Buccaneers at Jaguars
THE STORY: After coming up just short of the playoffs last season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looked like prime candidates to break through and make some noise in 2011. An extremely young team with a quarterback in Josh Freeman that appeared to be on the verge of joining the game’s elite, the Bucs have instead dropped six straight to fall out of the playoff race and now have some questions about whether Freeman is the quarterback of the future. A team facing similar questions is the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have a new owner and let go of longtime coach Jack Del Rio prior to last week’s game. After trading up to draft Blaine Gabbert last spring, the Jaguars have watched the Missouri product regress over the last several weeks. Jacksonville will be looking to snap a three-game slide when it hosts Tampa Bay on Sunday.
TV: FOX, 1 p.m. ET. LINE: Buccaneers -2, O/U 39
ABOUT THE BUCCANEERS (4-8): Tampa Bay coach Raheem Morris said on Monday that he is cutting back on his defensive scheme with the team ranked 30th in total defense and points allowed. The Bucs are one of the most penalized teams in the league as well. Freeman missed last week’s 38-19 loss to the Carolina Panthers with a right shoulder injury but is expected to return to face Jacksonville. The third-year QB posted a 95.9 passer rating with 25 touchdowns and six interceptions last season. This season, those numbers are a 74.6 rating, 12 touchdowns and 16 picks.
ABOUT THE JAGUARS (3-9): Gabbert is completing just 49.5 percent of his passes and has a 64.5 rating. The No. 10 overall pick has not posted a single-game rating above 90 since Week 5 and spent a good part of Monday’s 38-14 home loss to San Diego throwing passes into the ground and making questionable decisions. Jacksonville is also dealing with problems in the secondary, where they have put three cornerbacks on injured reserve in the last three weeks. Interim coach Mel Tucker can still lean on Maurice Jones-Drew, who took over the NFL rushing lead with 1,137 yards.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. Jones-Drew needs one touchdown to match Fred Taylor (70) for the franchise record.
2. Tampa Bay RB LeGarrette Blount had a streak of two straight 100-yard games stopped last week, when he was held to 19 yards on 11 carries.
3. Jacksonville placed DE John Chick on injured reserve with a knee injury suffered Monday.