You Can’t Give Matty Ice Time
December 5th, 2010
One of the cool things about the Bucs the past couple of weeks has been the rebirth of the Bucs defensive line. But it was basically throwing in a towel on one play that may have doomed the Bucs today.
The Dixie Chicks had a 3rd-and-20 deep in their own territory. One stop and Atlanta was likely going to punt. With one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL barking signals, one would think putting pressure on him — as the Bucs had done most of the game — would have been advantageous.
But no. Defenisve coordinator Raheem Morris only used a three-man front on that fateful third down, on which Matty Ice completed a ridiculous pass to Roddy White for a first down.
Sure, White made an astounding catch but the pass from Matty Ice was perfect. Part of the reason for the perfection was he had time to throw.
There’s a segment on the wonderful NFL Network series “Top Ten” where Warren Sapp howls in outrage over prevent defenses. Joe’s not sure Morris was calling a prevent defense but using a three-man front on a third-and-long on what could have been a victory-clinching play sure as hell smells like one to Joe.
Sure, Joe could sit here and finger all sorts of plays that cost the Bucs. But for some reason Morris, an aggressive coach, turned into a scared kitten today. So it seemed with Joe’s eyes.
December 5th, 2010 at 10:06 pm
That damn 3 man front got us into all sorts of trouble today. I haven’t seen anything good happen when we’ve been in that defense. This one is really hard for me to digest.
December 5th, 2010 at 10:10 pm
YUP! Steve White even called it! This 3-3-5 crap is not working at all.
December 5th, 2010 at 10:15 pm
I have mixed feelings about that play. Obviously, you always want to put pressure on the QB, and we just can’t do it rushing 3 guys. However, I thought the coverage was really good, but it was just a perfect throw and catch. Sometimes great offense beats good defense.
December 5th, 2010 at 10:18 pm
He’s a DB coach, what do you expect?
They played a hard fought game.
They are a young team, no worries at all. Expecting more is being totally unrealistic. And this is coming from me of all people. That’s mainly because I have always been a realist.
I wouldn’t get too bent out of shape losing to one of the best teams in the NFL, a 10-2 team.
Now losing to McNabb next week would be something to get irritated about… But again, McNabb is a real, NFL caliber QB, another area of struggle this young team deals with.
December 5th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
Oh my God, I actually agree with Buc You!
December 6th, 2010 at 1:17 am
OK, so the third quarter had just begun. I was sitting in front of my computer in Ecuador watching the Game Center on NFL.com and chatting with the good people here on the live game chat. It was 17-14. I had to go out to dinner with my in-laws, so off I went.
I checked on the Blackberry a while later and it was 24-14. Soon 24-21 and we had ATL in that 3rd and 20 late in the game. “we got them.” But as I refreshed, “what the heck?” How does one allow a 3rd and 20 especially late in the game? The same way we lost to ATL the first time.
Inexperience.
That is the reason the D-line had trouble stopping the run and getting QB pressure. This team is loaded with talent, but it is inexperienced talent. I think the Buccaneers with finish the season with a winning record and whether we get in the playoffs doesn’t really matter (would be nice though) as far as long term goes with this team. The Buccaneers will be a much better team next year and they will beat teams with winning records.
The future is bright and although it is painful to swallow games like this we will have many games to celebrate in the next few years.
Go Bucs!