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Here are five things that caught my attention this week:

FAB 1. If you had a chance to listen to my appearance on the PewterReport.com Buccaneer Blitz show last Wednesday on WDAE 620 AM, you’ll know that I think this game comes down to the play of Tampa Bay’s offensive line versus Minnesota’s defensive line. As a result, this is going to be a line of scrimmage-related SR’s Fab 5.

Let’s first start off by talking about the marquee match-up on Sunday. No, it’s not Buccaneers middle linebacker Barrett Ruud versus Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. It’s Minnesota’s Pro Bowl defensive end Jared Allen versus Tampa Bay’s unheralded left tackle Donald Penn. And yes, that is the marquee match-up when the Vikings square off against the Bucs.

Why? Because Ruud is going to get help from 10 other Buccaneers defenders against Peterson. Penn, will get some help from a chipping tight end or a running back on some plays, but for the better part of the game, he will be charged with the responsibility of blocking Allen one-on-one and keeping him out of the backfield and off Jeff Garcia’s back.

On paper, Allen wins. The 6-foot-6, 270-pound defensive end has 51 sacks in his five-year NFL career, including eight in 2008. He’s a Pro Bowler, who is coming off a 15.5-sack season and was just rewarded with a lucrative, new contract. Surely he’ll devour a no-name, former undrafted free agent from Utah State, right?

Not so fast. The 6-foot-4, 305-pound Penn has given up three sacks this season, but none over the last four games since surrendering one to Denver’s Ebenezer Ekuban.

“I hold myself to a higher standard than my coach or anybody else does. I didn’t play that well against Denver, but I looked at that tape hard and got better,” Penn said. “I’ve gone against some great defensive ends, but I’m just trying to get better. I had good games against Julius Peppers and DeMarcus Ware.”

Indeed he did. Peppers has seven sacks this season for Carolina, but none against Penn. Dating back to the last three games of 2007, Dallas’ Ware had a string of games with at least one sack halted at 10 by Penn. In fact, the only game in which Ware has not recorded a sack this year was against Tampa Bay.

Penn, who will be a restricted free agent in 2009, is playing like a franchise tackle in only his second year as a starter. Don’t believe me? Ask Bucs head coach Jon Gruden, who rarely throws praise on young offensive linemen.

“There are some plays where you can cut out and watch against DeMarcus Ware and Julius Peppers and John Abraham – some of the best, man. He gets the job done,” Gruden said. “And he’ll see another one of the best this week [in Jared Allen]. With a young player like Donald, I’m just going to give him encouragement and stay after his ass. There’s a great upside in him. That’s your job as a coach, whether it’s Antonio Bryant or Penn, you want to see guys with talent end up maximizing it. I want to see Penn maximize it, and not just in pass protection. I want to run the ball better to the left side. I want him to become more detail-oriented and more self-conscious. I want to see him become more of a leader. The left tackle is like a billion-dollar insurance policy. He’s taking care of our quarterback, you know? I want to see him mature and continue to develop into a great pro, and he’s doing that.”

Penn became a starter by default in 2007 after Luke Petitgout tore his ACL against Carolina in Week 4. Ever since his first start last year on the road against Indianapolis’ Pro Bowl pass rusher, Dwight Freeney, Penn has been holding his own against some of the league’s premier defensive ends. This week is no different when Allen rolls into town fresh off Minnesota’s 28-27 win over Green Bay in which the stud defensive end had a key sack for a safety despite playing with an injured shoulder.

“It seems like it gets harder each week,” Penn said. “Jared Allen is supposed to have a bum shoulder, but I watched the game against Green Bay and he played like he was 100 percent healthy. But you know the motto – they say you play better when you’re wounded. He came out there and played a great game. He gets paid the big bucks, so he’s going to play like the big-buck guy that he is. I have my work cut out for me.”

But against the NFL’s biggest pass rushers, the prideful Penn, who was Pewter Report’s Unsung Player of the Year in 2007, seems to rise to the occasion against high-caliber competition. Penn knows that he and his offensive linemates will have to stand and deliver against the Vikings’ impressive front four in order for the Bucs to have the best chance of winning on Sunday and improving to 7-3.

“I like big games with big-type competition,” Penn said. “We love throwing the game on our shoulders. As an offensive line, we love having the game on our backs. They are a great front. I started my career in Minnesota and Pat Williams, Kevin Williams and Ray Edwards – they were all there when I was there. They’re a very good bunch. They are probably the best defensive line in the league. We’re going to go out there and do what we do. We’re a physical team ourselves. We get overlooked a lot, but we like that. We’re going to go out there and match their intensity and try to come out on top.”

If Penn has another stellar performance and shuts down Allen, it will be one step closer to a big payday in restricted free agency. Penn’s meteoric rise to stardom in Tampa Bay – after he was signed off the Vikings practice squad in 2006 – has been nothing short of amazing. Even Bucs offensive line coach Bill Muir, who is notoriously hard to please, has been impressed.

“He’s played on a very consistent level,” Muir said. “When you look at some of the defensive guys he’s had to go against, it’s one after another. It’s like the OK Corral where it’s one gunslinger after another. To his credit, Donald has been very consistent. He’s been up for the challenges. He’s like all of us, myself included, there are some things we’d like to do better. But I tip my hat to him. He’s really working on it.”

Sunday is a money game for Penn and the Buccaneers. For the team, a 7-3 record would keep Tampa Bay in contention for the NFC South division title and a playoff berth, while placing the Bucs four games above .500. For Penn, it’s another reason for him to ask for a rich contract extension that would lock him up and solidify Tampa Bay’s offensive line for years to come. The Bucs and Penn’s agent have had extension talks, but nothing is imminent.

“I’m letting my agent handle all that. When he says the deal is right, then it will be right,” Penn said. “I’m letting him handle that and then everything will fall into place.

“You know I was rated pretty high coming out of college until I went to the Combine hurt with a knee injury [suffered at the Hula Bowl]. But all of that stuff is over and I’ve made it to the NFL and proved myself. I love it here. I want to keep getting better and keep winning. Lord knows I didn’t win that much at Utah State.”

Watch Peterson all you want. I expect the Bucs defense will work as a team to contain him or possibly shut him down. But if you really want to view a good match-up, watch number 70 (Penn) go against number 69 (Allen) on Sunday. Should be a good one.

FAB 2. Tampa Bay is fortunate to have two very good, young offensive tackles in Jeremy Trueblood and Donald Penn, who may be the team’s best left tackle since Paul Gruber. But as the Bucs have found out this year at the guard position, they are only as good as their depth.

When right guard Davin Joseph missed the first four games of the 2008 season with a broken foot, rookie Jeremy Zuttah stepped in and the offense did not miss a beat. Zuttah also started in place of injured left guard Arron Sears at Kansas City and played admirably for a rookie.

But what happens if either Penn or Trueblood get injured? Who is Tampa Bay’s backup tackle?

James Lee.

Do you know who James Lee is? According to the Bucs, he’s the 2008 version of Donald Penn from three years ago.

The Bucs plucked Penn off Minnesota’s practice squad in 2006 after watching him perform in the preseason. With Lee, Tampa Bay liked what it saw from him with the Cleveland Browns in the preseason this year and claimed him off waivers on August 31. Over the past couple of months, Penn has become very impressed with his backup.

“That was a big move for us,” Penn said. “James has tremendous, tremendous potential. He knows that and I think he’s working really hard to be good. We have a great coach in Bill Muir. As long as keeps listening and stays focused, he’s going to become a whole lot better.”

Because he played at South Carolina State, not too many Buccaneers fans are familiar with the athletic 6-foot-4, 305-pounder. Lee spent most of his college career at left guard before moving to right tackle for his senior season. Although Lee has the size necessary for position flexibility, where is his home in the NFL?

“He has no home. He’s trying to find a home,” Muir said. “We think because of his athletic ability and his exceptionally good feet that he is well-suited to be a tackle. We like versatility in our guys, so when we run scout team he’ll take some turns at both guard and tackle. But mostly we’re working him at tackle right now.”

Because most of the team’s daily practices are closed to the media, Pewter Report has not been able to form a good scouting report on Lee. But consider defensive end Greg White impressed with the rookie.

“When he first got here I wasn’t impressed, but he’s gotten better. He’s really gotten better,” White said. “At first I couldn’t wait to go against him. Now, I don’t really look forward to it. I have to work! He works hard and doesn’t say much. He’s a good guy that fits right in with the offensive linemen.”

When told that Lee had made a favorable impression on White, Bucs head coach Jon Gruden smiled and said, “Greg White would know. Lee is blocking him pretty good right now. He’s blocking a lot of guys pretty good right now. I think they all will tell you that. He seems to have quick feet, football intelligence and instinctiveness. He’s a real athlete.”

Just how high are the Buccaneers on Lee? Consider that when Tampa Bay had to make a roster move to add fullback Jameel Cook to the roster several weeks ago it decided to part ways with Anthony Davis, a five-year NFL veteran who started all 16 games at left tackle in Tampa Bay for two seasons, in favor of keeping Lee.

“With Lee, it’s a credit to our program,” Gruden said. “If we’ve done anything here, we don’t discriminate against anyone. If you’re the best guy, you’ll be the one who ends up staying and playing. I don’t care if you are a second-rounder or an undrafted free agent. If you are out-performing the other guy, you’re in there. That’s what I love about our coaching staff and Bruce Allen. He allows us to do that. Hell, our players like it. They appreciate that there is going to be competition and they want to see the best man win. That’s not the way it is nowadays in football in some places.”

Lee, who describes himself as a physical player with good quickness, has been around long enough to see how Penn has risen from obscurity into a starting role and wants to follow that path in Tampa Bay.

“Anthony Davis kind of helped me out a lot. As a veteran player, he showed me the ropes, but Donald Penn has taken me under his wing since Anthony left,” Lee said. “I’m trying to follow in his footsteps. I can kind of relate to him because we have a similar story.”

You might not know Lee’s name or his number (77), but there once was a time when you didn’t know Penn’s name or number, either. Good offensive tackles are hard to find and the Bucs believe they have found a hidden gem in Lee.

FAB 3. Is there a better center in the NFC right now than Tampa Bay’s Jeff Faine? The Buccaneers don’t think so, although team officials point out that Chicago’s Olin Kreutz and Minnesota’s Matt Birk, whom they will face on Sunday, are fine players in their own right.

Faine is not only gaining possible Pro Bowl consideration this year, but he’s also played a key role in boosting Tampa Bay’s offense in his first year with the Buccaneers, replacing long-time center John Wade. With Faine anchoring the offensive line, Tampa Bay’s offense is tied for eighth in the league in yardage with the 11th-ranked running game and the ninth-ranked passing game. The highest-ranked Bucs offense in the Jon Gruden era was in 2003 when the unit ranked 10th in the NFL.

The balance provided by the offense has complemented Tampa Bay’s seventh-ranked defense well this year has helped the Buccaneers surge to a 6-3 start. In fact, the Bucs are one of only three teams, including the New York Giants (fourth-ranked offense, third-ranked defense) and the Philadelphia Eagles (seventh-ranked offense, ninth-ranked defense) that have an offense and a defense both ranked in the top 10 in the NFL.

Faine’s strengths, which are aggressiveness, intelligence, technique and mobility, have meshed well with Tampa Bay’s young, physical offensive line. Despite being only 27, Faine is the most veteran player along the offensive line with six years of starts under his belts. Not only has he played like a veteran, he has led like one, too.

When you remember that Faine was voted a team captain in his first year with the Buccaneers you realize that is no small feat. Third-year right guard Davin Joseph, a first-round pick in 2006, was a team captain last year and was regarded as Tampa Bay’s best offensive lineman prior to Faine’s arrival. Sometimes there is animosity when a free agent enters a team’s locker room, especially when he is the highest-paid player at his position in the NFL. That’s what Faine became when he signed a six-year, $37.5 million contract on the first day of free agency this year.

“There are a couple factors that fit into him being a captain,” Bucs offensive line coach Bill Muir said. “You have to tip your hat to Jeff and the way he has assimilated himself into the team. He’s very unassuming. He didn’t make any splashes. He just came in and went to work. He didn’t say anything. He just went to work. He showed us what he could bring to the table. I think everybody recognized that. It’s easy in this league to accept somebody who will come in and elevate the play of others. It’s a credit to the players in the locker room, particularly the offensive players and linemen. They are a very tight-knit bunch. It’s a reflection of our program here and the way we do it. It’s about what can help us win. A lot of our guys set aside personal gains and personal accomplishments to lay it on the line to do whatever is needed to help us win. He’s the poster child for that.”

The 6-foot-3, 291-pound Faine has a team-first approach that his teammates appreciate. However, should he maintain his level of stellar play on Sunday against Minnesota’s mammoth defensive tackle tandem of Kevin Williams, who is 6-foot-5, 311 pounds, and Pat Williams, who seems much heavier than his roster size of 6-foot-3, 317 pounds would indicate, Faine will start getting the individual attention on a national scale that he deserves and some real Pro Bowl consideration.

Through nine games, Faine has been everything the Bucs had hoped for when they signed him to a lucrative contract back in March, according to Muir.

“I don’t get into the value of whatever their contracts are,” Muir said. “They are what they are. The market dictates that. What I’m interested in is what a player brings to this team. I have not been disappointed. Should I say that he has exceeded my expectations? I knew we were getting a good football player, but at this particular point in time I’m impressed. And as you know, I’m not one that is easily impressed.”

While the battle between left tackle Donald Penn versus defensive end Jared Allen may be the marquee match-up on Sunday, Faine may be the most important player on Sunday. Both Williamses will be tough to defend and Faine, who is a tireless worker, could be quite tired come 4:00 p.m. ET on Sunday.

FAB 4. At the start of the season, the Buccaneers pass rush looked like it was back to the good ol’ days when Warren Sapp and Simeon Rice were terrorizing opposing quarterbacks. Tampa Bay had 11 sacks in the first four games of the season and was on pace to produce 44 by season’s end.

But lately, the Bucs pass rush looks less like Sapp and Rice and more like Eric Curry and Keith McCants. The reason? Over the past five games, Tampa Bay has only produced four sacks and did not have any in three straight games against Denver, Carolina and Seattle. Now the Bucs are on pace to record only 26 sacks.

Defensive end Gaines Adams, who leads the team with four sacks, picked up two of those at Dallas to end the drought. Reserve defensive tackle Ryan Sims added another QB capture against the Cowboys. In Kansas City, middle linebacker Barrett Ruud sacked Tyler Thigpen on the first play of the game, but after that, did not come close to getting to Thigpen outside of a hit by defensive end Greg White.

Of all of Tampa Bay’s defensive linemen, the Bucs have missed White’s pass rushing results the most. White led the team in sacks in 2007 with eight and had 3.5 sacks in the first four games this year, but has been sackless in the last five games.

“I wasn’t hot at all. Let’s be honest,” White said when asked about his pass rushing drought. “Are we going by stats? I did have some pressures and some hits on the QB. But I like sacks. Sacks will get me where I want to go. It’s going to get better. The second half of the season – I’ve got my second wind. I’m going to try to be as consistent as I can be.”

White admitted that he and his teammates are frustrated by the lack of sacks during the second quarter of the season.

“I get frustrated. We all get frustrated – no question,” White said. “Especially when reporters like you come up to me and say, ‘Hey, you don’t have any sacks.’ (Laughs) It’s bad, man. I’m just trying to get better. I’ve just got to get going.”

As much as White’s slump is bothersome, the fact that neither starting defensive tackle – Chris Hovan and Jovan Haye, who had six a year ago – have any sacks is downright troublesome.

“I just have to make the plays,” Haye said. “The opportunities were there, I just didn’t capitalize on it. I can’t really look at last year because it’s a new year, but I’ve got seven games left. Hopefully I can make an impact. It is what it is. I just have to pick my game up.”

Perhaps Haye has been a victim of his own success from a year ago. The added attention and the fact that he’s naturally a marked man due to the fact that he plays the premier under tackle position could be the reason why his numbers are down.

“What I did last year was great, and I’m pretty sure teams are keying off that,” Haye said. “I think more of it has to do with me because I’m capable of putting back-to-back years together. The first half of my year was okay. Nothing spectacular, but I’m hoping for better things in the coming weeks. I’m not putting too much pressure on myself, but I know deep down that I have to get it done.”

Haye, who will be an unrestricted free agent in 2009 after signing a one-year tender worth $2,023,240 has been disappointed in his play and used the bye week to gain a new perspective.

“I went back to Nashville just to get away and get off my feet,” said Haye, who played collegiately at Vanderbilt. “I wanted to go back to where it all started for me and where all my hard work paid off. I wanted to clear my mind. A lot of it is mental and I’ve been pressing and pressing. You know this is my unrestricted year for my contract. I’ve definitely got to throw everything out the window and get back to basics and enjoy playing football.”

With the Minnesota coming to town on Sunday, Haye knows that Tampa Bay’s defensive line will have to match or exceed the production of the vaunted Vikings defensive line in order to come out on top.

“Definitely,” Haye said. “They have a great defensive line. We know we have to outplay them. Chances are, if we outperform them we’ll come away with a win. Enough talk, though. We’ve got to make it happen.”

Indeed you do, Jovan.

FAB 5. Here are a couple of things to hold you over until the next edition of SR’s Fab 5.

• Coaches always make a huge deal about turnover ratio. It is awfully hard to win when teams are giving the ball away more than they are taking it away, right? It should come as no surprise to you that undefeated, 9-0 Tennessee leads the NFL with a plus-10 ratio. But just to prove that the turnover ratio does not always correlate to wins, Kansas City ranks second with a plus-nine turnover ratio, yet it is only 1-8. So where do the 6-3 Buccaneers rank? Tampa Bay has an even turnover ratio with 16 takeaways and 16 turnovers.

• Tampa Bay’s defense ranks third in the NFL in first downs allowed with 135 behind only the New York Giants (134) and Baltimore (125). The Bucs have surrendered 41 rushing first downs, 83 passing first downs and 11 first downs due to penalty. The Bucs defense also ranks second in third down conversion percentage (32 percent, 40-of-125 attempts) behind Baltimore (30.7 percent, 35-of-114 attempts).

• One stat the Buccaneers want to improve on is third-and-1 rushing. Earnest Graham has gotten his number called the most in those situations, but is only 4-of-7 (57.1 percent) on those attempts. That’s tied for 32nd in the NFL and that has to change for the Buccaneers offense to become more efficient in the ground game.

• With one more kick return, Tampa Bay’s Clifton Smith will be qualified to be ranked in the NFL rankings. Smith has nine returns (the NFL minimum is 10) for 294 yards 32.7 avg. and one touchdown. If he can maintain his average on his 10th return, Smith will lead the NFL in kick return average. New England’s Ellis Hobbs currently averages 28.7 yards per kick return and is the league leader.

• Bucs quarterback Jeff Garcia ranks 18th in the NFL in fourth quarter passing with an 82.4 QB rating. Garcia is 44-of-68 (64.7 percent) for 390 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. It’s one thing for a veteran like Garcia to be behind the likes of Tony Romo (142 QB rating) and Philip Rivers (104.8) in fourth quarter ranking, but to behind the likes of Seneca Wallace (102.7), rookie Joe Flacco (94.3), Jon Kitna (89.1), Gus Frerotte (88.9) and rookie Matt Ryan (87.1) should tell you something. After a solid start against Carolina and Seattle in his second stint as the team’s starter this year, Garcia has played just average football in road games against Dallas and Kansas City. It’s hard to believe that Garcia has been outperformed by two rookies – Flacco and Ryan – over the last four games. Flacco has thrown six touchdowns and no interceptions during that span, while Ryan has thrown seven touchdowns and two interceptions. Garcia’s numbers over the last four games? Three touchdowns and one interception. He’s simply not making enough plays in the passing game for Tampa Bay for the offense to reach its full potential.

• And finally, Bucs quarterback Jeff Garcia came out in the media this week trying to allude to the fact that Jon Gruden’s play-calling has limited the number of shots that the team has taken downfield and into the end zone this year. However, multiple sources at One Buccaneer Place from all levels within the organization – players, coaches and front office – have told Pewter Report that isn’t true. Here’s what Garcia told the St. Petersburg Times: "I don't think we put ourselves in a position to make enough big plays just because of a certain approach at times. But I think we're getting to that point. It's all about trust. And the main trust has to come from (Gruden). He has to trust in us that we can make the right decisions, that we can make the play down the field. I think that's something that's building, it's a process. It's becoming more evident that we do have some guys who can be those types of players. I mean, this is the NFL. Everybody has playmakers. But you have to give yourself opportunities to do those things, and I think coach will give us those opportunities to do it." Multiple Bucs sources have told Pewter Report that the trust lies on Garcia’s own right arm and film shows that he is the one who isn’t trusting his teammates to make plays in one-on-one opportunities, opting instead to check the ball down to an open receiver rather than taking a shot downfield. To his credit, Garcia did trust Antonio Bryant in the waning minutes of regulation against Kansas City with a game-tying touchdown pass into the end zone. Hopefully for the Bucs, that is a sign of things to come. But for Garcia to blame his own shortcomings on the play-calling is quite disingenuous and the game film, which consistently shows open receivers – or receivers in one-on-one coverage – downfield and in the end zone doesn’t back that up.

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