Bears 24, Bucs 18
October 23rd, 2011
What the hell can Joe say about this game?
Wow! Aqib Talib made an absoloutely idiotic personal foul that stripped the Bucs of precious late fourth-quarter time. The Bucs get the equivalent of a goal-line stand and Talib blows it by intentionally shoving his fingers in Roy Williams’ face mask? Really?
Absolute insanity on the field. The Bucs climb back in the game on the back of its defense standing tall on SIX consecutive possessions to close the second half.
The Bucs start firing on all cylinders only after Earnest Graham, Tanard Jackson, Mason Foster and Jeremy Zuttah go down. Talk about being weakened up the gut. Third-string center Ted Larsen and Derek Hardman at left guard were studs in pass blocking. Joe might have given a game ball to Dezmon Brizcoe.
But there are no game balls. The Bucs lost.
Why this team keeps starting games like its in the mud is mind-boggling. Somehow that’s connected to coaching.
Josh Freeman getting picked four times? Yes, the man has regressed. Why doesn’t he ever run anymore? Why is he forcing balls into Kellen Winslow when clearly nothing is there?
The bye week can’t come soon enough next week. Stick with Joe through the afternoon and night for much more on this game.
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Coaching preparation for this team is the worst I’ve ever seen on the professional level.
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:26 pm
I think we are finally seeing the results of a shortened off-season. Yes, Freeman ran his own camps and such, but I doubt it was against the level he sees every Sunday and during training camp even.
I think we all, myself included, have anointed Freeman as the sole savior of the offense, and he believes it. He then feels it all has to be on him.No Graham, no Blount (Shoulda kept Bradford eh?) and his grade school tiffs with K2 are really causing problems. I also believe at the end of the year, or even during the Bye, we are going to hear of some nagging injury.
The OL held up pretty good all day today, yet the amount of deep passes were minimal until it became hurry up time. That’s killing us too.
The amount of starters they lost was staggering today, and that’s what did them in. But, i’m still proud of them for coming back to make it respectable. The held the mystical Devin Hester to basically nothing, and when the D needed to step up, they did (except Talib’s penalty)
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:26 pm
I think we are finally seeing the results of a shortened off-season. Yes, Freeman ran his own camps and such, but I doubt it was against the level he sees every Sunday and during training camp even.
I think we all, myself included, have anointed Freeman as the sole savior of the offense, and he believes it. He then feels it all has to be on him.No Graham, no Blount (Shoulda kept Bradford eh?) and his grade school tiffs with K2 are really causing problems. I also believe at the end of the year, or even during the Bye, we are going to hear of some nagging injury.
The OL held up pretty good all day today, yet the amount of deep passes were minimal until it became hurry up time. That’s killing us too.
The amount of starters they lost was staggering today, and that’s what did them in. But, i’m still proud of them for coming back to make it respectable. The held the mystical Devin Hester to basically nothing, and when the D needed to step up, they did (except Talib’s penalty)
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:28 pm
FIRE RAHEEM MIDSEASON. SUCK FOR LUCK. SEASON IS OVER.
Either that or an extremely talented super young team lost a game on the final drive when they had NO RUNNING GAME all day long because their 1st AND 2nd string HB’s were out and their ONLY FB was out for half the game and probably too hurt to make an impact when he did come back.
The future is bright. Even Jon Gruden sees that. Haters are gonna hate though.
Clayborn is a beast. McCoy, Clayborn and Bennett will be killing Qb’s when they are healthy and put it all together.
that being said there are some obvious weaknesses and its NOT the coaching.
OLB, CB, and RIGHT FREAKING TACKLE need to be addressed in the offseason.
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:29 pm
its time to cut talibs ass…this thug needs to go get a real job…bye bye pac man
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:29 pm
Forget about coaching, how about some anger mgt classes or pills for Talib?
I don’t know if Freeman has regressed or is just going through some struggles that come with a still developing QB.
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:30 pm
@Jerry – agreed. I’m sick of it. If they can’t get out of this slow start BS that they’ve been on for two years, then the whole staff (including Rah) needs to go. Can’t compete when we’re down two scores before every half.
If they can fix it, then just Olson needs to go.
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:30 pm
its also time to get rid of olsen…terrible play calling when we are down to our 3rd string rb…Pass the effing ball…i feel sick
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:34 pm
Oh BTW- did i mention we still have DaQuan Bowers who if his knee holds up is almost guaranteed to eventually also become a serious force on our d-line. Oh and Brian Price if he keeps getting back towards 100 percent?
Freeman is regressing? Yeah well he hasn’t been great this season. But he almost came from behind to win a game in which he was given zero support from his run game.
Blount plays in this game the Bucs probably win.
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:37 pm
with underacheiving wrs
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:37 pm
Freeman has without a doubt regressed. It’s not even a question of whether he has or not, what remains to be seen is how much he has regressed and how much he can improve.
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:38 pm
But he didnt and we lost. Can’t look at what if’s, need to improve this slow starting sh!t.. It is indeed getting very annoying…
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:38 pm
KNEEJERKERS UNITE!!! YOU DISAPPEARED AFTER THE SAINTS WIN AND THE FALCONS WIN. WE ARE STILL UNBEATEN IN THE DIVISION. BUT THE SEASON IS OVER. COACH SUCKS. GM SUCKS. PLAYERS SUCK. GMC SUCKS. FREEMAN SUCKS. TIME FOR A COMPLETE REBUILD!!!
Unless of course we get healthy during the bye and smack the Saints in the mouth again.
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:39 pm
my last statement referred to beckles statement
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:40 pm
I really don’t know why this team can’t ever stay healthy. Our players are like broken glass.
I’m sick of the slow starts. If we can play great football in the 4th, then we should be able to do it the whole game.
I take it back. This team played OK today for all the injuries we had, but I’m sick of that always being the excuse. This team has been plagued with injuries since the year we won the super bowl.
But the coaching job was downright bad. I’m not giving Raheem, Olsen, or the others a pass on anything today. The penalties never stop, the questionable playcalling is constant, etc.
They better get it together during the bye week!
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:42 pm
Frustrating….your right…i was thinking the same thing, why doesnt Freeman run anymore?
Anyway…..im going to get a drink!
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:42 pm
You guys blast free, and yes he forced throws. But horrible coaching causes him to play from behind almost every week.
I believe that this proliferation of injuries relates to how soft and undisciplined they practice. Yes, I have been and it was a joke, nothing like the business approach under Dungy and Gruden.
I think with any quality coaching, keeping them from being outcoached to start every game, they might be good. As long as this undisciplined approach continues they will never be consistent and subject to stupid penalties and turnovers.
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:43 pm
Take away your starting and backup HB and almost any QB in this league will struggle. The Bucs are far from perfect but some of you are as dramatic and angry as Talib.
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:43 pm
And Mike Williams is starting to look more and more like Michael Clayton. A one year wonder.
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:45 pm
Glazer boys deserve some credit for the loss, pissing away home field advantage to play in London, IMO.
Right when we were playing much better at home too.
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:45 pm
I’m usually a bucs optimist but it needs to be said: Slow starts? Coaching. Anger problems? Coaching. PENALTIES? COACHING.
I never wanted to say this but maybe we do need a veteran coach to instill come order in this chaos.
Keep Mark Dom though.
As for Free, well… he’s regressed, alright. Maybe it’s just a late sophomore slump….
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:45 pm
time to draft a right tackle and a CB, cut Black and start Watson! i didnt hear blacks name once today from the announcers in positivt context
that said the team put up at good fight given all the injuries, but i keeps comming back to our slow starts, this and the detroit game is where it has really hurt us so far :S
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:46 pm
Seriously kneejerkers- call me in a couple of years if all the young studs we have drafted plus the ones we are going to draft in the next couple of years all turn out to be busts when they hit their primes and this team never competes for a Super Bowl.
The main thing the kneejerkers never take into account is that with the average age of this team they really have no business even being competitive let alone going 10-6 last year and being 4-3 and undefeated in the division through two division games this year.
But its so much easier to criticisize after every single loss as a drunken armchair coach\GM even after a brilliant win against the “elite” Saints last week and even considering so many of our crucial players were hurt for this game.
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:46 pm
Sorry we have an awesome GM Beckles.hes building a great franchise..Face it no running game today killed it..Bucs should have laid off the rugby and fish and chips..Im with steve lets get a drink
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:49 pm
Keep Dom, hire a GM who isn’t clueless in free agency and resigning players, run a two GM system. One judges draft prospects and is in charge of the draft only, the other OBJECTIVELY evaluates talent and makes free agency decisions.
If only it were a perfect world…
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:49 pm
We need a head coach! Not just some dude that’s so happy to have the job that’s been given to him that he’s willing to do nothing but be a shill for the NFL in their quest to put a team in London! Let him go work for Rodger Goddell but keep him away from this team! The BUCS are the most undisciplined team in the NFL! That starts with the head coach. Iknow, I know, we had injuries we had long travel times. That’s what LOSERS do………..Make excuses!
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:50 pm
D:I agree. Dom deserves credit for assembling a group that stays pretty competitive despite having little direction and inadequate preparation every week.
Good point Eric. If this team misses the playoffs by a game, the entire buc nation should be pissed at these greedy owners. If you guys haven’t realized that every decision prioritizes pennies over wins by the Glazers, then you are totally and blindly ignoring this push to play games in London.
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:50 pm
Eric- you might be right on that one. It would have been nice to rattle Cutler and his crappy o-line with some noise. But then again its Tampa and half the fans in the stadium might have been Chicago transplants anyway.
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:52 pm
KD, in my opinion we have most of the talent we need, the rest will come through next 2-3 drafts
the reason they have so much cap space right now is so they can resign freeman and blount to the contracts they deserve. that would be impossible if we had signed Asomugha or some other big name free agent
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:54 pm
You can hype up the talent and potential all you want… but the coaching is not getting better at all. This team is being outcoached on a consistant basis. And that should not be happening to a 3rd year head coach and OC if they are worth a damn.
Raheem isnt cleaning up the penalities. He’s not fixing the first half troubles. Olson’s playcalling is horrible. The coaches are failing.
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:55 pm
Thomas- The decision to give away a home game isn’t good I’ll give Eric that. Not you because you just agree with him because you hate all things current buc organization from owners on down. As far as preparation. You cant prepare for having to play an entire game with your 3rd string running back and no fullback. It was a day of fluke injuries. But go ahead and put that on Raheem. It was risky to go into this game with the RB situation as it was but obvisouly they were banking on making it through this game to the bye week. It was a gamble. It didnt pay off. Thems the breaks. For them to bring up other running backs prior to this game would have meant cutting someone else from the team they felt was valuable. Cue your obligatory they should have cut GMC comment.
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:57 pm
Coaching is terrible! Cowher?
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:59 pm
@Steendahl – I didn’t want Aso. Just look at how he’s doing in a zone scheme. I would have liked a running back, another corner, and a new linebacker to replace Black instead of a bunch of UFA’s and late round picks. “Next man up” can only go so far…
And Freeman doesn’t deserve a big new contract with the way he’s played this year.
October 23rd, 2011 at 5:04 pm
Is Talib worth the drama ????????????????????????
October 23rd, 2011 at 5:13 pm
@ KD – first of all, i think bucs play more man-man (without trying to be an expert, its just what i hear)
anothers corner seems to be nescessary ill agree on that but id say watson is a good upgrade over black.
as for freeman, i know he is being bad this season, but you cant deny he has potential, he wont get a contract anywhere near rodgers, brady ect, but considering how difficult finding a franchise QB can be, resign him
we build through the draft, thats is what works in my mind, the bad play is mainly on the coaches although not entirely
October 23rd, 2011 at 5:19 pm
to: Patrick Says:
maybe that’s why people passed on them. Maybe that’s why they were not drafted.
October 23rd, 2011 at 5:21 pm
When your only offseason acquisitions are rookies and scrap heap players, of course you’re going to have penalties! But no, the team has been trying to convince us that veterans are poison for a team. The only leaders we have are Barber, K2, and maybe Penn. I think Freeman has good leadership qualities, but he’s still young and not playing well right now.
And I’ve been supportive of Raheem since last year for the most part, but the guy is not much of a leader. He hasn’t been correcting the stupid mistakes, slow starts, and all the other problems. I’ve also never seen him getting mad or yelling at his players on the sideline when they can’t get it together. No emotion at all. I know we have youth and all, but Raheem is the head coach and the leader of this team.
October 23rd, 2011 at 5:43 pm
@Steendahl – It’s been a combination of zone/man mostly this year while he ran pretty much only man in Oakland. I agree with you 100% on Watson. He needs to at least get a chance. I should’ve said “anyone other than Black”
Freeman had a good year last year and the potential is there, but before they hand him that contract he has to play consistently well. I think he’s our franchise qb but he’s gotta prove it.
October 23rd, 2011 at 5:46 pm
To Patrick
As a coach it all depends on your rapport with your players, if you your rapport is strong then you dont have to fuss and cuss at every mistake. As far as Rah being a leader I think he has that down pat, any of those players would run through a brickwall for him. Simply Rah just needs some more help on his staff, alot of young coaches try and do too much early on Im seeing the same thing with Rah
October 23rd, 2011 at 5:51 pm
Ive seen a case similar to Freeman before, I had a QB that had a great year and the next he was much more aggressive in his decision making, because of his ego. My guy got so much press in the local paper it went to his head and thought he could any ball anywhere he wanted and nobody could do anything about it. Actually in his second year Matt Ryan went thru something similar its quite common
October 23rd, 2011 at 5:53 pm
If Talibs gonna play, we aint gonna pay!
October 23rd, 2011 at 5:55 pm
If they play Quincy Black, We aint comin back
October 23rd, 2011 at 6:11 pm
Free shows plenty to make me believe he can be a top ten QB for a lot of years.
He has a great flare for the game.
whether raheem Morris is the most qualified guy to get him to that level on a consistent basis is surely an open question.
Huge three game stretch coming up, well see.
October 23rd, 2011 at 6:21 pm
It makes me absolutely want to puke to hear warden Goodell pimpin the Bucs for an annual game in London because of the ” great infrastrcuture the Glazers have there with ManU”. The Glazers are do everything to erode our fan base than complain that the games arent sold out. Having to watch the crowd do the wave while our offense is on the field during our so called ” home” game is sickening. If this game was played in Tampa, where it should have been, I believe the results would have been different. The Glazers are screwing our fan base over and over and nobody seems to get it!
October 23rd, 2011 at 6:29 pm
Exactly right Jake. Although Rah deserves most of the blame for this obe, he is a distant second to the Glazers. This London business pisses me off. Why us? Why do our owners and coaches want a “base” over there? We are 0-2 there? It would be annual disadvantage. We dont need anymore of those, we already have a huge one at the coaching position.
October 23rd, 2011 at 7:28 pm
Yeah Thomas, it’s all Raheem and the Glazers fault. That is, when we lose. When we win, it’s due to everyone else, except Raheem and the Glazers. You’ve got the whole thing figured out genius.
I’m done with you for a while. You have finally ruined it for me, where I no longer like coming to this site to read any of your ridiculous posts. You need serious help.
October 23rd, 2011 at 7:43 pm
Time to get rid of that sociopath Talib. He is a worthless piece of you know what. Coaching terrible. Thanx Glasers for getting rid of our home field advantage
October 23rd, 2011 at 7:59 pm
So maybe double up on cb this draft?
October 23rd, 2011 at 8:24 pm
Youth in a football team is Great, but in order to have those rookies flourish is to have a good coaching staff AND SOME VETERANS MIXED IN!! I’m really convinced that our problems are coming from the coaching.
October 23rd, 2011 at 9:55 pm
The real problem with this team is talent, none of our receivers get any separation, they are dropping balls, can’t block and so on. This is why Josh Freeman throws so many pics, NO Separation!!! Furthermore our starting TE Winslow scored his first TD in week 7????? Really wow!!! Freeman has more INT’s than he has sacks which says protection is not an issue, our receivers have 5 touchdowns total thru week 7, tight ends have 1…….. Oh yeah were 60 million under the cap.
October 23rd, 2011 at 11:17 pm
Any sane individual reading these comments would come to the conclusion that Beckles knows what he’s talking about and thomas (and Thomas) 2.2 do not.
October 25th, 2011 at 3:23 am
Hawaiian Buc Says:
October 23rd, 2011 at 7:28 pm
“Yeah Thomas, it’s all Raheem and the Glazers fault. That is, when we lose. When we win, it’s due to everyone else, except Raheem and the Glazers. You’ve got the whole thing figured out genius.
I’m done with you for a while. You have finally ruined it for me, where I no longer like coming to this site to read any of your ridiculous posts. You need serious help.”
You have a LOT more patience than I do, Hawaiian Buc. The shine wore off of this site for me quite a while ago, for that very reason. I certainly do appreciate what the Joes are doing here, but the incessant self-righteous blathering of some posters has kept me from enjoying this site as much as I would have otherwise. I now pretty much ignore the comments, except on the game day threads.