Tampa Bay Buccaneers Preseason 2010: Thoughts From The Morning After

Armed with a great morning cup of jo, these post game observations from the preseason-ending 24-17 victory over the Texans:

First and foremost, it had to ease the mind of Raheem Morris to watch quarterback Josh Freeman loosen up for an hour and a half throwing passes, pain-free and effectively. He had zip on the ball and never looked like there was any discomfort. That's the best news of the night.

Corey Lynch:  How do you keep him off the 53-man final roster? He had another guy named Lynch, former Buccaneer star John, in the television booth, singing his praises. There was a lot to praise. How about that 91-yard interception return for a touchdown. How did he outrun everyone? If that wasn't good enough, he produced another that led to a Tampa Bay touchdown.

Does the preseason performance of Lynch possibly mean that Sabby Piscitelli's on his way to the waiver wire?

Arrelious Benn:  Say it again, say it out loud -- Arr-E-Lious Benn! Those of you waiting for him to make a splash didn't have to wait any longer. The rookie made two sensational catches, one for a touchdown that was just amazing. Now we can understand what he is capable of and what lies in store for this talented guy. Morris tells us he just keeps getting better and after being a ghost the first three games, he made himself known Thursday night. You think his teammates and coaches like him? They all charged the end zone to congratulate him after that amazing 21-yard TD catch and were tagged with a celebration penalty in the process.

Rudy Carpenter: Went 15 of 22 for 203 yards. Managed the game well. There will be no veteran quarterback coming in off the waiver wires. Mark Dominik said so.

Kareem Huggins: Reinforced that the decision to boot Derrick Ward was a good one. Six carries for 37 yards, including a nice 25-yarder.

Carlos Brown: Look for him to find a place on the practice squad.

Reggie Brown:  Looked good until he dropped a touchdown pass but may be the guy who sends his majesty Michael Clayton packing.

Clifton Smith:  Looks healthy now, but he's still got to be on the bubble. It's Raheem's call.

The Defense: Tough call. Starting guys didn't play much. The mix of the 3-4 is very interesting and hopefully that can be an effective twist by Morris. Just gives opposing offensive coordinators a little more to prepare for.

Connor Barth: Ready to go.

Brent Bowden: Jury's still out. Hasn't shown he's capable of hitting a "boomer."

Special Teams:  Better than last week.

Searching the waiver wire:  "It's getting tougher to claim guys because of the talent we have," says Boss Hog Mark Dominik. He's right. Typically you'll see a lot of older, higher-paid veterans on waivers by September 4th. That's something the Bucs really are not interested in.

Observations by Johnny Lynch:   On Michael Clayton making the final roster:  "Probably not." On the re-stocking plan: "You see a clear plan. Improved? Yes."

The team has Friday off and will have a walk-through practice on Saturday. Then it's time to trim the roster and get down to the business of preparing for Cleveland.

Glad this preseason process is done, aren't you?