NFL week 14

Its week 14, and we've got a great game preview for you, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Washington Redskins. Both teams are in the NFC, both 3rd in their respective divisions. The Buccaneers are 7-5, and have had a very respectable bounce-back season after finishing 3-13 last season. The Redskins were just as bad last season, finishing 4-12, but are 5-7, and are coming off a big blowout loss to the NY Giants 31-7. Here's our official preview, and we'll start with the home team...

Redskins DT Albert Haynesworth

Washington Redskins: The 'Skins have had a very rocky season. They have been plagued by inconsistency, injury, and All-Pro DT Albert Haynesworth. Haynesworth has caused enough trouble within the Redskins locker room to make someone explode. During training camp, he failed the conditioning test 4 times, and missed over a week of action. He was suspended for most of preseason football as a result. Throughout the season, Haynesworth has been benched, replaced by back-ups, asked for a trade, and now... suspended for the final 4 games of the regular season. He has been a menace both to the team and also head coach Mike Shanahan. This will likely be Haynesworth's last season as a Redskin.

The 'Skins have been plagued also by injury, most notably at the RB position. Former All-Pro RB Clinton Portis has repeatedly strained his groin, and has missed a total of 8 games. Back-up RB Ryan Torain had missed 4 games due to a foot injury. Torain returns today to face a young, healthy, up-and-coming Buccaneers defense led by players such as MLB Barrett Ruud and top 3 draft pick DT Gerald McCoy. Due to these injuries to RBs, the Redskins rank 27th among all teams in rushing yards.

Redskins LB London Fletcher

The biggest problem for the Redskins this season has definitely been defense. The Redskins are last in defense(31st last week), and the question is, why? They are loaded with talent, and are led by players such as CB DeAngelo Hall, S LaRon Landry, MLB London Fletcher, and OLBs Rocky McIntosh and Brian Orakpo. There seems to be no definite answer, but the probable cause is the void left by Albert Haynesworth.

TEAM LEADERS:
Passing: QB Donovan McNabb- 3149 passing yards, 12 TD, 15 INT, 57.9 completion %, 75.2 QB rating.
Rushing: RB Ryan Torain- 391 rushing yards, 3 TD, 4.3 yards per carry, 2 fumbles.
Receiving: WR Santana Moss- 64 receptions, 802 yards, 3 TD, 12.5 yards per reception.
Defense- MLB London Fletcher- 102 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 9 passes defended, 1 INT, 2 forced fumbles
Defense- CB DeAngelo Hall- 79 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 6 INT, 2 TD
Defense- S LaRon Landry- 85 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT, 8 passes defended, 1 forced fumble

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs have certainly passed expectations after free-falling to a 3-13 record last season. They've climbed a tall mountain, and have once again established themselves as a playoff contender. The Bucs, through the acquisitions fo DT Gerald McCoy(draft), and RB LeGarrette Blunt(free agency, but is a rookie) have been able to climb back atop the NFC's best. They currently stand at 7-5 right now, which is good enough for 3rd in the NFC South(possibly the best division in football), and are 8th in the NFC(thats a very high record for 8th in a conference). Unfortunately, they stand behind the best 2 teams in the NFC, the 10-2 Atlanta Falcons and defending Super Bowl Champions New Orleans Saints. The Bucs are not in the best of situations, as they are on a 2-game losing streak right now, last week losing to the Falcons and the week before to the 8-4 Baltimore Ravens of the AFC.

Bucs DT Gerald McCoy

The only problem so far this season has been the run-defense, due to the inexperience of the Bucs' weakness at OLB, as well as inexperience at the defensive line. The Bucs lack a dominant pass rusher, as they rank in the bottom 10 teams in sacks. There leading sacker is DE Stylez "Don't Call Me Greg" White. He has recorded 4.5 sacks. The next highest sack total is 3, by DT Gerald McCoy and DE Tim Crowder. This problem will be surly assessed by head coach Raheem Morris in  next year's draft.

Team Leaders:
Passing: QB Josh Freeman- 2442 passing yards, 16 TD, 6 INT, 58.4completion %, 86.7 passer rating
Rushing: RB LeGarrette Blount- 599 rushing yards, 5 TD, 4.5 yards per carry, 26 first downs
Receiving: WR Mike Williams- 51 receptions, 769 receiving yards, 7 TD, 15.1 yards per reception
Defense: MLB Barrett Ruud- 89 tackles, 1 sack, 4 passes defended, 1 INT, 1 forced fumble
Defense: CB Ronde Barber- 58 tackles, 3 INT, 9 passes defended, 3 tackles for loss
Defense: DT Gerald McCoy- 27 tackles, 3 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 4 passes defended

Bucs WR Mike Williams



Redskins CB DeAngelo Hall



Best Match-up: The best match-up will be between Buccanneers WR Mike Williams and Redskins CB DeAngelo Hall. Both players will most likely make the Pro Bowl, and both players are having outstanding seasons. Hall's highlight of the year was intercepting Bears QB Jay Cutler 4 times during a win at Chicago. Williams has been outstanding, and is only a rookie. He will most likely win Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Prediction:

The Foz- Buccaneers

Ocho Cinco- Buccaneers