| Randolph Charlotin. 29th December, 2007 - 4:49 pm
 They are not 15-0 like the New England Patriots. Neither team is the defending champions like the Indianapolis Colts. Their respective quarterbacks haven’t broken any career passing records like Green Bay’s legendary Brett Favre. While the Dallas Cowboys have 10 Pro Bowl players, there isn’t a single one from either team.
There’s one more thing that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars do not have: willing opponents. While the top four teams appear head and shoulders above the rest of the league, the Bucs and Jags are closer than most think. Anything can happen in the playoffs, and these two teams can make enough plays to pull off a major upset.
There’s no secret to their success. It’s the basic principles of football:
Run the ball: With Jacksonville, it’s obvious. They have the second best rushing offense in the league propelled by the Fred Taylor/Maurice Jones-Drew duo. Taylor is the power back with the quickness to avoid tacklers. Jones-Drew might be short, but his thick, powerful thighs allow him to juke, break tackles, or burrow through the offensive line and explode out the other end. Both have the speed to take it the distance. As for T.B., it is persistence much as production. The Bucs are eleventh in rushing yards and attempts even though they lost Carnell “Cadillac” Williams just four weeks into the season, and his backup Michael Pittman missed six games. With Ernest Graham the remaining healthy runner, he’s making the most of this opportunity. He only has 10 starts, but Graham is just 102 yards short of his first career 1,000-yard season. Being persistent gives the Buccaneers’ play action legitimacy.
Stop the run: It starts up the middle for the Jaguars. They have the AFC’s best pair of defensive tackles with Marcus Stroud and John Henderson. They are both strong at the point of attack and able to penetrate to blow up run plays. With them anchoring the D-line, Jacksonville has the seventh-ranked run defense. But can they remain stout with Stroud on injured reserve? In the two games without Stroud, the Jags gave up 115 and 110 yards. Tampa Bay is a little better than average, ranked 13th, but allowed just 3.7 yards per carry. They depend on two active linebackers in lifetime Buccaneer Derrick Brooks (107 tackles) and new blood Barrett Ruud (113 tackles).
Win the turnover battle: Tampa Bay leads the NFC in plus-minus at plus-14. Jacksonville isn’t too shabby either with a plus-9, good enough for fourth in the AFC. The key for both teams is not throwing interceptions. While both had their starting quarterbacks miss significant time, the Bucs and Jags threw 15 interceptions combined! Jags' QB David Garrard set the standard by just throwing three picks in 12 starts. Almost as remarkable is the turnaround by T.B.’s Jeff Garcia. A high risk-high reward passer in seasons past, Garcia was efficient, throwing four interceptions in 13 games.
There’s an element of surprise regarding the Buccaneers. They did not play Dallas nor Green Bay this season. But based on recent play, neither the Cowboys nor the Packers are playing their best ball. Dallas passer Tony Romo leads the conference in touchdown passes but hasn’t maintained his pace in the last two games: one touchdown, four interceptions. Last Sunday the Packers lost badly to the Chicago Bears, the NFC North last place team. Was it a fluke loss to a divisional opponent or a sign the Pack aren’t playing their best ball during the most critical time? The loss could kill their momentum.
Jacksonville couldn’t be crossing paths with the AFC elite at a better time. Not only have they beaten the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh, the Steelers will be without their leading rusher running back Willie Parker for the playoffs. The Patriots, while undefeated, have a defense that has been picked apart through the air and bullied on the ground. And the Colts’ defensive end Dwight Freeney is on injured reserve for the post season. Also keep in mind that Indy’s playoff history has more disappointments than success. Last year’s run to win Super Bowl XLI was either a breakthrough or serendipity.
Both teams won five games on the road so hostile crowds won’t phase them. A top conference team won it all only twice in the last eight years. The Buccaneers and Jaguars lack fanfare, but they have a very good chance to advance in the playoffs.
Randolph Charlotin can be reached at lordrc@netzero.com |
