Let me apologize in the exact opposite of advance for not getting this up today. Driving around in a blinding snowstorm kind of limits my ability to blog. Anyways, let's do this and give some justice to my man JScott over at Buc 'Em, a fantastic and well-adorned SBNation blog.
So here's a look in retrospect, since I'm still too traumatized to talk about the game:
1. Have you seen the extremely corny video on the official Bucs site? Are you ashamed or extremely pumped up by it?
JScott:I'm pretty proud of it I must say.... Gotta appreciate the delivery.... AND Jeremy Trueblood and Barrett Ruud prove its not a good idea to wear your jersey over a collared shirt. I enjoy these video's, it brings the fan base a little closer to the players and just the overall concept and final product is bad ass. You're jealous arent
you? its okay to admit that, that's step #1 to recovery!!
2. What's the status of Jeff Garcia for this game? How instrumental will he be in the last games of the season, or will he sit if it's already stitched up after this game?
JScott:Garcia is 100% ready to seal up this victory. As for sitting the rest of the season, BUCS FANS COULD ONLY HOPE, but with Garcia's stubbornness to play and Gruden's stubbornness to play him, our fan
base will have to hold our breaths the next two ball games. I hope Jeff and Jon realize wins against the Panthers and 49ers are
meaningless if we do our jobs today. If we do lose today (oh why), then look for Jeff to continue to play.
3. How will the defense attack Chris Redman and his quicker release? Can we expect a lot of blitzes from this Bucs D, or will they play a
little more hands off?
JScott The success our D-Line has had of late has come from its own will power. Kiffin doesn't typically rush the hounds, he lets the front four do what they can do and allows his snipers (Brooks, Ruud, June)
to either strip the ball, make the INT, or lower the shoulder.
4. What do you expect from Earnest Graham versus the Falcons? Does he have any shot of starting next after filling in admirably for the
Caddy?
JScott:I expect nothing short of a 100 yard performance from Earnest today. He's been instrumental in keeping this team a force in the NFC South. I'm kind of off the hook on the second part of this question, as he will start next season by default as Cadillac will not be fully healed from his knee injury. Caddy's time table as of last week was 9
months..... with that, he would miss the start of next season, maybe even the first month or two. Which isnt too bad in my eyes as he can come in fresh and spell Graham, who isnt used to playing so much in the NFL.
5. Final prediction for both the score and the season?
We won 31-7 at your place a couple weeks back. Believe it or not, I expect the Falcons to come together more than ever this Sunday.... I
expect a close game, maybe <s>54-14 Bucs</s>, no more like 24-16 or something to that effect..... As for the season, we'll finish up (10-6)
like a predicted during the off-season and we WILL beat the New York G-Men, BUT I'm not so happy about a potential Lambeau Field Trip or a
Trip to Dallas, both teams are obviously a step above AND all Bucs fans remember what the Colts did to us, without Marvin Harrison, Joseph Addai, and Bob Sanders, eh .... we'll have to see and pray for a miracle.
Thanks again to JScott, who proved to be depressingly accurate in his answers. If you need me, I'll be dunking my head in a snowbank.