MVN - Most Valuable Network

Orange Crush

I say ‘Orange Crush’ because I’m reminded of the Bucs of old, who wore the orange and brown. That team that was conceived 31 years ago, and has been battling a demon that whole time. Today, that demon is exorcised. Today is one of the greatest days in franchise history. In the 10 years that Raymond James Stadium has been around, this is one of the best things to happen at RayJay. The Bucs return a kickoff for a touchdown for the first time in franchise history, and they win the NFC South for the 2nd time in 3 years, the 3rd time in 6 years, their 6th division title overall. Let’s check out this game and see what made it what it was:

Good to have Garcia Back
Jeff Garcia returned to the Bucs today for the first time in two games because of a back injury. He didn’t perform extremely well, but he did enough for a victory. Garcia went 15/25 for 109 yards, a TD, and an INT, only his 4th of the season. There’s nothing to be upset about with his performance, as he was simply shaking off the rust. The most important thing about his return, was that he brought his leadership with him. It’s only fitting that the Bucs “waited” for him to return before clinching the South.

Waking Up
While it appeared the Bucs defense was taking a nap last week, they definitely woke up today. For starters, the Bucs held the Falcons to a season-low in yards, with only 133 on the day. That includes a 4-for-15 day from Chris Redman, who threw for only 34 yards. He did throw two interceptions and lost a fumble. One of his interceptions was returned 29 yards for a touchdown by Ronde Barber. Jermaine Phillips had the other one, his 3rd of the year. The Bucs forced 3 fumbles on the day, recovering two, including one by Gaines Adams that set up an Earnest Graham touchdown. They also held the Falcons on third-down attempts, allowing the Falcons 0 first downs in 9 third down conversion tries.

Earnest On my Mind
Many people wonder who Earnest Graham is. Not Bucs fans. Graham added another 79 yards to his season total, and ran in a touchdown, making this the 6th consecutive game in which he’s had a score. The Bucs record for most consecutive games with a touchdown scored is 5. Now Graham has broken it, and will set the new record when the season is over. In my opinion, the Bucs have a controversy at the running back position.

Making History
Okay, I can’t leave this out. For the first time in franchise history, the Bucs have returned a kickoff for a touchdown. It was so hard to believe that it happened. I’m still a little skeptic that it did happen. Michael Spurlock, who has been on the team a little over a month, took the ball 90 yards for the Bucs historical moment. After 1,865 tries, the Bucs have finally ended their futility, and have something to be proud about in that department.

*Special Shoutout*

Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the 2007 NFC South Division Champions. It was a hard fought battle, and after a horrible year last year, the team came together, and won the division for the second time in three years. It is the team’s sixth division title overall in franchise history. We Bucs fans are poised for a long playoff run, and will remember this special season for all time.

Game Notes:

• Ronde Barber played in his 159th game as a Buccaneer on Sunday, the sixth-highest total in franchise history. Barber had been tied with Mike Alstott for the sixth spot; he needs just one more game played to tie former Buc Tony Mayberry for fifth place on the list.
• Barber also grabbed an interception and took it for a touchdown. It was his 10th touchdown via the interception in his career. He is tied for the 3rd most fumble/interception returns for a touchdown in NFL history.
• Rookie fullback Byron Storer made his first NFL start, playing in place of the inactive B.J. Askew. Storer caught his second career pass late in the third quarter.
• Jovan Haye recovered Chris Redman’s second quarter fumble, giving him four fumble recoveries on the season, just one shy of the Bucs single-season record.
• Earnest Graham rushed for a touchdown, meaning that he has scored a touchdown in six consecutive games, setting a team record. The previous record was five consecutive games with a touchdown.
• Michael Spurlock returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, the first kickoff return for a touchdown in the Buccaneers 31-year history.

The Bucs get the San Francisco 49ers next week, facing a team that is coming off of a huge victory over the Bengals. The NFC South Champs are on a 1-game win streak, as are the 49ers. The 49ers seem ready to start Shaun Hill, who had a good game against the Bengals on Saturday. The Bucs don’t really need another win on the season, but that’s no reason to give up two victories to lesser teams.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 17th, 2007 at 11:48 am and is filed under Earnest Graham, Jovan Haye, Ronde Barber, Micheal Spurlock, Game Recap-Win, Jeff Garcia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.