Buccaneers more dominant than box score indicates in Week 7

By Jeff Dickinson  |   Monday, October 20, 2008  |  Comments( 4 )

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Sometimes on automobile mirrors there are stickers that read: “Warning. Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.”

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers needed one of those explanation stickers after their 20-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night. The sticker should have read: “Warning. Final score not indicative of Tampa Bay’s total domination of Seahawks.”

Commentary: The final score did nothing to illustrate how much better the Buccaneers were than Seattle in Week 7. The closest the Seahawks were to being competitive was when the teams were warming up on the sidelines.

Playing without quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle never mounted any offensive threat against a Tampa Bay team that was efficient on offense. The Buccaneers held the ball for almost 42 of the game’s 60 minutes and had 402 yards of total offense; on the other hand, the Seahawks had just 176.

Quarterback Jeff Garcia was brilliant against Seattle, completing 27 of 36 passes for 310 yards and a touchdown. If Garcia continues to play like this, former starter Brian Griese may as well permanently attach the clipboard to his wrist.

Wideout Antonio Bryant also had a career game, catching six passes for 115 yards and a score. The Tampa Bay defense was again great, holding the Seahawks to a total of seven first downs. The Buccaneers are tied with Carolina for first in the NFC South with a 5-2 record.

Fan Pulse: While most of Tampa is caught up in Rays fever because of its World Series-bound baseball team, many fans are still very excited about the solid play of the Bucs. Fans are optimistic that the team can enter the bye week with a 7-2 record.

Fantasy Impact: It’s doubtful whether any fantasy owner actually started Garcia on Sunday. Garcia had previously been steady but unspectacular. Earnest Graham carried the ball 23 times against Seattle, but he only had 52 total yards and didn’t reach the end zone. Look for Bryant to continue to post solid fantasy numbers for the Bucs.

Injury report: Receiver Ike Hilliard suffered a concussion and had to spend the night in a hospital. It isn’t known whether he will be ready for Tampa Bay’s next game (at Dallas this Sunday). Running back Warrick Dunn suffered a back injury against the Seahawks, but he isn’t expected to miss any games.
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About Jeff Dickinson

I have been writing and editing professionally for 18 years. I spent the first three years of my career as a sportswriter for a daily newspaper in Alabama and got to cover sports and get paid for it! It was great until I got married and then it wasn't too much fun being away from my wife every ...
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CommentsComments: 4  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Spawn		04:58 PM
10/20/2008
The Buccaneers put up a very solid effort on both sides of the ball on Sunday night. Seattle could not do anything against Tampa ...
No.2
norinradd		07:37 PM
10/20/2008
I really think that the Bucs are the most underrated team in football. Their defense is crazy good and the offense manages to ...
No.3
panthers		04:25 PM
10/23/2008
yeah yeah buccaneers win but they're without dunn big deal they're in 1st hey Jeff what do you think is carolina going to beat ...
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