Cowboys vs. Buccaneers: 7 Things Dallas Fans Should Know About Tampa Bay

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their pirate ship have taken their booty and gone home for the season. There is no chance for Tampa to make it to the postseason, as their 2011 record is a paltry four wins and nine losses. Quarterback Josh Freeman is having a down season, 12 touchdowns to 18 interceptions, and the Bucs are toward the bottom of the league in points scored.

Simply put: The Bucs aren't having a good season.

But Cowboys fans shouldn't mark this game with a big 'W' just yet. Tampa is a scrappy bunch of players and while the Bucs are in the midst of a seven-game losing streak, they have remained competitive in most games.

Before the Cowboys come to town to try and throw salt on an open wound that just won't seem to heal for Tampa, let's take a look at seven things fans should know about the Buccaneers.

Bucs Rank 24th In Rushing

The Cowboys have struggled as of late when it comes to stopping the run. Dallas allowed Giants running back Brandon Jacobs to go off for 101 yards, and the Seahawks' Marshawn Lynch had over 130 yards on the ground. Dallas isn't horrible against the run, but it isn't the greatest either.

Bucs running back LeGarrette Blount is a more physical runner than the Giants' Brandon Jacobs and may cause problems for the Cowboys. But Blount only has 167 carries and Tampa doesn't seem to depend on him as much as they should. I think that the Cowboys have a great chance to blow up Tampa's run game on Saturday night.

Tampa Allows Almost 250 Passing Yards Per Game

Is this Romo's 2011 December breakout game? Back in 2009 when Romo had a pretty good December, the Cowboys lost their first two December games and won their last three. Maybe the team is headed down the same road?

Romo has 26 touchdowns and just nine picks, and he's headed toward maybe 4,500 passing yards this year. He should present a few mighty problems for the Bucs on Saturday night, and as long as the Cowboys have balance and aren't to pass-happy, Romo should be just fine.

Dallas Beat Tampa in 2009

The last time these two teams met the Cowboys traveled to Tampa for the first game of the year and beat Tampa Bay by almost two touchdowns. The final score was 34-21, and Tony Romo had over 350 yards passing. Of course both teams look totally different, but sometimes the present is best judged by history.

Dallas will have to bring that same type of offensive firepower to Tampa on Saturday night if it wants to show and prove that there will be no more December collapses.

Bucs Quarterback Josh Freeman Has 11 Interceptions on Deep Balls

That should give fans a sigh of relief, right? According to Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com, Freeman has 11 picks on throws of 11 or more yards this season. The Cowboys corners have issues covering short and deep passes, but this may be good news for Dallas.

Freeman isn’t the type of player to mail his performance in, but with Tampa only headed to the golf course and their couches once the season ends, one has to wonder how strong their performance will be this weekend.

Nevertheless Freeman is off when the throws the ball down the field, and if Dallas is unable to get pressure upfront, this should give the defensive backfield a better opportunity against his deep ball.

Tampa Head Coach Raheem Morris Sits On A Steaming Seat

Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett recently received the dreaded vote of confidence from team owner Jerry Jones, and Bucs head man Raheem Morris may find himself without a job once the season is over.

Rumors abound that Morris is on his way out of Tampa after leading the team to a 10-6 record in 2010. But what have you done for me lately? Fans in Tampa are unhappy with his job performance, and if the Bucs lose badly to the Cowboys as they did to the Jags, then Raheem may as well pack up his office.

Josh Freeman seems to be regressing, and the Bucs defense couldn’t stop Jags rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert. It's not looking for Morris, and the Cowboys may serve as the game that killed his coaching career.

Bucs Are On A Seven Game Losing Streak

Dallas cannot lose this game and still hope to make the playoffs. Tampa has lost seven straight NFL football games and last week they were thrashed by the Jacksonville Jaguars 41-14. Tampa has lost to teams with sub .500 records like the Jags and Panthers and was taken to the woodshed by the Texans about a month ago.

Saturday may make it eight games, which would mean that Tampa hasn't won a game since mid October. Ouch!

Weather Will Be 78 and Partly Cloudy

The night temperature will go down to about 60 degrees, so the weather will not play a factor in this game. I reside in the great state of Florida and live about an hour or so away from Tampa in Orlando.

The Cowboys have no excuse heading into this matchup on Saturday night, and with a very wounded Buccaneers team, Dallas should emerge with a victory.

If not, the talk of the need to fire head coach Jason Garrett will get louder.