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Week 7 Game Recap: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16, Detroit Lions 23
What you need to know
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
For those who were concerned that the addition of Michael Bennett to the offense would cause a reduction in touches for Earnest Graham, that concern was answered emphatically. Graham touched the ball on 29 of Tampa's 74 offensive plays and totaled 191 yards from scrimmage in the process. Bennett had three total touches.
QB Jeff Garcia was very efficient, at one point completing a team record eighteen consecutive passes.
Ike Hilliard was the main beneficiary in the receiving game. Detroit appeared content to take Joey Galloway out of the action as much as possible, and really gave Tampa a lot of underneath options (which is where Hilliard excels more than Galloway).
| Detroit Lions |
Mike Martz and Rod Marinelli really decided to focus on establishing the running game. RB Kevin Jones responded with the best game by a Detroit running back this season, going for 110 total yards and a touchdown.
WR Calvin Johnson showed off some of the impressive skills that made him a high pick in April's draft. He wasn't utilized very often, but he showed great hands on each of his two receptions, and outstanding open-field moves on a 32 yard touchdown run late in the contest.
QB Jon Kitna has done a fantastic job of reducing his turnovers from earlier in the season, but in the process he may have cost himself some of his effectiveness for fantasy owners as well. He didn't do a very good job of sustaining drives or leading the offense, and appeared far too willing to take a sack at key moments.
What you ought to know
| QB Jeff Garcia, Pass: 37 - 45 - 316 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 6 - 10 - 0 |
Garcia's afternoon started off very auspiciously, as he was saved from what should have been an early fumble recovered by Detroit. The Buccaneers challenged the call, and the play was ruled an incomplete pass (despite the fact that if Garcia was actually throwing the ball, it would've been a lateral attempt to the halfback in the flat). Regardless, that saved him from one turnover -- but it couldn't save him from the rest. He fumbled a handoff exchange on one play, and then fumbled the snap at the most critical of junctures at the two yard line with Tampa driving for a potential touchdown. Those two turnovers turned out to be probably the two biggest plays of the game, and certainly the two biggest mishaps. Those two plays notwithstanding, Garcia actually was extremely efficient and looked good all game. He was under a lot of pressure from the Detroit defensive front, but he was able to buy a lot of time with his feet and looked good throwing on the run. At one point, he completed 18 passes in a row to tie the Tampa Bay team record. Most of those passes were short dump-offs over the middle, and for awhile it appeared as if Tampa was almost too conservative with their passing attack. Still, they managed to move the ball enough for Garcia to throw two touchdown passes. Unfortunately for him, when the Lions needed to clamp down defensively, they usually did. Late in the game, it seemed as if Garcia was flipping the ball away sideways and underhanded more often than not in a futile attempt to avoid taking the sack.
| RB Earnest Graham, Rush: 19 - 92 - 0, Rec: 13 - 99 - 0 (18 targets) |
As if it wasn't evident in the stat line, Graham truly did it all in this game. The entire offense essentially ran through him, and he responded by performing like a workhorse. His 32 touches were more than the rest of the team had combined (28), and he looked outstanding in compiling his 191 yards from scrimmage. Graham picked up chunks of yards at a time, consistently moving the pile and picking up first down after first down. He was very physical, and picked up a lot of tough yards running inside between the tackles. He was consistently open on the underneath dump-offs, and it was evident that he knew what to do with the football in his hands. Take it with a grain of salt since it was against the Detroit defense, but on this day at least, Graham looked every bit a featured back. About the only negative one can find with his performance is that he failed to find the end zone. He had an opportunity early in the second quarter, but was stuffed at the five yard line after a nine yard reception. WR Ike Hilliard caught a wide open touchdown on the following play.
| RB Michael Bennett, Rush: 3 - 22 - 0 |
Many people expected that Bennett was brought it from the Chiefs to try and become Tampa's featured back. While that could still be a long-term goal, it was clear in this game that for now at least, Bennett is nothing more than insurance. He had just three carries on the entire afternoon, none until midway through the first quarter. And after that run, he was promptly taken out. Of course, he did nearly make a big impression on a nice 18 yard scamper in the fourth quarter. He took the handoff up the middle and was spun down at the two yard line, just shy of a touchdown. Unfortunately for him, QB Jeff Garcia fumbled the ensuing snap and Tampa lost possession of the football.
| WR Ike Hilliard, Rec: 9 - 92 - 1 (10 targets) |
Hilliard picked up the slack in the short passing game, as the Lions really took away anything downfield. The Buccaneers targeted Hilliard a lot on the short stuff, which suited him well because he does his best work on the underneath routes anyway. Hilliard hauled in nine receptions for 92 yards, which would have been enough to lead the team on most days. But being second to Earnest Graham's 13-99 is nothing to criticize, however. Especially considering Hilliard also added a five yard touchdown reception to his stat line. The play came one play after Graham was tackled down at the five yard line, and Hilliard was wide open on the score.
| WR Joey Galloway, Rec: 5 - 46 - 0 (5 targets) |
Galloway had a very quiet day, as most of the deep routes were eliminated by Detroit defenders. The one time Galloway actually did get open deep downfield, QB Jeff Garcia didn't see him and instead checked off to someone underneath. Despite the quiet afternoon, it was a milestone game for Galloway as he went over 10,000 yards receiving for his career.
| WR Maurice Stovall, Rec: 1 - 4 - 1 (1 targets) |
Stovall was nothing if not efficient. The only ball thrown to him the entire game resulted in a four yard touchdown reception. His name wasn't mentioned before or after that catch.
| TE Jerramy Stevens, Rec: 4 - 19 - 0 (5 targets) |
Stevens turned in the quietest four reception game a player can have. His four catches went for a total of just 19 yards, with the longest going for eight. Each play he was involved with was entirely forgettable.
| PK Matt Bryant 1 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points |
Bryant misfired on a 40 yard field goal attempt late in the first half that he hooked to the left. He later connected from 48 yards out as the Bucaneers were attempting a fourth quarter comeback.
| TB Rush Defense |
Even if one wishes to disregard the 32 yard touchdown run by WR Calvin Johnson on a WR reverse as a fluke, the Buccaneers still did a poor job of containing Detroit's other 23 rushes (115 yards). Whether it was Kevin Jones showing a lot of elusiveness inside, T.J. Duckett running over people, or Jon Kitna diving head-long into a pile of defenders and coming out with the first down, the Buccaneers clearly didn't do a very good job of slowing the Lions down. It really appeared that Detroit was making a concerted effort to run the ball more, and they did that from the first series of the game all the way to the end. The problem for Tampa Bay is that at no point in between did they do anything to stop or slow it down. The only reason they didn't give up even more yardage on the ground was because the Buccaneer offense was on the field so much that Detroit barely had the football (and thus, couldn't pick up yardage if they weren't on offense).
| TB Pass Defense |
The Buccaneers did a solid job in this aspect of the game, but then again they weren't really tested much. For seemingly the first time all season, the Lions opted to employ a specific run-first strategy, which they worked perfectly. Detroit attempted just 20 passes all game long. And while the Lions failed to score through the air, the Bucs also failed to create a turnover against Detroit's offensive passing game as well. Not only that, the Buccaneers never really came very close to forcing a turnover against Jon Kitna either. The one time they appeared to have caused a turnover turned out to actually be an incomplete pass. The play was originally ruled a fumble and a 79 yard touchdown return, but replays clearly showed that the ball was a forward pass and it was changed to an incompletion.
| QB Jon Kitna, Pass: 16 - 20 - 147 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 4 - 9 - 0 |
Once again, Kitna failed to put up eye-popping statistics for his fantasy owners. But what he did do for his real team was win another ballgame. One truly gets the sense that Kitna leads the team in every conceivable way. There he was again in this game, lunging for a first down and being spun around like a helicopter after a head-first dive. Another play that will go largely unnoticed in the stat sheet was on a simple handoff to Kevin Jones. Typically, a quarterback will hand the ball off to his running back and follow through by continuing to run away from the play. After Jones' run, the replay angle showed that Kitna handed the ball to Jones and immediately spun around back towards the line of scrimmage to seek out any potential tacklers. It's that kind of commitment to team that really typifies Kitna, and it shouldn't go unnoticed. As for the mediocre stat line, a lot of that has to do with the fact that Tampa Bay was on the field for far more time than the Lions were. The Buccaneers marched up and down the field very methodically, completing over 80% of its passes and rushing for five yards at a clip. Those sorts of numbers lend themselves to sustained drives, and it really prevented Detroit from putting much of anything together. One noticeable issue with Kitna was that he appeared too willing to take a sack at key moments. When he would take a deep drop, he often had a lot more time to throw and would usually find someone downfield. But when he is forced to step up in the pocket, you may as well call it a sack or an incomplete pass. Because far more often than not, that sort of play resulted in zero gain. Kitna was bailed out of a fumble early in the game that went for a touchdown the other way. The Lions challenged the original call, and replays confirmed that it was in fact, an incomplete forward pass.
| RB Kevin Jones, Rush: 15 - 76 - 1, Rec: 6 - 34 - 0 (7 targets) |
All week, we heard about how the Lions wanted to focus more on the running game. Specifically, we heard that they wanted to make Kevin Jones a big focus of it. After Detroit's first two possessions, it was obvious that they were serious about it. Jones carried the ball on the first four plays of the game for the Lions, and on seven of the first nine (including his third touchdown of the season, this one from a yard out). He finished up averaging over five yards per carry, and was the team's leading receiver with six catches. He looked to be healthy, and was very shifty and elusive in the hole. He had no problems getting open in the flat or over the middle on short dump-offs, and caught everything he could get his hands on.
| RB T.J. Duckett, Rush: 4 - 30 - 0 |
Duckett didn't make a huge impact on the game aside from one sequence of runs where he basically ran roughshod over the Tampa Bay defense. And it wasn't just that Duckett looked very good running the football (which he did), it was the fact that it was his number that was called upon when Kevin Jones needed a temporary breather. Tatum Bell didn't see the field all game long, and it is apparent at this point that Duckett is the primary backup.
| WR Roy Williams, Rec: 3 - 23 - 0 (3 targets) |
Williams was nearly as absent from the offense as the rest of the receivers on the squad. The first pass thrown to him bounced off his hands and straight up in the air, but Williams was able to find it and regain possession before being tackled. Aside from that odd reception, however, he didn't do anything that distinguished himself from anyone else. What's more, he wasn't thrown to even once in the entire second half (though it should be noted that the Lions only threw the ball eight times after halftime).
| WR Calvin Johnson, Rush: 1 - 32 - 1, Rec: 2 - 37 - 0 (3 targets) |
Johnson showed terrific hands in reaching low for his first reception of the game, a 19 yard pickup. His second catch of the afternoon was even more impressive, as it featured a similar route but with a dive at the end for the highlight reels. But his biggest highlight came on a reverse run. After a shifty move to get away from one would-be tackler, he employed a dynamite stiff-arm to get rid of Cato June. As he scampered up the right sideline, he quickly cut back to the middle of the field to avoid yet another tackler. And finally, he shook off Barrett Ruud at the five yard line before spinning his way into the end zone for the 32 yard score. We have heard all week that Detroit wants to get Johnson more involved in the offense. He had just three total touches in this game, but after such an impressive display of his talents, that number may increase significantly in the coming weeks.
| WR Mike Furrey, Rec: 2 - 24 - 0 (2 targets) |
Furrey was typically inconspicuous. It appears at times that Detroit is vastly underusing several players, perhaps none more than Furrey. He caught the only two balls thrown his way, one for 18 yards and the other for six (and both resulting in first downs). He wasn't thrown to after the 8:37 mark of the third quarter.
| WR Shaun McDonald, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (3 targets) |
McDonald had yet another extremely quiet game. All of his yardage came on one 17 yard reception, and his other catch went for no gain. Even his other passing target wasn't actually a pass thrown to him. It was supposed to be a pump fake, but Jon Kitna dropped the ball as it was coming forward and it fell to the turf for an incompletion. McDonald got credit for the target, but it was a target in name only.
| TE Casey Fitzsimmons, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (2 targets) |
Fitzsimmons was hardly an option whatsoever, catching just one ball late in the fourth quarter on the drive that led to the Calvin Johnson touchdown run. He did, however, make one of the game's critical plays when he recovered Tampa's last-ditch onside kick attempt.
| PK Jason Hanson 3 - 3 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 11 points |
Hanson connected on all three of his field goal attempts, none coming from further than 42 yards so they were all very makeable kicks.
| DET Rush Defense |
Plain and simple, the Lions didn't do a very good job on Earnest Graham and company. They allowed 124 yards on the ground, and it's not like that total was skewed by one long 50 yard gain or anything. It was more of the consistent five, six, seven yards at a clip that wore down the Lions defense for long stretches at a time. One crucial moment for the Lions defense, however, came after a Michael Bennett run. He was fortunately tackled down at the two yard line, setting up a first and goal for the Bucs. QB Jeff Garcia fumbled the snap on the next play, however, and the Lions recovered. Calvin Johnson scored a touchdown on the ensuing Detroit possession, and the Bucs never really seriously threatened again.
| DET Pass Defense |
The stats will show that Detroit was awful and that they allowed Jeff Garcia to complete over 80% of his passes and throw for over 300 yards with two touchdowns. And the stats may be right, to an extent. But the vast majority of the game, the Lions bent but didn't break. For all of the yardage, the fact remains that the Bucs averaged just over seven yards per attempt, which isn't all that spectacular. What's more, they averaged just 8.5 yards per completion. For a frame of reference, Bruce Gradkowski averaged 9.4 yards per completion in 2006. That's not trying to take anything away from Garcia's performance, but it was clear that the passes he completed didn't really hurt Detroit all that much. Ike Hilliard and Earnest Graham did the majority of the damage on dump-offs and quick curls, and neither of those guys are gamebreaker types who will turn a short gain into a big play. The Lions seemed content with giving the Buccaneers a lot of the short stuff, and instead focused on ensuring they didn't allow the big play. That could be a big reason why Joey Galloway was stifled, and managed just 46 yards on five receptions. What's more, the Lions actually got a lot of pressure on Garcia up front. He did well to avoid it for the most part, but Detroit certainly forced him to move his feet and run around quite a bit more than he probably wanted to. Towards the end of the game, it seemed as if every other pass thrown by Garcia was simply flung away sideways or underhanded in order to avoid taking the sack. DE Dewayne White had a particularly big game, recording the only three sacks on the day for the Lions. Perhaps most importantly for Detroit, Garcia fumbled the football away twice. Each time was more a mistake by Garcia than anything the Lions did right, but one thing they did do was pounce on the loose ball each time. Of course, the day wasn't without its miscues for Detroit. The occasional defensive lapse allowed more than a few players to roam completely free along the sideline or underneath, and those lapses occasionally led to some big yardage (and the Hilliard touchdown). Another negative for the Lions was the rash of injuries suffered by defensive players. At various points, Ernie Sims, Paris Lenon, Shaun Rogers, and Idrees Bashir were shaken up. None of those injuries were mentioned in the postgame recap.
