Strange as it may sound, the Bucs have only played the Ravens 3 times ever! The first was a Saturday Night Special on ABC where the Bucs having won 4 of the last 5 and the Ravens needing a win to secure a Wild Card spot. The Bucs won 22- 10. Then, the next year, the Bucs went up to Baltimore (the Only time before todays game) and shut out the Ravens 25-0. Now comes the dark side of the story. The Bucs were coming off their 2005 NFC South Championship and returned 21 of 22 starters. The result? A disheartening 27-0 loss that just kept getting worse in the first half. Chris Simms nasty habit of getting balls batted down, continued into the 2006 season, as Interceptions haunted the son of Phil Simms. So there you have it, 2-1 lifetime against the Ravens. Where are the Bucs? Josh Freeman is the #15 QB with his 92.0 QB rating. The offense as a whole is 23rd with 325 yards per game, not bad! Hard to believe that is 23rd! Running the Ball Tampa Bay is improving up to 12th now with 117.8 yards per game, and that is going up each week now that LeGarrett Blount is in the lineup. Passing the Bucs are 22nd with 207.2 yards per game. On Defense, the Bucs helped themselves statistically last week and are now only 29th (from 31st) against the run with the help of that shut down effort against the 49ers. If the Bucs continue that effort, they could improve out of the bottom heap. Pass defense continues to be the bright spot on the team with their No.6 Pass Defense giving up only 200.8 yards per game. The Chargers are no.1 with 183 ypg, so that is actually within reach over the next 6 games of the season. WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR!!! Are you like me, like to keep an eye out for a player breaking a record? Well keep these things in mind when you watch the game today! – CB Ronde Barber • With 26.0 career sacks, Barber needs one more to surpass Broderick Thomas (26.5 sacks, 1989-93) for seventh-most sacks in team history. – RB LeGarrette Blount • With two more rushing touchdowns, Blount will tie Carnell Williams (six touchdowns in 2005) for the second-most rushing touchdowns by a rookie in a single season in franchise history. • Blount has 441 rushing yards this season and needs 12 more to surpass William Howard (452 yards in 1988) for seventh-most, 27 more yards to surpass Lars Tate (467 yards in 1988) for sixth-most and 40 more yards to surpass Reggie Cobb (480 yards in 1990) for fifth-most rushing yards by a rookie in a single season in franchise history. • Blount has 101 carries this season and needs eight more to pass James Wilder (107 carries in 1981) for ninth-most carries by a rookie in a single season in franchise history. – RB Earnest Graham • Graham has 15 rushing touchdowns with the Buc- caneers and needs one more to pass Lars Tate (15 from 1988-89) and tie Ricky Bell (16 from 1977-81) for the seventh-most rushing touchdowns in team history. • Graham has 1,840 career rushing yards with the Buccaneers and needs six more yards to pass Jerry Eckwood (1,845 rushing yards) for ninth-most rush- ing yards in team history. – RB Carnell Williams • Williams has 20 rushing touchdowns with the Buc- caneers and needs one more to tie Reggie Cobb (21 from 1990-93) for the fourth-most rushing touch- downs in team history. – WR Mike Williams • Williams has 43 receptions this season and needs five more to tie James Wilder (48 receptions in 1990 and 1997, respectively) for fourth-most receptions by a rookie in a single season in franchise history. • Williams has 681 receiving yards and needs 138 more to surpass Lawrence Dawsey (818 yards in 1991) for second-most receiving yards by a rookie in a single season in franchise history. • With one more touchdown reception, Williams will tie Michael Clayton (seven in 1980) for the most touchdowns by a rookie in a single season in franchise history. – TE Kellen Winslow • Winslow has 120 receptions with the Buccaneers and needs 10 more to pass Alex Smith (129 from 2005-08) for the fifth-most receptions by a tight end in team history. • Winslow has 1,320 receiving yards with the Bucca- neers and needs 61 more yards to pass Calvin Magee (1,379 receiving yards from 1985-88) for the fifth- most receiving yards by a tight end in team history. DIRECT CONNECTIONS! – Sometimes its amazing the small world we live in! These players/coaches have ties to each other…
- Buccaneers Strength and Conditioning Coach Kurtis Shultz is a Baltimore, Maryland, native and played basketball at the University of Maryland from 1992-95 before serving as the men’s basketball strength coach from 2000- 03. Shultz also spent time as a strength and conditioning coach at Loyola College from 1995- 98, and Johns Hopkins from 1999-2002.
- Ravens Quarterbacks Coach Jim Zorn appeared in one game for the Buccaneers as a replacement quarterback during the 1987 season strike.
- Buccaneers Offensive Line Coach Pete Mangurian coached together with Ravens Linebackers Coach Dean Pees on the New England Patriots staff from 2005-08. Mangurian served in the same capacity with the Patriots, while Pees was the linebackers coach and defensive coordinator.
- Buccaneers G Jeremy Zuttah and Ravens RB Ray Rice were college teammates at Rutgers, while Baltimore’s Craig Ver Steeg coached the duo as running backs coach for the Scarlet Knights from 2003-07.
- Tampa Bay Running Backs Coach Steve Logan coached alongside Baltimore Secondary Coach Chuck Pagano at East Carolina University in 1989 and again from 1992-94.
- Ravens Defensive Coordinator Greg Mattison worked as the co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at the University of Florida from 2005-07, helping the Gators to the 2006 BCS National Championship.
- Ravens Defensive Assistant Roy Anderson, worked as a graduate assistant at Florida A&M in 2002 and at Florida State in 2003, earned his graduate degree at Florida State and is a native of Tallahassee, Florida.
- Ravens WR Anquan Boldin is a native of Pahokee, Florida, and played collegiately at Florida State University from 2000-03
- Ravens DT Terrence Cody is a native of Fort Myers, Florida, and attended Riverdale High School.
- Ravens LB Tavares Gooden is a native of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and played collegiately at the University of Miami (FL) from 2003-07.
- Ravens RB Willis McGahee is a native of Miami, Florida and played collegiately at the University of Miami (FL) from 2000-02.
- Ravens LB Ray Lewis is a native of Lakeland, Florida, and played collegiately at the University of Miami (FL) from 1993-95.
- Ravens S Ed Reed played collegiately at the University of Miami (FL) from 1998-2001.
- Ravens CB Fabian Washington is a native of Bradenton, Florida, and attended Bayshore High School.
- Ravens CB Cary Williams is a native of Hollywood, Florida.
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