Read More: Jeremy Trueblood (OT – TAM), Kellen Winslow (TE – TAM), Albert Haynesworth (DT – TAM), Arrelious Benn (WR – TAM), Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren’t expected to put up much of a fight against the playoff-bound Atlanta Falcons in Week 17, but being without Kellen Winslow might make their chances of pulling an upset even more minuscule.

Winslow missed practice on Friday due to something that is not injury-related, and his status for Sunday’s game is unclear.

The rest of the Buccaneers injury report is relatively clean: Jeremy Trueblood is out with a concussion, and wide receiver Arrelious Benn and defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth are both questionable, but no other major name is worse than probable.

Here’s the rest of the Bucs injury report for Week 17:

OUT: T Jeremy Trueblood (concussion).

DOUBTFUL: none.

QUESTIONABLE: WR Arrelious Benn (neck), DE Michael Bennett (toe), DT Brian Price (ankle), DT Albert Haynesworth (knee).

PROBABLE: DE Adrian Clayborn (hamstring), LB Geno Hayes (finger), LB Adam Hayward (foot), DT Roy Miller (back), WR Preston Parker (concussion), WR Sammie Stroughter (knee).

For more on the Falcons, head to The Falcoholic; for more on the Buccaneers, visit Bucs Nation.

By Rick Stroud, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Saturday, November 26, 2011

TAMPA — The Bucs defense is focused on stopping Titans RB Chris Johnson, who can’t seem to get going.

Johnson, who signed a six-year, $56 million contract after holding out of training camp, rushed for 130 yards in a win over Carolina two weeks ago and appeared on the verge of a breakout.

But in a loss to the Falcons last week, Johnson rushed for only 13 yards on 12 carries.

“I’ve played against a lot of fast guys, but he has that elite speed and is extremely fast,” Bucs LB Mason Foster said of Johnson, a Pro Bowl selection in each of his first three seasons. “That separates him from a lot of running backs in the league.”

The Bucs rank 26th in the league in rushing defense, allowing 133.5 yards per game. Johnson has eclipsed the century rushing mark twice this season and has 509 yards and two touchdowns on 160 attempts.

That’s below par for the 26-year-old from Orlando, who rushed for 4,598 yards his first three pro seasons.

“He just hasn’t had the big breakout runs he had last year,” Bucs coach Raheem Morris said. “Hopefully, we can continue to keep that process going. He’s only one snap away from returning to his old form.

“He’s fast, he’s quick, he’s dynamic. He’s a great running back … who is just searching for the big play. Hopefully, he doesn’t get it this weekend.”

BETTER TO RECEIVE: QB Josh Freeman is coming off a career-high 342 yards passing in a loss to Green Bay, thanks in no small part to the improved performance of his receivers.

TE Kellen Winslow had a season-high 132 yards receiving while WR Mike Williams recorded only his second touchdown of the season and his first since Week 1.

“Guys were making plays,” offensive coordinator Greg Olson said. “If they weren’t open, Josh threw them open. That’s kind of the NFL. You’re looking for those guys, when it’s a one-on-one matchup and you’ve got an opportunity to make a play, the quarterback has got to put the ball there for you and you’ve got to make the play, and they did that last week.”

The Bucs will see a lot more zone defense Sunday against the Titans, but Olson is hopeful last week’s performance will carry over.

“We hope so,” he said. “The players felt it. Early in the game (last week), there was that confidence and that swagger. … There was excitement and energy on the sideline we hope will carry over and remain on a consistent basis.”

INJURIES: DE Michael Bennett (groin) is doubtful for Sunday. S Tanard Jackson (hamstring) and LB Dekoda Watson (groin) did not practice Friday and are listed as questionable. DT Brian Price (forearm) and T Jeremy Trueblood (knee) are probable. DT Albert Haynesworth (knee) did not practice Friday but is probable.

[Last modified: Nov 25, 2011 08:53 PM]

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Read More: Jeremy Trueblood (OT – TAM), Kellen Winslow (TE – TAM), Dekoda Watson (LB – TAM), Brian Price (DT – TAM), Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got back to the practice field today, but were missing one of their defensive ends. Michael Bennett missed practice dealing with groin injury. The Bucs have dealt with some injuries on their defensive line all season, especially with defensive tackle Brian Price. Price was limited in practice dealing with a forearm injury.

The Bucs also had a few players return back to practice in full, having dealt with injuries last week. Safety Tanard Jackson, who’s been nursing a hamstring injury was a full participant today, as was offensive tackle Jeremy Trueblood (knee) and linebacker Dekoda Watson (groin).

Tight end Kellen Winslow also missed practice, but it was not injury related. The Bucs have certainly gotten healthier after having dealt with key injuries at critical positions early in the year.

For more coverage of the Buccaneers, please visit Bucs Nation, SB Nation’s Bucs blog. For more coverage of the Titans, please visit Music City Miracles.

With the Saturday night deadline for finalizing 53-man rosters looming, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a lot of work to do yesterday. While they had cut a few players on Friday night, their roster still sat at a robust 80 players and they had to cut 27 players in order to get their roster to the correct size.

The Bucs stressed how difficult it was for them to make these decisions, commenting that it spoke to the strength of their overall roster. And even though they did make the necessary cuts, you can tell that they’re unsure exactly how their depth chart will play out over the season at a couple positions, going especially heavy with defensive backs and linemen. They have plenty of talent on the roster, but now it’s a matter of figuring out how to make it all work the best.

For the current 53-man roster — expect their to be waiver additions over the next couple days — follow me below the jump.

A huge thanks to Sander at Bucs Nation for compiling this list. If you’re a Bucs fan and you’re not reading him every day, you should take a long, hard look at yourself in the mirror.

Quarterback (2): Josh Freeman, Josh Johnson
Running Back (4): Legarrette Blount, Earnest Graham, Kregg Lumpkin, Allen Bradford
Fullback (1): Erik Lorig
Tight end (2): Kellen Winslow, Luke Stocker
Wide Receiver (6): Mike Williams, Arrelious Benn, Dezmon Briscoe, Sammie Stroughter, Micheal Spurlock, Preston Parker
Offensive Tackle (4): Donald Penn, Jeremy Trueblood, James Lee, Demar Dotson
Offensive Guard (4): Ted Larsen, Davin Joseph, Jeremy Zuttah, Derek Hardman
Center (1): Jeff Faine

Defensive Tackle (4): Gerald McCoy, Roy Miller, Frank Okam, Brian Price
Defensive End (5): Adrian Clayborn, Michael Bennett, Da’Quan Bowers, Tim Crowder, George Johnson
Linebacker (5): Quincy Black, Mason Foster, Geno Hayes, Dekoda Watson, Adam Hayward
Cornerback (7): Ronde Barber, Aqib Talib, E.J. Biggers, Myron Lewis, Elbert Mack, D.J. Johnson,Anthony Gaitor
Safety (5): Sean Jones, Cody Grimm, Larry Asante, Corey Lynch, Devin Holland
Punter (1): Michael Koenen
Kicker (1): Connor Barth
Longsnapper (1): Christian Yount (Andrew Economos on “Physically Unable to Perform” list)

By Rick Stroud, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Sunday, August 7, 2011

TAMPA — Depth charts usually aren’t worth the paper they are printed on in training camp. But when the Bucs’ list of starters is released Monday, a few names could be etched in stone.

Rookie Mason Foster will be the starter at middle linebacker.

That decision essentially was made when the team made Foster its third-round pick out of Washington.

Former USF standout Tyrone McKenzie and Derrell Smith, an undrafted rookie from Syracuse, are battling to back him up.

The Bucs love Foster’s size (6 feet 1, 240 pounds) and instincts enough to put the responsibility of making all of the defensive calls on his shoulder pads.

“He’s doing well. It’s hard to say the job is his, and you’ve got to go through the bullets,” coach Raheem Morris said of Foster. “You’ve got to go through the games. You’ve got to go out there and prove yourself. But you want to give him an opportunity to win it.

“He is getting some reps with the first group. It’s fun.”

The consensus opinion is the defense will be vanilla with Foster. But that’s not Morris’ flavor.

“With Coach Morris’ personality, I don’t think he would water down anything,” said former Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks, who watched rookie Jamie Duncan step in at middle linebacker in 1999. “I think he would ask Mason, if he earned that spot, to step up.”

Brooks says Foster should take comfort in the fact Morris has had success starting rookies in the past.

“Take the position out of it,” Brooks said. “You’ve had that in this Buccaneers defense the last three years. Some rookies have started and played prominent roles. It shouldn’t be different at his position.”

Other predictions: Jeremy Trueblood will be the starting right tackle over James Lee. You don’t re-sign someone for $10 million over two years to be a backup.

And rookies Adrian Clayborn and Da’Quan Bowers will be the starting defensive ends.

BLACKOUTS: The organization fired warning shots over the bow of its pirate ship last year about the likelihood of home games being subjected to local television blackouts.

Many fans were put out that such a dire prediction (which came true) would be made before the start of the preseason.

The club is taking a more stealthy approach when it comes to revealing its ticket numbers this year, but it’s reasonable to expect most of the seven regular-season and two preseason games will be blacked out.

If single-game ticket sales that commenced Friday are any indication, there could be two exceptions: the Monday night game on ESPN against the Colts on Oct. 3 and the Saturday night game against the Cowboys on the NFL Network on Dec. 17.

Waiting for discipline: Despite the rhetoric coming from the Bucs, they expect commissioner Roger Goodell to levy harsh punishments to the handful of players who violated the league’s personal conduct policy during the lockout.

That includes CB Aqib Talib, whose trial on charges of assault with a deadly weapon has been moved to March 2012. The hope is Goodell will wait until Talib has his day in court and allow for the presumption of innocence.

[Last modified: Aug 06, 2011 10:54 PM]

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