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Panthers Vs. Bucs 2012: Tampa Bay Returns To Its Roots

After falling to the Carolina Panthers twice last season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally figured out Cam Newton. The 16-10 win came in the NFL head coaching debut for Greg Schiano.

Over at Bucs Nation, the team was praised for returning to its roots under Schiano.

The effort wasn't perfect, and there was room for improvement, but this was a solid debut for Greg Schiano and his version of Buc Ball was prominently on display. The Bucs ran the football well, played disciplined football for the most part on defense, and were fundamentally sound. If the Bucs can keep this up, they'll have a chance to win a lot of games in the fourth quarter. Buc Ball is back in town -- and it's off to a good start.

Meanwhile, over at Cat Scratch Reader, Panthers fans weren't too thrilled with the play of Newton.

QB Cam Newton didn't help his case for avoiding the sophomore slump. Newton went 23 of 33 for 303 yards, TD and 2 INTs which actually sounds much better than it was. His INTs were both the result of bad decisions to through the ball.

Tampa Bay should have a tougher time next week when it plays the New York Giants in Schiano's return to New Jersey.

Stick with SB Nation Tampa Bay for more coverage of the Bucs in Week 1. For all things Buccaneers, head over to Bucs Nation.

Photographs by cstreet.us, thelastminute, turtlemom nancy , fesek, kthypryn, justinwright, sue_elias, pointnshoot, and scrapstothefuture used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.