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OldBucsFan
Buc Waterboy
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| Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2007 11:54 am Post subject: Tampa's kickoff coverage ranked #1 in the NFC |
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TAMPA - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have put the special back in special teams.
One of the overlooked aspects of this resurgent Tampa Bay football team has been the performance of the kickoff coverage unit.
"It's a hair-on-fire aspect of the game," said Tampa Bay rookie fullback Byron Storer, a member of that unit.
Ranked first in the NFC -- the Bucs surrender an average of just 17.8 yards per kickoff -- Tampa Bay faces one of the NFL's elite returners at 1 p.m. Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.
Rock Cartwright of the Washington Redskins leads the NFC in kickoff returns, and he ranks fourth in the NFL with an average of 27.8 yards per return. That includes a season-long return of 80 yards.
The Bucs will try to cut at least 10 yards off Cartwright's average. That 17.8 number would tie the franchise low set in 1993 -- if the Bucs maintain it.
"We're No. 1 right now, but one big return, and we'd be ranked six or seven or eight," said Tampa Bay rookie linebacker Quincy Black, another member of the kickoff coverage team. "Two big returns, and we would be right back in the middle of the pack. So we just have to make sure we keep doing the best job that we can.
"It's never easy. We just go down and do the best we can."
Although Cartwright has yet to return a kickoff for a touchdown this season, the 5-foot-8, 218-pound running back from Kansas State did have a 100-yard return for a score last year against the Dallas Cowboys.
The Buccaneers remain the only NFL team to never return a kickoff for a touchdown. But the Bucs also are one of the best in preventing those returns.
Since special teams coordinator Richard Bisaccia joined the team in 2002, the Bucs have surrendered just two such returns, a 98-yarder in 2004 and a 94-yarder in 2005.
Since the team's inception in 1976, the Bucs have surrendered six kickoff returns for touchdowns.
"Obviously, that's the No. 1 thing," Bisaccia said of preventing such returns. "It all comes down to our kicker (Matt Bryant) and his ability to maybe put the ball at different places at different times.
"And we put guys in different positions to where they can use their abilities -- whether it's speed, or whether they're a little bit more physical -- to try and make somebody miss and get in position. We try to put them in a position to be productive."
Rookie linebacker Adam Hayward said he and his teammates spend a lot of time going over the smallest details -- more time than one might think.
"It's something to be proud of," Hayward said. "We work hard, not just on offense and defense, but on special teams. The coaches break down a lot of film and make sure we do things right.
"We don't fear anybody. We just go out there and work hard and make sure they don't break free."
Playing on the coverage team provides rookies Black, Hayward and Storer a chance to contribute.
"That's the great thing about special teams," said Storer, an undrafted free agent from California who likely wouldn't be on the roster if he didn't perform well on special teams.
"It takes 11 guys to get it done out there. Coming here to the Bucs, I knew they treated it as an important aspect to the team. We have meetings every single day. We watch practice film and game film for the upcoming week. There's a lot of preparation that goes into it.
"You can't make it too complex, because then you start thinking too much when you're out there playing. Things move at 100 miles an hour. You don't have time to think. You just react."
Linebacker Ryan Nece and safety Kalvin Pearson have reacted quicker than their teammates so far, as they're tied for first on the team with 13 special teams tackles each.
Bisaccia names a special teams most valuable player at the end of each season.
"You know, any time you have to go 75 or 76 yards on offense, it's difficult to do in this league on a consistent basis," Bisaccia said.
A kickoff, he said, "is the last play of offense, but it becomes the first play of defense. You know, we put a lot of pride in how we play defense around here."
Last edited by OldBucsFan on Sat Nov 24, 2007 6:07 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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OldBucsFan
Buc Waterboy
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| Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2007 6:07 pm Post subject: |
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When Mr. Cartwright returns kicks, I'm gunna be singing the theme song from "Bonanza", and watch our D burn him at the end.
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BF57
General Manager
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| Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2007 6:21 pm Post subject: |
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| Just hope that ain't "Hoss" Cartwright! |
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fan4ever
Buccaroo
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2003
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| Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2007 7:35 pm Post subject: |
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About time they got some recognition! 
You just hear about the big names and don't realize just how important they are!
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jerseybucsfan
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| Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 1:52 am Post subject: |
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The loss of Mark Jones was enormous for the Bucs, just as stopping Cartwright is paramount in winning this game. It's not so much the 25 or 30-yard returns that they worry about here, rather one or two past midfield.
Black's continued improvement on special teams are essential and really the most likely way the Bucs could lose this game is turnovers on offense and special teams breakdowns. |
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FireDaCannons
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| Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 12:30 pm Post subject: |
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It would be so nice for us to have as much success returning kickoffs as defending them...
Maybe today is the day??? |
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OldBucsFan
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| Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 1:08 pm Post subject: |
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Nope. Maybe next Sunday.
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