Just Joshin': Bucs fall in Pre-Season Finale

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got a glimpse of the future and some of it was pretty good as the Joshes - Josh Freeman and Josh Johnson - led the Greg Olsen Buccaneer offense against the Houston Texans. Tampa Bay and Houston both played 2nd and 3rd team players the majority of the way. The number one defense played one series to begin the game and it made an impact, forcing a fumble by Texans TE Anthony Hill. Unfortunately, Josh Freeman's first pass was a little off the mark and was picked off by Brice McCain. McCain was hit by WR Brian Clark and he fumbled, giving the ball right back to the Buccaneers. It would eventually lead to a Mike Nugent field goal and a 3-0 lead. Former 1st round pick Rex Grossman checked into the ballgame in the 2nd quarter and promptly tossed an 87 yd touchdown bomb to wide receiver Jacoby Jones to make it 7-3 Texans. Grossman would add another touchdown pass later in the 2nd quarter to build the advantage to 14-3. Freeman struggled throughout the contest with his accuracy. Another pass behind tight end Jason Pociask was intercepted by Houston linebacker Kevin Bentley that eventually led to a Houston field goal and a 17-3 advantage. Freeman, who finished 7-17, 85yds, 1 TD, and 2 Ints would finish his final pre-season appearance strong. Leading the Bucs down the field in a two minute drill, Freeman finally showed some of the hallmarks that had the Bucs excited enough on draft day to move up in the first round and select him. Marching the Bucs 74 yards in ten plays, Freeman used precision passing and his feet to convert on three third downs, culminating in a 23 yd laser beam to WR Cortez Hankton and his first career NFL touchdown pass (albeit in pre-season). Josh Johnson came in to start the second half and his night started the same way as Freeman's. An interception on the first play of the second half by Texans strong safety John Busing set the Texans up on the Tampa Bay one yard line. Former USF grad Andre Hall would take it in to put Houston up 24-10. It would be the only negative play on the night for Johnson, who showed Mike Vick-like speed, scrambling for 43 yds and making some tight passes downfield. Johnson passed for 182 yds and a touchdown, making his strongest case for forcing Tampa Bay to carry four quarterbacks this season. Johnson hit tight end Ryan Purvis on a beautiful 14 yard touchdown pass to pull the Bucs within seven at 27-20 with 8:14 left in the ballgame. Johnson would lead the Bucs all the way down to the Houston five yard line with 1:14 left in the game but on fourth and goal, the scrambler would run out of time and be sacked by defensive tackle Frank Okam. Bucs Head Coach Raheem Morris had three timeouts but decided that he had seen enough, allowing the Texans to run out the clock and end the exhibition season. New Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Greg Olsen's offense piled up 387 yds and 24 first downs. Despite resting running backs Derrick Ward, Earnest Graham, and Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, the Buccaneers still rung up 124 yds rushing (although most of it came from the scrambling of Freeman and Johnson). The Buccaneers completed a turbulent off-season and exhibition schedule at 1-3 and now begin their preparation for the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Hopefully, the Bucs will be able to complete the week without any more drama.