Loading ...1. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' run defense deserves a lot of credit for fixing the poor tackling and bad run fits that plagued them against the Washington Redskins two weeks ago. Coming off their bye week, the Bucs had another tough test against the Kansas City Chiefs and running back Jamaal Charles, who was leading the NFL in rushing going into Week 6. Not only did the Bucs defense bounce back in a big way, they completely shut down Charles. Tampa Bay held Charles to just 40 rushing yards, 25 of which came on one carry. That means Charles had just 15 yards on his other 11 carries. In all, the Chiefs had just 80 yards rushing on 30 carries (2.7 yards per carry).
2. Quarterback Josh Freeman continued his inconsistent play against the Chiefs on Sunday. In the first half, he went just 5-of-13 (38 percent) with an ugly interception. But in the second half, Freeman settled down, went 10-of-13, and finished with his best game of the season. Freeman continues the throw the deep ball as good as any signal caller in the NFL, but he is still struggling with short throws in the middle of the field. Freeman also hasn't shown he can put together two back-to-back solid games in a row yet this season. He will get a chance next week as he tries to get the Bucs back to .500 at home against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints.
3. Tampa Bay's top three draft picks came up huge against the Chiefs and showed everyone why the Bucs made moves in the draft to select them. Tailback Doug Martin had his best game since opening day and finished with 131 total yards on just 15 touches. Safety Mark Barron intercepted his first career pass early in the first quarter and finished tied for the team lead with eight tackles. Tied with him was Lavonte David, who continues to impress at the weakside linebacker position. David came into the Week 6 leading all rookies in tackles and will probably finish the week atop that list again. It's still really early into their careers, but it appears that the Bucs struck gold with all three of their top 2012 draft picks.
4. Who said Mike Williams can't be a No. 1 wide out? He certainly played like one against Kansas City. Yes, we know Williams' re-emergence has a lot to do with teams paying more attention to Vincent Jackson on the other side of the field, but so what? Williams has been a beast this season and gives Tampa Bay one of the best WR duos in the league. He finished the day with four receptions for 112 yards and beautiful catch-and-run 62-yard touchdown. Suddenly, Williams has gone for a possession receiver to a major deep threat and is averaging over 22 yards per reception. Last season, Williams averaged just 11.9 per catch. It's nice to see Williams playing well, and he and Jackson should continue dominating defenses moving forward.
5. After another big game by Ronde Barber, I think it is safe to say No. 20 will be in the Hall of Fame someday. He may have to wait away due to the unfair "system corner" label, but Barber definitely deserves to be in Canton, OH when his playing days are over. During Sunday's game, Barber picked off a deflected pass off the body of WR Dexter McCluster and raced 78 yards down the field for his ninth career pick-six, including the playoffs. It was Barber's 15th career touchdown, which is absolutely remarkable for a defensive player. In his 16th season, Barber continues to play at a high level and has 24 tackles, seven passes defensed, two interceptions, one sack, and one touchdown. Barber has so many accolades and awards on his resume that it would be an absolute travesty if he never made it into the Hall of Fame.
Tags: Doug Martin, Football, Josh Freeman, Lavonte David, Mark Barron, Mike Williams, NFL, Ronde Barber, Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Vincent JacksonRelated Videos
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