Jeff Carlson

By JEFF CARLSON
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

Former Bucs quarterback Jeff Carlson writes the weekly QB Blast column here at JoeBucsFan.com.Joe is ecstatic to have him firing away. Carlson has TV gigs in the Bay area and trains quarterbacks of all ages via his company, America’s Best Quarterback.

After watching the Vikings and Bears go at it Monday night, it made me remember just how hard it is to win a single game in the NFL.

The Bucs winning Sunday at the Saints after going down 17-0 really was impressive. What has been a signature of the three Bucs wins this year has been production from all three phases of the game.

The defense could be credited with all three wins, as holding the Saints to 17 is definitely a winning effort. Four interceptions and six points allowed against the Seahawks is, too. In their first win of the season the defense threw in three picks and a TD against Aaron Rogers and the Packers.

Special teams has been huge in all three wins and the Bucs might not have posted their first win until the Seahawks game if it weren’t for their kicking game heroics against Green bay. Remember back to Geno Hayes’ blocked punt and Ronde Barber’s TD in the throwback orange. Clifton Smith gave the offense a chance in the red zone with his long kickoff return in that game. Sammie Stroughter continued to change field position in the Seattle game and Micheal Spurlock’s punt return TD against the Saints gave the Bucs a chance at overtime.

In the wins, the offense has been able to take advantage of what the defense and special teams set them up for. And against the Saints, they even drove the entire field to open the second half and get back in the game.

Raheem Morris says he doesn’t know if this team is a mirage or for real yet and I don’t either, but if you watched Brett Favre and Jay Cutler battle to overtime in the cold last, a win in the NFL is hard to come by — road wins even harder.

The Bucs have put two up in a row and that is something to get excited about.