Dein erstes Forum » Where were you when

Where were you when the Bucs won the 2002 NFC Championship? It was a cold Bryan Anger Jersey , January day during my freshman year in high school. My friends and I grew up in the country fields of Lebanon, TN during our younger years, so we were always outside despite the temperatures or conditions in general. We were out exploring my buddy’s woods, feet crunching in the snow and breath as visible as the sun, when I realized what time it was. “Oh shit,” I exclaimed to my friends as I looked at my digital, Wal-Mart bought (don’t hate!) watch that was cracked almost to the point where I couldn’t even tell the time, “the Bucs game comes on in five minutes!”Being from Tennessee - especially after the Titans’ official arrival - it was hard to get anyone to give even a whiff of attention towards the Bucs. My friends just stared at me blankly, wondering why I was so excited for yet another Eagles playoff rematch. “You know they’re just going to get their asses kicked again, right?” one friend asked. The other just laughed and told me I better get going. We had hiked for about 20 minutes already to the point where we were deep off in the woods. I’d never ran so fast in my life. I got into my friend’s living room and in front of their big-screen TV just in time to see the end of the Eagles’ first drive. Donovan McNabb was one of the best quarterbacks in the league during his primePhoto by Ronald Martinez/Getty ImagesWithin seconds, I was wishing I was back in the woods. It took the Eagles less than a minute to score a touchdown on the opening drive of the game after Brian Mitchell returned the kickoff for 70 yards inside the Bucs’ 30-yard line. At least my friends weren’t around to say “I told you so”. The Bucs drove down and scored a field goal on the following drive before the teams traded out possessions a few times. It seemed like things were going to go the usual route with the Eagles until Joe Jurevicius hauled in a 71-yard catch-and-run pass from Brad Johnson that put the Bucs on their feet. Tampa Bay would punch it in with Mike Alstott and take the lead from the Eagles, 10-7.From that point forward, the Bucs were able to pretty much take control of the game. They held a 20-10 lead entering the fourth quarter and things looked good. But in typical Eagles fashion, Donovan McNabb and co. weren’t anywhere close to done. With under seven minutes to play in the game, McNabb drove the Eagles down inside the Bucs’ 20. The Eagles had ran just one play in Tampa Bay territory during the second half until this moment and McNabb was on fire during the drive, throwing for 65 yards on five completions.What was even more alarming was watching the heralded Bucs’ defense get picked apart late in the game - something that didn’t happen often in 2002. But the theme of the defense was always bend, don’t break. And that’s exactly what happened. McNabb dropped back to pass from the Bucs’ 10-yard line and looked to his left for wide receiver Antonio Freeman. McNabb let it rip and Bucs’ cornerback Ronde Barber beautifully, gracefully Womens Shaquil Barrett Jersey , magnificently - whatever you want to call it - stepped in front of the pass for a perfect pick-six in Veterans Stadium. Barber previously halted one of the Eagles’ drives in the second half when he strip-sacked McNabb at the 50-yard line for an Ellis Wyms recovery. He was all over the place that day. I remember jumping off of my friends’ couch in pure elation and running around his living room screaming, “WE ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!! WE ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!” over and over again until my face was redder than my hair. The stadium was dead. Philadelphia was dead. The Eagles - were dead. My friends and his family came running into the room - they didn’t even watch the game with me - upon hearing my excitement with a look of confused excitement on their faces. “WE ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL AND WE ARE GOING TO WIN!”, I shouted before getting my dig in like they had with me out in the woods, “WE CAN AT LEAST GET A YARD!”Ronde shut down the Vet and the Bucs went to the Super Bowl. Happy days. The Buccaneers beat the 49ers 27-9 at home on Sunday to snap a four-game losing streak. The victory had rookie fingerprints all over it. Throughout this season, these weekly rookie recaps have often been focused on patience required for this year’s class and the small steps of development the newcomers have been making. Finally, this week’s focuses on some significant production. So, without further ado, let’s get into this week’s happy rookie recap.DT Vita VeaA ton of fan frustration this season has been directed at No. 12 overall pick Vita Vea. The Washington product missed all of training camp, the whole preseason and the first three games of the regular season with a calf injury. That obviously slowed his development and has led to sparse usage throughout the year. In his first seven NFL games, he showed flashes of potential. There were times when he would push his man back and collapse the pocket, but there were other times when he would get stood up and struggle to get off his blocks. Considering the success of some of the first-rounders taken after him, a lot of fans have been vocal about their discontent about Vea.Maybe, just maybe, some of that frustration was tempered by Sunday’s game. Vea took those flashes of potential from earlier the season and turned them into a breakout game. He finished the day with three tackles for loss, one of which was his second career sack. The big man was extremely disruptive, helping the Tampa Bay defense to its best performance of the season. He still only played 37 snaps (58 percent of the overall total), but he made the most of his time on the field. With five weeks left in the season, Vea could build up a lot of momentum by stringing together some more performances like the one he had against San Francisco. S Jordan WhiteheadAs far as rookies go Jacquizz Rodgers Jersey , a lot of the talk after Sunday’s game was about Vea. The first-rounder’s three tackles for loss somewhat overshadowed what ended up being the best game of Jordan Whitehead’s young career. The fourth-rounder led the team in tackles with 11 (10 solo) and came up with two passes defended. One of his primary roles in the game was covering tight end George Kittle, who has been one of the league’s more productive tight ends in 2018. He finished with just six catches (on 12 targets) for 48 yards in Sunday’s loss. Whitehead was also effective in stopping the run when the scheme called for him to play closer to the line. As Dirk Koetter said Monday, the rookie safety also did a good job of taking what the 49ers were giving him late in the game: Whitehead played 60 snaps (94 percent) at safety, which was a step up from his normal total.CB Carlton DavisFor most of the season, Carlton Davis has been the lone bright spot among Tampa Bay’s rookies. On Sunday, however, he took a backseat to Vea and Whitehead. He finished with a tackle before leaving with an injury. Overall, he played just 36 snaps (56 percent) before missing the remainder of the game. While he was on the field, he struggled at times. Despite being well-suited for his role at the outside corner position, he moved to the slot at times in Sunday’s game. He didn’t look the same on the inside, getting beat for a touchdown in the first half. It could have just been the staff experimenting with Davis, but it seems clear that playing outside corner is a better role for him. The Bucs are surely hoping his injury isn’t anything long-term, considering the reps he could get down the stretch of this season would help his development greatly.The best of the restAlex Cappa made his NFL debut on Sunday, playing 25 snaps (34 percent) at guard. He had a rough day, which was to be expected for a rookie getting his first look at regular season action... Justin Watson got nine snaps (12 percent) on offense and 15 (54 percent) on special teams... Ronald Jones II is officially healthy again, but was held out of Sunday’s game as a healthy inactive. Considering this season is all but lost, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for a rookie running back to be kept on the sideline. He could use the reps... M.J. Stewart was inactive due to a foot injury.