Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Winners and Losers from Bucs' 48-3 Loss vs. 49ers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rolled in to Candlestick Park Sunday afternoon riding high and sitting atop of the NFC South.  A win against the surging San Francisco 49ers would have established young quarterback Josh Freeman and his Buccaneers as a powerhouse in the NFC.  The 49ers, division leaders of their own, had different plans.

Not only did the 49ers defeat the Buccaneers earlier today, they annihilated them.

Shockingly, the 49ers margin of victory this afternoon (45 points) is the largest in the franchise’s recent history dating back to Super Bowl XXIV in 1990 (ESPN).  The quarterback for the 49ers that year?  Joe Montana.

Does this signify the emergence of Alex Smith (finally) and the high powered 49ers offense of days past?  Or does it simply amplify the inadequacies of the Buccaneers?

One thing is for sure, the Bucs played ugly, uninspired and unimaginative football.  The 49ers controlled the point of attack and had their way with the Bucs all afternoon.

Following a short week after struggling to pull off a win last Monday night against the winless Colts, the Bucs leave even more question marks after this embarrassing outing.  Raheem Morris and his staff must return to the drawing board this week and drastically revamp the game plan heading into next week’s showdown with the division-leading New Orleans Saints. 

Another effort like the Bucs put forth today, resulting in a loss at home next week to the Saints, and Tampa Bay could quickly see its playoff chances fading away.

Winners: None

None.

Winner: 3rd Down Efficiency

Jokes aside, despite the abysmal attitude resulting from this afternoon’s stomping, there were a couple positives the Buccaneer faithful can take solace in.

The offense’s third down efficiency was nearly at 50 percent. 

Quarterback Josh Freeman struggled greatly due to poor decisions and staring down his primary receiver.  However, third down proved to be an effective setting for the youngster as he led the Bucs to 43.75 percent efficiency in those situations.

Losers: Josh Freeman and Offensive Line

Josh Freeman and the offensive line played uninspired football.  As mentioned, Freeman struggled with his progressions.  This was partly due to the inept play of the Bucs offensive line.  The 49ers defensive front bullied the Bucs big men all afternoon and consistently pressured the young quarterback.  Freeman was sacked three times, hit four times and seemingly pressured all day. 

His resulting 43.4 QB rating leaves much to be desired and could be a symptom of the continued struggles of the offensive unit as much as a result of Freeman’s poor decision making and inaccurate passing.

Following the Week 5 contest Freeman now already has six interceptions in 2011.

He had that many in all of 2010.

Winners: Special Teams

In a game like this, any positive that can be identified should be appreciated. 

Punter Michael Koenen averaged 43 yards per punt and kicker Connor Barth recorded the only points of the day on a 24 yard field goal in the first quarter. 

The Buccaneer special teams unit also, for the most, bottled up explosive returner Ted Ginn Jr.  Although Ginn was held from scoring on special teams, he averaged a boastful 17 yards per punt return on the afternoon. 

Losers: Entire Buccaneer Defense

The San Francisco 49ers offense looked polished, oiled and fine-tuned as they came out swinging Sunday afternoon.  Their flow on offense was greatly due to their ability to control the line of scrimmage.  The resulting effectiveness of Frank Gore (125 yards, 6.3 yard per carry average, 1 TD) and Kendall Hunter (65 yards, 7.2 yard per carry average) kept the Bucs defense on their toes and allowed Alex Smith to dominate their secondary with the play-action pass. 

Smith looked calm, cool and collected, and it showed with his three touchdown and zero turnover performance.

Miscalculated guesses became the nail in the coffin for the Bucs defense.  Alex Smith handled the blitz well working under first year head coach Jim Harbaugh’s simplified checkdown passing system.  The blitzes sent by the Bucs did nothing but give Smith the lanes he needed to deliver strikes to open receivers.

Also of note, a potentially serious ankle injury to defensive lineman Gerald McCoy left the Bucs without their anchor in the middle.  McCoy did not return and was seen with a crutch on the sidelines.  Any extended amount of time missed by McCoy could spell disaster for the struggling Bucs defense.

Losers: LeGarrette Blount

Blount’s performance should not come as a surprise.  If you’re reading this, you know a good deal about Blount and what is in his arsenal.  The problem for LeGarrette on Sunday was simply the 49ers defense is just as physically punishing as he is.  His inability to make significant cuts and make plays in space doomed him and the Bucs offense. 

As soon as the Bucs got down, they abandoned Blount.

While Blount may not have lost this game, he didn’t do very much to help win it.

The need for an explosive playmaker to complement Blount has never been as apparent as it was against the 49ers.