Tampa Bay Buccaneers Promote More Youth to Their Young Squad

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers once again overcame mistakes and mixed production like they did against the Bengals to rally for a win last Sunday. At the helm of that robust turnaround, the young quarterback with “franchise” tagged to his busy shoulder pads is Josh Freeman. 

The Bucs needed most to improve their rushing offense and rushing defense—fast. That job is half done so far. Running back LaGarrette Blount maneuvered his 250 pounds over 72 yards of Rams’ turf with 11 carries.

Head Coach Raheem Morris had praise for Blount on www.Buccaneers.com.

"You can’t say enough,” Morris said. “He runs hard, he runs resilient, he runs tough. He’s kind of a symbol of our football team and some of the good things that we talk about. He’s young, he’s in the fight. He’s playing fast, he’s playing hard. He’s learning every single day.”

The challenged defense seemed ready to produce a similar outcome like that against the Saints in the first half, but they are too beefed up to slow the Rams offense. 

As a result of that game, the passing defense moved up to sixth in the NFL with an impressive 196.2 yards allowed per game. 

An exciting late-game final second Freeman TD pass to Cadillac Williams lifted home spirits sky high, and left fans eager to climb the next hurdle. 

More youthful promotions seems to be the Bucs' answer to their uphill battle.

Tight end Ryan Purvis (6-4, 260) has earned his way from the practice squad to the active roster by replacing released veteran tight end Jerramy Stevens.

Tackle Derek Hardman (6-6, 300) also moved up from practice status. 

Then the Bucs did some more heavy lifting by signing center/guard John Malecki (6-2 304) and tight end Nathan Overby (6-5, 270) to the practice squad.

It seems the bottom line here for recent moves at team level has been: bring the beef. Fans hope speed accompanies heft.

Bucs fans shouldn't be giddy over being 4-2 and having two strong comeback wins, but it’s time to exhale, take a deep breath and save energy for the next game.

It’s still one game at a time. Stats don’t cause snaps, fumbles, receptions, yards gained, interceptions or points. Team members manipulate all the stats by showing up, staying up and playing strong.

One of the best things a fan can hear is the first whistle of the next game.

That’s just a few days away.

Photo credit: Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com