 |
Falcons blow out Bucs, avoid Saints in 1st round | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ATLANTA (AP) — They wanted momentum and the best seed possible.
Hoping for a fast start, the Falcons set a team record with 42 first-half points, including two touchdown runs by Turner, Julio Jones “We didn’t want to come down to the wire, backing into the playoffs,” Turner said. The Falcons were motivated by two blowout losses – 48-21 to Green Bay in last year’s playoffs and 45-16 at New Orleans last “Getting embarrassed like that last year, that’s not who we were,” Turner said. “We just wanted another chance.”
The Falcons (10-6) and Detroit (10-6) are the NFC wild cards. Atlanta, which beat Detroit on Oct. 23, won the tiebreaker with
“We wanted to play our final regular-season game with a lot of intensity and energy, and I think we did that in all three Josh Freeman “If I was in the business of working out my future, I wouldn’t be coaching,” Morris said. “I’m going to go to work tomorrow
The Falcons led 42-0 when they began resting some starters, including quarterback “We had opportunities the week before and just didn’t make the plays,” Ryan said. “Today, we made the plays and I think that’s Ryan was 6 of 9 for 106 yards, including touchdown passes of 17 and 48 yards to Jones in the first quarter. Tampa Bay, which finished 10-6 last season and started 4-2 this season, is left with its longest losing streak in one season “This is not the season we wanted or expected, but we will need to rededicate ourselves and get ready for this offseason,” Turnovers were a problem for the Buccaneers all season. Freeman began the day tied for the league lead with 19 interceptions
With Atlanta leading 42-0, Freeman threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to
Tampa Bay’s other touchdown came on Turner ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns, including an 81-yard scoring run late in the first half. The score capped the The Falcons led 21-0 after the first quarter and then put the game away with three more touchdowns in the second quarter. The strong showing was important for the Falcons. Last week’s loss at New Orleans was the worst in four seasons with Smith.
“The main thing we wanted to do was flush out of our system last week,” tight end The Falcons announced before the game Gonzalez, 35, has signed a one-year contract extension, ending speculation he might The Falcons had the No. 1 seed in the playoffs last year before losing to the Packers. Despite the team’s lower seed, Gonzalez said the Falcons are prepared for a longer postseason run. “Honestly, I’ve said it all year: I think we’re a better team than we were last year,” Gonzalez said.
Rookie
After Ryan’s first TD pass to Jones,
On first down from the Buccaneers 48, Ryan again threw to Jones, who fought off safety
Turner had two touchdown runs and Matt Bryant
Notes: Ryan passed Jeff George for the Falcons’ most yards passing in a season. George threw for 4,143 yards in 1995. Ryan
© 2011 STATS LLC There is the quick update of the day. Posted in 1, bucs-news, E.J. Biggers, Josh Freeman, Matt Bryant, Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, New York Giants, Raheem Morris, Roddy White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Comments Off
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Myron Lewis must… | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
By Stephen F. Holder, Times Staff WriterTampa Bay Times TAMPA — The Bucs drafted cornerback Myron Lewis believing he could be the future of the position. Now, as Lewis nears the end of his second season, it’s reasonable to ask whether the 2010 third-round pick from Vanderbilt has a future in Tampa Bay. Lewis, 24, has not been a key contributor while the likes of 2011 seventh-round choice Anthony Gaitor have played extensively in the absence of starter Aqib Talib (hamstring). And reading between the lines, coaches believe Lewis hasn’t done much to warrant many more opportunities. His latest comes Saturday at Carolina now that Talib has been placed on injured reserve. “It’s up to him what he does with it,” defensive backs coach Jimmy Lake said. “If you don’t get it done, you’re going to be somewhere else. If you get it done, you’re going to be here. Same thing with everybody else.” Why hasn’t Lewis shown the play expected of a third-round choice.? The reasons are varied. At times, small, nagging injuries have been his downfall. He made his first impression on Tampa Bay’s coaches during the 2010 rookie minicamp by spending the three-day event on the sideline with an abdominal strain. He went on to become a key part of the rotation after Talib’s 2010 season-ending hip injury, serving as the third cornerback for the final four games. At that point he showed some signs the Bucs had been looking for. He held his own against elite players such as Calvin Johnson of the Lions. Going into the offseason, there was much optimism. The team considered him to be in a battle with E.J. Biggers for the role of third cornerback entering training camp. But Lewis missed most of camp and the preseason with a hamstring strain. When he returned in the preseason finale, he was injured again. That time, an ankle sprain slowed him and he remained inactive for the first two regular-season games. Lewis has gained a reputation for being injury prone. Those injuries have effectively negated what little gains he has made. “Last year he … made some nice plays on balls, showed that he had really progressed,” coach Raheem Morris said. “He became a smarter football player. This year he came back into camp and looked sharp, looked good but then started to battle some injuries again.” Those injuries have created chances for others — Elbert Mack and Gaitor, for example —and Lewis has been the obvious loser. “In training camp, some other players caught up with him and some other players were playing better and kind of jumped in front of him,” Lake said. “That’s how it works.” After being inactive for six of the 14 games — even last week’s against the Cowboys’ potent passing game — Lewis should be on the field Saturday. And he knows full well what’s at stake. “Basically, it’s an interview all over again,” Lewis said. “Hopefully they give me the opportunity to play. It’s been frustrating not being active. But hopefully I get the opportunity and I can take advantage of it. “It’s kind of difficult to show consistency when you’re not playing a lot, but I guess they just want me to go out there and be that player that they saw when they drafted me.” It’s critical that the Bucs go into the offseason knowing what they have in Lewis. Cornerback is a position that almost certainly needs to be addressed given Talib’s shaky status (he faces a felony charge for a shooting in Texas) and 36-year-old iron man Ronde Barber’s potential retirement. It’s possible Tampa Bay could lose its two starting cornerbacks. Will Lewis be a part of the solution? That’s up to him. “I love football,” said Lewis, who grew up in Pompano Beach. “It’s a game I grew up playing. I’ve played cornerback all my life, from little league to high school to college, all the way to the NFL. I’m just going to do the best I can do. I really need to finish these two games strong.” Stephen F. Holder can be reached at sholder@tampabay.com. Not much else going on in the NFL world today. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Myron Lewis has chance to… | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
By Stephen F. Holder, Times Staff WriterTampa Bay Times TAMPA — The Bucs drafted cornerback Myron Lewis believing he could be the future of the position. Now, as Lewis nears the end of his second season, it’s reasonable to ask whether the 2010 third-round pick from Vanderbilt has a future in Tampa Bay. Lewis, 24, has not been a key contributor while the likes of 2011 seventh-round choice Anthony Gaitor have played extensively in the absence of starter Aqib Talib (hamstring). And reading between the lines, coaches believe Lewis hasn’t done much to warrant many more opportunities. His latest comes Saturday at Carolina now that Talib has been placed on injured reserve. “It’s up to him what he does with it,” defensive backs coach Jimmy Lake said. “If you don’t get it done, you’re going to be somewhere else. If you get it done, you’re going to be here. Same thing with everybody else.” Why hasn’t Lewis shown the play expected of a third-round choice.? The reasons are varied. At times, small, nagging injuries have been his downfall. He made his first impression on Tampa Bay’s coaches during the 2010 rookie minicamp by spending the three-day event on the sideline with an abdominal strain. He went on to become a key part of the rotation after Talib’s 2010 season-ending hip injury, serving as the third cornerback for the final four games. At that point he showed some signs the Bucs had been looking for. He held his own against elite players such as Calvin Johnson of the Lions. Going into the offseason, there was much optimism. The team considered him to be in a battle with E.J. Biggers for the role of third cornerback entering training camp. But Lewis missed most of camp and the preseason with a hamstring strain. When he returned in the preseason finale, he was injured again. That time, an ankle sprain slowed him and he remained inactive for the first two regular-season games. Lewis has gained a reputation for being injury prone. Those injuries have effectively negated what little gains he has made. “Last year he … made some nice plays on balls, showed that he had really progressed,” coach Raheem Morris said. “He became a smarter football player. This year he came back into camp and looked sharp, looked good but then started to battle some injuries again.” Those injuries have created chances for others — Elbert Mack and Gaitor, for example —and Lewis has been the obvious loser. “In training camp, some other players caught up with him and some other players were playing better and kind of jumped in front of him,” Lake said. “That’s how it works.” After being inactive for six of the 14 games — even last week’s against the Cowboys’ potent passing game — Lewis should be on the field Saturday. And he knows full well what’s at stake. “Basically, it’s an interview all over again,” Lewis said. “Hopefully they give me the opportunity to play. It’s been frustrating not being active. But hopefully I get the opportunity and I can take advantage of it. “It’s kind of difficult to show consistency when you’re not playing a lot, but I guess they just want me to go out there and be that player that they saw when they drafted me.” It’s critical that the Bucs go into the offseason knowing what they have in Lewis. Cornerback is a position that almost certainly needs to be addressed given Talib’s shaky status (he faces a felony charge for a shooting in Texas) and 36-year-old iron man Ronde Barber’s potential retirement. It’s possible Tampa Bay could lose its two starting cornerbacks. Will Lewis be a part of the solution? That’s up to him. “I love football,” said Lewis, who grew up in Pompano Beach. “It’s a game I grew up playing. I’ve played cornerback all my life, from little league to high school to college, all the way to the NFL. I’m just going to do the best I can do. I really need to finish these two games strong.” Stephen F. Holder can be reached at sholder@tampabay.com. Comment Below!. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tennessee Titans: How they… | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Times staff
7-3
10-10
17-10
23-17 [Last modified: Nov 28, 2011 09:34 AM]
You must enable javascript to view and add comments.
That’s all the news for today. Posted in 1, Aqib Talib, bucs-news, Connor Barth, E.J. Biggers, Josh Freeman, LeGarrette Blount, Mike Williams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans | Comments Off
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris responds… | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
By Rick Stroud, Times Staff Writer TAMPA — After his Friday news conference, Bucs coach Raheem Morris scoffed at an NFL.com column by Mike Lombardi that said the team lacked leadership and accountability. After a 3-1 start, the Bucs have lost four of their past five heading into Sunday’s road game against the defending Super Bowl champion Packers. Lombardi said Morris has “been making excuses for them all season.” “Being inconsistent happens,” Lombardi wrote. “It happens because there is not a high level of competition at practice, bad practices are tolerated and there is no attention to detail. And all this occurs because no one is accountable.” Morris was not specifically asked about Lombardi’s column during his news conference, but he responded to it anyway. “Here’s the deal,” Morris said. “When we were young kids, right? I went to school, I was 6 years old, 7 years old. And this guy saw my grandmother and said my grandmother ran like a bulldog. And I beat the heck out of him. I beat the heck out of him. I went home and my mom was so disappointed that I beat the heck out of him. She said: ‘Don’t worry. It doesn’t matter what people say about you. It doesn’t matter what people say about your family.’ So I learned that lesson a long time ago not to get upset with clowns that don’t really know what they’re talking about that have something to say. So we’ve moved on. I learned that lesson. I don’t have to react to that kind of stuff.” JACKSON on Mend: S Tanard Jackson returned to practice Friday on a limited basis and did some jogging, but that doesn’t mean his left hamstring strain will allow him to run with Packers receivers. Jackson said whether he plays Sunday will depend on how he feels after warmups at chilly Lambeau Field. “Yeah, it’ll be a game-day decision, that’s what it’s looking like right now,” Jackson said. “We’ve still got a few days to rest and see how it feels. “It was bothering me when I was in the game (against the Texans). It’s really the first time I’ve ever had to leave a game because of an injury, so this is something new to me.” Jackson, who missed 56 games while serving a suspension, had an interception in each of his first two games this season. But he suffered the hamstring strain returning a pick against the Bears in London Oct. 23. Jackson started Sunday against the Texans but clearly struggled on plays that resulted in two long touchdown passes. “Tanard went out there and moved a little bit,” Morris said. “We’ve still got to see, though. We’ll see on Sunday. We’ll get him on the grass and let him run around a little bit. We’ll see how he is. (Saturday) is a walk-through, so that won’t mean much.” REUNITED: CB E.J. Biggers will likely have a face-to-face meeting with an old friend Sunday. Packers WR Greg Jennings hosted Biggers’ campus visit to Western Michigan during his senior year in high school. The pair hit it off and remain friends today. “That was the reason I went there, because of Greg,” Biggers said. “He told me that if I wanted to play right away, that was the spot for me. They needed (defensive backs) right then, especially corners. He told me I was their No. 1 recruit. Just from chilling with him and watching his highlights was crazy. I didn’t know about him until I got there. When I did get there, we were really close.” Regarding their practice matchups, Biggers said: “Well, I always thought I was winning — until he caught the ball. He’s so smooth. You’ll think you’re getting an interception but he’ll break the pass up or make the catch some kind of way. Just watching him my whole freshman year, I can say I’d never seen anything like that. “I talk to him to this day. He always tells me how proud he is of me. Hearing it from a guy like that, an all-pro, is great, man.” Times staff writer Stephen F. Holder contributed to this report. [Last modified: Nov 18, 2011 10:13 PM]
You must enable javascript to view and add comments.
Gotta run!. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![OT_343592_WALL_Bucs_15 (11/27/2011 Nashville) Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Aqib Talib (25) celebrates his interception and touchdown during the third quarter with cornerback E.J. Biggers (31). Talib had a 27 yard return on the play. SECOND HALF ACTION: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers play the Tennessee Titans at LP Field in Nashville. The Tennessee Titans won 23-17. [DANIEL WALLACE, Times]](http://www.tampabay.com/multimedia/archive/00201/c4s_talib112811_201087c.jpg)
![[Get Copyright Permissions]](http://license.icopyright.net/images/icopy-w.gif){kind=small}
