Even with the clock winding down, Josh Freeman doesn't get too wound up. He rallied his team from double-digit deficits in the fourth quarter the past two weeks, helping the Bucs take late leads against the Packers and Dolphins.

A lot of people have been surprised and genuinely happy with the success of Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Carnell "Cadillac" Williams.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Antonio Bryant is expected to start on Sunday against New Orleans after missing the past two games with a knee injury.

Safety Tanard Jackson has certainly been making up for lost time. Jackson, suspended the first four games for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, has been one of the Bucs' biggest playmakers ever since he's returned.

The strange, new feeling hung in the air, and in the South Florida afternoon, as if you could reach up and grab it.

Even a distant replay went against the Bucs. Mike Pereira, the NFL's vice president for officiating, told the Bucs that he agrees with the replay reversal that resulted in an interception by the Dolphins' Jason Taylor on Sunday.

Looked like Josh Freeman would do the impossible once again, didn't it? There he was in his second NFL start, braving the crowd at Land Shark Stadium, braving the Miami defense, leading his Buccaneers from a double-digit deficit to what looked like a spectacular second victory for this young team.

Published: Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 10:18 p.m. Last Modified: Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 10:18 p.m. Most of the talk this week at One Buccaneer Place has been how the team is reacting after winning its first game of the regular season.

Bucs linebacker Barrett Ruud grew up straight as a cornstalk just a few miles from the University of Nebraska campus in Lincoln.

Ladies and Gentleman, and those of you that venture into "Upon Further Review." I am about to talk about the new and improved Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Cadillac Williams can't wait to compete for the first time in a regular-season game against former Auburn teammate Ronnie Brown a ' and the stakes are high.

In a season gone astray, he gave his team a reason to hope. In the first start of his career, he moved around the pass rushers as if dancing around the furniture.

Whether buttoning up had anything to do with the Bucs tightening up is debatable.

If you wanted poise, you saw it. If you wanted hope, you have it. If you wondered whether young Josh Freeman has the stuff to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, your question has been answered in the affirmative.

TAMPA a ' As the losses and the frustration accumulated in the previous eight weeks of despair, Buccaneer players faced mounting pressure.

One step forward, two steps back has morphed into four and one-third steps forward and six and two-thirds steps back for the hapless Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

For many years, defense was the Bucs' identity, their driving force. But if Tampa Bay is going to get itself out of an 0-7 hole, coach Raheem Morris says, it will be up to the more experienced offense.

The Buccaneers made the signing of RB Derrick Ward one of their top priorities in the offseason, and after scoring a four-year, $17 million contract, he was expected to handle the majority of the workload in the backfield for a team that figured to rely heavily on the running game.

If defense wins championships, then there was no team that could have ever stopped the 2002 Buccaneers.

Tom Brady stood behind a lectern at the venerable Brit Oval Cricket Ground on Friday and favored the United Kingdom with that famous smile.