Houston Texans vs. Tampa Bay Bucs: Second-Half Keys for Tampa

For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, an offseason of expectations has turned into a season of (mostly) discontent.

Raheem Morris' team hasn't been able to build on a strong second-half to the 2010 season, as they sit in third place in the NFC South, with two quality teams—Atlanta and New Orleans—in front of them.

Last week, the Bucs looked out of sorts—they missed an opportunity to grab a share of the divisional lead in a loss to the Saints. This week, they face another divisional leader: the Houston Texans.

At home in Tampa, the Bucs have another shot to prove they're for real today.

So far, it hasn't exactly been a banner day. Down multiple scores heading into the second half, here's how Tampa can give themselves a chance to win.

Take control of the line of scrimmage

Both Houston and Tampa are run-first teams with superstar feature backs. Tampa's odds increase exponentially if they can get LeGarrette Blount over 100 yards, and they'll have to do a better job keying in on Houston's Arian Foster and Ben Tate in the second half.

With Andre Johnson out again, Houston's offense is not at full strength. If Morris can find a way to make the Texans one-dimensional in the second half, he could send the Texans away with their cowboy hats in their hands.

On offense, the Bucs will have to find an answer for Brian Cushing and the stingy Houston run defense. Last week, they struggled to stretch the field and open up the play-action game.

They'll have to do better in the second half.

Get Mike Williams involved

Nominally, Mike Williams is the No. 1 receiver on this team, but he's only gotten into the end zone once this year. For Tampa to right the ship and get back in playoff contention, they'll need Williams to step up his game. Josh Freeman has the arm to get him the ball down field.

It's up to Offensive Coordinator Greg Olson to put him in a position to succeed, and for Williams to take The Leap.

With Green Bay looming next week, it doesn't get any easier for Tampa. Today would be a great time for Williams to make a move.

Stop the big play

This one is glaringly obvious.

On the first play from scrimmage, Houston ran a play action, dinked the ball over the pinched-in Tampa defense and completed an 80-yard touchdown pass to Jacoby Jones. This was a terrible defensive call by Tampa to get beat on the first play of the game, and it put the team behind the eight-ball right away.

Tampa still has a shot at this game, but they'll have to make the Texans actually work for their scores in the second half.

Clean up the penalties

Tampa has six penalties as of the two-minute warning of the first half, some of them in key situations. If they want to make a comeback in this game, the Bucs will need to bind together as a team and clean up these mental errors.

Honestly, there were times last week when it seemed like the team had chemistry issues. This week, there's been miscommunication, plus they're trying to fit Albert Haynesworth into the mix.

So far, the results have not been promising.