Week 12
Bucs at Falcons
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
TV: WTVT Ch. 13, DirecTV 707
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); Sirius Channel 158.
Weather: The game is played in a soulless dome. But if any Bucs fans will be in Atlanta to tailgate, per AccuWeather.com, it will be jacket weather in northern Georgia. Temperatures prior to kickoff will be in the lower 60s under sunny skies with the same conditions expected after the game.
Odds: Per Bodog.com, Falcons -12
Outlook: Joe doesn’t know what to expect from this game. Prior to this week, Joe expected Matty Ice of the Falcons to light up the Bucs defense and it’s sorry two-gap system. But that’s changed since Raheem the Dream defrocked Jim Bates as the defensive coordinator. Now, the Bucs are to be a full-blown one-gap Tampa-2. Joe isn’t so sure how that will work with just a few days’ practice, even though the secondary has been using a cover-two format often in recent weeks. Throw in the fact that Michael Turner is expected back for the Dixie Chicks, and the Bucs run defense is beyond porous, well, Joe expects the Falcons to run up the score, but Joe isn’t sure if the switch back to the Tampa-2 defense can or will work on such short notice. It seems the Bucs will have to win a shootout. Can Freeman match Ryan pass-for-pass? Joe isn’t so sure.
Fun facts: Matty Ice has lost just one home game in his short career with the Dixie Chicks. … Antonio Bryant averages 18 yards a catch against the Dixie Chicks. … John Abraham has seven sacks in his last five games against the Bucs. … Joe loves to eat at Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffles joint when he is in downtown Atlanta.