JOHNNY B'S *******O/U**LOCK***OF THE LAST WEEK OF THE EARTH's EXSISTACE****
Tampa’s season has taken quite a turn for the worse. Tampa recorded its fourth consecutive win Nov 18 and at 6-4, appeared poised for its first postseason berth since 2007. However, a three-game losing streak has followed, leaving the Bucs at 6-7. The three-game slide began with a one-point home loss to the Falcons (led by six in the 4th) and last Sunday it continued in a very painful way. The Bucs played a brutal first half, trailing 10-0. However, Josh Johnson threw two TD passes in the second half and Doug Martin (1,234 yards on 4.7 YPC with 10 TDs in his rookie season) added a rushing TD, as the Bucs took an 11-point lead. The defense was not able to make that stick, though. The Eagles, on an eight-game losing streak, were able to rally behind rookie QB Nick Foles and win with two TD passes in the game’s final 3:55 (game-winner came as time expired!). The 23-21 defeat marked the fourth time this season that the Buccaneers have failed to capitalize on a fourth-quarter lead. Now, the Bucs will need to “win out” and then get plenty of help. "Every loss is tough, but we can't dwell on it. A lot of guys are disappointed, but they still understand we've got a lot of football to play the rest of the year," defensive end Da'Quan Bowers said. "You can't dwell on that one game. We've got to correct the fixable things and transfer our focus to New Orleans." Speaking of the Saints, they opened 0-4 but then got back to 5-5 after 10 games. However, the Saints have lost three in a row and believe it or not, Drew Brees has been at the center of the team’s woes. He’s thrown NINE interceptions in the team’s three-game slide, including two “pick sixes” in a 10-point loss to the 49ers and five INTs in another 10-point loss to the Falcons. The Saints found a different way to lose last week vs the Giants, allowing a team-worst 287 yards on six kickoff returns, including a 97-yard TD in the first quarter. Brees is over 4,000 passing yards for the seventh straight year (matching his time in New Orleans) and while his 18 INTs are tied with Andrew Luck for the most in the NFL, he also leads the league with 32 TDs.The Saints’ D has been a year-long disaster, allowing a league-high 436.9 YPG and 29.2 PPG (3rd-most). Tampa’s Josh Johnson had a terrific 2010 season (25-6 ratio with a 95.9 QB rating) but then struggled through LY’s 4-12 year with a 16-18 ratio and a QB rating of 74.6. However, he enters this game with a 25-8 ratio (91.1 QB rating) and with three games left, will easily surpass his season-high in passing yards (3,592), as he already has 3,192. In the first meeting with New Orleans, Johnson passed for a career-best 420 yards and threw three TDs.The Buccaneers boast the NFL’s No. 1 rush defense (78.2 YPG on 3.3 YPC), so expect Brees to “air it out,” as the Saints play out the string. There’s no reason toexpect that the New Orleans’ D can stop the Bucs (Tampa Bay had averaged 30.4 PPG over its previous seven games, prior to last Sunday) and what we have here is a good old-fashioned shootout!
Last edited by JohnnyBrooklyn; 12-16-12 at 11:20 AM.
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JOHNNY B'S *******O/U**LOCK***OF THE LAST WEEK OF THE EARTH's EXSISTACE****
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