I’m afraid the hits are going to get trickier by the week, but let’s give it a go:

Hit It: Caddy Williams and Derrick Ward ran with passion and power once more. And Earnest Graham ran the ball twice–double last week’s touches! Of course, because the Bucs were down 17-0 in the first quarter, they only managed to rush the ball 19 times total for 57 yards. Oh well.

Quit It: Tackling. Coach Raheem said in his post-game press conference that the Bucs missed 24 tackles. If you’re keeping score, that’s one for every hour of the day. When asked if he was worried about things on defense getting out of hand, Raheem said, “It’s already out of hand.” Oops.

Hit It: Sabby Piscitelli redeemed his atrocious play in week 1 by intercepting one ball and returning a fumble forced by Ronde Barber for a near touchdown. (He was run down by Roscoe Parrish before he could reach the end zone. Note: Sabby ain’t the swiftest cat.)

Quit It: Pass rush. Because still there is none. Well, to be fair, the Bucs recorded two sacks–including newbie Roy Miller’s first–but seriously, with the secondary in the state that it’s in (read: very, very not good), the Bucs must get pressure on the quarterback. Gaines Adams still has nothing to show for his 4th-pick-in-the-draft status, unless you count the nasty facemask call that lost the Bucs 15 yards.

Hit It: The pewter background of the Bucs’ helmets was extra sparkly on Sunday. I don’t know if they are new helmets or if the sun was just brighter than usual, but they looked very pretty.

Quit It: 13 penalties for 112 yards. This is an undisciplined team. Discipline starts top-down, so even if Coach Raheem can’t get much production out of his players, he absolutely must keep them playing smart and to the best of their ability.

Hit It: Byron Leftwich played like a champ, throwing for 296 yards and 3 touchdowns (and 2 interceptions, but whatevs). Sure, he threw some of his patented “My receivers are 17 feet tall, right?” passes, and sure he was intercepted when he should have thrown the ball away, but the dude took some MAJOR hits and just kept on throwing. I was appalled, frankly, that the Bucs chose to keep throwing in the last few minutes of the game–with the game lost–instead of just running out the clock. There’s no way he makes it through the season with the kind of beat-down he’s been getting. But props to him for getting right back up after each hit and commanding the huddle.

Quit It: What happened to the offensive line? The o-line was supposed to be one of the Bucs’ strongest groups, and yet Leftwich is routinely mauled. Maybe it’s because Center Jeff Faine is injured? Or because Guard Arron Sears (who is rumored to be suffering from depression) isn’t playing this year? Or maybe they really did benefit from Jeff Garcia’s happy feet in past years? I do not know.

Hit It: Um, um, um…

Quit It: Jermaine Phillips is out for the year. Will Allen and Sabby Piscitelli will be the starting safeties. At least Tanard Jackson will be back in week 5.

Hit It: Puppies are adorable.

Puppo-Bruce