Freeman, defense lift Bucs to 20-7 win at Carolina Roy Cummings, The Tampa Tribune, published 20 September 2010 As he ran into the locker room late Sunday after a 20-7 victory over the Carolina Panthers at Bank Of America Stadium, Bucs running back Cadillac Williams raised two fingers to the sky and shouted, "Let's start putting up the deuces.'' OK, let's. After two games this year, Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber has two interceptions, rookie wide receiver Mike Williams has two touchdown catches and second-year quarterback Josh Freeman has consecutive two-touchdown performances. Oh, and the Bucs have two wins. That race to 10 wins second-year head coach Raheem Morris calls the NFL's regular season? It's on. And guess who's bounced back from a 3-13 finish a year ago to take the early lead. "Somebody better tell Peter King,'' Barber said of the Sports Illustrated NFL senior writer who picked the Bucs to go just 2-14 this year. "I guess we're in trouble now.'' Well, if they don't figure out how to run the ball a little better or how to play two full halves of shut-down defense, the Bucs could be in trouble. Sunday was not time for nit-picking, though. "Everybody in this league believes they're going to be great at the beginning of the year but if you start fast like we have then you really start believing it,'' Barber said. "This game is all about momentum and all about how you perceive yourself, and if you can win consistently and start to look at yourself as a winner, then you generally stay a winner.'' The Bucs have now followed up their 1-10 start under Morris by winning four of their past five games dating to last season. Morris doesn't want to live in the past, though. The Bucs' 2-0 start – their first since 2005 – is not a carryover from their fast finish a year ago, he said. Rather, it's about this year's team maturing. "I told you I thought these guys were getting better,'' Morris said. "I told you that if we played smart, fast, and consistent we had a chance to be in every game, and these guys have proven me right so far.'' Few have done more to prove Morris right than Freeman. After struggling through a career-worst five-interception game against the Panthers here in December, Freeman bounced back Sunday with one of his best games. He completed only 12 of 24 passes for 178 yards, but never came close to turning the ball over. In addition to the two touchdown passes, he ran four times for 43 yards while posting a 102.4 passer rating. Four of his completions were to tight end Kellen Winslow for a game-high 83 yards. All of Winslow's receptions came on third-down plays and converted to keep scoring drives alive. For a second game, the defense come out of the gate slowly – quarterback Matt Moore's fourth-and-4 pass to Steve Smith went 37 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter – but did not allow a point in the second half. The slow start was attributed to a series of new defensive packages aimed at stopping a Panthers rushing attack that gouged the Bucs for an average of 241 rushing yards the previous three games. On Sunday, Tampa Bay held Carolina's rushing attack to 119 yards on 33 carries. "We were a little late reacting to the way they were scheming us at first, but once we figured that out and we went back to doing what we were more comfortable with, we were able to contain them,'' White said. The Bucs pass rushers were effective. Tim Crowder had two sacks, Stylez G. White and Quincy Black one each. Black's hit knocked Panthers starting quarterback Matte Moore out of the game. Barber picked off a pass early in the third quarter to set up a Bucs field goal and cornerback Aqib Talib, coming off a one-game suspension, grabbed an interception that sealed the victory. In two games, the Bucs have allowed just 255 second-half yards. The Bucs aren't anxious to celebrate that achievement, however. Nor are they anxious to celebrate anything they've done offensively, where their running backs gained just 52 yards on 30 carries Sunday. "What we did (on offense) kind of left a bad taste in our mouths, because we felt like we left lot out there," Bucs center Jeff Faine said. "We felt like we didn't execute as well as we could have. "Don't get me wrong, we'll take the win, but we feel we're even better than what we showed. And at the end of the day, we have to remember that it's only two games. We still have a long season ahead of us. We can't lose focus.''