The Buccaneers went all-in to shut down the Colts’ pathetic running game, daring Curtis Painter to beat them. He very nearly did.
Painter was credited with two long touchdown throws to Pierre Garcon, though one of them traveled all of two yards down the field. The Colts QB was game, but the Bucs defense was able to counter late, giving the late-starting Bucs offense the chance to come back and steal a win with yet another fourth-quarter comeback win.
The Good: The Colts receivers made play after play trying to make something happen for their quarterback. Case in point: Reggie Wayne launching himself bodily into a Bucs defensive back to spring the last block on a 70-yard run after the catch by Garcon. That gave Indianapolis a rare lead, one that lasted for just a few plays. Wayne and Collie also made an array of circus catches of Painter’s oft-errant throws. Meanwhile, Dallas Clark’s best play of the day might have been a dive that any hockey goon would be proud of, drawing a pass interference penalty from the light touch of Ronde Barber’s hand on his jersey.
The Buccaneers put their five offensive stars on display tonight, though: and by that I mean their offensive line, led by center Jeff Faine. Freeman had all day to operate and find his receivers, short and long alike, as Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis were simply swallowed up. And the line blew holes in the Colts’ interior run defense, which had been much improved this year, for powerhouse back Legarrette Blount to run through. His monster run provided the winning margin of victory.
For a rookie spotlight, rewind gametape of this matchup and watch Adrian Clayborn crashing the Colts’ offensive line with only one good arm. His array of spin moves, seed, and raw violence make him one of the game’s most exciting players to watch on a down by down basis.
The Bad: No matter how many plays his receivers made, they can’t disguise the obvious: Curtis Painter is just a horrible, horrible quarterback. His best attribute is his fearlessness to throw deep, creating opportunities for his playmakers. But he consistently throws to the wrong shoulder on intermediate routes, forcing his receivers to play defense on throw after throw. Especially against a Cover-Two defense, whose defensive backs are always keeping one eye on the quarterback.
And we can’t praise the Bucs’ offense without wondering when they’ll get motivated to play a full 60-minute game. Perhaps it’s game-planning or play-calling, perhaps it’s a throwback to the old-school run-based offenses that needed their horse to get fully lathered up before they could start breaking the game open. Either way, this is a frustrating team to watch early. And a very frustrating team to lay money on with a 10-point line to cover.
The Truly Ugly: Someone needs to remind Hank Williams Jr that nobody cares a damn what words come out of his mouth. He had evolved from a young country star to a drunken self-mockery of the entire country music paradigm (“Why do I drink? It’s a family tradition”) to a complete burnout, until a Monday Night Football producer resurrected one of his old chestnuts and gave him new life. Bocephus hadn’t deviated from that script in more than a decade, enjoying his cult status, until Fox News stuck a camera in his face and prodded him to compare the POTUS to Adolf Hitler.
As a result, Monday Night was Hank Jr-free for the first time in a long time.
