Veteran wide receiver Darrell Jackson previews Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Enjoy reading his souting report!
Tampa Bay's style of defense is an aggressive, keep everything in front of them, rally to the ball style.
Early in the game, they'll drop the safety and play some man, but when they are in a comfort zone, they go into that Tampa 2, play their zones, and it's hard to move the ball on them.
Their defensive line is a pretty good group. They drafted Gaines Adams and he is a young, hot prospect. He's doing what they thought he would do. He's got a lot of great veteran leadership around him and they'll help him succeed. I'm sure he'll be a tremendous player for some time to come.
Kevin Carter is one of those Pro Bowl vets. He's a Florida guy who has done it over and over in this league. He knows what he's doing. He's a big play guy and a DE who really bolsters their line. He's also a Florida Gator so of course he's pretty good.
I think the main guy of their entire defense is Derrick Brooks, a guy who has set the standard for backers in this league. He's been in the same system for a long time and he's pretty good at what he does. He's the nucleus of that defense and really their star player. I don't think you can say enough good things about the guy.
In their secondary, they've got Ronde Barber, a Pro Bowl corner, and a very, very smart corner. He likes to gamble and cheat because he likes the big plays and he can make them. He's a very, very solid corner, one of the best in the conference.
Brian Kelly was the other starter at corner, but he has been playing more in nickel because of an injury. He is more conservative and he'll come up and make the big plays, he doesn't allow too much stuff deep on him.
Phillip Buchanon has been starting for Kelly, and he's a solid guy who has played exceptionally well. Jermaine Phillips has played in the system for a long time, they like to play him in the box, and he's a physical run stopper.
They've obviously got a pretty good secondary because I think they are ranked second in pass defense, and we've got our work cut out for us this week. They don't do a whole lot of things but they are very good at what they do and they make it tough on you.
It was definitely fun for me to get the ball coming my way last week, and I got a chance to do some things. I had been waiting for that and I hope I continue to get the ball and help this offense sustain drives.
Shaun Hill brings an aggressive style of play. He wants to make plays and he's not scared to make a mistake because you can always come back with a good play. He walks with a swagger, talks with a swagger and everyone has responded. It's fun to go out there and make plays for him and we know we'll continue to play hard together.
Having no turnovers was very big, and only three penalties was big too. Those are things that have plagued us the whole year. Playing turnover-free ball usually means you come out with a win in the NFL and so we've got to take care of the ball again this game and build on that momentum from last Saturday.
Sunday is our last home game of the year, so we want to end on a good note and give our fans something to look forward to next year. I know our games didn't go the way they were supposed to, especially at home, so we want to finish up well and leave a good impression on our fans and all of our supporters.
The main key is just to go out and have fun and play ball, relax and let it come and whether you have a good play or bad play, just respond and keep going. There will be some bad plays, but you can make the next one a good one and by doing that, you can pull yourself out of most situations. We want to finish strong these last two games, and build momentum going into next year.
