The Buccaneers have been in search of a spark for their pass-rush, and they may have found one in recently-signed veteran end Trevor Scott. After just three days of practice at One Buc Place, Scott suited up for his first game with Tampa Bay on Saturday night and immediately racked up three sacks. Those were three of the Bucs' four QB takedowns on the night in Miami, and the first three turned in by a down lineman during the entire preseason. He looked very sudden off the edge (fellow Buc D-lineman Gerald McCoy remarked afterward about Scott's quick feet) and even forced a fumble with his third sack, a blind-side hit on QB Pat Devlin.

First-year safety Sean Baker spent the first two weeks of training camp making one big play after another on the practice field, but he was frustratingly sidelined for the first two preseason games by a minor but nagging groin injury. Finally cleared to play on Saturday night in Miami, Baker was once again in the right place at the right time, as he scooped up a fourth-quarter fumble and returned it 55 yards to set up the game-winning touchdown. The Bucs have impressive depth at safety, which makes the competition tougher for Baker, but the former Ball State standout cleared the first hurdle in that battle merely by getting back on the field.

The Buccaneers chose to hold starting tailback Doug Martin out of the game Saturday (a healthy scratch) which meant more snaps to go around what suddenly looks like a deep backfield. The team needs to decide quickly who to keep out of reserve tailbacks Brian Leonard, Mike James and Peyton Hillis (there may be room for all three, giving the versatility they share), and how to arrange them on the depth chart. The running game as a whole wasn't overly potent in Miami, but it may be noteworthy that Leonard got the start with the first-team offense in Martin's absence. He finished with 38 yards on 10 carries but more importantly found the end zone for the second time in as many Buccaneer games. Leonard's TD run, and the seven-yarder down to the one-yard line that preceded it, were decisive, hard-cutting red zone efforts.

Fellow veteran RB Peyton Hillis didn't get his shot until the second half, but he appeared to be as effective as Leonard, averaging 4.0 yards per carry on seven totes. After Baker's aforementioned fumble recovery put the Buccaneers in scoring position late in regulation, Hillis got three straight carries and gave the Bucs just what they needed, a first down inside the 20 and a whole minute drained off the clock. After one more Hillis run burned Miami's last timeout with 1:21 to play, QB Mike Glennon found WR David Douglas for the winning score and the Bucs' defense easily held off Miami in the final minute.

That final defensive stand by the Buccaneers was complete when second-year safety Keith Tandy intercepted QB Pat Devlin over the middle of the field with 12 seconds to play. It was a good moment for the 2012 sixth-round draft pick because, like Baker, he's fighting to keep his spot among a deep and talented group of safeties. Tandy converted from cornerback to safety after being drafted last year but played primarily on special teams during the regular season. Showing value in the kick-and-return game may once again be Tandy's best way to get a foothold on the 53-man roster, but on Saturday he made an attention-grabbing play that can't hurt his chances, either.

The Buccaneers are still working to sort out their depth chart at cornerback, with All-Pro Darrelle Revis expected to take over on the left side at the start of the regular season and Johnthan Banks and Leonard Johnson currently holding down the front-line spots. The odd man out from that duo won't necessarily slide into the slot; Head Coach Greg Schiano recently said that the nickel-back spot is significantly different from playing on the outside. On Saturday, seventh-year veteran Michael Adams got the start in the nickel package and turned in a good showing with four tackles and a pass defensed. Schiano also lauded Adams on his special teams play against the Dolphins.

Second-year WR David Douglas has four catches this preseason, and half of them have ended with him in the end zone. After scoring on a one-yard catch late in the Bucs' Week Two loss at New England, Douglas collected the game-winning points on Saturday night in Miami on a 12-yard grab. After slicing across the middle and catching a Mike Glennon pass just inside the five-yard line, Douglas cut sharply upfield and dived through a rapidly-closing gap between several Miami defenders. Kevin Ogletree seems like the current leader for the third-receiver role behind Mike Williams and Vincent Jackson, but the Bucs still must decide who will occupy the fourth, fifth and possibly sixth WR spots.

It was hardly enough to decide the Buccaneers' kicker competition, but newly-signed veteran Rian Lindell at least came through the first time he was called upon. While first-year man Derek Dimke handled all of the field goal tries in the first two preseason games and was a perfect 5-for-5, the Bucs chose to try out their new option on Saturday night in Miami and weren't disappointed. Lindell nailed Tampa Bay's only field goal try of the game on a 38-yard attempt in the second quarter, putting the visiting team up, 10-3. Since Dimke has performed very well this summer and Lindell has a proven track record in the NFL, this competition should continue to be tight for the next week.

Before the Week Two game at New England, Head Coach Greg Schiano suggested that, while the competition for the punt and kickoff return games was still wide open, second-year man Eric Page had taken an early lead. Page has done nothing to hurt himself since, following up a good game against the Patriots with another pleasing performance in Miami. It was noteworthy that he was given the first crack on kickoff return and the first two chances on punts, and he did well with all three returns, a 23-yarder off Miami's first kickoff and 16 and 19-yarders on two first-half punts. On all three occasions, Page fielded the ball cleanly, sprinted directly upfield and extended his runs with sharp, decisive cuts.

The one sack recorded by the Buccaneers on Saturday night that did not fall into Trevor Scott's stat column was produced by rookie DE Steven Means. While Scott is trying to make a lasting impression in a very short period of time, Means is working to prove that his raw talent will help him make the jump from the University of Buffalo (also Scott's alma mater, coincidentally) to the NFL. The Buccaneers believe they have some talented young pass-rushers but don't know how quickly any of them will emerge as impact players at the pro level. Means may not have secured himself a roster spot or a regular spot in the DE rotation with his first NFL sack, but it certainly is a notch in his favor.