NFL Free Play: TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS at CAROLINA PANTHERS (12/6)

PRO FOOTBALL — December 6

TAMPA BAY at CAROLINA
(Panthers -5, Total 40) — Carolina has made the switch from Jake Delhomme to Matt Moore at quarterback, so that John Fox might have a shot at keeping his job, as Bill Cowher might be breathing down his neck. When you bench a guy like Delhomme, who threw 18 interceptions to go with his eight TD passes, and threw a lot of them that were returned for touchdowns, you might have succeeded in benching the major part of the problem. When he wasn’t going wild turning the ball over, the Panthers were getting to the point where they were actually working their way back into playoff position. If Moore can keep things relatively under control, Carolina should be able to concentrate on its running attack, which went for 267 yards against Tampa Bay in the previous 28-21 victory, in which the Bucs only kept things close with a kickoff return and interception return for touchdowns. We have acknowledged that with Josh Freeman at the controls, the Bucs are quite a bit more confident. But we don’t want to get to carried away with that; Tampa Bay has lost 14 of its last 15 games, allowing more rushing yards than anyone else in the NFC, and the Bucs have had problems all year in pass coverage. Moore knows his limitations, where Delhomme maybe didn’t, and he’ll get a lot of practice handing the ball off.

THE PLAY: CAROLINA -5 **

(All information is for news matter only; All games are graded on a scale of 1-4 stars. Lines are subject to change)