Friday, December 2, 2011

Carolina Panthers to win at Tampa Bay

The Creamsicles are back!

Tampa Bay will wear its throwback Creamsicle orange uniforms Sunday when the Panthers play the Bucs in Tampa, harking back to those glorious days when the Bucs once lost 26 games in a row and head coach John McKay, when asked about his team's execution, quipped that he was in favor of it.

It's actually part of a whole throwback theme. The loudspeakers will be blaring music from the 1970s and the Bucs will induct former tight end Jimmie Giles from their early days into their Ring of Honor.

I've always liked Tampa Bay’s Creamsicle uniforms myself – they are among the weirdest uniforms in sports history, joining the uniforms of the 1970s-era Pittsburgh Pirates (remember the caps?) and the 1980s-era Houston Astros. And being dressed like an ice-cream popsicle fits these Bucs, because Tampa Bay has again become one of the NFL season’s biggest disappointments.

After starting 4-2, Tampa Bay has lost five straight games. Head coach Raheem Morris was asked by reporters about his job security this week – that’s never a good sign. Only Indianapolis (11 games) and San Diego (six) are currently limping through longer losing streaks.

-- The Bucs will start a Josh at quarterback Sunday, but it's unclear which one. Josh Freeman has started the past 36 games in a row for Tampa Bay, but he suffered a throwing shoulder injury on the last play of the game last week. If Freeman can’t go – and he's been very limited in practice this week – the Bucs will go with backup Josh Johnson. Like Freeman, Johnson can run, but he’s not as physical and his arm isn’t quite as good.

-- The Bucs are very banged up on the defensive line, which makes it even more imperative that the Panthers use a run/pass ratio similar to the one last week in the win over Indianapolis (35 runs, 27 passes).

-- I've picked the Panthers' outcome correctly the past three weeks in a row, including getting the spread right against Indianapolis last week (I picked Carolina to win by eight points).

I think that the Buccaneers (4-7) are in a freefall and have had a spate of recent injuries. Carolina (3-8) will win this game as long as it runs the ball well and its defense doesn't blow it. I think the Panthers will prevail, 28-24.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

How does an ice cream popsicle correspond to disappointment? I think Creamsicles are awesome!!

fafafuey said...

If the Panthers and score (touchdowns not field goals) early and force them to become 1 dimensional they will win. If its close Blount will run all over us in the 4th.

Anonymous said...

If I remember McKay's quote correctly, he was asked what he thought of the "execution of the offense", not the team.

Anonymous said...

"As long as it's defense dosen't blow it"...

Thats assuming a lot, and you know what they say about assumptions

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I don't like to criticize these posts, but come on Scott. Creamsicles are one of the best things going, and they NEVER disappoint.

ShowOff said...

Bucs by 27. We are light years behind them in talent and leadership.

Anonymous said...

McKay's comment was actually made about his defense, and was made by him when he was still coach of the USC Trojans. The quote aptly applied to his early Buc teams as well.

Greg said...

Two things:

@Showoff....Light years ahead of us in talent and leadership? are you now considering leadership being a QB who injures himself with guns, a CB who shoots at people and gets indicted, a HB who continues to show he doesn't have the maturity level to play pro sports, and a head coach who blames everyone else but himself for the team's losses? That's such a bogus statement, you obviously don't know anything about the sport. Go crawl into a hole.

Second, @anonymous at 1:31 pm. You're calling Panther fans hicks? Really? At least the Panthers are selling out games and not getting blacked out on an almost weekly basis. At least we have a somewhat faithful following. Enjoy your trash hole of a city/team.

talkingsmack said...

Greg,
While I do back you on the team, I have to call you out on the Tampa bashing. It is one of the most beautiful cities in America. I live in Charlotte and have no problems saying that in comparison, our city is a garbage dump. Go Panthers!

Anonymous said...

You could put all of John McKay's quotes together and run it on continuous loop and I would watch for hours.

"We can't stop the pass, or a run. Otherwise, we're in great shape."

To his D-Coordinator, "Why don't you put that guy in the game more often? He tackles. We got all these old pros, and nobody tackles. Everytime the get the ball, they keep it for a week."

Upon breaking the 0-26 streak, "All we need is for 4 or 5 teams to have plane crashes, and we're in the playoffs."

And my all-time favorite, "We didn't block. But we made up for it by not tackling."

As for the game, I don't see how our pathetic front 4 keeps Blount from running for 200. We have to hope that on the 8 or 9 times they actually throw a forward pass, we intercept half of them. And Gamble might just do that. Cam will get his, of course, but I think this ends like the first few games, where we lead most of the game but end up losing 17-10 when we botch the last drive on the 10 yard line.

Anonymous said...

pedo detector says,

Bucs will destroy the overall worst franchise in NFL history percentage wise in wins and losses. Even the scammer retarded pretend QB almost lost a game against the 0-11 Colts outplayed by a backup after Manning career ended with a broken neck. In the same token all 30 yr old runt wb pedos on the sex offender list currently being removed from any and all youth locker and shower rooms and sidelines although still post under 500 names 24/7 under close watch.

Anonymous said...

So what you're saying is that ice cream popsicles are a disappointment? Shame on you.

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