The Quick Start
We've been hearing all season about the importance of a fast start and on Sunday in Pittsburgh it was a classic example. After winning the toss, Gerald McCoy got a sack right away, followed by a Michael Johnson sack/fumble and the Buccaneer offense cashed in immediately with a TD before the game was 2 minutes old. If Lovie Smith had a hundred dollar bill, he could not have purchased a better start than that!
Speaking of Michael Johnson...
For the first time this season, the Bucs free agent acquisition from the Bengals looked like the Pro Bowl caliber defensive end that everybody wants to see. He was disruptive in the backfield all day, including in the running game. And moving forward, offensive coordinators will have to game plan against him with double teams at least. Very good sign.
Finally, the play!
Say whatever you want about the first 59: 53 of the game, it all came down to what the Bucs did with 7 seconds remaining. Mike Glennon stood tall in the pocket with pressure coming from his right, Vincent Jackson ran a great "fake to the inside slide back to the outside" route and made an even better catch! And, the end result is jubilation in "Buc-ville." If you want to be a winning/contending team, those are the kind of plays that have to be made with the game on the line, and the Bucs pulled it off in the Steel City Sunday!
