2010 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs used the third overall pick in the NFL draft on University of Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and selected another defensive tackle, Brian Price from UCLA, in the second round.

For the first time since the Bucs began playing at the Raymond James Stadium games had local television blackouts. It began with the two home preseason games and the stands were half empty. The regular season opener was also blacked out.

On the eve of the season opener, head coach Raheem Morris was optimistic. "The team is ready, the staff is ready and our organization is ready as a whole. It's time to go out there and be your best self. There's no excuse for being young. We've got to go out there and start faster than anyone expects or anyone believes.”

Tampa Bay fell behind 14-3 in the second quarter against Cleveland. Josh Freeman hit rookie Mike Williams of a 3 yard touchdown pass to narrow the gap to 14-10 at the half. The defense intercepted Browns QB Jake Delhomme (20 of 37 for 227 yards with a TD) twice and Freeman (17 of 28 for 182 yards with an INT) would hooked up with Micheal Spurlock on a 33 yards TD for the winning score. Ronde Barber, who had a key interception, said after the 17-14 victory, “This is a very enthusiastic football team. This is a team that has a will to win.”

Josh Freeman hit Ernest Graham for a first quarter touchdown and a 7-0 lead at Carolina. Freeman (12 of 24 for 178 yards) hooked up with Mike Williams in the second and the Bucs lead 14-7 at the break. The defense picked off both Panthers Qbs, Matt Moore (6 of 16 for 125 yards with a TD) and Jimmy Clausen (7 of 13 for 59 yards), and recorded four sacks. Two Conner Barth field goals were the only second half scoring in a 20-7 victory. Raheem Morris said of winning the first two games, "I hope everybody is surprised, I like sneaking up on people."

The Buccaneers lead 7-6 early in the second quarter, before Pittsburgh scored 31 unanswered points. The Steelers were lead by three touchdown passes by Charlie Batch (12 of 17 for 186 yards with 2 INTs) and the running of Rashard Mendenhall (143 yards rushing with a TD). Josh Freeman (20 of 31 for 184 yards with an INT) was relieved by Josh Johnson (6 of 6 for 67 yards). About the only highlights for Tampa were the first career TD for rookie running back and LaGarrertte Blount and the first career interception for linebacker Quincy Black. Raheem Morris said of the 38-13 defeat, “Obviously, that was a disappointing game.”

Three interceptions of Carson Palmer (21 of 36 for 209 yards with 2 Tds), including one returned 11 yards for a score by rookie Cody Grimm, helped the Buccaneers pull out a dramatic win at Cincinnati. Bengals running back Cedric Benson rushed for 144 yards and the home team looked like it was going to hold on for a hard fought victory, then Tampa Bay scored ten points in final 1:26. Josh Freeman (20 of 33 for 280 yards with an INT) hooked up with Mike Williams on a 20 yard TD pass and Conner Barth was good on a 32 yard field goal with 1 second on the clock. After a 24-21 victory gave the Bucs a 3-1 start, Raheem Morris commented, “"I'm not surprised. I knew we could win a lot of football games that other people didn't think we could win.”

The Buccaneers were never in the game with New Orleans. Drew Brees (21 of 32 for 263 yards with an INT) tossed three touchdown passes, Chris Ivory rushed for 158 yards and it was a long afternoon for Tampa Bay. Josh Freeman (25 of 43 for 219 yards) did toss a fourth quarter TD pass to Micheal Spurlock in a 31-6 defeat. Raheem Morris commented, “You play heavyweights, you go out there and compete and you find out where you are. It humbles you. It gets you in the right state of mind, gets your guys back into the laboratory and gets them to focus a little more.”

On the strength of two Sam Bradford (13 of 26 for 126 yards) touchdown passes, St. Louis lead Tampa Bay 17-3 in the third quarter. The Rams were controlling the game with Steven Jackson rushing for 110 yards, however, the Bucs continued to chip away at the deficit. A fourth Conner Barth field goal made it 17-12 going into the fourth quarter. Josh Freeman (23 of 40 for 212 yards) tossed a 1 yard scoring pass to Cadillac Williams with just ten seconds left in the game to post an exciting 18-17 victory for the home team. Freeman said of the last second triumph, “We just find a way to get it done. It’s really a culture thing, a mentality thing. When the game is on the line, we have a lot of standup guys ready to make a play.” Raheem Morris was excited, “I like where we are. We’re 4-2. We’re the best team in the NFC. Yeah, I said it.”

It was kind of a crazy game at Arizona. The Bucs built a 31-14 lead in the third quarter, before a LeGarrette Blount fumble was returned for a touchdown. It was the Cardinals second TD in 23 seconds to narrow the gap. In the fourth, Larry Fitzgerald’s second TD catch completed the comeback for the home team. The Tampa Bay defense made big plays with two picks of both of the Arizona Qbs, Derek Anderson (16 of 24 for 234 yards with a TD) and Max Hall (8 of 16 for 71 yards with a TD). Aqib Talib had two interceptions, one he returned 45 yards for TD, and Geno Hayes returned another pick 41 yards for a score. Josh Freeman (18 of 25 for 278 yards) hooked up Mike Williams (4 receptions for 105 yards) on a TD pass and Blount would score the decisive touchdown with 5:13 left. Blount rushed for 120 yards and his 48 yard run late in the game, were he hurtled a safety, sealed a 38-34 victory. Raheem Morris said of his 5-2 team, “As long as my record says that we are the best team in the NFC, I’m not going let anybody tell me what we’re not. Somebody has to be number one, why not us?”

Sole possession of first place was on the line at Atlanta. Michael Turner (107 yards rushing) ran for two touchdowns and the Falcons had a 14-0 lead. Josh Freeman (11 of 22 for 189 yards with 2 INTS) threw TD passes to Arrelious Benn and Mike William and the Bucs were within 17-14 at the half. Matt Ryan (24 of 26 for 235 yards) threw a TD pass and Atlanta had a 27-14 advantage. An 89 yard kickoff return by Micheal Spurlock swung the momentum to Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers final drive stalled at the Falcons 2 yard line and Atlanta ran out the clock. After the 27-21 defeat, Raheem Morris commented, "You can't say you're the best team in the NFC now. You don't have the least amount of losses, and that would not be an accurate statement by me this week."

The Buccaneers never trailed against Carolina. Josh Freeman (18 of 24 for 241 yards) threw touchdown passes to Arrelious Benn and Kellen Winslow, while LaGarrette Blount ran for a score, and Tampa Bay was up 21-10 at the half. Rookie Jimmy Clausen (16 of 29 for 191 yards) started for the Panthers and Mike Goodson rushed for 100 yards. Cadillac Williams added a fourth quarter TD run in the Bucs 31-16 victory.

The Buccaneers then won for the first time in 30 years at San Francisco. Josh Freeman (13 of 20 for 136 yards) tossed touchdown passes to Mike Williams and offensive tackle Donald Penn. The defense sacked Troy Smith (16 of 31 for 148 yards with an INT) six times in a 21-0 victory. Freeman said afterwards, “We want to go out and do anything we can to win games and we want to have fun doing that.” Ronde Barber, who notched his 40th career interception, agreed, “This is a real fun victory for us. It sets the tone going into the latter part of the season.”

The next game was tied 3-3 at Baltimore, before a couple of touchdown passes by Joe Flacco (25 of 35 for 289 yards with an INT) gave the Ravens a 17-3 advantage at the half. Gerald McCoy recorded two sacks and Josh Freeman (17 of 37 for 162 yards) tossed a TD pass to Kellen Winslow in the fourth quarter. After the 17-10 defeat, Freeman commented, “I played extremely poorly. There area number of balls that I usually hit that missed. I just wasn’t getting it done.”

To honor the induction of former head coach John McKay into the team’s Ring of Honor, the Buccaneers wore orange throwback jerseys against Atlanta. LeGarrette Blount, who rushed 103 yards on the afternoon, ran for a score and it was 7-7 after the first quarter. Josh Freeman (19 of 38 for 181 yards with an INT) hooked up with Mike Williams and it was 14-14 at the half. When Earnest Graham lobbed a TD to tight end John Gilmore on the option play, the Bucs lead 24-14 in the fourth. The momentun changed quickly when Eric Weems returned the ensueing kickoff 102 yards for a Falcons touchdown. The second TD pass of the game by Matt Ryan (18 of 36 for 205 yards with 2 INTs) gave Atlanta a 28-24 victory. Josh Freeman commented, “We felt like we really outplayed them for most of the game, but it’s the NFL. You have to find a way to win in the fourth quarter nearly every week, and today we weren’t able to do that.”

Redskins’ miscues helped the Buccaneers on a cold rainy afternoon at Washington. Ryan Torain rushed for 172 yards for the home team, while Conner Barth kicked three field goals for the visitors. Arrelious Benn had a big game for the Bucs with four catches for 122 yards. Josh Freeman (15 of 25 for 266 yards) tossed a TD pass to Kellen Winslow, and the Tampa Bay QB ran for a two point conversion, and the Bucs lead 17-10 late in the fourth quarter. With nine seconds left, Donavan McNabb (22 of 35 for 228 yards) threw his second scoring pass of the game and Washington was within a point. Graham Gano missed two field goals earlier and a high snap on the conversion gave the Bucs a 17-16 victory. Freeman commented, “It’s the NFL. Crazy things happen every week.”

The Detroit Lions came to Tampa on an NFL record 26 game road losing streak. Josh Freeman (21 of 32 for 251 yards) tossed a TD pass to Mike Williams and LeGarrette Blount rushed for 110 yards with a touchdown. With 1:39 left, Connor Barth kicked a 26 yard field goal to put the Buccaneers up 20-17. A couple strong runs by Maurice Morris (109 yards) and Detroit marched down field for a 28 yard Dave Rayner field goal, with no time on the clock, to send it to overtime. In the extra period, Drew Stanton (23 of 37 for 252 yards with a TD) found Calvin Johnson (10 receptions for 152 yards) on key pass plays and the visitors would post a victory on Rayner’s third field goal of the game. The 34 yard boot gave Detroit a 23-20 victory to break its losing streak. Raheem Morris said, “We’re obviously disappointed. We lost a game that we could have won, and that we had in our grasp.”

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (3 of 4 for 24 yards) was injured running for the game’s first score and a 7-0 lead for Seattle, so Charlie Whitehurst (11 of 18 for 66 yards) went the rest of the way for the Seahawks. Josh Freeman (21 of 26 for 237) was the big story that day, tossing a team record tying five touchdown passes to pace the Buccaneers. Kellen Winslow and Mike Williams each caught two TD passes, while LeGarrette Blount ran and hurdled his way to 164 yards on the ground. Raheem Morris said after the 38-15 victory, “It’s gratifying to win meaningful games in December, gratifying to win games after Christmas.”

The Buccaneers still had a shot at the playoffs going into the season finale at New Orleans. Drew Brees (22 of 38 for 196 yards with an INT) threw a TD pass, and Reggie Bush rushed for 70 yards and caught passes for 55 more, but it would not be enough. Josh Freeman (21 of 26 for 255 yards) tossed TD passes to Dezmon Briscoe, the first of his career, and Mike Williams. Connor Barth added three field goals and Tampa Bay won 23-13. As the Bucs waited on results later in the day to determine their postseason fate, Josh Freeman said, “It’s rough. We had a good team this year. You hate to say goodbye right now.”

A 10-6 team had not been left out of the NFC postseason since 1991, but the 10-6 Buccaneers missed out on the playoffs. The team posted the best turnaround in franchise history, improving by seven victories over the previous year. Since the NFL-AFL merger, other than the 1987 strike season, this was the first team to start more ten rookies and have a winning record. The Bucs did hold together despite injury problems, the best example was the fact Josh Freeman was the first quarterback in NFL history to complete a pass to eighteen different receivers in the same season. Rookies made a huge impact with LeGarrette Blount becoming the first Buccaneer to rush for over 1,000 yards with a 5.0 per carry average and Mike Williams setting a team record with eleven TD catches. Offensive tackle Donald Penn went to the Pro Bowl as an alternate.

Related Links

2010 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Results

2010 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Draft

2010 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Statistics

2010 NFC South Division Standings

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