"Hats off to Tampa Bay reserve outside linebacker Ryan Nece for rising to the occasion tonight in the Buccaneers' 17-10 win over the Miami Dolphins. Nece's 56-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter proved to be the winning score for Tampa Bay, and earns him PewterReport.com's Pewter Player of the Week award.

With Ian Gold assured of the starting Sam linebacker job this year and Nece edging towards the cutdown bubble with a mediocre training camp, the third-year linebacker out of UCLA was on top of his game tonight. Nece showed great instincts in leading the team with seven tackles, and his interception of a Sage Rosenfels pass, which was returned for a touchdown to win the game, was reminiscent of his big pass defense on a 2-point conversion attempt last year in the preseason to beat the Dolphins in Miami.

Nece likely solidified his roster spot with a command performance tonight, and personally guaranteed the Dolphins another preseason loss in consecutive years. Nece's big plays last August catapulted him ahead of Dwayne Rudd and into the starting strongside linebacker position. With Gold looking very solid in the starting role, Nece's big plays have at least assured him of a job with the Bucs again this season.

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