Opener From Hell

Come September 9^th, the Buccaneers will take Qwest Field’s…uh….playing surface to oppose the hosting Seattle Seahawks. Qwest has created possibly the best homefield advantage possible, and for these reasons victory is unreachable. Simply put; the Bucs will start their ‘reloaded’ season 0-1.

Since 2002 Qwest has proven to be a hostile environment in every sense of the word, the metal bleachers instilled in the north end zone are constantly heard from fans stomping on them. Many a offensive line penalty has been called against the opposing team thanks to a crowd that has reached decibel readings of 137.

In theory, and usually in practice, any NFL game is winnable, and this is the same, although the odds are highly stacked against the Bucs, and to achieve victory will require an early pounce, turnover, score, something, anything to get the crowd out of the game

The Bucs’ offensive line will likely boast four players making their first trip to the stadium, one rookie, one learning a new position, the key position, and one, who while the best on the line, his last trip to the stadium turned it into a house of horrors. Most fans will tell you games are won and lost in the trenches, so how is it that the Bucs will even stand a chance if their offensive line will be torn to pieces from the noise, not even to mention the defense, nor offense that features Shaun Alexander and Matt Hasselbeck

Dan Buenning at center will have to master the silent count technique, Davin Joseph and Jeremy Trueblood will officially be baptized by the flames of what a true home team atmosphere is, Arron Sears will have to rely on his days playing in the rigid SEC environments, and Luke Petitgout will just have to forget his last trip to Seattle, not just a place of Microsoft and Starbucks, but also potentially the home of scarred Bucs.

It’s fitting that the expansion siblings meet on opening day, one fresh off their fourth straight playoff appearance with a coach who’s future is unknown, the other trying to get back to the playoffs if only as a wild card entrée, with a coach under fire from the media and fans, both coaches united through their Green Bay pasts.

Joey Galloway and Jerramy Stevens used to be Seahawks, Chuck Darby, Austin King, Marquise Cooper, Will Heller were Buccaneers, in the recent past the teams fought over free agents like Tom Ashworth and Seneca Wallace, but come that day in September all the ties won’t mean a thing if the Bucs can’t find a way to block the sound.