Clifton "Peanut" Smith a tough nut to crack

Tampa Bay Buccaneers return man Clifton Smith, recently placed on Injured Reserve, is out for the season after suffering two concussions this year.

Concussions and head injuries are becoming more and more topical in the NFL, especially with particularly retired players struggling.

"Back in the day, they would tell you to put an ice pack on it and go back on the field," Smith said. "I'm an old school type of player. I'll just take my lumps and go back in."

Smith is being treated by independent doctors as well as receiving treatment from team doctors under the NFL's request. He says he feels fine, and that his second concussion (the first was an illegal hit from Carolina's Dante Wesley) was not nearly as bad as the first. "Peanut" reckons he could be on the field in the next two games, but accepts his well-being must come first - especially in such a dismal season without a play-off appearance.

"I can always appreciate [the team] looking out for my health, but my competitive nature, I just want to get out there and have fun and play the game with my teammates," Smith said.

Morris under pressure?

Not many coaches survive a 1-15 season. The Bucs have not quite reached that glorious threshold yet, but with just two games remaining, things don't look so good.

The Bucs have a poor record on the West Coast, where they face fellow 1976 expansion team Seattle on Sunday, followed by division rivals New Orleans, who may well be chasing a 16-0 undefeated year.

A sacking of offensive co-ordinator Jeff Jagodzinski and demotion of defensive co-ordinator Jim Bates, including changing of playbooks on both sides of the ball, plus three quarterback changes and a host of players placed on Injured Reserve, 2009 has been a year to forget in One Buc Place.

With a losing season not uncommon in the Bucs' 32-year history, head coach Raheem Morris has got to wonder what his bosses, the Glazer family, make of such a dismal year.

"That is not my job to worry about my future," Morris said. "That’s for mentally weak people. My job is to coach the football team, week in and week out. I have to go and beat Seattle. That’s what I have to do. And then I have to go and beat the following team after that. Job security in this business, in case you haven’t looked around, there is a ticking clock every day.

"If I wanted to worry about that, I wouldn’t be coaching. I’d go be a reporter."

Morris seems unconcerned. Hopefully, Dominik and Morris are given a second season with the team. Should the Glazers stick with the men they hired not even a year ago, perhaps "the plan" can begin to take fruition.

“Raheem is going to be just fine … just bear with him,’’ safety Jermaine Phillips said Monday.

Phillips has been under Morris tutelage for several years now when Raheem was defensive backs coach.

“Before the season starts, we fire our offensive coordinator (Jaff Jagodzinski), so you don’t get a full training camp with the offense you want to run. Then we’re playing a new defense that’s not working. Since Raheem has taken over, you’ve seen the defense is playing better. It’s night and day."

"We’ve got a rookie quarterback (Josh Freeman), so we know we’re going to have some bumps on the road. You tell me what rookie quarterback hasn’t had growing pains? You can’t judge Raheem off one season. When he got hired, a lot of the good coordinators were already taken. What do you expect him to do? We all make mistakes. Raheem saw his mistakes and tried to correct them.’’

Phillips speaks plainly and it is difficult not see why the Bucs record (1-13) is so pitiful. If Raheem intends to return in 2010, the team needs to show signs of life in their final two games. Another offensive outing like the one against the New York Jets and perhaps the organisation needs to reconsider its direction.

Week 14 Injury Report

This week: New York Jets, Sunday 13th December

Both Carnell "Cadillac" Williams (572 yards, three touchdowns) and rookie Sammie Stroughter (288 yards, 1 TD) "tweaked" their backs on Thursday evening and were added to the injury report as questionable for Sunday's game against the New York Jets. Stroughter's ailment is specified as a lower back injury, while Williams' is more general.

Running back Derrick Ward (304 yards and one touchdown) could see increased playing time, along with Earnest Graham and backup running back Kareem Huggins, who was promoted from Tampa Bay's practice squad earlier this week.

"We'll see," head coach Raheem Morris said. "We'll have Earnest Graham playing fullback and tailback like he always does, but we also got (fullback Chris) Pressley, who is a little more involved in the offense and knows more of the plays. We'll have to see."

As far as Stroughters' kick-return duties, Morris said:"Well, you've got Yamon Figurs who you have the luxury of doing that with, and also Kareem Huggins had some returns for us in the preseason so we've got some experienced guys back there," said Morris. "We've got some guys who have done it before in games in the NFL. Sammie should be fine, but we'll have to get out there and see."

Others on the injury report:
Receiver Michael Clayton (knee),
cornerback Derrick Roberson (groin),
defensive lineman Michael Bennett (toe) are doubtful;

Linebacker Geno Hayes (hamstring) is questionable

Leading reciever, tight end Kellen Winslow (knee) probable.

Freeman's 5 Picks All Part Of Growing Up

Rookie quarterback Josh Freeman still has a lot to learn, according to his head coach Raheem Morris.

Freeman completed 23-of-44 passes for 321 yards and tossed no touchdowns and five picks in Carolina. On the season, the former first-round pick has completed 54.4 percent of his passes 1,114 yards and tossed seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. However, the 21-year-old was intercepted five times in Tampa Bay's 16-6 loss at Carolina on Sunday, including three inside the Panthers red-zone. The 469 total offensive yards were the most by the Bucs in two decades, and the fifth-best in franchise history.

But Freeman's immaturity and rawness as an NFL quarterback is not a justification for losing, coach Raheem Morris said Monday.

"That is what it boils down to yesterday," Morris said Monday. "We had over 400 yards of offense, the fifth-best total of offense around here in team history, and you have six points to show for it. We get to the red zone, and we do it consistently. You are not doing it one-dimensionally. You are running the football. You are throwing the football, you are getting the ball to your big-time players. You're getting the ball to the guys in the run game. [Freeman] is going through his progressions. It was a check down here. It was a shot here. It was a throw there. It was a scramble here. Everything is working well.

"Then you get in the red zone and you just make [three] critical mistakes. You can't do that. It is an 8-8 league, and we got to find a way to get four of those games that you lose. We are not able to do that right now."



"These guys want to win, in particular that No. 5," Morris said. "He's not going to give you an excuse for why he lost the football game for his football team, and the guys around him are not going to give you an excuse. This defense, this offense, those guys on the special teams, they go out there to win every week. We haven't had the success you would like, but there's no passive, 'It's okay,' type of mentality. Those guys are hurting in there. They want to win those games.

"Just like (Sunday). You say, 'You played better; do you feel like you should've won the game?' No. We didn't win the game. We had an opportunity to win it, and we didn't take it. That's where we are."

Morris still believes that his team and staff are behind Freeman. So they should be, as the rookie passed for a career-high 321 yards against the Panthers. His record as a starter has now fallen to 1-4. Give the boy some slack though – he is a rookie in what is turning out to be one of the worst Bucs teams in memory.

"He made three mistakes in the red zone," Morris said. "He's going to put more pressure on himself. He puts pressure on those guys to run the right routes. I think the days of calling him a young quarterback are over in that room for those guys. He went out there and didn't make the plays he's supposed to make in the red zone."
The Bucs are now 1-11 under Morris, their sole victory coming in Freeman’s debut versus Green Bay in week nine.

Morris remains he's not worried about the possibility of a “losing” atmosphere in the Bucs' locker room – despite a Bucs team looking very capable of being the first to lose more than 14 games in a single season.

"No, because of the guys that are here," Morris said. "You're talking about the young guys that are going to bring you through this thing. How well Quincy Black is playing these last two weeks and his production speaks volumes. You're talking about young guys who are going to get better and better together and grow together. If we were around here and we were a veteran team and we had this kind of culture and this kind of development of losing, it would be a problem.

"Every time we come off the field and every handshake at the end of these games with opposing coaches, they're getting a little bit easier because I know they understand that, too."
The Buccaneers have been steadily improving. Opportunities to win three of their past four games were not taken, by either the offenses miscues or defensive lapses. They took Miami and Atlanta (both on the road) down to the dying embers of the game, and outplayed Carolina on both sides of the ball for much of the game. Between the 20’s, Tampa were efficient, bit were at or inside the Panthers 30 eight times, only scoring a paltry six points.

"There's progress in how we're playing," Morris said. "We just have to make better decisions at the end. We've got to make better plays at the end.
"We're still looking for that guy to stand up and be the closer for us. We've got one at quarterback. He just didn't have a good day (Sunday) in the red zone."
Freeman’s development will continue on Sunday against the Jets, where fellow rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez had started fast but since struggled. Sanchez was a higher first-round pick from this years’ draft class, but the two have had mixed results in their time on the field.

This time last season, the Bucs were 9-3 and 2nd seed in the NFC before Carolina decimated them on Monday Night Football. The Panthers game last Sunday was very different – but the Bucs still came out losers. Morris said the Bucs can create impetus and momentum over the next four games by concluding on a winning note — something they couldn’t do a year ago.

"That was kind of my cry (Sunday) to these guys, December football. Good teams play great football in December. (Sunday), we went out there and played okay football in December. You have to find a way to play great football in December, not only this year but for the future."