The NFL's season opening game is upon us. The very first game of the season has the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road facing the Atlanta Falcons. This is a memorable date for Jose Romero, since this is his first official NFL start (You can call his first played game back in '07 as start, since he played all offensive snaps minus 1). Last season, the Falcons swept the Bucs during the entirety of the regular season, but the Bucs got the last laugh by knocking Atlanta out of the playoffs. Which of these games will repeat?
The Falcons elected to defer, so the Buccaneers got the first possession. The drive started off well, nearly stalling at a point before a Romero scramble (Featuring a stiff arm) ...
... before the drive stopped in the red zone, and Matt Byrant missed the field goal.
The Falcons took the field and started their drive. QB Jake Delhomme was good enough on the drive, but it was mostly HB Jerious Norwood getting solid runs ...
... or Rookie HB Jonathan Stewart doing THIS ...
... that got them their first 7 points.
The Bucs offense took the field once again, and this drive went smoother than the last one. Featuring Romero to Galloway ...
... Romero deep to TE Jerramy Stevens ...
.. and the TD pass to Joey Galloway.
The Falcons nearly one upped that drive with these two plays ...
... bur fortunately, the Norwood run was stopped due to a holding call. By this point, the second quarter had started, the Bucs defense stopped the Falcons offense and they settled for a FG, 10-7 Falcons.
That did turn around, in a bizarre sequence. Down by the redzone, QB Jose Romero dropped to pass, saw everyone covered and scrambled to the endzone. He fell 2 yards short before being tackled and fumbling ...
... WR Ike Hillard, who was pretty close and got bowled over byt the whole tackle process somehow managed to get the ball mid bounce. The refs saw this and awarded a TD ...
... yeah, that isn't in the endzone. Whatever, better than having the ball go through the endzone.
With 5 minutes to go in the quarter, the Falcons took the field. Despite being set back by a sack, the Falcons managed to get the lead back against the Bucs soft zones ...
... and against their faulty deep coverages.
With 2 minutes to go, the Bucs had the ability to take a 21-17 lead, or tie the game with a FG. Assuming they get that far. They started to do so, but after WR Earl Bennett dropped a sure 1st Down ...
.. it was 3rd and 10. The Bucs converted anyway ...
... with yet another pass to Bennett. At midfield and with a minute to go, Romero decided to get a bit more aggressive with a shot downfield to TE Jerramy Stevens.
He somehow managed to fit the ball in an unexistant window. Stevens showboated his way to the endzone and was tackled a yard short. At the line of scrimmage for the next play, Romero decided that, no, they weren't throwing the ball ...
... he sneaked in for the TD. With just 20 seconds on the clock, the Falcons couldn't do nothing about that 21-17 lead. (It should be noted that after that sequence both Romero and Stevens were talking with Head Coach Gruden and Offensive Coordinator Muir, possibly about that play. Maybe they both improvised on that play.)
The second half opened with punts by both teams, be it because of drops ...
... or unblocked rushers ...
... forcing punts.
The Falcons got dangerously close to a big play, but Delhomme pushed the ball a bit too wide and WR Roddy White couldn't tap his feet in bounds. Hell of catch though.
Then Jose Romero and Joey Galloway one upped them on the next Bucs drive, as they did managed to connect on a deep ball.
This came to it's logical conclusion when Romero connected with FB Mike Alslott on a Wheel route for a TD ...
... BUT ...
... yeah, good one Matt Bryant.
The 3rd Quarter ended 27-17 Buccaneers.
With no time to waste, the Falcons needed to string a few drives together to have a chance to win the game. And it didn't help at all that Delhomme threw a pick six that pretty much ended the Falcons' chance of winning.
The Falcons still tried to claw back out of that hole, and initially they looked good but they would need onside kicks to make it, which ... well ...
... add to that a missed XP.
The Bucs managed to add a field goal by Matt Bryant. The Falcons were still doing their best to comeback, and it wasn't half bad ...
(Note: Could we please tackle. Please) ... and was ended with this Delhomme to WR Brian Finneran for a TD ...
... But, they still need the onside kick to wo-
... yeah. Not going to happen. Then HB Carnell Williams did this ...
... to get a first down, and the Bucs kneeled the clock for a bit, kicked a FG to make it 40-30, and then a strip sack of Jake Delhomme allowed Romero to just kneel out the clock.
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Madden NFL 08 PC v0.0 Game Log - Buccaneers at Falcons
Game Time: Sat Mar 02 11:44:28 2019
Skill Level: All Pro
Quarter Length: 15 minute(s)
Slider Human CPU
QB Accuracy 50 50
Pass Blocking 50 50
Receiver Catching 50 50
Running Ability 50 50
Offensive line Run Blocking 50 50
Defensive Awareness 50 50
Defensive line Knockdowns 50 50
Interceptions 4 4
Defensive Break Blocks 50 50
Tackling 50 50
Fieldgoal Length 50 50
Fieldgoal Accuracy 50 50
Punt Length 50 50
Punt Accuracy 50 50
Kickoff Length 50 50
Weather
Forecast: Fair
Wind: 0 mph
Temp: 78 degrees
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT FINAL
Buccaneers 7 14 6 13 0 40
Falcons 7 10 0 13 0 30
Game Statistics: Buccaneers Falcons
First Downs 18 15
Third Down Conversions 6 7
Third Downs 11 12
Third Down Percentage 54.5% 58.3%
Fourth Down Conversions 0 1
Fourth Downs 0 1
Fourth Down Percentage 0.0% 100.0%
Two Pt Conversions Made 0 0
Two Pt Conversions Attempted 0 0
Two Pt Conversion Percentage 0.0% 0.0%
Offense Redzone Num 5 1
Offense Redzone TDs 2 1
Offense Redzone FGs 1 0
Offense Redzone Percentage 60.0% 100.0%
Rushing Attempts 30 20
Rushing Yards 131 89
Rushing Average 4.4 4.4
Rushing TDs 1 1
Passing Yards 262 268
Passing Completions 19 21
Passing Attempts 27 34
Completion Percentage 70.4% 61.8%
Passing Average 9.7 7.9
Passing TDs 2 3
Offensive Pass Interceptions 0 1
TOTAL OFFENSE 393 357
Defensive Pass Interceptions 1 0
Punt Return Yards 0 0
Kick Return Yards 77 161
Punts 2 3
Punt Avg 47.5 42.7
Fumbles 2 2
Fumbles Lost 0 1
Penalties 0 4
Penalty Yds 0 47
Turnovers 0 2
TIME OF POSSESSION 33:05 26:55
Individual Stats: Falcons
PASSING CMP ATT YDS PCT YPA SACK TD INT LONG RATING
Jake Delhomme 21 34 286 61 8.4 3 3 1 37 105.7
RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LONG TD FUM
Jerious Norwood 16 64 4.0 14 0 0
Jonathan Stewart 1 34 34.0 34 1 0
Ovie Mughelli 1 3 3.0 3 0 0
Jake Delhomme 2 -12 -6.0 0 0 2
RECEIVING REC YDS AVG LONG TD DROP YAC
Michael Jenkins 7 94 13.4 26 0 3 14
Alge Crumpler 3 54 18.0 27 2 0 2
Brian Finneran 2 47 23.5 37 1 0 0
Laurent Robinson 3 39 13.0 18 0 0 3
Roddy White 3 31 10.3 12 0 1 0
Jerious Norwood 2 14 7.0 9 0 0 2
Ovie Mughelli 1 7 7.0 7 0 0 6
KICKING FGM FGA PCT FGSBLOCKED XPA XPM PCT XPSBLOCKED KICKOFFS TOUCHBACKS
Art Carmody 1 1 100 0 4 3 75 0 0 0
Brandon Coutu 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
PUNTING ATT YDS AVG LONG BLOCKS IN20 TOUCHBACKS
Michael Koenen 3 128 42.6 49 0 2 0
KICK RETURNS ATT YDS AVG TD LONG
Adam Jennings 8 161 20.1 0 30
PUNT RETURNS ATT YDS AVG LONG TD
Adam Jennings 1 0 0.0 0 0
DEFENSE TOT LOSS SACK FF FREC YDS TD INT RET AVG DEFLECTIONS SAFETIES CTH ALLOW BIG HITS
Chris Houston 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 3 0
Demorrio Williams 6 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Rod Coleman 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
DeAngelo Hall 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0
Jimmy Williams 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 2 0 0 0
Keith Brooking 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 1 0 0 0
Daren Stone 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 3 0
Jamaal Anderson 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Lewis Sanders 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0
Michael Boley 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 0
Laurent Robinson 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Lawyer Milloy 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 1 0 1 0
David Irons 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0
Jerious Norwood 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Chris Crocker 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
John Abraham 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Vince Hall 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 1 0 0 0
Trey Lewis 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Jonathan Babineaux 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
BLOCKING PANCAKES SACKS ALLOWED
Wayne Gandy 6 2
Kynan Forney 5 1
Todd Weiner 5 0
Ovie Mughelli 4 0
Todd McClure 3 0
Alge Crumpler 3 0
Martrez Milner 1 0
Ross Verba 1 0
Individual Stats: Buccaneers
PASSING CMP ATT YDS PCT YPA SACK TD INT LONG RATING
Jose Romero 19 27 272 70 10.0 2 2 0 47 127.3
RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LONG TD FUM
Jose Romero 9 64 7.1 32 1 2
Carnell Williams 15 55 3.6 13 0 0
Earnest Graham 4 8 2.0 6 0 0
Mike Alstott 2 4 2.0 4 0 0
RECEIVING REC YDS AVG LONG TD DROP YAC
Jerramy Stevens 7 96 13.7 40 0 0 38
Joey Galloway 4 72 18.0 47 1 0 1
Maurice Stovall 3 54 18.0 25 0 0 3
Mike Alstott 1 21 21.0 21 1 0 5
Earl Bennett 2 21 10.5 15 0 1 1
Alex Smith 1 5 5.0 5 0 0 5
Ike Hilliard 1 3 3.0 3 0 0 1
KICKING FGM FGA PCT FGSBLOCKED XPA XPM PCT XPSBLOCKED KICKOFFS TOUCHBACKS
Matt Bryant 2 3 66 0 5 4 80 0 8 0
PUNTING ATT YDS AVG LONG BLOCKS IN20 TOUCHBACKS
Josh Bidwell 2 95 47.5 50 0 0 1
KICK RETURNS ATT YDS AVG TD LONG
Earl Bennett 4 75 18.7 0 24
Maurice Stovall 1 2 2.0 0 2
Joey Galloway 1 0 0.0 0 0
PUNT RETURNS ATT YDS AVG LONG TD
Earl Bennett 2 0 0.0 0 0
Maurice Stovall 0 0 0.0 0 0
Joey Galloway 0 0 0.0 0 0
DEFENSE TOT LOSS SACK FF FREC YDS TD INT RET AVG DEFLECTIONS SAFETIES CTH ALLOW BIG HITS
Tanard Jackson 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Chris Hovan 5 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Derrick Brooks 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0
Barrett Ruud 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 1 0 2 0
Brian Kelly 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 0
Cato June 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0
Jermaine Phillips 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Earl Bennett 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Ronde Barber 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 1 0 2 0
Gaines Adams 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Jeremiah Trotter 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Ross Kolodziej 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Phillip Buchanon 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 31 31.0 2 0 1 0
Sabby Piscitelli 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0
D.J. Parker 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Jovan Haye 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
BLOCKING PANCAKES SACKS ALLOWED
Luke Petitgout 8 1
Jeremy Trueblood 5 1
John Wade 2 0
Alex Smith 2 0
Joe Andruzzi 2 0
Davin Joseph 2 0
Jerramy Stevens 2 0
Joey Galloway 2 0
Mike Alstott 2 0
Carnell Williams 1 0
Game Log Ends
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With that performance, Jose Romero got a 74.99 GPR (The main blemish were his 2 fumbles, but other than that he had a great showing). He was also the Bucs' rushing leader. Jake Delhomme earned a GPR of 41.69 (Again, two of his fumbles were troublesome. He had an average performance otherwise).
The Bucs start 1-0. Here's a look at the rest of their schedule, along with the record of the opposing team.
* Week 2: vs. Lions (1-0)
* Week 3: at Vikings (1-0)
* Week 4: vs. Falcons (0-1)
* Week 5: At Raiders (0-1)
* Week 6: BYE
* Week 7: at Broncos (1-0)
* Week 8: at Packers (0-1)
* Week 9: vs. Saints (1-0)
* Week 10: vs. Panthers (0-1)
* Week 11: vs. Chargers: (1-0)
* Week 12: vs. Chiefs (0-1)
* Week 13: vs. Cowboys (1-0)
* Week 14: at Panthers (0-1)
* Week 15: at Saints (1-0)
* Week 16: at Bears (1-0)
* Week 17: at Cardinals (0-1)