Bucs Gave RGIII Way Too Much Clock
October 1st, 2012
While Joe watched the game yesterday in the final moments when the Bucs were about to take the lead (briefly), Joe wondered if perhaps the Bucs should eat up more clock.
When Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III took over with 1:42 left in the game (strange, a rookie quarterback without the use of a headset knows what plays to call), Joe thought to himself, “That’s a lot of clock.”
Indeed. RGIII marched the Redskins right down the field way too easily to set up a game-winning field goal.
Well, it seems Joe was not the only one who thought the Bucs didn’t eat up enough clock. So too did Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times, who explained the Bucs seemed to be setting up RGIII for a game-winning drive.
On their final offensive drive Sunday, the Bucs were down by two and had second and 9 from the Redskins 33. They tried a pass that resulted in an incompletion, stopping the clock with 1:52 left. A wide receiver screen on the third down produced only 5 yards, and the Redskins called their second timeout with 1:47 left. The Bucs kicked a 47-yard field goal, but the Redskins got the ball back with 1:42 left and one timeout.
So if the Bucs’ plan all along was to kick a field goal (Schiano suggested as much in the postgame), then why not run the ball on second down and force the Redskins to use up all of their timeouts?
Either the second-down call was too risky or the third-down call was too conservative. But leaving the Redskins with 1:42 and a timeout wasn’t the best idea anyone ever had.
While Joe agrees with Jones, in the big picture the Bucs were fortunate to even be in the game. The Bucs played terribly in the first half and Billy Cundiff, shaky place kicker he is, left nine points on the field with three missed field goals.
October 1st, 2012 at 1:37 pm
Agreed..too much clock. Yet somehow there will be idiots on here that blame Freeman for that.
October 1st, 2012 at 1:38 pm
I’m sorry for the “idiots” remark…I shouldn’t name call carte blanche like that.
There could have been better play calling to run the clock down.
October 1st, 2012 at 1:38 pm
If you read up on Schiano, the Rutgers folks will verify that game/clock management is not his best skill.
October 1st, 2012 at 1:40 pm
When is the media going to start calling this pretentious little S.O.B by his REAL name, Bobby Griffin? Is it because he’s a distant relative of Peter Griffin? LOL!!
October 1st, 2012 at 1:42 pm
I don’t understand why a team with an ok defense thinks that a field goal is the way to go. They could have been up 6 with a to point conversion or if they got another first down, they could have run the ball and forced DC to take their timeouts, kill the clock and kick the game winner. The offense was hot, Freeman looked very good as usual when they let him open in up imo. It’s weird how we are conservative on offense but over aggressive on defense.
October 1st, 2012 at 1:56 pm
@patrickbucs,
Don’t forget Freeman almost threw a pick that would’ve ended the game on that last drive. It’s good to be aggressive, but carefully so. Flat out, the Bucs didn’t deserve to win the game. As Joe stated, lots of Washington points left on the field. My biggest issue is the defensive play-calling during the last drive. If Washington has to score a TD I can see playing a soft zone, but not when they only need 3 to win. Granted they had a shaky kicker, but the only thing a prevent defense does in most cases is prevent the team running it from winning. Hate seeing a team abandon what’s worked all half on shutting the other team down to give up an easy field goal to lose.
October 1st, 2012 at 2:04 pm
Media pundits and fans alike keep trying to figure out what the Little General is thinking when he makes these incomprehensible decisions. Maybe there is some common sense explanation.
The truth is that there is no method to the madness. Schiano is out of his league, Sullivan is out of his league. Greg was out of his league at Rutgers, he is simply a poser, he looks like he knows what he is doing on the sidelines. He tells everyone that he has a system for everything but can not adapt on the fly. Sh*t happens!
You can see when he grabs his red flag, he is frozen in fear and indecision, never able to make the right call. The coaches and assistants up in the box are frozen in fear and unwilling to help. The sword of Damocles hangs over their heads as if they were punt returners.
When it comes to clock management Joe is exactly right. If you have to be a coward and play for a field goal instead of a TD, make your opponent use their time outs. Schiano knows how to snatch defeat out the hands of victory.
October 1st, 2012 at 2:17 pm
So, people complaining because we were aggressive and threw the ball….but if we’d ran it three times there would all kinds of people up in arms because we were playing too conservative. What a joke.
October 1st, 2012 at 2:20 pm
The Bucs, like any other team, switched to prevent on their final defensive posession. It pains me that Sheridan did not have faith in his defense not to finish one more drive. They completely shut down the Redkins in the second half, yet in the final drive they decided to allow the middle of the field to be absent a defender. Time and time again I see this, and it’s as if this another unwritten rule. The middle of the field looked like an empty parking lot. It should not have been so damned easy.
October 1st, 2012 at 2:22 pm
@Miguel, did Schiano do your mom or something? You hated the guy before he even coached a Bucs game. You need some counseling for that anger against him.
Btw, your previous hate for him was the supposed “no halftime adjustment” opinion. Sunday showed that your thoughts were off the mark. You need to write Schiano an apology note for your hate 😉
October 1st, 2012 at 2:46 pm
@Miracle
I admit, I was quick to recognize what an idiot the Little General is. I have known several idiots like him in my life.
I said that his coaches will eventually learn to make adjustments with out him. Sheridan is, Sullivan not so much. Mason Foster admitted that they made adjustments and came out in the 2nd half ready to play. It was obvious.
Shanahan said on national TV going in to halftime that the Redkins would be making no adjustments at halftime. Sheridan ate his lunch in the 2nd half. Sullivan and Schiano matched his stupidity.
October 1st, 2012 at 3:00 pm
Would not have mattered if there was less than a minute? Why? It was the blitzing that killed them. RGIII would have gotten them in FG range in 30 seconds. They did have a time out also.
When I saw the starting d-line for the final drive, the first thing I said was they are gonna score the winning points. The d-line was gassed. Miller isn’t a rusher or an open field tackler. Should have been GJohnson, D Watson in there for a fresh pass rush (maybe Corey Irvin).
RGIII said Fred Davis wasn’t covered at all. This isn’t a prevent, this is bad defense. A Tampa 2 zone would have been the best option.
October 1st, 2012 at 3:20 pm
This is simply an inexperience coaching staff making questionable decisions that will hopefully be learned from. One thing no one has mentioned was the ridiculous 2-pt conversion attempt after the false start. If Washington scores a TD after that, the Bucs are down 9 pts, and the game is essentially over. Stubborn, young coaching caused them to go for it anyway, when the smart play would’ve just been to kick the extra pt and at least keep it a one-score game. You have to expect things like this from a new coaching staff, so let’s just hope they learn from them and we get ’em next time.
October 1st, 2012 at 4:42 pm
too much clock??? no! too soft of a defense?? yep!
prevent prevent prevent…… prevented us from winning
October 1st, 2012 at 7:49 pm
@BOb
WRONG!!! Offense get 7 not 3!!! Mike Sullivan QB sneak it on 3rd and 1 and we’re just out of field goal range and if you don’t get it then do it again on 4th. For the #1 scoring offense( Averaging 35 points per game) and holding them to 24( with some help from there kicker) and a defense that gives up just as many point, I’m sorry our offense lost us this game just like last week. We have great talent on our team and not consistent play calling, but hey we’re getting better every week. Honestly who thought we would be were we are or even being in any of those games. We only lost each game by what a TD or less. We just need to find ways to winat the end.
Yes it’s funny how Schiano said he likes to control the clock, but when we’re in field goal range under 2 minutes we are throwing the ball instead of running it!!! Why do we run the ball at all the wrong times? With the two times we threw we could have gotten the clock down to about under a minute after they use there final timeout. Besides the 2 picks Freeman looked good and after the first half Sullivans play calling got better, but then went right back to stupid again while not running the clock out more.
October 1st, 2012 at 8:18 pm
Freeman had to know that by not putting it in the endzone on the last drive. They left way too much time on the clock. There is a lot of blame to go around. The offense puts the defense on the field far too long. By the time the offense gets it going. The defense is worn down. Schiano needs to take that into consideration. The losses all look very similar.
October 1st, 2012 at 8:20 pm
No kidding…..
October 1st, 2012 at 8:21 pm
3rd & 3 and a swing pass?
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:01 am
I like how ERICA only comments on here when the bucs lose and just trash them. Idiot