The Silver Lining
August 19th, 2011
Our biggest obstacle is “to defend against outside sources leaking into our building and telling us how good we were last year and all those types of things. We don’t want to listen to that. We want to remain unwavered … and play the game the way it has to be played.” — Raheem Morris this week on NFL Network, offering his take on the biggest hurdle facing the Bucs entering the season.
Joe popped the Raheem quote above to make an important point: getting mauled last night by the Patriots was probably a great thing for the Bucs.
It would have been nearly impossible for the young Bucs to not get a little too high on themselves after all the love they’ve been getting from the national media, and after thoroughly thrashing Kansas City last week. And what better way to come back to reality than to endure a complete beating at home.
Bucs players said all kinds of things about Thursday’s game, but it’s pretty darn clear that heads on the first-team offense and defense were somewhere else. … They lost their “youngry” for a half to the wrong team.
Joe suspects those “outside influences,” as Raheem called them, pumping up the Bucs surely willl pipe down considerably over the next week.
The humbling silence has got to be welcomed by the head coach, whose team should be sufficiently embarrassed and re-committed to playing great football.
August 19th, 2011 at 8:18 am
As ass whooping by an elite team in the pre-season it a great thing for a young team on the rise, Brady and his OLine have been together for a long time, the newest ingredient is a Pro-bowl receiver who is a master at running routes. We are a team made up of rookies and 2&3 year players, who play beyond their experience level, just not beyond NE’s experience level. This is a learning tool and should be used as such. Nothing more nothing less.
August 19th, 2011 at 8:32 am
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I don’t think any amount of preparation would have changed last night’s outcome. This was not a step back, but a recognition of how far we have to go. This was a case of the grown-ups playing the kids. Vince Wilfork, Andre Carter, Eric Moore, and Mike Wright – a mob with 330lb+, 30+yr old big bellied grown men that ravaged and pillaged our boys. It will get even worst when they give Haynesworth a dose of red pepper and gunpowder and shove him out there. Young boys can’t beat roughnecks who strike matches on the sides of their face. This is what it’s like every week in the AFC with the Ravens, Steelers and Pats. When we get 2 or 3 more like big Frank Okam, we will be able to run with the big dogs. We were just outgunned and overwhelmed last night!!
August 19th, 2011 at 9:00 am
Tampa has beat New England in pre season before, WTF happened last night ?
August 19th, 2011 at 9:02 am
All I know is, I pay damn good money for my season tickets and have for 35 years and to witness what I saw last night after listening to Raheem tell anyone who was dumb enough to listen how “YOUNGRY” this team is extremely disappointing. It’s obvious that this team isn’t anywhere close to being a playoff team after the way our starters were plundered & pillaged by a far superior team last night! Raheem needs to STFU about how GOOD & YOUNG this team is. In his post game presser he used the word YOUNG at least half a dozen times! We’re so young simply because the powers to be are far too cheap to spend any $$. I don’t want to hear anymore garbage about their “PLAN”. It looks like we just went from a playoff contender to winning maybe 6 games in 2011. I remember to ’02 BUCS getting slaughtered by Spurriers Redskins in preseason but at the time we had one of the best defenses the NFL had seen in years with a ton of veteran leadership. Now all we have is a squad full of youngsters that have a coach telling them how great they are without having done a thing! The BUCS are YOUNGRY? Well, I’m equally as MANGRY after the effort put forth last night!
August 19th, 2011 at 9:03 am
At least the coaching staff has lots of tape showing improvements to make… That first half was just an old fashioned ass whooping. I do hope Raheem has these guys ready for next Saturday night. I’ll get worried if the fins manhandles us like the Pats just did.
August 19th, 2011 at 9:07 am
Our biggest obstacle is “to defend against outside sources leaking into our building and telling us how good we were last year and all those types of things. We don’t want to listen to that. We want to remain unwavered … and play the game the way it has to be played.”
Hey Joe, Raheem the one that’s been telling anyone who will listen how great this team is! YOUNGRY??????????? Forget the “OUTSIDE” sources, he needs to keep his own mouth shut!
August 19th, 2011 at 9:09 am
I remember to ’02 BUCS getting slaughtered by Spurriers Redskins in preseason but at the time we had one of the best defenses the NFL had seen in years with a ton of veteran leadership.
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Those veteran leaders were once YOUNGRY pups, just like what we have now. Just sayin…
August 19th, 2011 at 9:14 am
Those veteran leaders were once YOUNGRY pups, just like what we have now. Just saying…
Totally understand! But don’t have the coach tell me how good they are now when it’s OBVIOUS they’re at least a few years away! Again, simply because the team is too damn cheap to spend any money!
August 19th, 2011 at 9:23 am
We should learn from our mistakes, I believe there was only one NFL football team that went undefeated in a season. I think it was a great learning experience for all, plus I could have swore that we sacked Brady a couple of times but it was very late last night when I was watching.
we will learn from this and the tape will let the coaches show how to do and not do something to all. Why the O-line couldn’t block and the D-line stop the run plus everyone out of postion. If this would have happened in the second regular game of the season, cause to worry. We shall see.
August 19th, 2011 at 9:24 am
Did anyone see the Eagle’s game last night, that is supposed to be the NFCs leading contender for the SB. It’s the pre-season, this is the time you make the mistakes and fix the flaws. Next week when we rip the Dolphins in half and send them home looking for a new QB, what will you be saying then? Oh look how good we are. Just like last week at KC, it’s the pre-season. Come Sept 11, the Bucs will be ready to play.
August 19th, 2011 at 9:30 am
YOUNGRY = Young + Hungry. I’ve never heard Raheem say anyone was good. If I missed it, let me know.
August 19th, 2011 at 9:30 am
Calm down jb. It was one preseason game after a lockout. You’re seriously overreacting.
August 19th, 2011 at 10:01 am
The way they played last night, it’s more like hungerectomy!
August 19th, 2011 at 10:08 am
Exactly my thoughts: The team needed this and it was good to have it happen in the pre-season.
Now some rookies know what they can expect from good teams and how far they have to go.
Now they have film to study on a whole lot of things they did wrong.
The O-Line, TEs and RBs should learn ALOT from the film because of all the different blitzes. Bill B might have done Raheem a favor in that regards.
I think the LBs have a whole lot of blown assignments they can look at on film now.
I do not think the D-Line played porrly, they seemed to get penetration. They might have left a gap here and there but I think, and I could be wrong, it looked s if the LBs were out of place more often than not.
Live and learn
August 19th, 2011 at 10:09 am
Just a preseason game so it probably means very little.
However, the “were young” excuse mantra should have a very short shelf life.
If they are young and inexperienced, and non-competitive this year(I said IF) its because management/ownership has made them that way. Three years is more than ample time. Look at Atlanta since they were 1-15. And even “throw McKay in the bay” made it to NFC Championship game from expansion to year four. Dungy one year turnaround and never looked back.
Surely a rock star can build a team in three years?
Well see.
August 19th, 2011 at 10:15 am
Penn took one in the backside that lame Andre Carter took advantage of him spun him around and pulled his pants down and raped him it looks like Niko koutouvitis the mad russian gave bellicheat a play book it was a shame seeing that offence get imbarrased that way. any chance Bellicheat has chance to humiliate another man he will at what ever the cost
August 19th, 2011 at 10:44 am
The biggest problem that I noticed in last nights game was how flat the D-line looked. The body language didn’t look good. If they were youngry in training camp.
They looked stuffed last night. They are going to need more time (experience) before they get better.
August 19th, 2011 at 10:57 am
The media is all over the Pats’ nuts and you don’t see them crapping out…
August 19th, 2011 at 11:15 am
If that was “the most physical bucs team ever”……………….hate to see the least.
Rah will pull it all together.
August 19th, 2011 at 11:18 am
jb: why don’t you STFU and stop yelling in here like some kind of baby who got his candy stolen?
The team that spent the most money in free agency played just like the Bucs last night. In fact they played worse, throwing 4 INT’s. How many did the Bucs throw? Yeah, that’s right. None.
Morons need to stop trying to correlate payroll with wins. It doesn’t work that way, it never has worked that way and it never will work that way. Get it? The numbers don’t lie.
Last night was about one thing: a young, inexperienced team getting schooled by a veteran team with the best lines and the best QB in the league that has been together for a very long time. Simple as that.
Remember this: there is no statistic in existence that shows a relationship between preseason performance and regular season record. Same with payroll and number of wins. Doesn’t exist. Get the f-ck over it already.
August 19th, 2011 at 11:29 am
Hey Flboy:
Except for last week when you sheep were arguing that the Chiefs game (they were trying to not get injured) correlated to a great bucs team.
I am disappointed that they looked SO bad, it really was embarrassing, but I think that it is hilarious in that it wakes you fanatics up to the reality that this team is VERY far from the top of the league and conference, heck division.
August 19th, 2011 at 11:46 am
The speed at which the Patriots played the game was overwhelming for defense. That was obvious. Clayborn seemed to adapt as the game progressed along with McCoy. Those two were bright spots in a very embarrassing performance. The offensive line should be ashamed at how they played. Trueblood seemed like the only lineman who stood his ground. Hopefully this serves as a swift kick in the ass for this team.
August 19th, 2011 at 11:53 am
2.2: you need to seriously stop lumping everyone together in your generalizations. I never made a single post saying the win vs the Chiefs provided any insight into anything except evaluating individual player performances. I’ve never said the Bucs are great, because they are not great. They are good. Big difference.
August 19th, 2011 at 11:56 am
I have posted saying we’ll go 10-6 again and this time make the playoffs. I still feel comfortable with that prediction. Nothing about the preseason will change any of that for good or bad.