Why Matt Cassel Needs a Win As Much As the Cowboys Do

As every Bucs fan knows by now, the team went on to lose by a final score of 32-18 to fall to 3-5 on the season.

Although the defense could have played better (after all, they did allow over 30 points for the fifth time in nine games), a lot of blame could be placed on the offense. After eight games, the 2nd-year receiver has the 2nd-highest drop-rate in the National Football League at 17.9 percent. Doug Martin and Charles Sims have been splitting carries and this week Martin may be the better fantasy football starter for the Bucs. “We’re just very disappointed for everybody concerned that we haven’t won more games”.

Defensively, the Cowboys must stop the run and force turnover-prone rookie quarterback Jameis Winston into obvious passing situations.

Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli is well-versed in Tampa’s game day traditions with the pirates ship.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Tampa Bay coach Lovie Smith could easily pinpoint the miscues that helped send the Buccaneers to the loss. In his early press conferences, Smith told Bucs fans that they would enjoy immediate success. Your jobs may depend on it. However, Witten has continued his steady production. Lavonte David missed a few tackles yesterday. You could do a lot worse at your tight end spot.

I’ll let CBS Sports’ Dane Brugler describe the star linebacker: “He is a greased up athlete with natural twitch and flexibility, showing balance, burst and excellent speed in pursuit”. So they enter this game believing that if they can just pull out a win before Romo returns next week, they can turn things around and still possibly accomplish everything they set out to do at the beginning of the year. Could you imagine having Smith manning the strong side next season?

“Any time you have an injury, you’re going to be iffy about stuff, and I find myself being iffy about stuff”, Pierre-Paul said.

“I felt good”, he said.

-The Bucs offense has been productive the second quarter of the season.

Meanwhile, the Bucs linebacking corps led by David and Alexander is one of the league’s most athletic, and keep steady coverage on Witten all game.

This is where the development of Winston comes into play.

Tampa Bay is 3-5 on the season, 4-4 against the spread and 5-3 with the over. That came on Week 2 against the same Philadelphia Eagles team that the Cowboys lost to last Sunday night in overtime. Cornerback Johnthan Banks and safety Chris Conte can’t do it all by themselves. Wide receiver Vincent Jackson and Austin Seferian-Jenkins are shaping up as game-time decisions after missing Week 9 with injuries.

In splitting their past four games, the Bucs averaged 27 points while converting 24 of 49 on third down.

The federal lawsuit, filed by Zephyrhills’ Erica Kinsman, had been scheduled for August but will now take place the week of September 19, 2016, U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker ruled Friday. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy has been ineffective, with only four tackles and no sacks in the past three games. Seven sacks. If the Buccaneers can get pressure on Cassel, it could wind up making all the difference. Winston has suffered from the usual rookie mistakes, but in recent weeks has asserted himself as a potential future franchise quarterback, throwing the ball downfield and exhibiting impressive leadership skills. That is exactly what Koetter has done: distribute the load.