Climb Off The Ledge!
August 19th, 2012
Joe senses a level of panic building among Bucs fans after the lackluster loss to the Titans in the second preseason game of the year.
The defense, fans bark, is a throwback to November 2011, a frightening thought indeed. But lost is the fact that the Bucs defense started the game with three, three-and-outs, which pleased Bucs coach Greg Schiano.
Joe had a fan Twitter him just today, thinking quarterback Josh Freeman will be no better than his 22-interception season last year because said fan thought Freeman telegraphed a couple of passes Friday night.
In short, as Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said after Friday’s game, it’s preseason.
“We can fix it, we can fix it,” GMC said. “We just have to get it on tape and get on the grind. Not saying we haven’t been, but this is preseason and this is where you make your mistakes and make your corrections so on Sept. 9 we have those things behind us.”
Exactly the point. Rarely if ever is a team going to show its hand in a preseason game. Often, players are asked to work on very specific moves that may expose them.
There’s no reason to panic over Friday’s game. If this play continues into October, then perhaps.
August 19th, 2012 at 5:44 pm
No complaints here. Starters all looked pretty good. Josh was a little tentative but no reason for alarm yet. I just hope they mike the right choices when its cut time. I do think Cody Grimm needs to go.
August 19th, 2012 at 5:49 pm
I am excited, especially when we get towards the real 53 man roster !
August 19th, 2012 at 6:20 pm
I’m not panicking over Fri night. But Freeman has concerned me with his reads (from the TV viewer’s perspective). It seemed like last season and now in the preseason he locks up with a planned play and watches it develop focusing on his intended target. It was a common concern last year and I blew it off to him trying too hard. But the beginning of the pre season looks similar. Maybe he isn’t comfortable with the scheme yet, can’t “feel” how it is going to develop. But it is starting to look like a problem if you take his performance last year and in Fri game into consideration. It is going to bear watching.
August 19th, 2012 at 6:29 pm
Only thing that really bothered me was the blocking. Run, pass, all of it. The only one that looked good was Nicks. Joseph and Zuttah were embarrassingly bad on quite a few plays.
Good thing we don’t have an 18 game season or next weekend would be a regular game already.
August 19th, 2012 at 6:36 pm
Freeman did stare down VJax a couple times, but I think that has more to do with trying to get him the ball.
Let’s keep things in perspective though…
1-We’re not game planning
2-Starters played sparingly, Nicks and Joseph in particular only got 15 snaps
3-The defense, for not game planning, has looked light years ahead of last year.
4-We’re just not going to show all our stuff or any major portion of the offense or defense. We’ve ran basic runs and play action. Defensively we’ve pretty much just run basic calls with little if any audibles and blitzed some basic packages to get a feel for things.
The only thing we’ve really shown, is that we have little depth – so we must stay healthy.
I’m anxious to see the team play the Patriots where the starters traditionally get a half and sometimes series 1 of the 3rd quarter. We still probably won’t game plan much if at all, but I do expect to see the Bucs get in some sort of rhythm.
Not necessary to panic people. If Sept 9th vs the Panties is a stinker, then there could be cause for alarm.
We’re ok.
August 19th, 2012 at 7:02 pm
This is why I hate preseason. You go 4-0 all you can say is, “Well it’s only preseason.” You go 0-4 and all you can say is, “Thank God it’s preseason.” It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, you feel like you’re losing.
August 19th, 2012 at 7:35 pm
Hope they play the starters a full quarter. That will help them gel better and keep the fans anxiety levels down
August 19th, 2012 at 7:45 pm
Joe… great article and there’s no need to be concerned. 0-4 0r 4-0 in the preseason doesn’t matter. Determining the best 53 and practice squad players does matter.
August 19th, 2012 at 7:59 pm
My concern was mostly with the OL and Freeman. Let me ask this question – did anyone here see the Panthers-Dolphins game?
Cam Newton looked, a) like he had all evening to throw the ball, and b) like a much more comfortable, confident, and dynamic passer than Freeman. Others may disagree, but to my eyes it wasn’t even close. He was chucking the ball all over the place; Williams was running through red sea-size holes…
This does worry me. Anyone have a contrary take to make me feel better?
August 19th, 2012 at 8:00 pm
Sounding a bit like The Iraqi Information Minister Mr. Joe.
“the Americans aren’t in Bagdad, we turned them away”
Kabloooooom…….
August 19th, 2012 at 8:20 pm
Although very difficult to do, you really have to take everything you see in preseason with a grain of salt. The year we won the Super Bowl, we lost the third preseason game (the one the starters play the most in) 40-10 to the Redskins. Now in no way am I saying we are the 2002 Bucs, but my point is that the preseason CAN be meaningless in regards to wins and losses. The Packers have been pasted twice this preseason. The Saints starters got whooped by the Jags yesterday. For about 8 years after we kicked their butts in the Super Bowl, the Raiders went 4-0 just about every preseason, while the Colts went 0-4.
That being said, it was pretty scary how bad we looked on Friday. I would have loved to have seen Freeman look better, as he is without a doubt the key to our success. He continues to be Captain Check down early on in games. It’s just impossible to know how worried we really should be. We have no idea how much, if at all, we gameplanned. We don’t know how vanilla we kept the playbook. We also don’t know how the Titans took the game either. It was certainly alarming, but we have no way to know if it was real or just a mirage. I have a feeling we will have a much better idea when the Panthers come to town.
August 19th, 2012 at 8:34 pm
Your right mr. Hawaiian.
One thing I recall about chucky, he had a predetermined schedule for the starters. Didn’t matter if they sucked it up he pulled them at allotted time.
I always though they should stay in till they get something going, but that is not conventional wisdom.
I hope they work Jackson and Clarke in and not try and wait till Carolina to “unleash”.
August 19th, 2012 at 8:34 pm
absutely agree I dint like hat I saw at t game but when I ached it lateron tv I thought the starters looked pretty good.BOTH 2n string defesve tackles did not play. Linebackers look sharperad so does the secondary. I think MarkDominick willtry to address the depth asoher eams ae theircuts. Rsters eing cu fro 90 to 53 wil make it easier to gie the players more one on one oaching too.
August 19th, 2012 at 8:59 pm
I take preseason starters play serious. If they play poorly after training camp. It really doesn’t bode well. Nobody looks comfortable on the field at this point. Good teams don’t struggle in preseason.
August 19th, 2012 at 9:04 pm
Its only preseason however, I did not like what I saw from Freeman. He looked timid and confused at times, it seems the game was moving too fast for him. If he looked liked that against the titans just imagine what the patriots will do to him.
August 19th, 2012 at 9:23 pm
I remember telling you ladies to stop dreaming last year when you were calling me a fool for not believing that we were favorites to go 15-1 and compete for the Super Bowl after the KC preseason game.
These games mean nothing from a score standpoint, all that matters is competitions among teammates for a few roster spots and starter vs backup jobs.
You will see a little more next week, and then zero in preseason game 4.
Remember it is going to take some time to dust-off rahdom. Most teams were locked out last offseason, our team didn’t conduct organized practices until Schiano was hired! Are players were light years behind the 31 NFL franchises.
August 19th, 2012 at 9:24 pm
Our players . . . (I hate spellcheck and sp/gr critics)
August 19th, 2012 at 9:28 pm
blah, blah, blah…^^^^^
August 19th, 2012 at 9:29 pm
I think Freeman staring down Jackson was sloppy, but I also think Josh was trying to develop a chemistry between himself and Jackson. OR, he may have been told to make it obvious so that teams wish to double cover Jackson in the regular season.
Either way…I loved the game. I loved the mistakes.
On a side note…does anyone know how many superbowl winning teams got whipped in the preseason? A bunch. Not that the Bucs will (or won’t) win the SuperBowl…just saying how little the preseason matters.
Instead of looking for wins and losses, fans should be looking for individual performances and unit performances. And even then…take a lot lightly.
Keep in mind, a smart coach isn’t going to show everything in the preseason. Offenses AND Defense is working from a small number of plays.
August 19th, 2012 at 9:33 pm
Thomas2.2 Says:
August 19th, 2012 at 9:23 pm
I remember telling you ladies to stop dreaming last year when you were calling me a fool for not believing that we were favorites to go 15-1 and compete for the Super Bowl after the KC preseason game.
.
What I remember is a lot of people admitting that anything is possible, and no one can honestly predict such things.
Look at the Pats when Brady took over…everyone thought the team was doomed.
Take a good look at the Saints this year. No one thinks they’ll do anything…but they might surprise a lot of people.
There are a LOT of teams that won superbowls unexpectedly.
August 19th, 2012 at 9:44 pm
Freeman has zero excuses this year.. He Has vincent jackson! if he sucks this year hello matt barkley!
August 19th, 2012 at 9:47 pm
No need to panic, that’s just a small block of ice ahead. Besides, this boat is unsinkable.
August 19th, 2012 at 10:01 pm
I love the way things work out. Last week we had a big W here and said it’s only preseason but after last year a win? We will take it. Now after a Blowout reminds most of us of last year we are told it is not ok to think OMG not again.
Yes we know who most of the scoring was done against. But after the media telling everyone how we did just what we wanted to last week and how much better we were with the first string. Then this? If it was not for the talents of Williams, Freeman would have screwed that TD up and it would have been 0. So was Miami that bad??
Now they want to tell us players forgot from last week to this week how to block, keep proper pad level etc… Plus now they are tired. If this kind of play continues into the first game of Sept. by the first string Offense, then perhaps. You have to score points. We have been here before watching pressure up the middle and the matador and his cape on the right side.
For those saying keep it in prospective, We have been given a lot of hope for this team. Try keeping that in prospective.
August 19th, 2012 at 10:02 pm
Why don’t they mount a tinted visor in Freeman’s helmet?
Dini has seen himself suck on tape now, so he will now fix himself.
They need to rename his position from defensive tackle to defensive poser because he’s made only one tackle all year.
August 19th, 2012 at 10:23 pm
I grow weary if this third person bullcrap. joe dont know didly. hes like sspears.
August 19th, 2012 at 10:23 pm
I grow weary if this third person bullcrap. joe dont know didly. hes like sspears.
August 19th, 2012 at 10:37 pm
and some of you wonder why Buc fans are considered a joke around the league. I watched the replay of the game and it obvious, just like Schiano said in his presser that they were purposely forcing it to Jackson. On Freeman’s final drive, Jackson clearly dropped a catchable ball on 3rd down. Freeman is the least of our worries but all of the chicken littles need something to rally around so I guess Freeman is the new Raheem.
The sky isnt falling but I swear you guys will never appreciate having an NFL franchise in Tampa Bay until it picks up and moves to London
August 19th, 2012 at 10:43 pm
Miguel Grande Says:
August 19th, 2012 at 10:02 pm
They need to rename his position from defensive tackle to defensive poser because he’s made only one tackle all year.
.
Yeah…and it’s been so many regular season games so far. The nerve!
August 19th, 2012 at 10:43 pm
biglebowdki,
See ya, wouldn’t wanna be ya…
August 19th, 2012 at 10:45 pm
I’d really like to enjoy the season this year…I may have to avoid websites that Bucs fans populate to do it though. I have never seen people so negative as certain Bucs fans.
We need PositiveBucsFan.com 😛
August 19th, 2012 at 10:55 pm
I will believe it when I see it from this defense. I have said it and I will repeat it, you cant have the same core of players and expect tremendous change. Some of it is simply heart and attitude. Telling another man you will not run the ball and believing it before finally executing it. We miss the first step in having the heart and attitude.
August 19th, 2012 at 10:57 pm
By the way we should just heave Okam from this roster with that kind of size and cant stop the run. He should be a NT from hell but he plays like he’s in Narnia.
August 19th, 2012 at 11:13 pm
I’m positive this is gonna end badly.
August 19th, 2012 at 11:14 pm
“Good teams don’t struggle in preseason.”
——–
SMH. Guess the Packers aren’t a good team. Guess the Saints and Falcons are horrible. On the other hand, the Browns, Jaguars, and Seahawks are all great teams.
People who panic (or get too excited over the preseason) either have very short memories or are new to the NFL. It has been proven time and time and time again that preseason success (or failure) more often than not does not translate into the regular season. Even if we beat the Pats by 30 on Friday, that really means nothing as far as how good we will be when the games count. I am blown away by how over-emotional some fans get over an exhibition game. Relax, take a deep breath, and return to reality.
August 19th, 2012 at 11:20 pm
@Miguel (wishes he was) Grande,
I believe you have to have medical approval to wear the tinted visor. Not positive on this, but pretty close to positive.
As for GMC, by almost all accounts, he’s played very well in limited action. Why single him out? Don’t hear you complaining about Clayborn. He doesn’t have a sack, but neither does anyone else on the line. He has had multiple plays where he put pressure up the middle. Everybody else (who actually knows what they are talking about) disagrees with you as to his performance so far, but I guess they are wrong. There’s not a big enough body of work to effectively evaluate him anyway. Why don’t you and Thomas huddle up and come up with some new material.
August 19th, 2012 at 11:35 pm
All im saying is Freeman better play better this year if were 4-12 we better get matt barkley!
August 19th, 2012 at 11:39 pm
Ok no need to panic over the preseason.
What about the ten game regular season losing streak, can we panic over that?
August 19th, 2012 at 11:59 pm
” Everybody else (who actually knows what they are talking about) disagrees with you as to his performance so far, but I guess they are wrong.”
Warren Sapp, “You can’t live soft and play hard!”
Ian Beckles, “The dude has no dog in him!”
The Dolphins and Titans offensive lines, “Hahahahahahaha!”
August 20th, 2012 at 12:20 am
Even if Freeman stinks it up this year. Matt Barkley is just the next over hyped QB from USC that will amount to nothing at the pro level and I pray we do not draft him. But wow, some of you “Buc Fans” are really moronic. Its been 2 pre-season games. 2! And you act like its the end of the world and our team is doomed already because of 1 sloppy game mostly due to the back ups. LMAO.
August 20th, 2012 at 12:21 am
@Miguel
You cant prove your point by quotes that were made before the pre-season even started. Shut up idiot and crawl back in your hole.
August 20th, 2012 at 12:24 am
@Eric,
Yes we can.
August 20th, 2012 at 12:27 am
The Titans offensive line had a 2000 yard rusher 2 years ago genius. Always one of the best in the business. The Dolphins gave Reggie “run straight for the sidelines” Bush a 1000 yard season last year. Nice job making yourself look like an idiot, or should i say, yourself. Warren Sapp says that slogan almost as much as Brian Billick says “Simple as a screwdriver.”.
August 20th, 2012 at 12:48 am
if Freeman learns 2 stop staring down his reads and look off defenders in coverage then tha passing game will be goin places. If not then u can expect more of tha same with padded 2nd half stats. Also running more when all else fails will be his best friend
August 20th, 2012 at 1:17 am
big:
Joe’s been doing this since he launched this site four years ago. You’ve been weary for four years?
August 20th, 2012 at 3:11 am
@ Miguel
Do you have any knowledge of football? Any at all? I didn’t think so. Between your GMC bashing and your constant complaining of the sprint’s makes me think that you are negative bigtime. Being short, fat and dumb is no way to go through life son, so my advice for you is to start drinking and drink heavy son…..
August 20th, 2012 at 5:37 am
Ok let’s do a reality check: no game plan, starters playing sparingly, mistakes are made in order to correct them, drive time to RJS: 55 minutes, fuel cost=$15, tickets for where we want to view the game= $125+ per, $65travel home 1 hour 45 minutes, food cost=$65. You want me to go this kind of game? ROFL Not going to happen. And, I will NOT listen to anyone criticize me for it.
August 20th, 2012 at 5:59 am
@RichBucsfan,
As much as I’d love to rip you for that, I don’t blame you one bit. There’s really no way around this simple fact: preseason sucks. It is not meaningless to the coaches and players, but it is completely meaningless to the fans. If you win, half the fans think you are going to the Super Bowl. If you lose, half the fans think you are going 0-16.
August 20th, 2012 at 6:29 am
For the life of me I just don’t get people like Tommy 2.2, Eric and my old buddy from Pewter Report BF47; unless they are all the same person locked up in a sanitarium somewhere being treated for some sort of disorder that causes him to use different names and say the same thing over and over again to bring people down. Their purpose in life is to burst the bubbles of others. To throw the fly in the ointment. To put the hair in the meatloaf. To rain on the parade. Put be the stick in the mud. How does a person profess to be a fan of a team and seem to find such joy in pointing out anything negative? Isn’t a fan a person who typically sees things better than they really are? With these people, when the Bucs win a game they seek out the ways to show the Bucs were lucky and should have lost. When they do lose, they jump for joy and start beating their chests in delight. I’d like to see Dr. Phil open a new type facility called a “fanitarium” where disgruntled football fans like Tommy 2.2 and Eric can check in to get the help they so desperately need.
August 20th, 2012 at 7:08 am
Starters looked pretty good for pre-season game #2, from the start you could see Freeman was looking to hook-up with VJax, he had no looks last week and you can see that they were trying to get him the ball. What worried me more was the lack of push on run blocking from the middle three (Nicks, Zuttah & Joseph) all looked a little slow off the ball.
August 20th, 2012 at 7:34 am
I just don’t get it. Why doesn’t the new management play Freeman for the first half? Freeman needs reps – PERIOD!
Same thing happened last preseason as this preseason. Sorry but I’m just not thrilled by what I saw from the Bucs.
With the Pats playing tonight maybe I’ll be able to see Jeff Demps get some playing time – you remember the guy the Bucs let get away?
August 20th, 2012 at 7:37 am
@Scubog – sorry but you REALLY don’t understand what a “fan” is all about.
Being a fan doesn’t mean you check your brains at the door.
Being a fan doesn’t mean you ignore the obvious flaws and continue to just drool over slop.
Being a fan doesn’t mean that you never say negative things about your team.
Being a fan means that you follow your team, you root for them to win, you hope that they improve but it doesn’t mean you can’t be ‘real’ – that’s a HOMER.
August 20th, 2012 at 8:19 am
Let’s be honest here. Freeman needs to step his game up. At what point does not having a deep or even an intemediate(15-20 yard) game start to be a concern. Beginning to wonder if he has the intangibles it takes to be a top-tier NFL qb. His anticipation is not good, his ability to read defenses is questionable, accuracy concerns, and his pocket awareness, or his ability to know when to get rid of the ball is lacking. I’m beginning to wonder if he has confidence in his own ability to make the tough throws. Dont want to hear about Tenn playing cover 2 so had shut everything down. If Tn. is rolling coverage toward VJack, then hit the TE in the deep middle seam, there ARE other options.
August 20th, 2012 at 8:35 am
Mr Lucky, maybe you should become a Patriots’ fan. Seems to suit you.
August 20th, 2012 at 9:09 am
Bucyeah, most experts disagree with you.
Just wondering…I have been watching football since I was a ltiile kid. I was a DE in highschool. I cannot tell from a TV broadcast that a QB is “staring down” the receiver, since you rtarely see both at the same time. Please explain how you guys know this. I heard Lynch say it about one of the passes to Jackson, so I am sure he is right. That does not mean he did it on every play. Also, how can locked in to one receiver, but also be called “capt checkdown”? In the Fins game he had a pretty nice ball distribution going, so do we justy chuck that out the window because the TV guys said he telegraphed a ball to Jackson. Also, the guy that says it was William’s talent that saved the TFreeman from screwing up the TD, whu not listen to the TV guys on that one too…that play is designed exactly how Free threw the ball, he trusted Williams to come down with it.
I will wait and see. Joe write a nice peice that pointed out the 96 season, if I were you guys I would reread it. This thing may take time.
August 20th, 2012 at 12:10 pm
@scubdog because they are trolls!
@mrlucky
here we go again…fan is short for fanatic
via dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fan
“fan 2
noun
an enthusiastic devotee, follower, or admirer of a sport, pastime, celebrity, etc.: a baseball fan; a great fan of Charlie Chaplin.
——————————————————————————–
Origin:
1885–90, Americanism ; short for fanatic
Synonyms
supporter, enthusiast, partisan, booster, addict.”
so in your words homer, not hater
August 20th, 2012 at 6:36 pm
@mcbuc:
I am basing my comment on watching the instant replays from the game. I don’t know much about football except playing as a kid and what I read. I’m not an expert or a coach or an official. Not trying to pose as an expert. But I am a fan. Maybe you can’t tell by watching the games on tv or the slow mo replays. But shoot, there is a reason Free was 4/10 and 21 yards for the evening. Maybe it was the game plan. Maybe they are trying to lull other teams into believing Free is going to stare down V Jax like he did K2 last year only to see a major improvement in the regular season. The coaches aren’t chumps. If it really exists they will try to fix it. But it does seem like a continuation of last season to me. Right or wrong.