It was a perfect beginning to the 2010 season for Josh Freeman, the 22-year-old quarterback who will be making his first opening-day NFL start in a little less than a month.
Was Freeman perfect in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' preseason-opening 10-7 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Saturday night at Sun Life Stadium? Only film review will say for sure, but by one measure he was: Freeman's 158.3 passer rating in a little under one quarter of work was as high as a quarterback can get.
Many of the game's biggest moments were turned in by players the Bucs have added over the past two offseasons, with much of the night's playing time devoted to young players as per usual in the first preseason game. Among the young standouts were Sammie Stroughter, Preston Parker, Michael Bennett, Josh Johnson, Mike Williams, E.J. Biggers, Brent Bowden and especially first-year RB Kareem Huggins.
Nothing warms a coach's heart, however, like a poised and precise outing by the man who would be the franchise.
Freeman finished the game a spotless four-for-four passing, and his last two throws were probably all the Buccaneers needed to see. After tossing a perfect rainbow to rookie sensation Mike Williams down the right sideline for a 30-yard gain, Freeman helped put the Bucs in the end zone with a veteran-like maneuver. WR Sammie Stroughter shot out to the right sideline on the snap and Freeman, looking immediately in his direction, also saw a defender in the area. Rolling to his right, Freeman turned his attention to a different target in the end zone, and as soon as the defender moved in that direction he went back to Stroughter for what proved to be a 13-yard touchdown.
Freeman, who loves to speak in Xs and Os, spread the credit around for the Bucs' first touchdown of the season.
"It was a play we tried to max it out," he said. "It's a good combo play where Sammie was the first read, then Mike Williams sits down and then Michael Clayton is in the back of the end zone. We were down in the dirt, the guy initially jumped Sammie, so I went to Mike Williams, who was covered, then went back to Mike Clayton. The guy who was on Sammie dropped off and then I banged it in to Sammie and Sammie ran in. It was an awesome play by him."
The set-up pass to Williams was perfectly executed as well. The fourth-round pick out of Syracuse has been a practice-field sensation since his arrival in May and it immediately translated into game action on Saturday. Williams didn't play long, but he was in long enough to give a taste of his big-play ability.
"We came out of the huddle and I had a go route," said the rookie. "I told Freeman right when we left the huddle, that if they had press coverage to throw it and I had him. They showed press coverage, he threw it, I got my feet in, and we completed it. It felt good."
The Bucs needed one more perfect connection in the fourth quarter to get the win but didn't find it, as a fourth-down Rudy Carpenter-to-Terrence Nunn slant was knocked away in the end zone by S Nate Ness. Probably driven by a desire to avoid preseason overtime, the Bucs went for it on fourth down with 6:28 left in the game after three plays from the five-yard line failed to get the ball in the end zone. The Bucs had one more chance to take the lead near the two-minute warning but lost it when rookie WR Chris Brooks fumbled into the end zone after a 31-yard catch.
The beginning of the game was certainly promising enough to make up for the end, however. Each of Freeman's two drives reached Miami territory, the first helped by a 20-yard punt return by Micheal Spurlock. With both sides sliding around a bit on the Florida Marlins' mud infield on that half of the field, Morris chose to punt from the Miami 36 on the first drive, and that bit of field-position maneuvering paid off when rookie P Brent Bowden dropped a perfect punt down near the Miami goal line. The Bucs' defense forced a punt and Freeman took the next drive 60 yards on seven plays for the game's first score.
Tampa Bay left its entire starting defense on the field for just one possession, combining first-stringers and reserves for the rest of the half. Despite three turnovers in the second half, however, that defensive mix controlled the action, allowing only 83 yards of offense and one field goal as the Bucs took a 7-3 lead into the intermission. During the quarter-and-a-half that Dolphins starting QB Chad Henne was in the game, the Bucs allowed only 39 yards of offense.
"It's just a sound defense," said CB Ronde Barber. "We all know it works. The track record for its success is long and very distinguished, with a lot of good players. We all know we have high expectations with this defense and we have to get it going."
The Bucs allowed none of Miami's six third-down tries to be converted in the first half, while Tampa Bay's offense was successful on four of seven tires. The Bucs controlled the ball for over 18 of the game's first 30 minutes and had almost exactly double Miami's offensive output (162-83).
"I am pretty excited about how both first units performed, offense and defense," said Head Coach Raheem Morris. "We were able to move the ball on offense and get a couple of stops on defense. We have to get our second units better. We can't allow our guys to break down with mental weakness, as far as penalties go. We were hurt by that. We have to go and clean that up in the second half. It's no excuse because we are young. We have to get better right now."
The Bucs' control of the first half might have been more complete if not for the ridiculously good work of Dolphins punter Brandon Fields. Fields repeatedly got the Dolphins out of field position problems, averaging 53.1 yards on seven punts. For his part, Bowden put up less gaudy stats but was every bit the placement whiz he was reported to be. Two of Bowden's four punts were downed inside Miami's 10, including one that followed Tampa Bay's first possession and helped eventually get the ball back in good field position for the game's first scoring drive.
As for the other young contributors, Huggins was the standout with 71 combined rushing and receiving yards. Huggins received considerable playing time in the final three quarters with Cadillac Williams and Derrick Ward on the sideline and Clifton Smith not in uniform. Among his big plays were a 35-yard run and a 17-yard screen pass that converted a third-and-14.
Biggers was among the Bucs' best defenders, tying for the team lead and adding one tackle for loss, one pass defensed and one fumble recovery. He helped Freeman get the ball back for his second possession by denying a pass over the middle intended for the Dolphins' new star receiver, Brandon Marshall.
Stroughter caught three passes for 30 yards, including the Bucs' lone touchdown. Parker shined in the return game, gaining 69 yards on four punt runbacks; Bennett had the Bucs' only sack of the game plus two other quarterback hits; Johnson had two first half turnovers but was able to complete eight of 13 passes for 72 yards while also scrambling twice for 17 yards.
Miami turned the game's momentum around in the second half when the two benches were emptied of their reserves.
The Bucs got in trouble on their opening drive of the second half but escaped a third-and-17 when Johnson lofted a 20-yard pass under pressure to Spurlock, who dragged his toes on the right sideline. Huggins got around left tackle for a 35-yard run down to the Miami 28 two plays later but an aborted bootleg by Johnson resulted in an 11-yard loss and, eventually, a punt from the Miami 37. Bowden succeeded again, lifting a high kick that was fair caught at the seven.
Tampa Bay's defense came out of halftime strong, forcing a three-and-out and a punt out of the end zone. After a 20-yard punt return by WR Preston Parker, Carpenter relieved Johnson at quarterback and quickly converted a third-and-12 with a screen pass to Huggins for a gain of 14. Another 17-yard run by Huggins got the ball down to Miami's 28 but his next two carries were stopped for a loss of three total yards. Carpenter's third-down pass was incomplete and rookie K Hunter Lawrence came on to try a 49-yard field goal. Lawrence's kick looked good off the foot but faded just low and wide to the right.
Thigpen took the resulting possession into Buccaneers territory, getting a 34-yard chunk when WR Marlon Moore adjusted to an underthrown ball down the right sideline. On third-and-one from the Bucs' two, RB Lex Hilliard went over right tackle for the go-ahead score.
The Bucs' next drive fizzled but another young Buc got the ball back for Tampa Bay in Miami territory three minutes into the fourth quarter. Third-year S Corey Lynch, acquired early in 2009, kept Fields from blasting another 60-yard punt by blocking it off his foot and sending it backward where it was downed by Fields at the Miami 30.
Brooks made a dazzling leaping catch at the Miami 20 to just convert a third-and-15, and just-acquired rookie RB Carlos Brown followed with a 15-yard run down to the five on the next play. Two more Brown runs up the middle failed and a pass to Nunn in the end zone was knocked away by two defenders. Carpenter's fourth-down strike to Nunn was on target but Ness defended it perfectly.
The Dolphins needed a few first downs to get out of field-position trouble and drain the clock, and got them behind Hilliard's running and a 14-yard Thigpen completion to WR Julius Pruitt. The Bucs used their second timeout to halt the clock at 3:18, with the ball at Miami's 28. Tampa Bay's defense held at that point, however, stopping Hilliard for no yards and breaking up a pass to Pruitt. Fields drilled a 42-yard punt but Parker found the right sideline for a 26-yard return and the Bucs had the ball over midfield with just under three minutes to play.
Three plays later, Brooks saw a great play go bad after he caught Carpenter's deep pass over the middle and sprinted towards the end zone. Unfortunately, Ness poked the ball out of his hands and then recovered it in the end zone for Miami's fourth takeaway of the game. Ness ran the ball back out to the nine as the two-minute warning arrived. Three plays ran out the rest of the clock.
Game Notes: The Buccaneers are now 9-16 against the Dolphins in preseason play. That represents Tampa Bay's highest preseason win and loss total against any team. ... The Bucs and Dolphins have now met in 11 straight preseasons, dating back to 2000. The Bucs are 5-6 against Miami in that stretch. ... Second-year DE Kyle Moore, who seems to have won the starting left end spot at the moment, could help the Bucs in more ways than one. During the Dolphins' first two drives, DE Tim Crowder came in to play left end on third downs and Moore moved inside to play defensive tackle. ... Though he lost the fumble on Tampa Bay's last possession, rookie WR Chris Brooks was the Bucs' leading receiver on the day. He caught three passes for 50 yards.
Inactives: There are no official inactives during the offseason. However, the Buccaneers revealed six players prior to the game who would definitely not participate: CB De'von Hall, CB Myron Lewis, DT Brian Price, RB Clifton Smith, CB Aqib Talib and TE Kellen Winslow.
The Dolphins also announced four players who would not suit up: CB Will Allen, RB Patrick Cobbs, LB Tim Dobbins and T Nate Garner.
Injuries: For the Buccaneers, WR Maurice Stovall left in the first quarter with an ankle injury and did not return. LB Lee Robinson sustained a knee injury in the first quarter but was able to return in the second period. CB Darrell Pasco sustained a shoulder injury in the third quarter and did not return.
The Dolphins did not report an injury during the game.
