More photos » by Brian Blanco - AP

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It's been awhile since any of us Bucs fans have been able to reflect on a meaningful win.  Coming into this week at 0-7, off a bye week, starting a rookie quarterback, the buzz was around the possibility of going 0-16.  I never entertained those thoughts, mainly because it was depressing to think about, but partly due to the number of things that have to happen to go 0-16.  I thought that we would encounter a game at some point where things would go our way, a few breaks, a defensive or special teams touchdown and a few turnovers would give us enough to win.  It almost worked against Carolina.  It did work against Green Bay.

So how did this win happen?

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Over the last few weeks, I've been posting polls that essentially ask if you think the Bucs will win or lose on the upcoming Sunday.  We have seen most of the votes go against the Bucs, but we still have the few who pick the Bucs to win every week. 

In a bit of a surprise, the majority of those who voted have said the Bucs will win this week against the Packers.  Here are the numbers.

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As you can see, it was a pretty close vote, but one lucky soul cast the deciding vote to give a Bucs win the majority tally. 

Good luck tomorrow both to the Bucs players, and Bucs fans.

More photos » by Tom Hevezi - AP

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We all saw the results of the Buc 'Em poll posted this week.  Based on our readership, the glass was most definitely half empty on Morris and his coaching to date.  For the sake of full disclosure, I voted as "Undecided" which came with the addition of giving him through (at least 2010) to prove himself.  We've all debated and discussed his successes and failures to this point.  What I want to focus on is a few points that are often overlooked that actually reflect positively on the Bucs.

Coaching is more than giving the General Manager your opinion on a player.  As a head coach who has both an offensive and defensive coordinator, he does not generate the game plan, but oversees it.  We've documented a few of the issues on the defensive side of the ball, the "lackluster" personnel for the current scheme being the chief issue.  We've talked about the offensive coordinators (yes, plural) and some of the oddities in the play calling, namely not running the ball.

But the discipline, in regards to on the field play, has improved.

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Over the first 8 weeks of the NFL season, the Bucs have signed three different kickers to handle the kickoffs and field goal attempts.  Sadly, two have failed thus far, Nugent and Andrus, with Connor Barth being the latest to be called on to put an oblong object through two yellow poles.  With Matt Bryant handling the kicking duties last year, this makes 4 kickers in our last 9 games, which coincidentally is the same number of quarterbacks we've used. 

With the apparent close eye on the kickers, I wonder what is being done about our punting situation.  I have nothing personal against Dirk Johnson, but as I've pointed out a few times, he has some issues. 

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More photos » by Steve Nesius - AP

You have to do more than this to stand out in today's NFL

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Let me get this out of the way.  This is not a factual piece. It's based on my opinion and take on football, in particular quarterbacks. 

Now that we've got the whole disclaimer part out of the way, allow me to vent my frustration with Freeman.  He hasn't taken a starting snap in the NFL yet, and I'm already leery.  This has nothing to do with his collegiate success, the fact we took him in the first round, or the apparent tag by Morris as franchise QB.  This is about Freeman and his habits. 

There's a quarterback out in Oakland, perhaps you've heard of him.  He parlayed a strong bowl game into the #1 pick for a dysfunctional franchise and has become their dysfunctional starting quarterback.  Talk about a match made in heaven.  Jamarcus Russell has trouble completing 50% of his passes and seems to regress with each snap he takes.  But plenty of quarterbacks have failed in the NFL.  What makes his failure to this point so aggravating for fans is his apparent nonchalance to his bad play as he proclaims himself not the problem.  It's his inability to read a defense, but more so than that, his inability to maintain a healthy playing weight, and put in the time required of quarterbacks.  There supposed to be the field general which means you want them to be a leader and to be a hard working, dedicated individual, something Russell hasn't been accused of yet.

So what does this have to do with Freeman?

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More photos » by Stephan Savoia - AP

Even back up quarterbacks can run against our defensive line

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I'm not going to lie. this won't be pretty.  We have all seen our defensive line get abused game after game in this 2009 season.  The most telling example being the final drive against Carolina as they continued to just pound the ball on the ground while our line flailed about as they were pushed 3-4 yards off the ball.  This has been an issue for a few years now. The lack of pass rush and inability to stop the run is a trend that continues this year.

One of the worst things about being a writer, or even a fan is trying to quantify what the eyes see.  There are teams and players that we think are good, but the stats don't back it up and vice versa.  But the holy grail of these situations is when your eyes tell you something and you go to check out the data and the stats back you up.  'Tis a good feeling.

So on this point, to illustrate just how awful the defensive line is playing, I thought I'd go back to our friends at Football Outsiders and use some of their advanced stats. 

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More photos » by Steve Nesius - AP

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The Bucs wandered into the 2009 season with a veteran quarterback as the starter and two unproven young players behind him.  The goal seemed to be let Leftwich lead us to a few wins, a losing record and then the front office would flip the switch on Freeman and that era would begin.  I don't think anyone intended for Josh Johnsonto stick his name into the mix, but after three weeks of a beating, Leftwich was yanked, Johnson was put in to start, at least for the upcoming four games. 

Then, in a rout of a loss in London, JJ was pulled, Freeman was put in, and it would seem that Freeman will be the guy for the rest of the year.  I would like to point out that no one has announced Freeman is starting against Green Bay, it is speculation on my part, but it holds true to what I've thought all along.  I always figured after a slow start and the bye week would be Freeman's most logical first start.  The appearance in London did nothing to dissuade me from that opinion.

But where does this leave the Bucs at quarterback?  More importantly, how should they bring Freeman along at this point?

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More photos » by Rob Carr - AP

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Mr. Olson, I have watched every offensive snap for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this year.  I consider that to be a bad thing at this point.  I have watched the offense spin it's wheels to get nowhere.  I have seen two different quarterbacks take a beating, several receivers drop passes and more turnovers than I'd like to see.  What I haven't seen is a running game.  This may come as a surprise to you, but it is permissible to run the ball more than 15 times a game.  I know it's boring and it doesn't seem as exciting as a 5 step drop that leads to a wild 3 yard scramble, but there is value in running the ball.

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