Panthers vs. Buccaneers: Final Grades and Analysis for Tampa Bay's Week 1 Game

The Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have concluded their game, with the Bucs defeating the Panthers by a score of 16-10.

With the win, the Bucs not only improve to 1-0 on the season and give their new head coach his first career victory, but they were also able to top Carolina for the first time in three meetings, and just the fifth time in their last 11 meetings.

Josh Freeman—Final Grade: C

Final grade: C

Freeman started the game about as well as anyone could have hoped, but the Bucs quickly pulled in the reins and started to run a much more conservative offense. Case in point: Freeman threw for just 16 yards in the second half. That said, Freeman managed the game wonderfully and did not commit an ill-timed turnover, as was his undoing last season. All told, Freeman completed 16 of 24 attempts for 138 yards and a touchdown.

Fourth quarter grade: C-

Freeman continued to complete check-down passes, which is not very conducive to generating big plays or quick strike touchdowns. More than anything, it appears as though the Bucs were content with playing it safe and letting their defense carry the burden on their shoulders.

Third quarter grade: C-

Josh Freeman attempted just two passes in the quarter, completing one of them for eight yards. Through three quarters, Freeman has completed 13 of 16 passes for 130 yards and one touchdown.

Second quarter grade: B

After going a near-perfect eight for nine in the first quarter, Freeman finished the second quarter having completed 12 of 14 attempts for 122 yards and a touchdown pass. Freeman also scrambled for 12 yards. That said, Freeman was unable to lead the Bucs to anything other than one field goal. However, given his past and the questions about his abilities, the first half has been a great start to his season.

First quarter grade: A

Freeman led the Bucs to a touchdown on their opening drive, a six yard scoring strike to receiver Mike Williams. Freeman was a perfect seven-for-seven on the drive.  No. 5 finished the first quarter completing eight of nine pass attempts for 85 yards and one touchdown. Overall, it's hard to imagine Freeman or the Bucs having envisioned a better start to his season than how the first quarter played out.

Pregame Analysis

Quarterback Josh Freeman heads into his fourth year in the NFL and third year as the starting quarterback for the Buccaneers.

In 2011, Freeman struggled to manage the expectations that followed his shining 2010 performance in which he threw for 25 touchdowns and just six interceptions on his way to leading the Bucs to an unexpected 10-6 finish. Instead, Freeman threw more interceptions (22) than touchdowns (16), and not coincidentally, the team finished 4-12 as a result.

Freeman has been given new weapons and a new offense to operate with. However, after an up-and-down preseason, the question remains whether or not he can effectively lead this team back to playing more competitively and, ultimately, winning football games again.

Offense—Final Grade: C

Final grade: C

Though the offense was effective, they truly lacked the big, explosive plays that they have the potential to complete. However, the one glaring stat in Tampa Bay's favor is time of possession, as the Bucs dominated to the tune of 37 minutes of total possession. Penalties nullified a few big plays, as did dropped passes, but in the end, the offense was efficient, but certainly not electric. Receiver Vincent Jackson, making his Tampa Bay debut, finished with four catches for 47 yards. Rookie running back Doug Martin finished with 95 of the team's 130 rushing yards on 24 carries.

Fourth quarter grade: C-

Conservative play calls continued, as the Bucs were only able to muster up a field goal. However, they were able to chew up clock when it counted most.

Third quarter grade: C

Needing to respond to Carolina's touchdown, Tampa Bay's offense stalled after an ill-timed holding penalty on guard Ted Larsen, nullifying a 31-yard completion to Vincent Jackson. Quarterback Josh Freeman was sacked two plays later, ending the drive. After Carolina's turnover, the offense was unable to capitalize on great field position, punting for the third time in the quarter. The Bucs had three possessions in the quarter, with all three ending in punts.

Second quarter grade: C+

The Bucs entered the second quarter with a 10-0 lead, having dominated both time of possession and total yards in the opening quarter. Quarterback Josh Freeman continued to show accuracy to go with conviction, finishing the first half with 122 yards, completing 11 of 13 attempts. On the ground, the Bucs were unable to punch in a short-and-goal situation late in the second quarter, instead having to settle for a field goal with 2:55 remaining in the quarter. Overall, the Bucs' offense racked up 172 total yards of offense and held the ball for more than 18 of a possible 30 minutes on their way to a 13-0 first half lead.

First quarter grade: B+

The Buccaneers' offense got off to a hot start, scoring 10 points on their first two drives of the 2012 season. Josh Freeman completed several quick, concise passes, but also added a 33-yard completion to tight end Dallas Clark. Running back Doug Martin added 25 yards on the ground, while receivers Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams hauled in a combined three catches for 19 yards. All told, the Bucs' offense easily controlled time of possession, holding the ball for nearly 10 of the 15 minutes in the quarter.

Pregame Analysis

The Buccaneers showed flashes—glimpses, if you will—during the preseason that suggest that their offense can potentially take over a game. That said, the offense did not provide such glimpses with enough frequency to ease the uncertainty or subdue the cynicism that they are in fact far from where they need to be and are essentially still a work in progress. To their credit, the offense loaded up on talent in the offseason by signing free-agent receiver Vincent Jackson, guard Carl Nicks and drafting running back Doug Martin in the first round. The Bucs have said time and time again that they intend on establishing the ground game early in games as a means to set up other facets of their offense, namely looking for opportunities to exploit coverage downfield using Jackson or another streaking receiver. With weather potentially playing a role in this game (moderate-to-heavy showers expected), look for Martin and running-mate LeGarrette Blount to pound the rock early and often for the Bucs today.

Defense—Final Grade: A-

Final grade: A-

Consider for a moment, that in two meetings last season the Panthers scored 86 combined points against the Bucs. Let that soak in for a moment—86 points, an average of 43 per game. The defense answered many of the questions that surrounded the unit heading into the season, in particular, lingering concerns over a lack of a pass rush and their inability to stop the run. The unit had three sacks and two interceptions, holding Carolina to 10 points and 301 total yards of offense, including just 10 yards rushing. Overall, it was a fantastic debut for the new-look Bucs defense.

Fourth quarter grade: A-

Safety Mark Barron once again drew thunderous applause after preventing a pass completion by dishing-out a timely, crushing hit on a Carolina receiver downfield. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy continued his dominating performance by sacking Cam Newton, which was followed by a Michael Bennett sack of Newton two plays later. Later in the fourth quarter, the defense was able to stall a Carolina drive deep in their red zone, holding the Panthers to a field goal.

Third quarter grade: B+

The defense allowed an opening drive touchdown, a 22-yard score from Cam Newton to receiver Brandon LaFell. On the drive, Newton threw for 70 yards. Bucs Safety Mark Barron delivered a bone-jarring hit to receiver Steve Smith along the sideline on the play preceding the touchdown, drawing a raucous response from the fans inside Raymond James Stadium. On Carolina's next possession, safety Ronde Barber picked off his first pass of the season and returned it to midfield. Safety Ahmad Black also picked off a Newton pass attempt as the quarter ended, running the turnover difference to plus-two in favor of the Bucs.

Second quarter grade: B+

The defense continued their dominance of Carolina, holding the Panthers to a paltry 109 yards of total offense, including negative one rushing yard and no points in the first half. The defensive line was able to generate a pass rush, upsetting quarterback Cam Newton and not allowing him to get comfortable in the pocket. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy was very disruptive, getting in Newton's face on numerous occasions and making plays in the backfield.

First quarter grade: A-

The defense was able to deny Carolina a score in the opening quarter, holding the Panthers to 34 yards of total offense. Linebacker Lavonte David and safety Ronde Barber made several big defensive stops, which contributed to the overall stellar play of the unit.

Pregame Analysis

Perhaps no bigger black cloud of uncertainty hovers over this team than how well the defense will perform this season. Last season, the Bucs were ranked last in run defense (156.1 yards per game) and 21st in pass defense (238.4 yards per game), while finishing with the third-worst total defense (394.4 yards per game) in the NFL. In short, they were bad—historically bad. They've since added a pair of prized rookies in safety Mark Barron and linebacker Lavonte David, both of whom will start and make their professional debuts this afternoon. Carolina outscored Tampa Bay 86-35 in their two meetings last season.

Special Teams—Final Grade: A-

Final grade: A-

Kicker Connor Barth was a perfect three-for-three in field goal attempts. Throw in Talib's blocked punt in the fourth quarter and it was a near-perfect afternoon for the special teams unit.

Fourth quarter grade: A+

Cornerback Aqib Talib blocked a punt attempt by Carolina, with the Bucs recovering inside Panthers territory. It was the first blocked kick of the Greg Schiano era. Connor Barth later added a 40-yard field goal, his third successful field goal attempt of the game.

Third quarter grade: B+

Punter Michael Koenen saw his first game action of the year, launching punts of 52, 48 and 43 yards after each of the first three Tampa Bay possessions of the second half.

Second quarter grade: B

Connor Barth once again added a field goal, this time from 20 yards out. The kick put the Bucs ahead by a score of 13-0. Barth is a perfect two-for-two on field goal attempts for the game.

First quarter grade: B

Kicker Connor Barth made his only attempt of the quarter, a 36-yard field goal, to put the Bucs up by 10 points.

Pregame Analysis

In a game that is expected to be affected by the weather, the role of the Bucs special teams could be the deciding factor in a closely fought contest. If that is the case, the Bucs can look to placekicker Connor Barth and punter Michael Koenen, who have the ability to handle their responsibilities, if needed. Barth is coming off a career year in which he made 26-of-28 field-goal attempts while also going a perfect 23-for-23 in PATs. In addition, the Bucs added a wrinkle to their special teams unit in running back/return specialist Michael Smith, a 2012 seventh-round pick from Utah State who electrified the return game during the preseason.

Coaching—Final Grade: B+

Final grade: B+

The victory over Carolina is an ideal debut for the Bucs' staff, as quite frankly, the Panthers had dominated the Bucs over the past few seasons. Not only does the win set the tone for the season, but it shows the fans that this is in fact an improved team. Whether the fans respond in kind, remains to be seen.

Fourth quarter grade: B+

Though the offense became obviously conservative, the defense stole the show and closed the door on the Carolina offense, holding them to just three fourth quarter points. Great pressure on Cam Newton throughout the afternoon played a definite role in his two-turnover performance.

Third quarter grade: C

The defense was missing the pressure it generated in the first half, which allowed Cam Newton to get into a passing rhythm and subsequently generate a little momentum. Conversely, the offense became decidedly more-conservative in the third quarter. It should be noted, however, that a light rain began to fall at Raymond James Stadium.

Second quarter grade: B+

The gameplans that the coaching staff assembled have ironed out about as well as they could have possibly imagined, as the offense has easily controlled possession, while the defense has contained a very dangerous Carolina attack. The Bucs end the first half leading 13-0, out-gaining the Panthers 171 to 109 on offense.

First quarter grade: B+

Offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan did a great job of calling quick passing plays for Josh Freeman, allowing him to get the ball out of his hands and establishing a rhythm in the process. Bill Sheridan's defense has been fast, reactive and tackled well in the first quarter. Anytime you can shut down a team with the weapons that Carolina possesses, one quarter or not, it's no small task.

Pregame Analysis

New head coach Greg Schiano has not only provided a much-needed culture change but he also has been adamant that this football team will be a more-disciplined, better-prepared group than the one fans watched in 2011. Everything in, on and around this team has Schiano's fingerprints on them. From the temperature set at the team's training facility to how the players dress for road trips, Schiano wants this team focused and ready for game day every week. Mike Sullivan is the new offensive coordinator, coming to the Bucs from the world champion New York Giants. Bill Sheridan, the new defensive coordinator, is also a former Giants assistant, but was most recently (and briefly) a member of Urban Meyer's staff at Ohio State.