Declawed

Man, it looked like Cadillac Williams was starting to get his legs right before he was injured. His hands were a different story. He's not so good at catching the ball, is he?

Steve Smith is a stand-up guy. As soon as he saw Cadillac on the ground, he furiously called for the Tampa Bay medical team to get over there to help him, going so far as to literally jump up and down. Smith also kept other players away from Williams until the medical staff got there.

Chances are the Bucs will elevate Kenneth Darby up from the practice squad and make him the third running back. I can't think of anyone that's worth trading for when the Earnest Graham/Michael Pittman combination is rushing for 138 yards on their own.

I'm a little disappointed that the offense couldn't punch the ball in from four yards out on four tries. The running game has been superb and there's really very little to bitch about. But that's a gut check that the team didn't come through on. Still, I like the decision to go for the touchdown.

Davin Joseph made up for his of game last week with some crushing run blocks yesterday. Between him and Arron Sears, the Bucs may have one of the best guard teams in the league. Seriously.

In fact, the entire line, including John wade, had a fantastic game. Jeff Garcia was never sacked and was only truly hurried a few times. Even Donald Penn filled in well for Luke Petitgout after he was injured in the second quarter.

Defensive line play has gotten consistently better from week to week. Again, it's the young guys that are making the most noise. Jovan Haye, Greg Peterson and Greg White are performing better than anyone could have predicted. And one of my favorite guys, Patrick Churwurah, was in for a very limited time but still got a sack, a tackle and two QB hurries. No, it's not a mancrush.

It's about time for the #4 overall pick to step up or he's never going to get any playing time. Gaines Adams got on the field plenty yesterday and only managed one tackle. Did you see Travelle Wharton dominate Adams in the second quarter? It was kind of sad.

I'm really liking this combination of Tanard Jackson and Jermaine Phillips. Phillips is making open field tackles this year that would have had him shopping for a new jock last year. And Jackson seemed to be involved in more big plays than rookies usually are. His forced fumble yesterday was just another example.