The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: Dolphins

In horrible conditions Freeman was perfect.

The Good - It's too early to get head over heals excited about our franchise QB Josh Freeman, but he sure as heck gave us a glimpse of what we could be see week in and week out when the games start to matter this September. 4/4 for 53 yards and 1TD isn't spectacular to look at on paper, but when you consider that this was Josh's first live game action this season, and it came during a torrential downpour, it is impressive. Football players are supposed to be able to perform in bad weather right? Well, if you consider the fact that Sun Life Stadium in Miami is also home to the Florida Marlins during this time of year, then you know that the field was not entirely covered by grass. The majority of Saturday night's game was unfortunately played on the infield section of the baseball diamond. Especially when the first team offenses and defenses were in the game. The field reminded me of dark brown oatmeal. The players' cleats had mud caked on them an inch think and players looked like they were enjoying a Sunday family outing at the local skating rink the way they were slipping and sliding. However Josh let that distraction escape from his mind during the game and had great pocket awareness as he was able to feel the pressure and escape when he needed too. His passes were crisp, strong and accurate. Freeman put beautiful touch on a 30 yard pass to rookie Mike Williams and dropped the ball right into his arms as he raced down the sidelines well covered by Miami CB Vontae Davis. Mike had the concentration to get both feet in bounds and hold onto the ball. That play set up Freeman's 13 yard TD pass to 2nd year WR Sammie Stroughter to give the Buccs a 7-0 early lead while both team's 1st string players graced the field. I also have to give a shout out to Carnell Williams, Kareem Huggins and EJ Biggers who performed exceptionally well.

The Bad - Barrett Ruud has led the team in tackles for a while now. But his tackle stats are misleading. Many of his tackles are drag down tackles, and Ruud seems to lack the thumping power needed by a MLB. Many times when meeting the ball carrier, said ball carrier will get an extra 1-3 yards after contact which can be the difference between a punt or first down. Barrett is in the middle of a contract squabble with the front office as he is looking for a long term commitment from the Buccs. No one knows for sure why the team hasn't offered him the deal, he is seeking but it can only be assumed the team doesn't feel he is the MLB they desire to anchor their defense. At 12:19 of the 1st quarter Saturday, Barrett put himself in position to make a great play and drop Ronnie Brown for a 1 yard loss on 3rd and 2. Instead Ruud completely whiffed on the tackle allowing Brown to run free for extra yards and pick up the 1st down. It is these types of plays that leave this fan wondering if Ruud can be our long term answer at MLB.

The Ugly - The only thing uglier than the playing surface Saturday night was watching Derrick Ward run the ball. It was pathetic and saddening. I would not be hurt if he were cut tomorrow. However, because of Carnell's injury history we might be forced to hold onto the bum. Derrick had a few good runs last seasons, but failed to live up to the hype of being the team's biggest Free Agent acquisition last season. There were a lot of excuses as to why Ward underperformed last season, as I'm sure Ward would love to have us believe the field conditions were to blame for his paltry performance Saturday of 20 yards on 12 carries(1.7 avg). Unfortunately he has no defense in that argument as Cadillac and 2nd year Practice Squad player Kareem Huggins ran for 21 yards on 4 carries(5.3 avg) and 55 yards on 8 carries(6.3 avg) respectively, while running on the same surface as Ward did. If Huggins continues to outperform Ward like he did the other night, Ward could find himself spending lots of time on the sidelines this fall or maybe even find himself donning a different colored uniform?

Go Buccs!!!
ABuccsFan/JJC