The Morning After
September 25th, 2017
Joe is groping for words on this ugly Monday morning to try to explain how the Bucs completely missed the urinal yesterday and badly wet their shoes.
1. Just from reading social media posts from Bucs fans, not sure Bucs fans have been this depressed since Ricky Proehl beat Tampa Bay in the 1999 NFC title game. There is so much to unpack here, but Joe isn’t sure there was an element of the Bucs that played halfway decent. The pass defense was embarrassed by Case Keenum (yet again). The run defense did OK after the first series, but just OK. It seemed like the rush defense played well compared to how the pass defense was getting slashed like a teenage girl in a Freddie Krueger flick. Pass rush? Surprise! There was none. Run game? What run game? Passing game? Pppfffttt. Three picks by America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston? He looked better as a rookie in his second game then he did in the second game of his third season. There may be an NFL pattern here: Jameis doesn’t believe in quick starts to games, and he also seems to have a knack for late starts to seasons. Joe is starting to tire of the Brett Favre comparisons. Yeah, both are gunslingers and both had supreme confidence in their ability but this just in: Favre won games with his arm. He overcame mind-numbing mistakes he made himself. We all hear how intelligent Jameis is and how talented he is and Joe doesn’t doubt that. It’s about time we start seeing evidence of that. This narrative of how Jameis can’t change because that’s who he is, well, that’s growing weaker by the week. And this is coming from a guy proud to be a huge Jameis defender. That doesn’t mean Joe is an ostrich.
2. Injuries: Holy cow. This defense is beat to hell. Lavonte David, Kwon Alexander, Gerald McCoy, Brent Grimes, Noah Spence, T.J. Ward. That is the very heart of the defense, their home run hitters. Who knows how long these guys are going to be out? All of a sudden, that Giants game this coming Sunday doesn’t look so much like a W. Yeah, the Giants don’t have an offensive line but guess what: without Spence the Bucs have no pass rush. None! So that right there cancels out the Giants’ biggest sieve. If the Vikings were able to race up and down the field on the Bucs, then imagine what Odell Beckham, Brandon Marshall and Sterling Shepard can do. And five days later, why, hello Mr. Belicheat. This season very easily and quickly could unravel.
3. What running game? Jacquizz Rodgers led the Bucs in rushing with 15 yards. Yes, 15 yards! The longest run from scrimmage was four yards and both America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, and Rodgers shared that. Oh, but Chuck Sims caught a pass so that makes it all better, doesn’t it? He had two carries for four yards for a robust average of two yards a carry. And Joe will be upfront here: If you bless your children from the same water fountain that Doug Martin drinks from, then you may want to skip the rest of this paragraph. No, Joe is not convinced in any way shape or form that Doug Martin, with three days of practice, will be the magic potion for this offense against the Fighting Belicheats… if Martin comes back. Then again, the way the Bucs are running the ball, what do they have to lose? They can’t get much worse.
4. Perhaps the Bucs just aren’t that good? We heard all summer how the Bucs have the most talent they’ve had in years. We have witnessed the good drafts, saw the good free agent signings. Yet they drop a rotten egg like they did at Minnesota? It’s not like the Vikings, with a backup quarterback, are the 1984 49ers. But the Bucs sure made them look like the 1984 49ers. Joe is willing to bet the Vikings don’t go to the Super Bowl. So to go to the Northlands and get absolutely curb-stomped like they did yesterday – when is the last time you saw a Bucs team get thrashed physically like this where half the defense seemed to have been waiting for an ambulance? That tells Joe this team has a ways to go. Joe doesn’t think too many good teams go on the road to play an OK opponent and get throttled and physically pummeled like that.
5. Joe will share a locker room scene. It’s hard to put into words, but Joe cannot tell you how frustrated Noah Spence was yesterday. He told Joe he blew out his shoulder on the first play from scrimmage. Wow, was he upset. The way he talked to Joe, it was like he just dropped major cash on a Bentley and a drunk without insurance T-boned him as he pulled out of the sales lot, only Spence was more distraught. Not emotional, but beside himself with frustration. Spence told Joe he had his shoulder jammed back into place on the field – that’s a man right there – and he tried to play with the bum wing, but it was useless. For a split second, Joe thought Spence might tear up the way he said he had worked all offseason on specific moves and some of them he was convinced would work against the Vikings, but Spence never had a chance to use them because his shoulder was shot. And then he repeated how the injury was the same he experienced last year (not officially confirmed yet) and you could see in Spence’s eyes that he could see an entire offseason of hard work and sweat p!ssed away on one play. Joe felt downright awful for Spence. Let’s just hope the injury isn’t as severe as Spence fears. This kid is a true warrior and the Bucs are fortunate to have a guy of his desire and passion on the roster.
Pillaging: During training camp, Joe just wasn’t overly impressed with the offense but Joe waved it off because, well, it’s preseason. Take away the points scored off turnovers against the Bears, and the Bucs offense simply has not been good. And the offense wasn’t good in December, either. So maybe the preseason really was a window into the early weeks of the regular season? … Love Ali Marpet but he needs to work on his shotgun snaps. While Jameis struggled, he wasn’t helped out by two errant snaps that left either Jameis juggling the ball, or scrambling to avoid a fumble. … Joe suspects Adam Humphries had very sore ribs this morning. Joe joked with him about that after the game and Humphries waved it off and said he was fine. He sure took some lumber to his ribs. Guessing he’s having a worse morning than many Bucs fans. … Where was Peyton Barber yesterday? Can’t tell Joe he couldn’t have done any worse. … Joe knew the Bucs pass defense would take a hit without Brent Grimes, but Joe had no idea it would completely collapse the way it did. … The flu bug has hit the Bucs hard and Joe almost wonders how many guys were stricken but were too prideful to tell anyone and tried to play through it? Yes, the Bucs sure looked like 22 guys trying to play an NFL game with a flu. It was that dismal. … Joe isn’t sure what it is called at Vikings games but it is a combination of a Vikings battle cry combined with war drums with a little bit of Gator Chomp/Warchant Chop thrown in. The folks stand in unison after the third quarter and some guy starts to slowly beat a giant drum and fans clap as one in some choreographed number and periodically yell “skol” as that Vikings horn blares. Apparently, skol is a battle cry the Norsemen used when they pillaged a city and did gnarly stuff to celebrate a successful rampage of a village. Just to witness and hear this tradition was pretty cool and obviously being in a dome, it got loud. it was very college-like. … Joe has been to Jerry’s World which is a palace and to whatever the stadium is called in Houston, which is very nice and to Met Life Stadium in New Jersey which is better than OK. U.S. Bank in Minneapolis may be the best. Why? Well, unlike Jerry’s World, you actually know you are in a football stadium. Jerry’s World is fantastic but it could be any oversized arena. At U.S. Bank, even though it is a fixed-roof stadium, it has the feel of being outdoors because of all the windows. And in the west end zone, there is a tremendous view of downtown Minneapolis. … The city itself blew Joe’s mind. Light rail only costing $1.75 one-way from the airport to the burbs and main stops in-between. Joe maintains some of the architecture, specifically the buildings in the government center district (one train stop from U.S. Bank Stadium) looks like pictures you see of Prague or Munich. Minneapolis is a leafy, clean city with a neat river running through it — the Mississippi River, which isn’t that big up here). The locals cannot be more friendly. Joe will be back in January for Super Bowl week and Joe is pretty certain it won’t be in the high-80s then. … Yes, the Juicy Lucy is all that.
September 25th, 2017 at 8:04 am
If Mike Evans and Desean Jackson try this garbage at home next week that crowd is going to kill both of them. Tampa is a big military town and Vincent Jackson was one of the most charitable people in the NFL when it came to supporting the people in the military around the Tampa area.
Things are going to start getting ugly. Remember, there are tens of millions of upset (former) football fans. There aren’t tens of millions of NFL players to back up the dunce duo.
September 25th, 2017 at 8:07 am
Dirk’s offense, Jason’s general management. If this continues (*if*) one, or both of them, will not be a part of the organization in 2018.
September 25th, 2017 at 8:11 am
Can we admit VG3 thus far has been a massive disappointment? He’s terrible! He can’t cover anyone! So frustrated we spent a top 10 pick on him. Freaking gator!
September 25th, 2017 at 8:11 am
well maybe if the highest paid defender could stay healthy and step up when the true leader is out the defense would not have looked like a cheap craigslist date.
NO KWON = NO DEFENSE
gmc did not even make it one week without getting his soft arse landed on injury report played barely half a game last week and was abused again yesterday.
Yesterday would have been a perfect game for her to finally make a difference and she did what she does best disappears and then slinks off to the training room crying about yet another boo boo… when you have a defense that relies on the heart of young kwon and quits the minute he is not there it’s a sad sad day.
8 years of injuries and excuses nothing more. The face of the basement years and the captain of the injury report must go in order for this team to compete. so soft so mentally weak…
September 25th, 2017 at 8:14 am
@spirit if you are so upset, do what your Führer said. Turn the TV off or walk out.
September 25th, 2017 at 8:14 am
i’d take myron lewis over that wasted first round pick vh3 at least when lewis was torched he did not celebrate the next play on a bad throw by the qb like he just saved the superbowl. vh3 is laughable the way he was beaten. focus on ryan smith all you want but the real problem is the wasted first round pick on a midget who can’t cover anything or anyone.
September 25th, 2017 at 8:16 am
you guys blaming the offense forgot to watch the defense give up the booty gmc style so fast the offensive game plan was thrown out the window thanks to the soft defense and no heart or passion without kwon… jameis played like A$$ no doubt but that game was lost by the soft defense who let a bum qb shred them
September 25th, 2017 at 8:17 am
New coach, new GM and loads of “talented” players. Still have the same quit. There was zero passion during the first half. Then when it was a blowout the Bucs started to get pissed. How about bringing that attitude in the first quarter. The Vikings imposed their will on Tampa from the get go and they just laid down.
September 25th, 2017 at 8:20 am
It is shameful for a “fan” to criticize a player for having an injury……to suggest that it is fake.
The truth is many of our injured players got them after the game was out of reach….what I saw was a bunch of players with heart fighting to the end.
Like I said…there are always some silver linings…..some of our younger players will get more snaps…and we will find out if they develop sooner.
And yes, of them might not (Ryan Smith)…..but yesterday our first round pick VH3 did no better than Smith.
It looks like our gameplan needs to rely on the offense to score more than it has.
Fans, stop the whining and suck it up with the rest of us…..we’ve got 14 games in front of us.
September 25th, 2017 at 8:22 am
*Winston throws into triple coverage in the red zone for and interception*. FSU homers: “yea but he’s a better leader than Mariota”
September 25th, 2017 at 8:22 am
The Spirit of 76… I could not agree more!
September 25th, 2017 at 8:23 am
I’M FINISH WITH THE BUC’S AFTER 40 YEARS AND I’M DONE WITH THE NFL, NBA, AND BASEBALL …. IF THEY CANT STAND FOR AMERICA’S FLAG OR THE NATIONAL ANTHEM. I CAN’T WATCH THEM ANY MORE ,,IT LOOKS LIKE THE ONLY REAL PERSON THAT HAS ANY GUTS IS JERRY JONES OF THE DALLAS COWBOYS THE REAL AMERICA’S TEAM … AND I PRAY THAT ALL THE REAL AMERICAN PEOPLE FOLLOW SUIT …. THEIR A DISGRACE TO OUR WAR VETS. AND OUR COUNTRY… AND THE REAL AMERICAN PEOPLE THAT PAYS THEIR CHECK….YOUR FREEDOM WAS GIVEN TO YOU BY OUR WAR HERO’S AND THE FLAG SO HONOR THEM …….((STAND)) !!!
September 25th, 2017 at 8:23 am
mtm
well said… they quit
and the common denominator is the leader of the losing culture and the captain of the injury list the soft disappearing ice cream cancer93
gmc lays down quicker than one of the stars of crackwhore confessions
September 25th, 2017 at 8:29 am
supersam
jameis did not lose that game. the leader of the losing culture and his soft arse crew of defenders did….
September 25th, 2017 at 8:31 am
Geez Joe, you make it sound like the Bucs are gonna go 1-15…… It does seem like the Bucs are cursed though, whatever can go wrong seem to happen for Tampa Bay! Bucs need the W against the Giants and if I am reading between the lines right I am guess ing that Joe is predicting a L if the defense is sans 5 or 6 of its starters and Jameis has his normal cold start against the Giants. Giants do seem to get the better of the Bucs in these situations too…. Curious to see if the “StickCarriers” come out loud this Sunday or are they jumping off the Pirate Ship like two thirds of the posters last night (granted many are trolls or negative posters who probably thought the Bucs would go 0-16 ala Pat Yasinkas in 2002). It just never seems easy for Tampa, other teams get injuries and they adjust (well maybe not Miami with Cutler or carolina without it 2 best receivers). Time will tell. Yesterday was a day foir home underdogs though and the way everyone is talking I would not be surprised if the Bucs are home dogs this Sunday though the early line is Tampa by -3 or 3.5 though I suspect NY money will drop that like a stone (or the Bucs power ranking in the national polls)…..
September 25th, 2017 at 8:31 am
@Mike – Triggered much?
September 25th, 2017 at 8:33 am
The Bucs are no where near as bad as what was on display yesterday!!!!!! By the end of the year, it is just a L!!!!!!! What we saw was a team that has just had 1 too many distractions and all the jumping through hoops they have done!!!!!!!! Word on the street is that when this season is over, from the owners on down, everything will be ask, “does this help win football games” and if the answer is no, it will not be done!!!!!!!! The distractions will be eliminated as much as possible as the unifying the goal to maximize success!!!!!!!!!
Regroup, get as healthy as possiible, because its a 14 game sprint the rest of the way this year!!!!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!
September 25th, 2017 at 8:34 am
tampabaybucfan
it’s fine to criticize professional players for injuries especially when they are always hurt like that soft little beotch mccoy…. it’s their job to prepare their bodies to available every week. this is their job they get paid millions to be prepared this is not little league… the fact is without kwon the bucs defense is soft, mentally weak and quits as soon as things don’t go their way we have witnessed it for 8 years led by that clown dt
September 25th, 2017 at 8:40 am
GMC should be embarrassed by getting “hurt” so quickly this season. I bet Batman would have played through his littlle foot problem.
September 25th, 2017 at 8:44 am
I’ll say this though, I’m proud of Jameis for standing for the anthem and not wavering under all this stupid nonsense. I’m very disappointed in Jackson and Evans.
September 25th, 2017 at 8:49 am
Went to Minneapolis one summer while ago for some training a few days in summer time. It’s everything you said Joe.. You could tell those people were taking advantage of the short summer. Every green space was full of people just enjoying the day. However you could tell the winters were brutal. Buildings down town are connected by heated walkways. How cool but seems like every road in the city was full of large potholes. Didn’t feel like talking about football just now. But 1-1 ain’t too shabby this early. Fingers are crossed.
September 25th, 2017 at 8:50 am
Typical Buc fans..making excuses..IF our players were healthy, I’m officially callin this website the..Coulda/Woulda/Shoulda Buc Parade!! The good teams have a plethora of injuries and they just..plug in the next guy and keep winning. Not us though. We gotta be 100% healthy and then..still pray. Simply put, we are not ready for the next step. You cannot let an unknown Backup QB tear you apart every single time he plays you. Wasn’t the injuries that lost the game. It was the SOB’s (same ole Bucs) And now we have the Giants..chompin at the bit to get their 1st victory of the season at our expense. So much for all of the HBo and off season hype.
September 25th, 2017 at 8:51 am
I couldn’t believe the Defense made Keenum look like Montana for a third time! And a defender would get hurt after after every play it seemed! I’ve never seen this many players go down in one game . It was a nightmare! I saw Jackson talking to Jameis on the sideline then Jameis started throwing to him next series then same thin with Evans. Seemed like they pressured Jameis to throw to them more. These first 2 games I have been in shock how little Jameis is throwing to the tight ends! Brate & Howard can do a lot of damage in the middle with all the attention Jackson & Evans receive. I am speechless and this really sucks this team unravels in just 2 weeks into the season!
September 25th, 2017 at 8:59 am
tmax says:
“that soft little beotch”
tmax’s woman’s pet nickname for his little soldier??
Nah – 94% chance NO woman would even have such a malcontent
September 25th, 2017 at 8:59 am
@Tmaxcon
Spence, Kwon, Grimes can get hurt and they all get a pass….but when GMC is hurt….he’s a bum….only according to you.
And, it’s never OK to criticize a player for an injury. I hope we don’t have to see how good our defense is without GMC.
September 25th, 2017 at 8:59 am
Saw Clinton McDonald did a commercial for USAA, the primary insurance company of military and military families…..they are a military family…good to see! Our company’s foundation is joining with Vincent Jackson in his work for military families….
I am proud to have been part of a military family and still consider the military my family, for sure. I think we’ll invite Clinton to join our Sons Of AmVets squadron…
September 25th, 2017 at 9:01 am
Should’ve seen me trying to explain to my wife, a sports hater the many reasons the Bucs lost. She was out and about during the game anyway. Had a blank look on her face while I was talking and looked very relieved when a cat walked into the room and she actually had someone else to talk to. I just walked off and made myself a nice vodka drink. Hey. We are 1-1, gotta stay positive.
September 25th, 2017 at 9:04 am
Pickgrin
how about sticking to the facts I am dying to here your excuse for cancer93 and why he was so dominate yesterday… and yet again she disappears when her team needs a star to step up. gmc gives up the booty faster than a hilssborugh crackwhore that’s the facts.
played less than 60% of snaps in first game and already using the injury excuses. if that is not soft well I can’t use the word here
let the excuses run wild the bottom line is it’s been 8 years of quitting and laying down like a cheap date when things do go the mentally weak captains way.
September 25th, 2017 at 9:07 am
Tampabaybucfan
they have not been on the injury report 109 weeks out of 118 weeks played but your girl has. she has earned the right to be called out. Not on the injury report 8 times in 8 years…. try again sir. gmc is a overrated joke
September 25th, 2017 at 9:07 am
Life long 43 year old Bucs fan says: This don’t surprise me at all. Seen this too many seasons to get upset or to be surprised. Just the usual disappointing experience of being a Buc fan.
6-10 is my adjusted prediction due to injuries and Winston being too prone to costing us points with redzone interceptions.
September 25th, 2017 at 9:08 am
[No need to go there. — Joe]
September 25th, 2017 at 9:11 am
LOVe the take on Jameis. Couldn’t agree more. Especially on the Favre comparisons.
September 25th, 2017 at 9:15 am
maxi-pad says:
Pickgrin
how about sticking to the facts
Pickgrin says:
94% chance NO woman would even have such a malcontent
Pretty sure I was stating fact…
September 25th, 2017 at 9:17 am
The problem is the players that were drafted to carry and lead this team are NOT doing their jobs. This starts and ends with Jamies, McCoy and Hargraves. When you are drafted high much is expected and while I have hammered away at GMC and never wanted Hargraves it is time to start holding Jameis accountable as well. He is no longer a rookie or 2nd year player. I have defended him time and time again, but enough is enough as excuse time is over. Being a leader is more than showing up early and staying late, it is doing your job and not putting more on others through your careless actions. Quit talking and start playing, no more pregame speeches, no more appearances on NFL Network until you do your job and take care of the football. Yes you can explain away two of those interceptions but what about the rest of the game and every other quarterback has those same things happen to them. When you are the 1st player selected in the entire draft your expectations are through the roof so that is the standard you should be judged by and the best QB on the field yesterday was Case Keenum, a lifetime backup just badly outplayed our #1 overall pick. This season is over if we lose Sunday as you know Brady is going to destroy us with all the injuries then we have the Cardinals (which we saw last year) and then The Bills who just beat down a Denver team that is better than us. Heck if we lose to NYG we could easily be 1-5!
September 25th, 2017 at 9:17 am
pickgrin
again coming at me with childish humor which I appreciate by the way still does not justify nor defend the performance of your little super hero the king of the mangina and captain of the yellow team gmc.
September 25th, 2017 at 9:25 am
Dano74 is right. I saw DJ lobbying for the ball and he got it. Evans throws a hissy fit and then he gets the rock.
Coach K needs to pull that C off MEs jersey and give it to Hump!
September 25th, 2017 at 9:30 am
Yesterday was a wake up call.
This team isn’t as good as we thought or hoped. The 5 game win streak last year fueled by a slew of defensive turnovers gave us some false hope that they’d be better, they clearly are not. As two career backups have carved them up in consecutive weeks.
Playoff teams, teams with good defenses do not get beat regularly by back up QB’s. Looking at the team lined up across from our beloved Bucs yesterday is the kind of team I wish the Bucs had, physical, fast, and aggressive.
This team has a long way to go to be consistently good. Defense needs 2 pass rushers, a CB, and Jameis to finally learn to protect the ball to give this team a chance in high scoring games where the defense fails.
September 25th, 2017 at 9:33 am
hmmmmm so after one game you are already changing your stance on jameis? interesting joe.
September 25th, 2017 at 9:48 am
Great post Joe
September 25th, 2017 at 9:56 am
Its just one game but I’m very concerned as to why this team has so many injuries year in and year out. Its absurd. I don’t see other teams with such massive carnage as the Bucs have. Sure, they lose players here and there but their entire defense isn’t wiped out before the 2nd game is even over.
September 25th, 2017 at 9:57 am
Maybe it was just a bad week. The flu bug did impact a majority of the team. How we respond this Sunday will be a big determination of how the season goes. Praying these injuries are not significant. Also teams do have bad games. Steelers were beat by the Bears. It’s called any given Sunday. Keep the faith! Go Bucs!!
September 25th, 2017 at 9:58 am
Crappy post joe. Thanks for the whole sky is falling thing. If you got a problem with our team, don’t watch. Problem with the anthem? Don’t watch. We really don’t need this kind of crying right now. This is the time to let your balls drop and get wins. Come together as a fan base. If not we Can do this all day.
September 25th, 2017 at 10:03 am
cash rules
back to your safespace if reality is too difficult for you to handle.
September 25th, 2017 at 10:20 am
I blame Hard Knocks.
September 25th, 2017 at 10:23 am
Not saying the Ravens are world beaters, but they lost to the JAGS 44-7. Perhaps they should curl up and die now…
I’m more worried about the injuries than I am about anything else, but I’m closely monitoring a few things so I can worry some more. Jameis is one of them.
September 25th, 2017 at 10:24 am
Nobody should take Mike Evans’ protest seriously because he admitted that he has never voted when questioned about his similar protest last season. Change is made at the ballot box, not during the pregame show. He should use his fame and fortune to create a Political Action Committee to further his political views.
September 25th, 2017 at 10:39 am
Joel, other teams get injuries but somehow their coaching staff and GM compensate for this by having some talented depth and innovative game planning, 2 things the Bucs seem to sorely lack year after year!
September 25th, 2017 at 10:40 am
VH3 and ryan smith were useless, some explanation from Coach Smith should be forthcoming, that is how bad they were, so bad that it cannot just stand–their performance NEEDS A FUKING EXPLANATION!
Noah Spence made the pass rush effort, now he is done–will never be reliable again-honestly the arm is popped out again, hang up the cleats dude -its over, heroic effort, you will never be forgotten.
Koetter is setting Jameis up to fail–he needs to reconsider play calling going forward–IT IS NOT WORKING AND HASN’T FOR A LONG TIME.
September 25th, 2017 at 10:45 am
True enough Buc1987 about the Ravens beat down but I am sure that on Raven, Steeler, Denver, Miami, Seattle and Carolina boards fans are also jumping off the bandwagon in mass and getting a healthy dose of trolls without a life piling on their boards though of those teams it seems that Carolina is the only other club that seems to have been ravaged by the injury bug losing another cog in their offense yesterday in their 21 point home loss to the Aints…. Bucs just seem to be cursed with the injury bug and it always hits the team where it will likely be exploited by their next opponent such as the Giants who finally got their O going late yesterday vs Philly….
September 25th, 2017 at 10:49 am
Tmax you are really something else dude.
The Secondary gets torched all game long but the only thing your little pea brain can think about is your complete fixation on Gerald McCoy.
You are completely obsessed. And laughably wrong. Going into this game with no Baker, no Kwon, and no Grimes is what doomed us. That, and Vernon/ Ryan getting beat like red headed step children on damn near every snap play.
When you sit there and honestly believe that this loss had nothing to do with Jameis, and that 93 is the main culprit of yesterdays collapse, you make yourself into a Kobe Liar level Joke.
September 25th, 2017 at 11:13 am
Good point on the secondary Blake…. Very shoddy yesterday, the only thing it was missing was Alterraun Verner getting ripped for some big plays, which did happen but for the Fins….. So the secondary craps the bed, the D-line puts no pressure on Keenun so he picks the D apart and voila, its 28-3…. So then the Bucs abandon the run and go one dimensional very early, predictable and with the predictable turnovers to boot. Noticed in the Miami Herald that the fans down there are in an uproar over Cutler passing 32 times in the second half and only running 4 times; sounds very familiar and caused by the same culprit, a shoddy secondary that put the teams behind early and offenses that can not play from behind, simple enough. Perhaps Irma left a lasting, lingering emotional and physical hangover over both clubs though it was masked by emotion and playing bad teams in week 1 and now became apparent in week 2….
September 25th, 2017 at 11:27 am
VH3 was terrible as was the safety play. Conte and Tandy have been dreadful.
The whole team played like garbage yesterday. They couldn’t even snap the ball without incident. Bad penalties, losing every 1-on-1 battle. Giving up sack in max protect.
They were not ready to play.
September 25th, 2017 at 12:13 pm
the defense was trash because our leader was missing…..no kwon….no passion…..no kwon….no one will set the tone…..
secondary was trash but it was the scheme smitty was forced to play with grimes out…..
with that being said the defense did provide a few stops when we needed them the most…..JAMEIS threw not 1..not 2…but 3INTS…..that can never happen if we want to win…..he badly under threw a pass to djax…he threw into double coverage on his pass to djax….he threw into triple coverage on his pass to mike….people say he should’ve caught the ball but I say BS….he may of have 2 hands on the ball but there were 6 hand swiping…swatting and stripping at it….the pass should’ve never been thrown…
run defense was solid……run game was nonexistent…don’t know why barber wasn’t in the game plan….dirk has to do a better job of being creative with his play design and play calling…..the middle of the field looked to be wide open most of the day….don’t know why dirk didn’t deploy the 2TE sets in the run game and passing game….EASY MISMATCH….
now we have to worry about all these injuries…..GO BUCS!!!!
September 25th, 2017 at 12:18 pm
spirit
I HOPE MIKE, DJAX OR ANY OTHER PLAYERS THAT DISAGREE WITH SOCIAL INJUSTICE SIT OR DONT COME OUT AT ALL…..
LOVED SEEING ALL THE TEAMS,COACHES AND OWNERS SHOW THERE SUPPORT REGARDING SOCIAL INJUSTICE…..
OVER THE WEEKEND, THE FIRST MLB PLAYER JOINED THE MOVEMENT WITH MANY MORE FOLLOWING…..
THE MOVEMENT HAS BEEN TAKEN TO A NEW LEVEL…..AND WILL CONTINUE TO RISE!!!!!GO BUCS!!!!
September 25th, 2017 at 12:36 pm
813 what movement, what are they accomplishing besides dividing people even more?
September 25th, 2017 at 12:41 pm
Vegas was down on the Bucs. That should have been a clue. The house is usually going to win.
I am fine with is selecting Howard #1 but not doing whatever it took to get an elite RB is a big indictment against the GM. Waiting in the draft to try to get a RB was ignorant and McNichols made them pay for it. Maybe we get lucky and Martin can have one of his good seasons. He can’t do any worse than what we witnessed yesterday.
Winston, as much as I admire his work ethic, vocal leadership and desire to win, we just can’t win with him at this rate. With the weapons he has and the relatively healthy offense, we needed long, time consuming drives to keep the defense off the field as much as possible.
We all witnessed in the pre season how horrible the Bucs back up defense was and that was against other back ups.
September 25th, 2017 at 1:11 pm
GMC stands for Got My Cash (so now I do t give a damn and I will end the cream puff I am)
September 25th, 2017 at 1:41 pm
lol at Mike Johnson calling 8 injuries on defense an excuse.
Let me guess if Winston, Mike Evans, Desean Jackson, Cam Brate, Ali Marpet, Donavon Smith, OJ Howard, and Dotson are all out we should expect the same product?
You’d be an idiot not to acknowledge the importance of healthy studs on your team actually playing.
That said I was disappointing most by Winston and VHIII. Winston actually played a solid game outside of the picks; but those picks absolutely killed us. If he gets 2 TDs and 1 pick instead of the 3 picks in those drives/situations we absolutely could have overcome one of the biggest single week injury situations we’ve had and won that game. VHIII needs to make better plays on the deep ball and get his eyes back to it
September 25th, 2017 at 1:51 pm
Man it’s 1 game.
Did you all just become Bucs fans 2 weeks ago? We’ve seen this a hundred times before. And yesterday was a weird day in the NFL, a lot of teams went down that were expected to win, and a lot of good QBs tossed multiple interceptions.
Our game was ugly as hell but we got 14 more to go. I’m much more concerned about the injuries than 1 loss.
Bucs fans are some sensitive a$$ snowflakes I swear….
September 25th, 2017 at 2:28 pm
OMG!!!!! WOULD YOU HATERS PLEASE GET OFF JBF. EVERY ONE OF YOU THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO WIN THE SUPER BOWL LAST WEEK AND NOW YOU WANT JASON LICHT AND DIRK KOETTER KICKED TO THE CURB BEFORE THEY CAN EVEN GO OVER FILM OF OUR SECOND GAME!!! I do agree VHIII is not looking like what he has been hyped up to be. And if he’s going to miss even a couple games, maybe it is time to move on from GMC. Even if he does show up this year, he’s getting older and we’re about to have a lot of young guys (Jameis, Kwon, ME13, Ali, etc) mouth’s to feed soon. He is very injury prone and we could still get a lot for him in a trade.
September 25th, 2017 at 2:29 pm
Sometimes your defense doesn’t play well, happens ALL the time. But, when it does happen your offense needs to make up for it. You cannot wait until the 3rd quarter to start scoring TD’s. If Jameis leads that drive at the beginning of the 4th quarter we are ONLY down by one TD and back in the game. All he had to do was calm down and take what the defense gave him, NOT force balls to DJax & Evans. Looks like Winston still has a ways to go and he is fixing to get paid BIG money for being mediocre. We could be just as good with Glennon, probably better since we would have gotten more draft picks if we traded that No.1 pick.
September 25th, 2017 at 2:32 pm
It’s the 1960’s still….there is no justice. Go back to the end of the bus please. No you can’t vote. No you can’t use our toilets or eat in our restaurants.
Please stop all this “injustice” nonsense sometime soon.
September 25th, 2017 at 2:35 pm
@Lord C
You said it brother. Here’s hoping that we can over come all of the additional injuries we incurred in this game.
On another note, I’m confident that if we get Kwon, Baker, Grimes, Jac Smith, and Devonta Bond back for the Giants game we should be in pretty good shape. That Giants O-line really bad. But just like the vikings, for the most part the Giants Defense is no joke.
Koetter and Jameis have got to find a way to utilize all of the talented receiving weapons we have. Like asap. And all things considered, Jameis has consistently bounced back from these rough games in his young career.
I don’t want to be that guy, because Justin Evans could still become a good player, but hot damn, Kareem Hunt would have been more than worth a 2nd round selection. Cook has played well in 3 games, but I still question his longevity/ durability. And its so obvious at this point that Kareem Hunt is just a special kind of stud.
It would have been nice to have a guy like that right now, even though I’m confident that Doug will be solid upon his return. Oh well, we’ll see.
September 25th, 2017 at 2:37 pm
Blake…plus Cook’s a fumbler like we ALL saw yesterday! 🙂
September 25th, 2017 at 2:42 pm
I know you’re prolly joking around a bit there 87 XD But I legit thought that was a friggin fumble to be perfectly honestly.
September 25th, 2017 at 2:42 pm
honest*
September 25th, 2017 at 3:02 pm
I was traveling across country yesterday and missed the game. I recorded it though on DirecTV and watched most of it, couldn’t help but fast forwarding through some it though, too nauseating. I’m disappointed of course that the Bucs lost, but wasn’t expecting an undefeated season anyway.
However, all the defensive injuries are very concerning, praying most are short term. The Spence injury is heartbreaking to hear, that young man has the heart of a lion but it’s looking like the shoulder issue may be a chronic, longterm problem for him. And losing David for several weeks definitely weakens an already challenged LB group with Kwon out.
My biggest concern though is Jameis because he’s suppose to be the Bucs leader and “America’s QB”. Granted, he’s got so much charisma, athletic talent and desire. But after years of watching him at FSU and now 3rd year with the Bucs, there’s a reality about him that’s becoming very easy to read and likely why defenses can pick him off so regularly when he throws deep. When he wants to go deep, he definitely decides who he’s going to throw to before the snap on deep throws and regardless of how coverage rotates he will throw there anyway. Best, most recent example? Throwing in to triple coverage at the goal line. HELLO!!! There HAS to be other receivers open if 3 DBs are covering 1 WR Jameis, check-off!
What separates JW from the great QBs is that more often then not he doesn’t take what the defense gives him, instead he tries to force something, regardless of coverage, as if he can “will it” to happen. Even Keenum can drop better deep balls right on target into the breadbasket and he goes to a WR in single coverage. Compounding it too is when he does go a single cover WR, too often the pass is not accurate and we make excuses for it as fans because we want him to be good. But until JW learns to be more accurate in single coverage and wiser in which match up opportunities to exploit, he will sadly be a wanna-be, Mariotta will indeed be the better QB, and the Bucs will continue to be pretenders. If he wants to be the leader, wants to be the best in the NFL, then he must play wiser! Seriously, what the heck did he see that said to him, “hmmm, triple coverage, I think I will go there”.
The smart play yesterday would have been to keep the shorthanded defense on the sidelines longer by tiring out the opposing defense with dink passes and running plays, draw the defense in tighter and then light up the safeties when caught napping. Why not pull back, just a notch, on the aggressiveness Jameis, work the clock down the field, and be in striking distance for victory in the 4th quarter. There was plenty of time to do that after that late 3rd Qtr score too.
It’s time for JW to stop relying on his exuberant enthusiasm to get the team over the top, it takes the precision of a surgeon to win at this level of football and in 2 weeks you will stand on the sidelines and watch a master surgeon at work. It’s time to stop playing like a college QB and become a pro. I hope you’re up to the challenge.
September 25th, 2017 at 3:52 pm
CalBucsFan – the problem with that whole diatribe is that Jameis threaded the needle on that throw into triple coverage and hit Evans squarely in the hands between 3 defenders. Risky throw? Yes. Very. But Winston put that ball on the $ and Evans dropped it.
Its kinda hard to criticize a throw that only a handful of NFL Qbs could even make much less attempt, considering he actually squeezed it in there – ill advised or not.
September 25th, 2017 at 4:54 pm
@Blake it was obvious it was a fumble but he still got the TD. I AM SO F-ING SICK OF THIS NOT CLEAR ENOUGH BS!!! NOT TO MENTION I HAVE BOTH STAFFORD AND TATE ON MY FANTASY AND THEIR TD DIDNT STAND AND THAT WAS DEFINITELY NOT ENOUGH TO TURN OVER WITH 8 SECONDS LEFT. THEN THERE’S THE DUMBEST F-ING RULE OF THE 10 SECOND RUN OFF!!! So freakin pissed. Anybody got a shot gun and one bullet I can borrow for just a second?
September 26th, 2017 at 7:31 am
“Prague or Munich”
Loved both those places. Though, by the time I hit Munich I nearly cried when I saw a Kentuck Fried Chicken.
You don’t really appreciate fast food until you spend time livi g in countries without it. Same with cereal and ice.