CBSSports.com wire reports
Nov. 13, 2011

TAMPA, Fla. — The streaking Houston Texans are gaining confidence by the victory.

The AFC South leaders pummeled the reeling Tampa Bay Buccaneers 37-9 on Sunday with Matt Schaub throwing for two long touchdowns, Arian Foster, Ben Tate and Derrick Ward each running for scores, and the NFL’s No. 1-ranked defense delivering another strong performance.

“We’re playing well as a team,” Schaub said after the Texans (7-3) won their fourth straight with star receiver Andre Johnson sidelined by a hamstring injury, matching a franchise mark set in 2009 to head into their bye week with their best-ever record through 10 games.

“We have some playmakers on this offense,” the quarterback added. “Defensively, we’re playing really well. They’re holding teams, making them turn the ball over. They’re just playing exceptional football.”

Jacoby Jones filled in for Johnson with an 80-yard TD reception on the first play from scrimmage and Foster turned a short pass into his second 78-yard scoring reception of the season for Houston.

A defense that has made a dramatic turnaround under coordinator Wade Phillips had four sacks, three interceptions and recovered a fumble.

The Texans lead their division by 1½ games over second-place Tennessee and might get Johnson, who has been sidelined six weeks, back when they travel to Jacksonville in two weeks. After losing two straight without Schaub’s favorite target, Houston has put together an impressive winning streak by getting contributions from a lot of different players.

The bye figures to give others a chance to get healthy, too.

“It was important today that we got to this point,” coach Gary Kubiak said. “We’ve been working really hard. … We had five or six players that missed a whole week of practice, and they lined up and played. We’ve got a good team thing going on right now.”

The Bucs (4-5), on the other hand, have lost three straight and four of five following a 3-1 start.

Josh Freeman threw three interceptions and was sacked four times, and Tampa Bay’s offense didn’t get into the end zone until the fourth quarter for the second game in a row. Defensively, the Bucs tackled poorly and yielded 268 yards in the opening half and 420 overall.

“Terrible game. Completely, put the blame on me for this one. … We started the game just like we finished it,” Tampa Bay coach Raheem Morris said. “Poor job by myself. I’ll take complete responsibility for that. I refuse to believe that our guys are that bad, so it has to be my fault.”

Houston, which is ranked No. 1 in total defense for the first time, has limited opponents to just over 10 points per game during its winning streak. After limiting the Titans, Jaguars and Browns to fewer than 175 yards the previous three weeks, the Texans held Tampa Bay to 231.

Foster and Tate each ran for over 100 yards to key last week’s 30-12 victory over Cleveland. They weren’t as successful running this time, though the Texans did finish with 185 yards on the ground. Foster gained 84 on 17 carries and Tate wound up with 63 on 13 carries, including an 11-yard TD burst to make it 37-9 with under six minutes remaining.

“With winning comes a winning mind-set, and believing in each other keeps that positive energy flowing,” Texans defensive end Antonio Smith said. “I think everybody is in on it from top to bottom.”

Tampa Bay scored on Connor Barth’s 55-yard field goal on the final play of the first half and didn’t get into the end zone until Freeman threw a 9-yard TD pass to Preston Parker early in the fourth quarter. Defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth made his debut for the Bucs, blocking an extra point after Houston’s first touchdown and finishing with five tackles.

The two-time Pro Bowl selection was released by New England on Tuesday, claimed off waivers Wednesday and practiced with his new team for the first time on Thursday. Gerald McCoy’s season-ending injury left the Bucs thin on the defensive line, and with backup Frank Okam still sidelined by a sore calf, the 350-pound Haynesworth moved into the starting lineup.

A week after rushing for a club-record 261 yards during a 30-12 victory over Cleveland, the Texans came out throwing on a Bucs defense that has struggled to stop the run and had to honor Schaub’s play-action fakes. A wide-open Jones caught an underthrown ball at the Tampa Bay 45 on the first play, cut back to his left between safeties Tanard Jackson and Sean Jones and sprinted to the end zone to finish Houston’s longest scoring play of the season.

Foster’s long TD reception nearly covered as much ground and also involved some nifty running after the catch. The third-year running back took a short throw from Schaub, broke a tackle and headed up the left sideline before cutting inside near midfield to avoid Sean Jones and easily outrun the remaining pursuit.

Houston’s first three scoring drives covered 80, 80 and 90 yards. Foster had four receptions for 102 yards, and missed going over 100 yards rushing when he had a 39-yard gain wiped out by a penalty in the fourth quarter.

Schaub only attempted three passes after halftime, finishing 11 of 15 for 242 yards and no interceptions. One apparent pick at the Tampa Bay goal line was reversed following a replay review that showed that intended receiver Derrick Mason jarred the ball loose from Aqib Talib before the Bucs cornerback gained control. Neil Rackers kicked a 22-yard field goal on the next play for a 9-0 lead.

Freeman completed 15 of 35 passes for 170 yards. The Texans limited LeGarrette Blount to 34 yards rushing on 10 attempts.

“The last three weeks have been tough. We haven’t won in about a month,” Morris said. “The guys right now are not playing well, and we’ve got to find a way to get better.”

Notes

• Schaub has thrown 10 TD passes and just one interception in five road games.
• Brian Cushing, Brice McClain and Quintin Demps had Houston’s interceptions.
• Bucs backup DE George Johnson injured his knee late in the first half and did not return.

“Terrible game,” Morris said. “We started the game just like we finished it. Poor job by myself. I refuse to believe that our guys are that bad, so it has to be my fault.”

The Texans (7-3) extended their winning streak while playing without star receiver Andre Johnson to four consecutive games. The Bucs (4-5) have lost three straight and four of five following a 3-1 start.

“I’ll fix it this week,” Morris said.

Morris plans to have full-scale workouts in pads and didn’t rule out lineup changes for next Sunday’s game against Green Bay.

“It’s not getting any easier,” Tampa Bay center Jeff Faine said. “We’ve got a very, very huge challenge at Green Bay. We’ve got to play smarter and more disciplined. It’s unfortunate we’re in the position we’re in, but we’ve got to dig ourselves out.”

Jacoby Jones filled in for Johnson with an 80-yard TD reception on the first play from scrimmage and Foster turned a short pass into his second 78-yard scoring reception of the season for Houston. A defense that’s made a dramatic turnaround under coordinator Wade Phillips had three interceptions and recovered a fumble.

“It all goes back to playing fast … We did not do that,” Morris said. “Playing smart … We didn’t do that. Playing hard … We did not do that. We didn’t play together consistently, and to me, that’s on the head coach.”

Tampa Bay scored on Connor Barth’s 55-yard field goal on the final play of the first half and didn’t get into the end zone until Freeman threw a 9-yard TD pass to Preston Parker early in the fourth quarter. Defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth made his debut for the Bucs, blocking an extra point after Houston’s first touchdown and finishing with five tackles.

Haynesworth was released by New England on Tuesday, claimed off waivers Wednesday and practiced with his new team for the first time on Thursday. Gerald McCoy’s season-ending injury left the Bucs thin on the offensive line, and with backup Frank Okam still sidelined by a sore calf, the 350-pound Haynesworth moved right into the starting lineup.

“I felt fine,” Haynesworth said. “I was a little tired, but that was the most plays I’ve played all year. The more I played, the better I got.”

A week after rushing for a club-record 261 yards during a 30-12 victory over Cleveland, the Texans came out throwing on a Bucs defense that has struggled to stop the run and had to honor Schaub’s play-action fakes. A wide-open Jones caught an underthrown ball at the Tampa Bay 45 on the first play from scrimmage, cut back to his left between safeties Tanard Jackson and Sean Jackson and sprinted to the end zone to finish Houston’s longest scoring play of the season.

Foster’s long TD reception nearly covered as much ground and also involved some nifty running after the catch. The third-year running back took a short throw from Schaub, broke a tackle and headed up the left sideline before cutting inside near midfield to avoid Sean Jones and easily outrun the remaining pursuit.

Houston’s first three scoring drives covered 80, 80 and 90 yards. Foster had four receptions for 102 yards.

Schaub only attempted three passes after halftime, finishing 11 of 15 for 242 yards and no interceptions. One apparent pick at the Tampa Bay goal line was reversed following a replay review that showed that intended receiver Derrick Mason jarred the ball loose from Talib before the Bucs cornerback gained control. Neil Rackers kicked a 22-yard field goal on the next play for a 9-0 lead.

Freeman completed 15 of 35 passes for 170 yards. The Texans limited LeGarrette Blount to 34 yards rushing on 10 attempts.

“We’ve not played up to, nearly, our potential,” Freeman said.

Notes: The Texans had 420 yards of offense, compared to Tampa Bay’s 231. … The Bucs had the ball just 24 minutes, 54 seconds, more than less 11 minutes less than Houston.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

bucs Report

By Tom Jones, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Sunday, November 13, 2011

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The poll

Which of the Bucs’ nine penalties against the Saints last week was costliest?

Pass interference on Kellen Winslow: 19 percent

Tripping on Donald Penn: 11 percent

Defensive holding on Ronde Barber: 6 percent

Other: 5 percent

Total: 327 votes

By the numbers

1-1 Bucs’ record against the Texans, a 16-3 win at home in 2003 and 28-14 loss at Houston in 2007

6-3 The Texans’ record, their best ever after nine games and the first time in franchise history, which dates to 2002, they’ve been three games over .500

261 Rushing yards for the Texans in last week’s 30-12 win over the Browns, a franchise record

132.4 Average rushing yards allowed by the Bucs, 26th in the NFL

68 Bucs penalties this season, fewer than only the Seahawks (70) and Raiders (91)

What they’re saying

Size, athletic ability, can extend plays. He reminds me of (Ben) Roethlisberger a great deal. He’s just a younger player. He’s hard to tackle in the pocket and keeps the ball alive a lot; makes a lot of plays off schedule.

Gary Kubiak Texans coach in the Houston Chronicle on Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman

The Bucs are struggling to find the rhythm of last year when they ran the ball well, made big plays off of play-action passes and protected the ball. Their young defense is not progressing as well as head coach Raheem Morris had hoped. And once again, they lose young defensive lineman Gerald McCoy for the season to injury.

Brian Billick Fox Sports

The picks

Gained a lot of respect for the Texans this year. They used to be the guys who’d blow leads in the fourth quarter as regularly as Wimpy ate hamburgers. Now, without maybe their two best players — (receiver) Andre Johnson and (linebacker) Mario Williams — they’ve won three straight by 20.7 per game. This will be a tale-teller, though. The Bucs need this one badly to stay close in the NFC South race, and I’m picking the Texans because of their strong two-headed runner, Arian Foster and Ben Tate. Texans, 30-23.

Peter King Sports Illustrated

This is almost a have-to game for the Bucs. They have lost two consecutive and suddenly are in third in the division. The Texans are riding high behind the running game and their defense. The defense is tops in the NFL, which will make it tough for the Bucs to get anything going. Houston keeps rolling. Texans, 24-17.

Pete Prisco CBSports.com

Bucs vs. Texans

1 p.m., Raymond James Stadium, Tampa

Radio: 620-AM, 103.5-FM

Line/over-under: Texans by 31/2; 451/2

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15

Week 16

Week 17

Lions Lions 27, Bucs 20 (0-1)

at Vikings Bucs 24, Vikings 20 (1-1)

Falcons Bucs 16, Falcons 13 (2-1)

Colts Bucs 24, Colts 17 (3-1)

at 49ers 49ers 48, Bucs 3 (3-2)

Saints Bucs 26, Saints 20 (4-2)

Bears Bears 24, Bucs 18 (4-3)

at Saints Saints 27 Bucs 16 (4-4)

Texans 1 p.m. today

at Packers 1 p.m. Nov. 20, Ch. 13

at Titans 1 p.m. Nov. 27, Ch. 13

Panthers 1 p.m. Dec. 4, Ch. 13 *

at Jaguars 1 p.m. Dec. 11, Ch. 13

Cowboys 8:20 p.m. Dec. 17, NFL

at Panthers 1 p.m. Dec. 24, Ch. 13

at Falcons 1 p.m. Jan. 1, Ch. 13

Unnecessary roughness on LeGarrette Blount: 59 percent

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By Rick Stroud, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Thursday, November 10, 2011

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Albert Haynesworth played poorly with his last two teams.

TAMPA — Mark Dominik did not talk to anyone with the Patriots or Redskins before claiming troubled but talented defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth off waivers Wednesday.

Instead, the Bucs general manager watched tape of the 134 snaps Haynesworth played with the Patriots this season — twice — and counted seven quarterback pressures and 15 disruptive plays to go with what he calculated to be only eight tackles.

“Which isn’t tremendous, I agree with that,” Dominik said.

But for all the analysis, what really made Dominik pull the trigger on Haynesworth is the paralysis of the Bucs defensive line with the season-ending torn bicep injury to Gerald McCoy, the third overall pick in 2010.

Tampa Bay ranks next to last in the NFL with 12 sacks, only two in the past four games. What’s more, with no push inside, opponents have focused their blocking schemes on doubling defensive ends Adrian Clayborn and Michael Bennett.

“I can say candidly that if Gerald wasn’t hurt, I probably wouldn’t make this move,” Dominik said. “But because of the situation we’re in, I feel like Albert Haynesworth has the best ability of any defensive tackle out there. For me, it made sense as an organization to bring him on board. … It’ll be up to him and how he plays and how he performs.”

Haynesworth, 30, nearly signed with Tampa Bay in 2009 before opting for a seven-year, $100 million contract offer from the Redskins. But when Washington switched to a 3-4 defensive alignment in 2010, Haynesworth was combative about becoming a two-gap nose tackle. His disenchantment led to a season of acrimony with coach Mike Shanahan and paved the way for his trade to New England after the NFL lockout.

A 2002 first-round pick and two-time All-Pro with Tennessee, Haynesworth had 14½ sacks in his final two years with the Titans. But coaches have questioned his effort over the past three seasons in which he has notched only 6½ sacks, making a total of six tackles in six games for the Patriots.

The final coffin nail for the 6-foot-6, 350-pound Haynesworth in New England came in Sunday’s 24-20 loss to the Giants. According to reports, Haynesworth failed to play the right technique on Brandon Jacobs’ 10-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, had words with defensive line coach Pepper Johnson and never played another snap for New England.

“I think a thing that I’m going to bank on a little bit here is our defense and what we ask the 3-technique to do,” Dominik said. ” … It made sense to me to put the claim in for a guy I think can help us in this second-half stretch.”

The Bucs will be on the hook for roughly half of Haynesworth’s $1.5 million salary in 2011. He is under contract for 2012 at $6.7 million, though Dominik was clear that his tenure in Tampa Bay initially will be evaluated “week to week.”

Minutes before the Bucs’ claim of Haynesworth, defensive line coach Keith Millard lamented the loss of McCoy and how it impacted the defensive line. Tampa Bay has only two healthy defensive tackles, Brian Price and Roy Miller.

“As soon as (McCoy) went down, they doubled (Price), and now if you don’t have the speed or the quickness to whip guys one-on-one, now what they do is start chipping your ends,” Millard said.

Then came the announcement of Haynesworth, which viewed in a vacuum seemed out of character for the Bucs who have mostly ignored veteran players during free agency.

“We’ve had a lot of star power here in the past,” Dominik said. “We’ve been able to handle it.”

What did Dominik see of Haynesworth on tape?

“That he can be strong, powerful, dominating, disruptive, still,” he said. “He can overpower his opponent. … He’s not one these older players who can’t play anymore. I just want him to play our way.”

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Nov 9, 2011 – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have claimed recently released defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, according to a report by Adam Schefter of ESPN. Haynesworth was released by the New England Patriots on Tuesday after team team traded a 2013 fifth round pick for him prior to the season starting. Haynesworth played previously for the Washington Redskins, after signing a $100 million contract in free agency. Haynesworth flamed out with the Redskins and the Patriots, which ultimately lead to both teams dumping him.

The Buccaneers however are hurting at the defensive tackle position, with former first round pick Gerald McCoy once again hitting injured reserve for the second season in a row. McCoy tore a biceps muscle last week and is done for the season. Haynesworth, who is a vested veteran that had to go through waivers, was claimed by the Buccanneers which means they will inherit his current contract.

Haynesworth is due $705,882 for the remainder of the 2011 season and can make up to $4.35 million through incentives. Haynesworth is signed through the 2012 season with a $6.7 million base salary with a $400,000 roster bonus and a $100,000 workout bonus.

Stephen Holder, the Bucs beat writer for the St. Petersburg times, claims that Bucs general manager Mark Dominicwatched every snap of Haynesworth’s twice before making the decision. When Haynesworth was a free agent in 2009, the Bucs were one of the front runners to attempt to sign him.

For more on Albert Haynesworth and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, visit SB Nation’s Bucs blog Bucs Nation.

Read More: Albert Haynesworth (DT – NEP), Gerald McCoy (DT – TAM), Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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