The proverbial game of two halves was precisely that. While it appeared to be over by halftime, this game ended up being a great come from behind win that will add to the budding Josh Freeman “come-back kid” legacy. Once the excitement clears though, the reality of significant Buccaneer weaknesses must set in; an average (at best) offensive line, inconsistent receivers, a terrible run defense and linebackers who can’t cover anything underneath. It’s not a recipe for sustained success and changes need to be made.
All that said you’d rather be in Raheem Morris’s shoes than Leslie Frazier’s right? Why? Well at least you have a quarterback and an offensive coordinator who knows how to put points up on the scoreboard. Despite being in possession of both a lead and a real advantage in the running game, the Vikings still managed to pass more times in the second half than run, which led to their eventual downfall.
And to think that all of this is before we even start to argue about why Frazier didn’t call any time outs at the end of the game.
Enough of this second guessing (although I was screaming quite vigorously at the TV screen when it happened) and on to the player evaluations.
.
Tampa Bay – Three Things of Note
1) Freeman off and Running
Josh Freeman did what he does best; focused on the job at hand and got it done to the best of his ability. He’s building himself a reputation for this sort of thing, and that’s got to give everyone around him confidence. In this game, he mostly threw for short yardage, going 16 of 17 for 142 yards on passes thrown for nine yards or less. He’s normally a very good deep passer down the middle but struggles to go deep to the outside consistently. However, in this game it was the opposite, as his late pass to Kellen Winslow on a post route was intercepted, yet he managed to hit Arrelious Benn deep down the left sideline with a perfectly thrown ball for a touchdown.
He’s also a superb scrambler when it comes to converting third downs, but no one seems to think he’s much of a danger as twice he was given the facility to run and sustain drives.
.
2) Parker gets the better of Winfield
As things were starting to fall apart, where did Freeman decide to go? With Benn dropping passes and Mike Williams not open, Preston Parker was the outlet of choice. What made this all the more interesting is that Parker was normally locked up with the Vikings’ best defensive back, Antoine Winfield. On five targets, when he was covered by Winfield, the second year man made four grabs for 72 yards. Most of the routes he ran were slants or crossing routes, as the young receiver used his quickness to get open in the middle of the field. Strangely, Parker got far more snaps in week one (47) than in week two (29). Maybe after this performance his playing time will go back up.
.
3) Disaster at Linebacker
For the second week in a row, Tampa Bay’s linebackers were awful and worst among them was the guy whom they spent so much money resigning. Apparently, Quincy Black’s got an ankle injury which may explain his six missed tackles in two weeks, but if he’s really injured that badly, he shouldn’t be playing, let alone keeping the up and coming Dekoda Watson sitting on the bench. Injury aside, there is no more disappointing performer at 4-3 LB in the NFL right now than Quincy Black.
.
Minnesota – Three Things of Note
1) Where’s Percy?
Three things in life are certain; death, taxes and that good things happen when Percy Harvin gets the ball. So why was he on the field for eight less snaps than Kyle Rudolph? When he was on the field, he was targeted eight times and caught seven passes for 84 yards, and he even rushed twice for 18 yards.
Simply put, he’s a lethal weapon who can be lined up at any of the four wide receiver positions and even in the backfield as well. Giving Michael Jenkins 78% of snaps compared to his 48% shows a lack of creativity bordering on the pathological.
.
2) Jared Allen vs. Donald Penn
In the game within the game, there was a winner and although the margin was clear, it wasn’t as decisive as it could have been. Jared Allen went around Donald Penn for a sack on the first play from scrimmage. He later registered another two hits and two other hurries, but still couldn’t disrupt Freeman enough to make the difference down the stretch. It’s a decent enough return for 36 pass rushes, but if this is the worst game Penn plays all year, he won’t be upset.
.
3) Johnson Struggles
Everyone knew that Charlie Johnson was going to be the weak point on the offensive line. So far, the Vikings have faced teams who don’t have pass rushers considered close to be in the top dozen, so for Johnson to give up a sack, three hits and three hurries in the two games to date and be our eighth lowest rated tackle (third lowest rated left tackle) doesn’t instill a lot of confidence going forward.
.
Game Notes
● Donovan McNabb threw five times over 20 yards and didn’t complete one.
● Adrian Peterson ran to the left of his center seven times for 26 yards and to the right of John Sullivan 18 times for 94 yards
● Tampa Bay’s tackling continues to be a concern. Four players missed two tackles, Black, Ronde Barber, Cody Grimm and Aqib Talib.
.
PFF Game Ball
Josh Freeman, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
You win the game when very few other people on your team contribute and it’s yours Josh Freeman
.
Follow our main Twitter feed: @ProFootbalFocus
.
.
.
.
.
© 2025 PFF - all rights reserved.