Bucs Are Underrated
September 28th, 2016
Still dangerous.
Yes, Bucs fans are depressed.
For the 10th straight year, it appears the Bucs are missing a pass rush, despite adding new coaches and talent at defensive line.
Yes, the kicker is struggling.
Fans are unnerved because the team is getting roasted through the air at a Lovie Smith-appalling rate.
Bucs fans are depressed because Vincent Jackson appears to be a shell of his former self.
They are becoming numb over the rushing attack they’ve seen stay on the sidelines along with Doug Martin’s hamstring.
But WalterFootball.com believes Bucs fans should put down the Prozac and Jack Daniels and celebrate. The Bucs, despite being 1-2, are “underrated.”
The Buccaneers just lost to the Rams, but they were the better team. They outgained Los Angeles in total yards and yards per play. Had Roberto Aguayo not missed a chip-shot field goal in the second half, Tampa would’ve prevailed. The Buccaneers were also hurt by fluke turnovers and horrible clock management at the end. They’re definitely better than their 1-2 record indicates.
Well, if the Bucs are truly underrated, perhaps they can steal a game from the Broncos or the Stinking Panthers, no? If, as Joe suspects, the Bucs head into the bye week at 1-4, there is no underrated there.
September 28th, 2016 at 8:07 am
You are what your record says you are. Some of you are hopeful and think there will be a turn around. Let me get a you a cheat sheet.. Same Bucs.. Unfortunately. In order for any defense to be successful you need to hit the QB and this team no matter who they draft or bring in cannot do it. This team will win 5 or 6 games
September 28th, 2016 at 8:09 am
I am baffled how ppl are jumping on kicker saying he’s struggling. Dude just missed his first FG and PAT of his real career that count. Thats it, not like going 1-4 over two weeks.
And how they booed him other day was wrong, it’s so early in season for that BS. Try supporting our guys ppl.
September 28th, 2016 at 8:10 am
We’re still rebuilding though. And its our 1st year under new Coaching and schemes. Ive been saying all along 6 to 8 wins…..revising now to 4 or 5. Tougher schedule this year and the injury bug has already bit some of our key players.
We still need DB’s and pass rush. And if Dougie doesnt recover and get back to last year’s mold of himself, we’ll be drafting a runner pretty soon.
But for the love of God, PLEASE draft a safety first next year LICHT! Do your homework and get him!
September 28th, 2016 at 8:15 am
Not all fans are “depressed” Joe!!!! Some fans fans expected this and had the roster evaluated correctly and new with the “schedule” that they would have to weather the storm in the first half of the schedule!!!!
4 games ago the Rams mandhandled the bucs!!! Last sunday they were just yards from winning!!!!! fix any 2 of all the mistakes made and they win!!! Some fans see improvement!!!!!
New regime gets 3 years!!!!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!!
September 28th, 2016 at 8:29 am
“…perhaps they can steal a game from the Broncos or the Stinking Panthers, no? ”
Not setting myself up for that one. I will just enjoy the game and expect some improvement.
September 28th, 2016 at 8:37 am
If this team beats the Broncos it will be because the Broncos beat themselves. We had problems with Brian Quick and Tavon Austin, IMAGINE what D. Thomas and E. Sanders will do to this team, and that doesn’t even take into account that D-Line that can and will FEAST on Jameis’ propensity to turn the ball over. I LOVE MY Bucs but the next 2 weeks are not looking pretty to me.
September 28th, 2016 at 8:43 am
Our gm gave us and the coaches no-where spence for our pass rush and our 180lber safety ryan smith in the 4th round. They are a liability and makes the defense worse when they are on the field
You want jason gump to do the draft again?
**it is very very simple.
Playoff teams have better players in their roster than non playoff teams
Every year since the beginning of football. Simple as that
Our gm is not capable to build a playoff team with better players
Dont blame the coaches…the problem and responsibility is jason gump
September 28th, 2016 at 8:45 am
Sorry but no way they steal one from the defending champions.
Just not enough talent on the roster.
It’s already time that the fans start settling into reality.
This is a 4-6 win team if things go their way.
Plain and simple no way around it.
Stop getting your hopes up.
September 28th, 2016 at 8:50 am
@onetrubuc… every kicker catches hell and is booed when he cost his team the game. It was more than a chip shot fg, it was also the missed xtra point which then lead to two missed 2point conversions. He’s not 1-4, but hes 1-3 with a missed xtra point.
That game was a bitter pill to swallow…. its the home opener, botched coverage, crappy kicker, open recievers, and probably one of the worst clock management scinarios I’ve ever seen.
I think the depression /frustrations from fans is because of whats ahead… Denver and Carolina. It’s going to be tough to avoid a 1-4 start, which means were basically done. At 2-3. you have a chance.
September 28th, 2016 at 9:24 am
The vast, overwhelming majority of fans know this team is better now under Jason Licht than under Mark Dominik.
You guys remember when Mark offered Albert Haynesworth more $$ than Dan Snyder’s Washington Redskins? Good stuff.
September 28th, 2016 at 9:25 am
I’m looking at 1-4 going into the bye.
2-3 would have been so much better.
IMO, this team is overrated. 100+ points allowed in 3 games is just awful.
September 28th, 2016 at 9:25 am
I needed a good laugh this morning. Under rated? You’ve got to be kidding me.
September 28th, 2016 at 9:37 am
MazzBuc:
You are not what your record says you are. The Panthers were 15-1 last year, with 11 wins decided by a touchdown or less. That is not greatness. That is pure luck. It showed in the Super Bowl.
September 28th, 2016 at 9:37 am
Humphries about to take somebody job!!!!!! And i think it’s Vincent jackson… adam seems to have a nack to get open and Jackson sees that.. Adam could easily be sitting at 250 yards with 2 tds.
September 28th, 2016 at 9:38 am
U guys have to look at the bigger piture, we have a whole new coaching staff along with new players, and more importantly we have another new defensive scheme that all these players have to learn very quickly. U can’t 3xpect these guys to have this scheme down after a couple of games, that’s totally unfair, it’s gonna take atleast a half of season for players to know there assignments and communicate better with each other. Take away the big plays wich are from blown coverage be use of players not knowing there assignments and this D hasn’t looked bad. I think we have a shot at beating the panzies, if the Vikings could go up there and man handle them why can’t we beat them if we can get our defenders to stay in there gaps and play smart football and not beat ourselves like we did against the rams.
September 28th, 2016 at 9:46 am
You know, it isn’t all Roberto Aguayo’s fault.
Had the defense done better at preventing them from scoring, we would have won. Had Jameis not thrown picks we would have won.
This was a team loss. No one person was to blame…even if the narrow minded people want to point fingers.
September 28th, 2016 at 9:52 am
You are who your record says you are.
September 28th, 2016 at 9:54 am
Bonzai…Aguayo’s got one job. STOP it!
Realist…exactly. Those that do see the BIG picture and not a Super Bowl contender in our Bucs, get it. The sky is not falling. Lot’s of football left to be played. Lot’s of season ( and seasons) left to be played. Lot’s of development left to be done.
This team WILL be humming by the end of the season. Enough for people to stand up and recognize!!!
I stand pat with 8-8 looking like a 10 win team by the end of this season.
September 28th, 2016 at 9:55 am
Grrreat Scotty….. then that means we still have a chance at beating the 1-2 Panthers?
Go Bucs beat Denver @ home and shut these people up.
September 28th, 2016 at 10:07 am
He’s right. We’ll be fine. When the switch comes on for the Defense, and it will, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be what all the experts thought they’d be. A playoff contender. We just got two great lessons early in the year. I think we get Denver. And I like our chances against Cam and company as well. Wait on it.
September 28th, 2016 at 10:22 am
@Buc1987
Those in the know, realize that this team is improving and will be much better off with the running of the gauntlet of this schedule, than just winning in overtime over teams like Jacksonville!!!!!!
Were playing the best teams and will be better in the future because of it!!!! The “real” core is very young and they are learning !!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!
September 28th, 2016 at 10:38 am
You can’t say that we were the better team and then say what-ifs about the kicker and the coaching. They are part of the team too.
September 28th, 2016 at 10:39 am
I’m expecting us to shock the world this week though!
September 28th, 2016 at 10:48 am
@joe….look what smitty has to work with at cb…grimes and VHG….Lovie would’ve killed to have those 2…he had jude and verner…lol
lol….stop with the tougher schedule excuse….people are making it seem like we play half our schedule vs playoff teams….last year we played 3…this year we play 5….it aint a big jump in competition….plus a couple of those teams might not make it back so it could end up being the same amount of playoff teams we played last year(redskins, texans,)….
we are not still rebuilding….the foundation was set last year and this year we were suppose to be playoff contenders….not superbowl contender but playoff contender…with the actions of the gm both thru the draft, fa and staff change, he suggest we are ready…hell he even said after he canned lovie that we should’ve been in the playoff hunt…
before the season many said they see 9-10 wins including myself….after a blow out lost and a coaching melt down people are saying 4-6wins…that is regression folks….how do people think winning 4 games after winning 6 is progress with blow outs and poor coaching happening?….GO BUCS!!!!
September 28th, 2016 at 10:59 am
The defense is definitely better than what we have seen so far. The biggest problem to this point is giving up big plays – which is a result of miscommunication and some player(s) not being in the right spot. In other words, the system has not jelled yet – and the players are still thinking too much instead of reading and reacting properly.
Specifically, the Bucs defense has given up 17 “big plays” (runs of 10 yards or more and passes of 20 yards or more) in the 1st 3 games. Those 17 plays have netted over 500 yards for opponents offenses. The OTHER 189 snaps this defense has lined up for yielded just over 600 yards.
So to me, the overall “problem” on defense is pretty easily identifiable.
Eliminate the thinking and the mis-communications in certain situations and stop giving up so many big plays – and this defense would be at least middle of the pack statistically if not better.
How that gets accomplished is the big question. It may just take some more time and experience playing together and playing in this system.
Losing our 2 best outside pass rushers (Ayers and Jac Smith) hasn’t helped – that’s for sure. Ayers should be back in another week or 2 and that should help some with the lack of pass rush we have seen thus far.
C’mon Smitty – show us what you got. Figure out how to stop some of these big plays from happening and we will start winning games.
September 28th, 2016 at 11:02 am
They’re a good enough team to win most games, but they need to learn how to win, if that makes sense. It goes along with the changing of the culture thing that coach talked about.
There is a poison that is infecting everybody that has come from years of loosing. Many of the veterans on this team have lost the hunger to win, they are trying to escape the game with as few late life troubles due to injuries as they can.
GMC said it himself, he missed an opportunity to get a hit on Keenum on that first TD pass and he let it haunt him the rest of the game. You can’t do that, you have to have a short memory. GMC, Verner, and to a certain extent LVD, all veterans, and none of them is a leader right now. Grimes isn’t what he was in Atlanta either.
There is a hump that they can not get over. Every time they do something good they trip over themselves and let the other team back in it. The Rams game was a prime example, they had a chance to take full control of that game and roll them over, instead they have a turnover leading to a TD right before half and a strip sack for a TD late in the game when everything momentum wise was on their side.
Something has to give.
September 28th, 2016 at 11:08 am
@demboys says….”U can’t 3xpect these guys to have this scheme down after a couple of games, that’s totally unfair, it’s gonna take atleast a half of season for players to know there assignments and communicate better with each other.”…
the core of our players were here last year…this defense was suppose to be simpler to understand….so how do coaches like jim schwarts in philly, jack del rio in Denver and Oakland, wade Phillips in denver…todd bowles in nyc come in and change a defense in 1 offseason in see results during the season….smitty’s defense was trash in atl, that’s what got him canned and its trash now….at this rate if we wait until mid season for the defense to start clicking the season will be over….GO BUCS!!!
September 28th, 2016 at 11:31 am
I thought with Lovie gone this defense would flourish but that’s not the case. The secondary just isn’t very talented. It’s going to take a couple more offseasons to get that group overhauled. That said, let’s be patient. After we face the “superbowl” I think we start to really see this group come together, including Hargreaves and Spence. Next year we get an easier schedule going against the NFC North and AFC East.
September 28th, 2016 at 11:49 am
@largobuc…no one said lets be patient last year….not even licht….we want results asap….GO BUCS!!!!
September 28th, 2016 at 11:56 am
We have 13 games left, we need to go 9-4 the rest of the way.
September 28th, 2016 at 12:03 pm
Yes. lets use the next excuse. Wait until we get an easier schedule. How about trying to build this team so it can beat anyone. Not just bad teams.
September 28th, 2016 at 12:23 pm
I hate the phrase “you are what your record says you are” so you think if the say, the packers, lost to the pats and to the Broncos in the first 3games that a 1-2 packers team is the same as a 1-2 bugs team?
LMAO
at the end of the year sure. But there are 1-2 teams who are way better than us and 1-2 worse than us
September 28th, 2016 at 12:23 pm
Aren’t we pretty much saying the same things we were about this defense last year?
There’s no substitute for talent, regardless of the scheme you employ. We are a good enough offense to where we just need the defense to be average to win games. Underrated? MMMM, maybe! There’s a lot of football left and we’ll soon see what type of team we have.
September 28th, 2016 at 12:45 pm
Here are some examples of what to look for when the Buccaneers find their elusive “winning” culture:
[ ] Wins games over defending champs. ie: Broncos, Panters.
[X] Goes to division opponents house and beats them.
[ ] Win games with “key” players out
[ ] Have winning streaks (aka back-to-back wins) the more the better.
[ ] Defy the Vegas odds.
On the flip side there’s a losing mentality:
[X] Gets hindquarters handed to them by “better” teams (usually served on a pewter platter with a side of creamed demoralization and a slice of humble pie for dessert) ie: Arizona
[?] Break even or worse with divisional opponents
[X] Lose games because key players are out
[X] Have more losing streaks than winning streaks
[X] Follow the Vegas odds
…long, long season ahead. Next two will be very telling on how this teams culture is shaping up.
Font Selection: [ ]Pure Sarcasm [ ]Cautious Optimism [X]Fanboy
Let’s go BUCS! 3-2 going into the bye!
September 28th, 2016 at 1:24 pm
Here’s what Vegas says: Bucs are 3 to 2 to lose at home against Broncos, 3 to 1 to lose on the road to Panthers, so Vegas estimates a 10% chance to win both games with a 45% chance to lose both, leaving 45% as the odds to win one of the two.
Of course that’s what they think now. If we out gain the Broncos by 200 yards while the panthers play poorly, we may move to less than a touchdown dog next week. If we lay another egg, and Carolina starts looking like last year’s team, we may be double digit dogs, worst case being around 12 points or 6 to 1 dogs.
September 28th, 2016 at 2:16 pm
This team is NOT underrated, maybe if we had beat the Rams. The Rams are probably the team that is underrated after how they beat us and Seattle. We can score points this year in bunches, but we can also give them away in bunches too. We need a consistent pass rush if we are going to win 8 games OR more this year, which I doubt NOW. I don’t see us beating the Broncos or the Panthers, so 1-4 at the bye should be expected. If the defense could just play better we would have a shot in ANY game, as long as Winston gets into a rhythm. JW keeps spotting the other teams at LEAST 7 points though, each game, and that is hard to make up for. We are going to continue to lose as long as that keeps happening though, so 10-6 is out of the question.
September 28th, 2016 at 2:25 pm
Fix the defense and fix the kicker and we can still have a good season. I’m not real worried about the offense (except the lack of running game).
September 28th, 2016 at 4:01 pm
@Jmoney.. you just said that the a 15-1 team who reached the super bowl is not what they say they are. A 15-1 record team is without a doubt a Super Bowl calibur team. That record clearly points to what the Panthers were last year. To say they were lucky because they won by small margin is an idiotic statement.. Great teams close out games and find ways to win (which obviosuly, we do not know anything about).. Do not be blindside bias and give the Panthers their due last year. This Bucs team is a 4-6 win team. Not a playoff team.. A team that will be picking in the top 10 in the 2017 draft..
September 28th, 2016 at 4:39 pm
I’m laughing so hard. Some here truly believe….Our Bucs got a shot at beating Denver. Well, here I am..Mr Gloom and Doom. NO WAY JOSE. No shot..none whatsoever guys!! That’s right, I said it. Do you really think that talented Defense is gonna give Jameis the chance to light them up? Have you seen their edge rushers? Have you watched their defense? I have. And you guys are in for a treat. Not our treat. The treat they are gonna give us! You see, Buc fans hope. wish and pray. It takes talent to win. Evaluate the other teams talent. And Denvers got..TALENT. A lot more than us.
September 28th, 2016 at 5:38 pm
Buc1987, the Bucs have as much chance of beating the Broncos as the Pope has of becoming Baptist.
September 28th, 2016 at 6:14 pm
And the pope would die first rather than become a Baptist…or a Buc!
September 28th, 2016 at 10:23 pm
this defense certainly isn’t underrated.
September 29th, 2016 at 7:18 am
This team is underrated. Did you see how well the Offensive Line was blocking the best defensive front in football? With the exception of two or three plays the blocking was outstanding. Ali Marpet was able to keep the second best DT in the game in check with only two tackles and no sacks. Demar Dotson, Kevin Pamphile and Joe Hawley played very well too. Donovan Smith had two game changing plays but overall played well. Charles Sims showed signs of being a top full time RB while Mike Evans is truly the new Megatron. I am really impressed with Adam Humphries and Russell Sheppard. Vincent Jackson showed in this game that he is still as good as any. Jameis is our franchise QB and he is special. Only team who is better is ourselves.