Monday Morning QB - 11/21

The Bucs offense came through again to pull of a surprising win against the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons started off the game undisciplined, causing a lot of their own problems with bad penalties and lack of focus. However, once they got settled down in the second quarter they were hard to stop... or should I say impossible to stop. The Bucs defense were unable to keep the Falcons from converting third downs and Atlanta scored five consecutive drives. But the offense equalled their effort with a late TD by Cadillac and field goal by Matt Bryant to win the game.

For the third week in a row the Bucs defense has been horrible. If they can't force a turnover, they can't stop their opponent. The Falcons racked up 456 yards of total offense, the Redskins 389 yards and the Panthers 287. That's 1132 yards in offense in three weeks against this Bucs D. Not a good trend. This will eventually cost us games unless they fix it fast.

My prediction: Falcons 24, Bucs 21

Score: Bucs 30, Falcons 27

Offense: B. Cadillac was back on track, running for 116 yards for the game. His two best runs were his nine yard scamper for a TD late in the game and the eight yards he gained to move Matt Bryant into field goal range to win the game. Simms, again, played well. He had one bad pass that cost us points, but he made critical passes when the offense needed it most.

Defense: D. I'll say almost exacly what I said last week... Could not stop the pass, could not get off the field. We did not force a punt in the second half and, at one point, the Falcons were 10 of 11 on third down conversions.

Special Teams: B. Bryant scores 12 of our 30 points.

Coaching: C. Kiffin STILL has to get the defense better quick. Gruden's offense gameplan took advantage of Atlanta's weaknesses.

Outstanding Players: Simms, Williams and Bryant.

Things That Drove Me Nuts: The defense's inability to get off the field and stop third down conversions. Frustrating.

Bucs Record: 7-3.

Next Opponent: The Bucs play at home against the surprising Bears, who beat and beat up the Panthers 13-3. The Bears defense is playing exceptionally well and it will be a tough task for the Bucs to win this game at home.