It’s Only Preseason
August 9th, 2013
Yeah, it was tough to watch that game last night (you can watch it tonight on WFLA-TV, Channel 8 at 7:30 p.m.) and look at the final score and not come away with flu-like symptoms.
But really, the Bucs’ first teams did pretty well against the Super Bowl champs. Don’t try to tell Bucs safety Dashon Goldson the Bucs were not getting the job done early.
“We have talked about communication being vital out here, especially in the secondary and on the defense,” Goldson said. “We’re doing a good job of lining up and playing a sound defense and swarming to the ball.”
Preseason, especially the first game of preseason, is more about what you did or didn’t do, Goldson noted, than who your opponent was.
“The significance I feel is that you get to go out there and put everything you learned during the offseason and during training camp into practice against another team,” Goldson said. “In training camp you go against each other so much, it’s good to go against another team and another mindset of football players. It’s a chance to showcase what you’ve gained so far. But we’re still in training camp, so there’s still a lot of work to do.”
There is still a lot to do. The team the Bucs put on the field last night won’t be near the same team the Bucs have when the final 53-man roster is set in a month. Then there’s the three Pro Bowlers who never suited up last night: Davin Joseph, Carl Nicks and Darrelle Revis (who nonetheless was wearing a sharp suit in the Bucs locker room after the game).
No, the Bucs aren’t bent out of shape over what happened last night, and neither is Joe.
August 9th, 2013 at 7:18 am
We outplayed the Ravens when the starters were on the field, that’s for sure. Defense looked especially solid.
August 9th, 2013 at 7:22 am
Glen on for president!!
JK
Glad we had a rough game as we can use it to learn
August 9th, 2013 at 7:24 am
@joe
Did Peyton Hillis tear up his knee?
Please keep us informed.
August 9th, 2013 at 7:40 am
@robert
Still think we should “Start Glennon???”
Lol I kid, I kid
August 9th, 2013 at 7:47 am
….and I had to pay full price for those tickets! … a travesty!
August 9th, 2013 at 8:04 am
First quarter and half was pretty solid for a preseason game, then it all went downhill, but that’s not surprising or concerning. Owusu was the only disappointment but even that shouldn’t be judged too quickly.
Oh and Lavonte David…he’s a man.
August 9th, 2013 at 8:07 am
Only 1 preseason game, so all these observations should be taken with a grain of salt. No reason to freak yet and some encouraging stuff from the starters.
I’m concerned about that pass rush. I just do not understand why we let Bennett walk.
Spence played well. Banks too.
Special teams was a disaster other than Dimke. Wannstedt better get that garbage sorted out – fast.
Where was the ball security?
Every year we hear about these practice warriors who just don’t show up in games. Usually that was Myron Lewis, but no more. Is it Owusu and Melvin now?
August 9th, 2013 at 8:15 am
The kick/punt returner situation is worrisome if nothing else. Really need someone reliable for those, can’t be giving away possesions and yards.
August 9th, 2013 at 8:17 am
I think we are in trouble if we don’t get a better backup QB there is no way Glennon is ready to step in if needed against starters. Why is it our QB’s look like they are scared to death in the pocket?
August 9th, 2013 at 8:17 am
At least they are good when they are playing with themselves.
August 9th, 2013 at 8:26 am
FR, no one was expecting Glennon to step in anytime soon mang. It was his first NFL game, cut him some slack.
Regarding Freeman, his stats said he was second from the bottom with completions under pressure last year. Happy feet without question.
It’s a mojor reason why Glennon is here.
August 9th, 2013 at 8:26 am
Not to worry….we were doing a lot of experimenting on special teams and that is where a lot of players will make or not make the final cut.
Focusing on the good….I thought Banks, Spence, Gorrer & Glennon had good games….yes Glennon also. The interception was not his fault (reciever ran wrong route). Dimke looks OK…
I am concerned about our pass rush and hope to see some improvement before the season starts.
Lavonte David needs to be cloned!!!
August 9th, 2013 at 8:38 am
*Special teams still bad, Dimke a bright spot. He may be our new kicker.
*Depth isn’t very good or they had some serious 1st game jitters.
*Banks was pretty impressive for his 1st game.
*Ravens were blitzing an AWEFUL lot for a preseason game. Not against the rules of course, still though…jail breaks.
August 9th, 2013 at 8:41 am
LOL…we say this every preseason. It’s only the Preseason. Well…the preseason WILL in fact spread in to the season. Just like our poor starts to the beginning of preseason games continued throughout the regular season a few years ago. It is also about starting to get that winning attitude and “buying in” which that DID NOT happen last night. Last night also showed us that except for maybe casillas and some guys on the offensive line, we have absolutely NO DEPTH past out starters.
I see Wanstedt has brought his “winning” ways to Tampa.
August 9th, 2013 at 8:43 am
Yup, it’s only preseason…and VERY tough to watch. While it does speak to our lack of depth, that “depth” was also playing a vanilla playbook. Granted so were the Ravens, but it’s just one of many reasons preseason shouldn’t motivate fans in either direction (positive/negative). Heck, the only thing I look for in preseason is 1)how sharp are our starters/back-ups in their assignments, 2) did anyone get hurt.
Lastly,
The Hillis injury pisses me off. Not only does it prove that you NEVER want to be on the cover of Madden, but also that the preseason is a huge liability and the NFL needs to do away with it. I mean, at the end of preseason – take a look at all the injuries around the league that were made in a useless game. Yeah, it happens in practice too…but lets be real about the hit when the opposing jersey’s are different.
August 9th, 2013 at 8:45 am
Outside of the first half [honestly the first quarter] the rest of the game is about seeing what your depth looks like. We don’t have any…not a surprise. The Glennon pick should have been used on D line depth, and I think we all realized that this is not a deep team. As others said…we need to find a real kick returner.
August 9th, 2013 at 8:47 am
From what I saw:
First team O looked okay for 1st pre-season game
First team Pass rush? I’m pretty sure what we saw last night was no indication of what our PR will be, it’s pre-season, you do not give anyone any tape of you to study in the pre-season, no stunts, no moves, etc, just go out hit the guy in front of you and hopefully not get injured.
Special Teams – If you mean as in riding the short bus special, yeah they were, that was hideous, Wannstat better have a better plan that that.
August 9th, 2013 at 8:48 am
Pre season only matters when starters play starters.
August 9th, 2013 at 8:49 am
Some impressions:
– I thought Michael Smith was so-so running the ball. His blocking wasn’t great to open up running holes…but it was backups doing it. “D+”. James did a little better. “C”. Martin didn’t do well at all, but half his blockers were out…I’m not concerned. Leonard was the star in my book.
– Considering he had so many drops in practice the last week, I think Ogletree (sp) did fantastic last night. Owusu not so much, but it could have been nerves.
– Freeman had a very lackluster perfomance. Be had one overthrow and one that was underthrown. He also had one thrown to no one. WR was out of position. He’s a tall kid…he should have seen it and improvised. Still, several of his passes were lasers. I think he and the WRs just had a little game rust…which would have been worked out with more playing time.
– Glennon. The second coming of Chris Simms. His first pass was good. The rest not impressive. His TD wasn’t really his. It was run in and they were in position because of a penalty on a very poorly thrown pass. He also had a pick. Was his first game and with backups. He has a lot of growing to do. Years worth.
– Although special teams sucked overall, I saw bright spots in Eric Page, Brandon Smith and Owusu on returns. Owusu did have that fumble, but I’m glad he got a second shot to make up for it. Page and Smith both gave the impression they could break one with better blocking.
August 9th, 2013 at 8:53 am
Scotty it is only preseason…Remember how the 08 Lions carried that undefeated Preseason of Winning Attitude into the regular season? Yeah, neither do I. Preseason games are a full contact practice with no real game planning, stop acting like it matters.
August 9th, 2013 at 8:54 am
Lol @ NFL Network trying to start the QB controversy again
First they say Freeman has to “fight off Glennon in the pre season”
Then they say Glennon had a great night (11/23 163yds 0td 1INT is great?)
Come on now, does Schiano have to say it a third time?
August 9th, 2013 at 8:56 am
Scotty in Fat Antonio Says
“LOL…we say this every preseason. It’s only the Preseason. Well…the preseason WILL in fact spread in to the season.”
That’s only accurate with the 3rd preseason game, aside from a few individual players.
The first 12 games last year were pretty good ones. In fact, last year was the first year the games have been enjoyable in like six years. Even the last 2-3 of the Gruden years were blah.
So, I strongly disagree with your points.
August 9th, 2013 at 9:21 am
The thing you have to understand about ‘depth’ is this: We are looking for individual players not a complete second unit. The second unit as a whole we fielded just sucked but there will be individual players who did stand out and they will be the ones who make the final roster. You can’t look at the depth as a whole or it will scare you. It’s like Atlanta getting beat by 24 points by Cinci. Not really an indicator of what would happen in the regular season.
August 9th, 2013 at 9:31 am
I forgot to add. After his performance last night, I hope Ronde Barber has a back up plan in case the broadcasting thing doesn’t work out.
August 9th, 2013 at 9:45 am
Glennon played like a rookie, but a rookie with potential. (God I just hope it’s not Chris Simms potential LOL)
I don’t think F5 is losing any sleep.
August 9th, 2013 at 9:47 am
Bobby…Thankyou,
August 9th, 2013 at 9:47 am
I told you guys so high on Owusu this past weekend, “in real games against other real opponents”. Now it could’ve been nerves but it also could be his comfort level getting disrupted. I’m pulling for the guy, but he needs more experience getting his comfort level disrupted (which will barely occur playing against his own team). But Im sure once Schiano reminds him of his job being on the line, he’ll be somewhat disrupted.
And since our first looked great against their first, Im smiling 🙂
But our depth in some areas (just based on this game) needs improvement.
Schiano, start putting some of those 2nd and 3rd stringers against our first a lot more….it’ll bring them up if its really there.
August 9th, 2013 at 9:50 am
Bobby…Thank you, I think people lose track of this fast because they are so excited for football. We hopefully will not need too many of them an the same time.
August 9th, 2013 at 9:52 am
“its only preseason”
“its only the first game of the regular season”
“were rebuilding anyway”
Battle hymn of the good ship Dominik.
August 9th, 2013 at 9:59 am
Come on, Eric. It wasn’t the first game of the regular season, it was the first game of the preseason. And half the starters were inactive.
If you think last night was an accurate depiction of the state of the team you are in for some big surprises. And if you take the first preseason game serious, you stress out way too much over it. You’re going to end up in an early grave if you stress that much on a regular basis. Start taking aspirin now.
😉
August 9th, 2013 at 10:00 am
At least the Bucs’ performance wasn’t the only thing that was subpar. Whoever the color guy was on the broadcast team was just awful. Talking under his breath and just being generally awkward.
August 9th, 2013 at 10:00 am
Not sure what some of you guys were watching but Glennon looked calm and poised last night. Most of his throws were nice and on point. He moved well in the pocket, he also had some rookie moments which is to be expected by a rookie in his very first outing.
I swear this whole Freeman vs Glennon thing has made some of you crazy.
The interception btw, Schiano in the post conf said that Owusu ran the wrong route but the ball was where it was suppose to be. Not Glennon’s fault.
Freeman also looked decent in his brief appearance. Only real noticeable mistake he made to me was the sack, which was more his fault than the O-Line.
The negatives from this game are pretty simple. Chris Owusu had a very bad night. The D-Line looks just as bad as it did in years past. And special teams sucked though I think Dimke made of locked up his job already. Lol
Means and Spence looked very fast. On some snaps Spence looked to be the quickest guy on the line. Same could be said for means at some points.
All in All I was pleased with the performance. The score got run up a lot I believe because for 1 we werent prepared for the read option and 2 because most of the plays the Ravens made were against guys who wont be on the final roster.
GO BUCS!!
August 9th, 2013 at 10:08 am
@ Bobby
Great point….you can’t really measure depth by the entire second/third team’s performance. We will have to cut the 90 down to 53 and that is what counts for depth. We are looking for a very few backup players & some will make it because of their special teams ability.
In situations like Owusu….his roster spot could be actually taken by Smith as a KR….or by another WR that returns punts.
For example, if Tandy continues to perform poorly, he could lose his spot to Grimm or Baker.
So, our depth while still a questionmark, will depend on a few of those we saw last night…not all of them.
August 9th, 2013 at 10:14 am
Couch Fan Says:
“Means and Spence looked very fast. On some snaps Spence looked to be the quickest guy on the line. Same could be said for Means at some points.”
I have to say, I was impressed with Spence. When he first showed up at camp he was slow. I couldn’t tell if he was unsure or just a lumbering hulk. But he steadily got faster and faster. I could actually see him getting sacks this year.
Means had bright spots. I didn’t think he was as good as Spence, but he did well.
Bowers had a rough game…but he’s learning and adapting. He was overpowered a number of times.
I agree with all you said, Couch.
That Ravens defense was nice. I love their backup QB. Hopefully Glennon will be that good after 3 years too.
August 9th, 2013 at 10:21 am
Agreed their back up QB looked impressive. I dont think we prepared or at least not very much for the read option and that helped him look better but I wont take anything away from the guy, he was awesome last night and tore our back ups up.
Overall though I was encouraged by the team, the final score didnt show it but most of the team played pretty well.
August 9th, 2013 at 10:28 am
Really impressed with our RB group as well. Leonard and Hillis both ran hard last night.
August 9th, 2013 at 11:17 am
leonard and hillis looked great. Martin didn’t get a lot of work….so hard to tell, but there were no holes for him. O line did not look special, but that sack was on free for holding it too long.
#52 looked very good, and Banks is looking like a stud already.
Gorer? looked pretty good!!!
Glennon he looked ok, but free won’t be losing any sleep
August 9th, 2013 at 11:39 am
@robert I actually thought Glennon looked pretty poised in the pocket, considering this his first pre-season game and all. Sure he made a few rookie mistakes and some WR’s ran the wrong routes which made some fans in the stand say. Where the hell was that ball going? I quicky corrected them and said that the WR ran the wrong route. Most of the time when we had the ball I was yelling come on Mikey, so were a lot of other fans. So I guess his new name is Mikey. I think he did a fine job though. The whole first team did pretty well too, except for no pass rush. Meh it was fun to watch the rookie play. I expect him to get better as the pre-season goes on.
August 9th, 2013 at 12:03 pm
he stood in there and took his lumps while staying focused downfield. seemed to have good pocket awareness. got happy feet/scared once or twice, but nothing out of the ordinary. he seemed fairly comfortable and not scared. he’ll get there, but not any time soon without 1st tem reps.
even moreso because he’s a pocket passer and not a running QB…so he has to have the chemistry with his WR’s.
but he did ok. Free was free. not too concerned, but I was hoping (from what we have been hearing from camp) we had a black peyton manning. LOL
August 9th, 2013 at 12:18 pm
Couch said: “The interception btw, Schiano in the post conf said that Owusu ran the wrong route but the ball was where it was suppose to be. Not Glennon’s fault.”
LOLZ!!!!
It is just too funny that you slipped that one in there.
August 9th, 2013 at 1:29 pm
lol hey Coach said it himself. No disputing that.
August 9th, 2013 at 1:39 pm
Scotty in Fat Antonio says :
LOL…we say this every preseason. It’s only the Preseason. Well…the preseason WILL in fact spread in to the season.
Really Scotty? So how come I’ve seen SB teams go 0-4 in pre-season games and some of them get pasted like the Bucs did last night and still reach SB?
Can you answer that clueless-wonder child?
August 9th, 2013 at 1:46 pm
Glennon will be fine
August 9th, 2013 at 2:00 pm
fist team looking good … how many guy don!t play last night ????? common man ,,,
August 9th, 2013 at 6:05 pm
That’s my boy loung keepin’ it real for everyone. In one short broken english sentence. I’m telling you people just listen to loung and everything will be okay.
August 10th, 2013 at 9:46 am
>>”its only preseason”
“its only the first game of the regular season”
“were rebuilding anyway”
Battle hymn of the good ship Dominik.<<
LOL, it's also what we said after the first pre-season game in 2002….you know, the year we went all the way. Look that score up. Not predicting anything here, just saying pre-season means nothing.