By Rick Stroud , Times staff writer

In Print: Saturday, December 3, 2011

TAMPA — QB Josh Freeman threw soft passes in practice Friday, the first time he tested his sore right shoulder this week. Freeman is listed as questionable against the Panthers, but his final status won’t be determined until just before Sunday’s game.

“I did a little bit, but today really isn’t important,” Freeman said. “Same status. I’m just listening to the trainers and trying to ease into it, you know?”

Freeman was injured on a fourth-and-1 sneak in Sunday’s 23-17 loss at Tennessee.

Backup Josh Johnson has taken most of the repetitions with the first-team offense this week. But Freeman’s improvement has been encouraging.

“He’ll be a game-time decision, and we’ll take it right up until the last moment of truth out there, so we’ll see,” coach Raheem Morris said. “He went out and threw the ball around a little bit. Still limited. … The first couple days he didn’t throw it as much. He threw it a little (Thursday), he threw it more today.”

Freeman has 35 consecutive starts since taking over as a rookie from Johnson after the team’s 0-7 start in 2009. Morris said because Freeman prides himself on playing through injury, the team will have to watch him closely.

“He won’t tell me (how he feels), there’s no doubt about it,” Morris said. “That’s why we’ve got to have doctors around. He’s one of those guys that wants to lead like that, think like that. Everybody wants to be Brett (Favre), and Brett set a great example for all these young quarterbacks and what the standard looks like and the model looks like. It’s one of those decisions you’ve got to make as a head coach.”

Johnson went 0-4 as a starter in 2009. But he is a more mature quarterback and has had a good week of practice, Morris said.

“Josh Johnson had a spectacular week of practice,” Morris said of the fourth-year player. “We talked about the kid being very motivated, talked about the guy going out there and really being prepared. When you have a week like this and he takes all the reps, you can see how prepared he really is and how much he really wants it and how much he’s been paying attention. Those things are helpful for me.”

DT Brian Price, carted off with a right ankle sprain Sunday, returned to practice and is listed as questionable. DE Michael Bennett, who missed last week’s game (groin), did not practice and won’t play. DE Adrian Clayborn (back), DT Albert Haynesworth (knee), LB Adam Hayward (foot), S Tanard Jackson (hamstring) and LB Dekoda Watson (groin) are probable.

MILDCAT OFFENSE: One element Johnson could bring is the spread option or a version of the wildcat offense that he has operated this season (five carries, 17 yards).

“That could be different, but we’ve been running it, so teams have film on it,” Johnson said. “It’s just now if I’m in there as the full-time quarterback, it can be different scenarios in the game and we can sneak one of those in there and they might not be exactly as prepared for it as if I was just coming in for one play.”

The Broncos are 5-1 since turning to QB Tim Tebow and their version of the spread option.

“We have had some success running it here,” Johnson said. “They’re doing a great job with it (in Denver). They’re doing a lot of different types of variations of the spread than we’re doing, but he’s having success with it. I’m pretty sure, since he’s doing well, a lot of coaches might look into it. But (Tebow) and I are two different kind of guys. He’s 240 (pounds). He can take those beatings. I try to keep it so I can maintain mine. I’m only 210.”

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CAROLINA (3-8) At TAMPA BAY (4-7)

Sunday, 1 p.m., Fox

OPENING LINE — Buccaneers by 3½

RECORD VS. SPREAD — Carolina 6-4-1; Tampa Bay 4-7

SERIES RECORD — Panthers lead 12-9

LAST MEETING — Buccaneers beat Panthers 31-16, Nov. 14, 2010

LAST WEEK — Panthers beat Colts 27-19; Buccaneers lost to Titans 23-17

PANTHERS OFFENSE — OVERALL (5), RUSH (6), PASS (9)

PANTHERS DEFENSE — OVERALL (24), RUSH (28), PASS (15)

BUCCANEERS OFFENSE — OVERALL (15), RUSH (23), PASS (12)

BUCCANEERS DEFENSE — OVERALL (31), RUSH (30), PASS (28)

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — First of two meetings between NFC South rivals within four-week span. Buccaneers have lost five straight games — six of seven overall — following 3-1 start. … Panthers, playing on road for third consecutive week, snapped three-game skid with last Sunday’s win over winless Indianapolis. … Rookie QB Cam Newton has thrown for 1,521 yards and four touchdowns, while also rushing for 190 yards and seven TDs in five road starts for Carolina. With 3,093 yards passing, Newton fourth rookie in league history to top the 3,000-yard plateau, joining Peyton Manning, Matt Ryan and Sam Bradford. … Panthers WR Steve Smith leads NFC with 1,060 yards receiving. He has six career 100-yard games against Tampa Bay, and 56 yards shy of 10,000 for career. … Bucs QB Josh Freeman injured right shoulder during final minute of last week’s loss at Tennessee. He’s also played through team’s rough stretch with sprained right thumb, an injury aggravated when a pistol he was firing at a shooting range recoiled during Tampa Bay’s bye week. In two victories over Carolina last season, Freeman completed 30 of 48 passes for 419 yards, four TDs and no interceptions. … Through 11 games, Freeman has 12 TD passes, 16 interceptions. A year ago, he threw for 25 TDs, six interceptions. … Bucs first-round draft pick Adrian Clayborn tied for third among NFC rookies with five sacks. … Tampa Bay RB LeGarrette Blount coming off consecutive 100-yard games. He gained 107 in loss at Green Bay and had 103 against Tennessee last week. When second-year pro has at least 19 carries, Bucs are 6-2.

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The Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are both in very similar positions heading into week thirteen of the NFL football season. Both teams can’t stop anybody on defense and both teams have struggled to close out games all year long. With the teams set to face one another in week thirteen with little more than bragging rights on the line, it would be easy for one or both to come out flat. As a huge Carolina Panthers football fan, I know that will not happen. These two teams despise each other. Bragging rights will be more than enough to get both teams amped up for the contest.

Can Panthers continue with Triple Trouble?

What used to simply be “Double Trouble” with the combination of Jonathan Stewart(notes) and DeAngelo Williams(notes), has now become “Triple Trouble” with the addition of Cam Newton(notes). Cam is as dangerous on the ground as anybody, and he strikes when defenses least expect it. When you add to that the fact that Tampa Bay is horrible against the run lately, you get a clear idea of what Carolina is going to want to do. The Bucs will get some yards on the ground against Carolina’s rush defense, but they do not have the horses that the Panthers do. This will be a clear advantage for the Panthers.

What type of game will Chudzinski call this week?

The ball-control type passing game that Rob Chudzinski called against the Colts seemed to help Cam Newton in some ways, and hurt in others. Cam Newton was very efficient in the win, but his down the field passing has been reigned in considerably. This could be based on what the defenses are taking away, or it could be Cam learning when to pick his shots better. Against Tampa Bay, they will need some of that vertical passing game to get the defense out of the box. You can be sure that Tampa will be stacking up against the run. Cam will need to go deep to Smitty and LaFell and hit Olsen and Shockey in the seams again.

Will Josh Freeman(notes) show up this week?

After a year that saw Josh Freeman climb the ladder of quarterback success in 2010, he has come back down to earth considerably in 2011. The two main differences I see in Freeman are turnovers and not being able to close games like he did in 2010. The last few games have been a bit ugly, though much of that was not on Freeman alone. Regardless, they need him to have a great game to keep up with the Panthers offense. Against the Panthers defense, they should find plenty of success. Can they find enough to keep up with that high octane Panthers’ offense though?

Final Thoughts

While the Panthers will struggle at times, I do think that they will pull out the victory. The Bucs are struggling in every way right now, and that run defense is going to get gashed big time. Cam Newton will have a huge game, and the Panthers will get their second win in a row.

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By Stephen F. Holder, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Tuesday, November 29, 2011

TAMPA — With the Bucs out of contention for a playoff spot, some attention is likely to turn to the future of the team’s young players.

Today, after a solid debut in his first career start, the Bucs have to feel better about what lies ahead for DE Da’Quan Bowers.

The rookie second-round pick from Clemson was credited with one tackle and one quarterback hit, and coaches were cautiously optimistic about his first full game.

“Bowers played well for his first time out there,” coach Raheem Morris said. “His first time out the box. (There were) growing pains of course. He obviously had some bad plays but he had some really good plays. … We can get him to play better. We just keep seeing him grow throughout the season.”

Clearly, Bowers has work to do, but his growth could be accelerated by opportunities like he had Sunday.

Having a full game on tape, he said, will help his self-evaluation.

“It’s definitely something to build on,” he said. “I can’t wait to get in there and critique myself to see what I need to work on.”

Bowers had played in a limited capacity until Sunday, when he replaced injured left end Michael Bennett (groin) as a starter. Bennett’s solid play throughout the season resulted in only sporadic reps for Bowers, but coaches have seen him emerge in recent weeks and think he’s ready for a bigger workload.

Meanwhile, Bennett, who didn’t make the trip to Nashville, said Monday he feels better after a week off and might return Sunday against Carolina.

NO QUESTION: The Bucs’ decision to have QB Josh Freeman spike the ball to stop the clock after converting a first down with 1:14 left was questioned by some, but Morris said his staff never wavered.

“We spike the ball on every first down you get (in a two-minute drill),” Morris said. “You pick up a first down, you have to go down and spike it. You have no timeouts left. You have to be ready to deal.”

Had the Bucs had an extra down at the end of the game — spiking the ball made it second down — perhaps the outcome would have been different. But players pointed out that hurriedly running an unorganized play with the clock running could have resulted in a turnover or a loss of yardage.

CAM CAN: When DE Tim Crowder looks at Panthers rookie QB Cam Newton, he sees some similarities to his former University of Texas teammate, QB Vince Young. And Crowder said he feels Newton and the Panthers have a bright future.

“He’s very unique,” Crowder said of Newton. “I practiced against a guy everyday in college (Young) that has those talents. He’s the same guy. He can throw, he can run, he’s got a lot of confidence over there. And they’re just one of those teams on cusp, too. They’re probably one of those teams next year that’ll be fighting for the division lead.”

WAITING ON WORD: The Bucs didn’t update the condition of DT Brian Price, who left Sunday’s game with a sprained ankle. Price, who was at One Buc Place on Monday wearing a walking boot, did not speak with reporters but had further tests.

Times staff writer Joe Smith contributed to this report.

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The transcript of Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman’s conference call Wednesday with with New Orleans media.

What’s your mind-set after last week’s game?

“Yesterday was a day off, and a lot of guys were in yesterday. We understand this is a big divisional opponent. The Saints are playing at a very high level right now. Our guys couldn’t wait to get in here, watch the film, see the game plan come together, and we’re just real excited about the opportunity.”

How do you chalk up a loss like that?

“Really it came down to execution. Before the week started, we kind of downplayed the whole Monday night thing and the West Coast trip. Ultimately, we just weren’t ready to come out and play. We didn’t execute like we needed to and the 49ers were on their game. The big thing is in the NFL a loss is a loss. There really are no style points whether it’s a win or a loss at the end of the day. We’re kind of past that. We’re still 3-2 and have an opportunity to play a good football team against New Orleans this week.”

Last year you guys did a nice job with bouncing back after losses. Do you see the same makeup with this team?

“Yes. It’s a thing where each game is its own separate game. It’s not really a deal where we lose a game and then we’re in a funk. It’s a deal where next week you start over with a clean slate of preparation. It doesn’t matter if you won the previous game or lost the previous game. You have to get prepared. You have a new team coming in and a new challenge. That’s the approach we take. It’s kind of our standard operating procedure. Otherwise it’s tough to be successful. If you have a tough game or a great win, we don’t get too high or too low. It’s just on to the next one.”

Why have you guys had so much success against the Saints in the past couple years?

“We split 2-2. It’s hard to say. They’re a divisional opponent. We feel like we know them very well and understand what they do defensively. We just have to go out and execute and that’s what we were able to do the two times we went into the Superdome and came out with wins. It’s a matter of execution. We know we have enough talent. We have the guys in the positions we need them in and if we go out and execute and play our game, we feel pretty good.”

How much has the way LeGarrette Blount helped you with the way he runs the ball?

“If you ask any quarterback, having a running back like LeGarrette and an offensive line like we have getting things rolling in the running game kind of changes the makeup of the game. All of a sudden the defense has to start packing the box more, they start to account for the run and that might leave some stuff on the back end in the secondary open.”

If Blount can’t play this weekend, how much do you lose?

“We have Earnest Graham. I feel real confident with Earnest Graham, so if LeGarrette’s unable to play I know Earnest is going to step up and do great for us. He has all kinds of history in the NFL being the featured back and has had some great seasons. I was watching tape in the offseason on Earnest tearing it up just a few years ago. Obviously, LeGarrette’s a big physical presence that he brings, but at the same time we have to keep it moving. You can’t sit back and say we don’t have LeGarrette, we don’t have a chance. Whether he goes or not, we’re going to have a good game plan and it’s going to come down to execution.”

Have you studied other quarterbacks, Drew Brees in particular, with working on your own game?

“Yes. We watch a lot of veteran quarterbacks, especially the guys that are not fresh right in the league. You’re talking about guys like Peyton Manning, guys like Tom Brady, Drew’s close to home because he’s in our division and has some history with our offensive coordinator Greg Olson. We watch Drew. He runs a very similar offense and he’s a fun quarterback to watch.”

Is it surprising that three of Drew Brees’ three top five receivers are a tight end and two running backs and the offense is ranked second in the league in passing?

“Not at all. That offense is designed to spread the ball around. Whatever the defense takes away, it’s on to the next guy whether it’s a checkdown or a tight end. It’s not surprising at all.”

After watching the Panthers’ game, did you see anything that Cam Newton did that you think you’ll be able to replicate?

“We haven’t really gotten in depth on the Panthers game. We watched a little bit of their plays in their cut-ups but really he just found a way to make plays. He got the ball to Steve Smith, who’s explosive as ever making plays and scoring touchdowns. He did a good job of keeping them in it.”

Could you do that reverse pitch that Cam Newton did with DeAngelo Williams?

“I didn’t see it. Was it an option? We’ve tried that. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I’m built for the option but if we had it in I could probably run it.”

What’s your review of how you’ve played so far this season?

“As far as preparation and feeling good, I feel great. I understand the defenses. I understand our offense as well as I ever have. We’re 3-2 right now, but looking back we could easily be 4-1 at this point. Looking back, there’s obviously some stuff that we could execute better on and we just have to get better, continue with preparation, and find a way to win.”

Your interceptions are up from last year. Is that something you’ve been working on?

“I think part of it’s the confidence. You have confidence to push the ball downfield and when you throw the ball downfield, there’s a lower percentage of having a completion and a higher percentage of being intercepted. There have been a few plays that it’s gotten away from me a little bit, but it’s not something that I anticipate happening.”

*Transcript provided by New Orleans Saints media relations staff