A Thorough Thrashing

That was thorough.

Total.

Complete.

That was the Bucs?

Sure was. After a tumultuous opening week where practically every bit of news about this team was bad, they turned Sunday's home-opener into a festival by routing New Orleans 31-14.

They looked faster than the Saints.

They looked tougher than the Saints.

Their receivers, particularly Joey Galloway, made the Saints' secondary look bad. Jeff Garcia looked mobile, accurate - just about everything you could want in a quarterback.

And the defense? Did we really say it had slipped?

Did we really say the secondary would have trouble overcoming the loss of cornerback Brian Kelly? Didn't look that way from the hitting and coverage display put on by Jermaine Phillips and Phillip Buchanon.

Did we really wonder if Barrett Ruud was up to the job at middle linebacker?

The defense put on a physical display circa: 2000. New Orleans was harassed into three first-half fumbles and a sack in the first half while the Bucs were taking a 21-0 lead. They were all over Reggie Bush and they kept pressure on quarterback Drew Brees.

And when the Bucs had opportunities, they took full advantage.

When is the last time we could say that?

Different Team
This team looked as slick Sunday as it did sick last week against Seattle.

Garcia was particularly effective. By halftime, he had a 149.3 rating! He hit passes of 33 yards (to Alex Smith), 69 yards (touchdown, to Galloway), 41 yards (to Ike Hilliard) and 24 yards (another TD to Galloway).

Midway through the second quarter, there was another long one (41 more yards) to Galloway to set up a touchdown by Cadillac Williams.
That's a big-play element that has been lacking from the Bucs and it seemed to make all the difference. The Bucs seemed three steps faster all day.

New Orleans couldn't breathe.

The big plays put the Saints behind and allowed the Bucs to tee off on Brees. It looked like the good ol' days when the defense used to toss opponents around like rag dolls. New Orleans was a chic choice by many to go to the Super Bowl this year and the Saints beat the Bucs twice last year, so the superlatives of what transpired Sunday are obvious.

If a team ever needed a game like this, it was the Bucs.

So now what?

Who knows?

Enjoy The Ride
You take your W's where you can get them in the NFL, so the Bucs should righteously celebrate and this one. A lot of folks (me included) didn't believe they'd beat the Saints, so they've more than earned their right to woof.

We'll point out the obvious - New Orleans looks a lot worse than anyone would have believed. That's the Saints' problem though. We'll just chalk this up as an enjoyable afternoon and give due credit. They went 0-6 last year in division play so they've already improved.

And the first step toward any improvement comes in winning home division games.

It does set up some interesting scenarios, too.

Next week's game here with St. Louis suddenly looms extremely large. Win that and they'll be 2-1 heading to Carolina in Week 4 for the first division road game. That's getting ahead of things, though.

For now, it was a day to enjoy the ride.

After what this franchise has been through, it was a day to savor.

That was thorough.

Total.

Complete.

That was the Bucs?

Sure was.