October 25th, 2009, the NFL has announced today.

Not only do the Buccaneers lose home field advantage for a game, have to take a ridiculously long road trip, and have their season interrupted, but they have to do it against Tom Brady (we think) and the New England Patriots. Considering the Bucs are 6-0 at home with struggling San Diego and woeful Oakland left on the schedule and only 3-3 on the road, this is a tough blow for the Bucs.

Yeesh. Thanks a lot, NFL.

Vols Getting the Full Monte?

By JC De La Torre

ESPN's Chris Mortensen is reporting that Monte Kiffin will leave the Buccaneers and join his son Lane at the University of Tennessee.

Kiffin refused to comment on the multipe reports, stating, "It's all just speculation, that's all it is. I can honestly tell you that. It's just like what came up with the Raiders two years ago and again last year.

According to Pro Football Talk, it may be difficult for the Bucs to block the move (not to mention pretty bad PR).

If Kiffin goes to the University of Tennessee, expect defensive backs coach Raheem Morris and Lions soon-to-be-canned head coach Rod Marinelli as the top candidates to replace him with the Buccaneers.

Bucs Drown Drew and the Saints

By JC De La Torre

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers clinched their third winning season in the last four years and in process may have buried the pre-season favorite to win the NFC South this season, beating the New Orleans Saints in a quagmire, 23-20. Tampa Bay slogged through the victory with opportunistic defense and just a smidge of enough offense, battling the elements and a Saints team desperate to continue on the winning track. With the win, the Bucs improved to 9-3 on the season and set up a showdown with fellow 9-3 Carolina for the division lead on Monday Night Football.

Torrential rains plagued the majority of the first half, limiting the production of both offenses. On their first drive of the game, the Saints marched down to the Buccaneers 30 yd line where they faced 4th and 1. Inexplicably, Saints Coach Sean Payton tried to trick the Bucs defense, running an end around with Devery Henderson, the Bucs weren't fooled and hit Henderson for a three yard loss. On the ensuing Bucs drive, facing 3rd and 2, Bucs QB Jeff Garcia hit receiver Michael Clayton over the middle. Clayton was hit at the same time the ball got there and didn't have a chance to put it away, Saints middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma took advantage, ripping the ball from the receiver's hands and returning it 6 yds to the Tampa Bay 35 yard line. The Bucs defense held, forcing a 3 and out by the Saints and New Orleans had to settle for a 47 yd Harley field goal.

Tampa Bay would responded on the next drive as Jeff Garcia took the Bucs 57 yds on 13 plays, setting up Matt Bryant on a 38 yd field goal to tie it at 3 six seconds into the second quarter. The next five drives of the football game would end in punts. After a sinctilating punt return by Clifton Smith set the Bucs up at the New Orleans 39 with 6:31 left in the first half. The Bucs drove it down to the New Orleans 5 yd line, thanks in part to Jeff Garcia's 20 yd scramble, but the Bucs red zone woes came back to bite them, as Garcia missed on a 3rd and 3 pass to Michael Clayton forcing the Bucs to settle for 3. Bryant converted a 23 yder to give the Bucs their first lead of the game with 2:38 left in the 1st half. 2:38 was plenty of time for Drew Brees to do what he does best, throw down field. After Courtney Roby returned the kickoff to the 28, Brees hit Shockey for 14 yds, Marcus Colston for 21, then handed off to Reggie Bush, who scampered 13 yds to the Bucs 13. Brees hit Lance Moore over the middle in the End zone for a touchdown, giving the Saints a 10-6 lead at the half.

Tampa Bay came out on all cylinders in the second half. After Clifton Smith returned the opening kickoff to the 39, Warrick Dunn fired off right guard for 9 quick yards. After a couple runs, Garcia hit Antonio Bryant for 12 yds to the Saints 19, then scrambled 11 yds to the Saints 8. From there, the Bucs ran a toss to Cadillac Williams, who in pure Caddy fashion got the corner turned and powered into the End Zone for his first touchdown since September of 2007. Bucs led 13-10. Another 3-and-out pitched by the Bucs defense, Clifton Smith returned the New Orleans punt to the Saints 43. After Warrick plunged off right guard for 4 yds, Garcia rared back and fired a dying duck to Antonio Bryant who got behind the Saints secondary. Bryant adjusted, hauled it in, and waltzed into the endzone to give the Bucs their biggest lead of the game, 20-10. On the play, it appeared the Saints secondary gravitated over to Wide Receiver Joey Galloway, who was running a streak to the opposite side. The busted coverage allowed Bryant to blow past his defender and with no safety help it was easy pickens for Garcia.

The Saints offense finally came to life driving all the way to the Tampa Bay 20. Brees tried to force the ball to Shockey in the endzone but had the pass tipped away by Ronde Barber and intercepted by Cato June, ending the threat. Tampa Bay's offense began to sputter and New Orleans began another drive down the field as the quarter expired.

Brees got the Saints to the Tampa Bay 33, then fired a pass into the end zone that was picked off by the Buccaneers - unfortunately for Tampa Bay, Ronde Barber was called on a very questionable defensive holding call. Replays showed that Tight End Jeremy Shockey initiated contact, driving himself into Barber and trying to push him off, but Barber got the call. Two plays later, Brees hit running back Pierre Thomas in the flat and Thomas put together a spectacular bobbing and weaving run, making several Buccaneers miss en route to the end zone, to cut the Bucs lead to 20-17.

The Bucs offense would sputter again, going three and out but the Saints returned the favor and had to punt it back to Tampa Bay. Once again, the Bucs offense failed to generate a first down and this time it would cost them. Normally reliable punter Josh Bidwell shanked a punt 18 yds, giving the Saints the football at the Buccaneer 48 yd line. Brees would hit Jeremy Shockey over the middle to the Tampa Bay 27 yd line, before finally settling for a 43 yd Hartley field goal to tie the game at 20.

On the ensuing drive, the Bucs finally achieved a first down but the drive stalled at the Bucs 44 yd line. Bidwell made up for his pitiful previous punt by pinning the Saints in at their own 7 yd line. The wheels then fell off the Saints. After Brees hit Billy Milner over the middle for a 1st down at the 17 yd line, Brees tried to hit Marcus Colston at the 30 but Jermaine Phillips stepped infront of the pass and interecepted, returning it 13 yds to the Saints 17 with 2:33 left in the ballgame.

The Bucs offense self-destructed again - a one yd run by Dunn, an incomplete pass by Garcia that was nearly intercepted, then Garcia was sacked on third down. It pushed the Bucs back to 19, but Matt Bryant was able to angle the 37 yd field goal in as they reached the two minute warning to give the Bucs a 23-20 advantage.

After a kick return to Saints 27 and an incompletion, Brees scrambled away from pressure by Gaines Adams and fired up a prayer that would not be answered but instead picked off by Phillip Buchanon at the Saints 33 with only 1:45 left and the Saints with only one time out left. The Bucs offense would kill the remaining time and that was the ball game.

"We had our perfect chances out there and we didn't take advantage of it," Saints QB Drew Brees told the Associated Press, "It's disappointing, very disappointing. It's probably one of the more disappointing losses I have ever been a part of."

"We all knew [Brees] was going to throw the ball 45 times and when you throw the ball that much you're going to give us opportunities to make plays," Ronde Barber told the Tampa Tribune, "We relish opportunities like that."

Tampa Bay's victory did not come without a dark cloud on the horizon, as long time defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, the architect (with former head coach Tony Dungy) of the famed Tampa 2 is strongly rumored to be leaving the Bucs to take over the Defensive Coordinator duties for his son, Lane Kiffin, in Tennessee.

"It's not fair to our players," Kiffin told the Tribune when asked about Tennessee, "Tonight is not about Monte Kiffin. It's about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jon Gruden, our offense, defense and special teams and a great, great win."

Whether or not Kiffin's twelve year run ends after this season, the Buccaneers have one goal in mind, that it ends at home in February playing for the World Championship. The Bucs completed the first leg of a 3 game slate that could go a long way in giving the Bucs their best opportunity to become the first team in NFL history to play the Super Bowl in their home stadium.

Next week is probably the biggest of the 3 - as the Bucs go on the road to face the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football.

"I don't know how we can win the division last year but have to go over there for a Monday Night game," Jon Gruden told the Buccaneer Radio Network after the game, "I'm a little ticked about that and so are our players."

Tampa Bay improves to 9-3 and remains tied for first in the NFC South with Carolina. The Saints fall to 6-6 and remain in the NFC South cellar. New Orleans would likely need to win all of their remaining games and get some help to have a chance for post-season play.