Before we get into this Bucs vs. Dolphins matchup, my hats off to the Bucs for beating my prediction down like a drum last Sunday.
I really didn't think the Bucs could cover the 9 1/2 points. With Green Bay leading by 11 with about 19 minutes in the game, I thought we were home free.
Then along comes Freeman, as in Josh Freeman, who looked far more advanced against that Packers defense than a rookie should.
I'm still trying to figure out if the Packers are that bad defensively, or if Freeman is very underrated at this point.
However, for pure entertainment purposes only, we move ahead with this conundrum for me to tackle: Bucs vs. Dolphins at Land Shark Stadium.
A reuniting of former Auburn running backs in Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams. Two young QB's leading their offenses in Chad Henne and Josh Freeman.
One team is 3-5, the other 1-7. Not exactly your glamor matchup. In fact, it's more of a matchup of equals. The only difference we can see is the Wildcat offense Miami likes to run.
Forget the preseason game between these two. Let's live in the present week.
Freeman has demonstrated he can run an offense, and produce in the redzone. He was 3-3. That is not a stat that can be ignored.
The Bucs defense got after Rodgers with a total of six sacks. Where did that come from?
Special teams blocked a punt for six. Peanut Smith went 83-yards on a kickoff that sparked an eye-opening 11-point comeback.
Miami on the other hand has to feel as if they are underachieving. A 3-5 record at this point is not what they expected, but it is what it is.
QB Chad Henne has been as inconsistent as one can be. His yards per completion are 9.8, 31st in the league.
The Dolphins defense has given up the big play a lot, to the tune of 14.2 yards a completion. Plus, they just might be without their best pass rusher in Linebacker Joey Porter. He's got a hammie injury. Even if he plays, he won't be 100%.
So here we are. Do we drink the kool-aid of last week's win over Green Bay? Was it an aberration, or was that performance a sign of better play ahead?
I'm not even sure Freeman realizes what he did last Sunday.
What I would like to see, and haven't, is a decent running game from the Bucs. Cadillac didn't do much against Green Bay last week. Derrick Ward had a decent game running the ball on occasion, and as a receiver, which he excelled.
We should expect the Dolphins to blitz like crazy Sunday, something the Packers forgot about doing last week.
But the Bucs offensive line, in my estimation, should win its share of battles at the line of scrimmage. That should give Freeman a chance to burn them.
As of this writing, Miami is a 10 point favorite. By all rights, the Dolphins should win this game, and likely will, but it's that 10 points that has me thinking.
All right, times up.
No more stonewalling. Time to put the pick on the line. In the hopes that Ricky Williams doesn't "smoke" the Bucs, I'm going to take the Bucs to cover the 10.
TK's Pick: Bucs +10
TK vs. Spread: 5-3
