Atlanta Fans Regret That The Blackout Was Lifted

What happened to Michael Pittman's hands? I guess some rust can be forgiven, but it better not continue beyond this week. B.J. Askew also has good hands and will quickly take over Pittman's snaps if he makes a habit out of dropping easy passes.

Michael Bennett didn't dress for this game, but Byron Storer did despite the fact that Askew was in and Pittman is also an acting fullback. Three available fullbacks seems a bit much, so I'm guessing that Bennett just isn't picking up the playbook quickly enough for Jon Gruden to use him in any situation other than a complete injury depletion of the backfield. It's a shame because he really seems like he could change a game with his speed.

Michael Clayton didn't play an offensive snap yesterday. He had a killer block on special teams, though.

Rod Coleman is a very good player, and the fact that he is not listed on the stat sheet says a lot about how Arron Sears did yesterday.

In fact, the only real breakdown in the offensive line was when John Abraham pushed through Donald Penn for a sack. Jeff Garcia was barely touched in this game.

Greg White and Jovan Haye owned the line of scrimmage. Owned it. Byron Leftwich is going to remember Haye for a while because he will have a bruise shaped like Haye's head on his chest for at least a few weeks. Both White and Haye are free agents (Haye will be an RFA) and next year and the Bucs would be smart to get them signed early. They sooner they sign them, the cheaper they'll be, and they'll already be bargains.

Let's not take anything away from Phillip Buchanon. He is so much better than he used to be and he had a great game. But, man, he could have taken the end of the game a little more seriously. He totally phoned in that coverage on Laurent Robinson and let him get behind him for the catch that set up the Falcons' only score. Buchanon wins against Robinson in any scenario except when Buchanon just isn't trying. How many times have the Bucs pissed away a shutout this season?

Cato June was absolutely everywhere yesterday. He's had some good games as a Buc, but this is the first one where he really dominated. Also, June was down by contact. That play should have ended on the lateral.

Rich McKay has never drafted a wide receiver worth a shit. Think about it. His best one in Tampa Bay was probably Reidel Anthony and it looks like his biggest success story in Atlanta is Roddy White. McKay has some kind of weird talent evaluation blind spot when it comes to receivers.

Was Matt Bryant kicking short kickoffs on purpose? I understand the one pooch kick, but the rest of them fell at the 8, 9, 11, and 13. That seems kind of crappy unless it was intentional for some reason.

The Bucs have only been behind once in their six victories. That was against the Cardinals and it was early in the game when they were down 3-0 briefly in the first quarter. In their four losses, they were ahead in the Seahawks game 6-0 but died out after the first quarter, and they were ahead 3-0 briefly against Jacksonville before they were quickly overtaken. The rest of the time they were behind. What this says to me is that this is a team that runs either very hot or very cold. Good teams (Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Detroit) cause them to make mistakes that they can't seem to recover from. Luckily, they don't really play any more good teams for the rest of the season, so the Bucs could conceivably end the season 11-5, assuming they win most of the games they're supposed to win. But when the playoffs come, they're all good teams. The Bucs have to figure out a way to bring their best games when they need them most, or it's going to be a very short postseason.