“You’re Allowed A Two-Way Go”
December 11th, 2014
Jacquies Smith (right) and Michael Johnson tackle Robert Griffin III. (Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com)
For a brief moment, hearing talk of Bucs defensive ends being allowed a “two-way go” had Joe thinking Michael Johnson might leave town for a new team. But that’s not reality.
This “two-way go” talk is a reference to how Johnson and rising star Jacquies Smith won’t have to worry about containing Carolina quarterback Derek Anderson like they would Cam Newton.
Anderson isn’t too mobile, though he did have three runs for 10 yards on opening day. He’s starting Sunday against the Bucs for the injured Newton. So Tampa Bay ends can work all their outside and inside moves without fear of the quarterback’s dangerous escapability.
Pat Kirwan dove into this and more with prickly Pete Prisco, as part of their Bucs-Panthers preview for CBSSports.com.
Their Sunday prediction is actually a split decision.
December 11th, 2014 at 10:21 am
He is not mobile till he plays us. he will be able to run wild and pad his stats
December 11th, 2014 at 10:37 am
Like I always say, I put the draft on the back-burner on Sundays and pull for the Bucs. But every other day I can’t help but hope for the number 1 pick and try to land our franchise QB. The Panthers D is so bad that sadly, we may win this game and hurt our draft chances.
December 11th, 2014 at 10:38 am
I’d start Anderson over McCown. He’s the better backup of the two.
December 11th, 2014 at 11:10 am
Right after that first game after seeing how the Bucs played, I knew it was going to be a crap season. Everything I needed to know about the 2014 Bucs was evident in that first game…. it confirmed the pre-season wasn’t a fluke. It confirmed every concern about Josh McCown. When I walked out of the stadium that day, I was so incensed by what I saw because I knew it was a sign of what’s to come. I don’t think I was EVER so sure about the outcome of a football season in WEEK 1 than I was when I saw the Bucs lose to Carolina. You don’t LOOK like that and a) expect success and b) just TURN IT ON and decide to stop sucking.
December 11th, 2014 at 11:12 am
ALL their defensive moves? Lol. Yeah, both of them.
December 11th, 2014 at 11:15 am
derek Anderson sliced and diced the bucs secondary at the beginning of the season in tampa. fans are worried the bucs might win the game and lose the top draft pick. I don’t think that will happen. you can always count on the bucs offensive line to lose the game sunday. there will be the usual missed blocks ,bad snaps and penalties(false starts, holding, clipping) galore from the o line. the bucs o line has been working extra hard at one thing this week…. planning their January vacation getaways.
December 11th, 2014 at 11:18 am
The “two way go” is for fans as well. You can either watch the game and puke or simply go whiz and forget about the game altogether.
I haven’t checked the entire schedule but this game has to be the very worst on tap. Seriously! Who but a die hard Buc or Panther fan would tune into this?
Alas I’m a die hard Buc fan and so I’ll be watching and hoping to find the next Jacqueis Smith. There are plenty of successful players in this league like Smith and others who had to work there way up. Maybe we have another nugget or two on this roster.
December 11th, 2014 at 11:21 am
@BucTrooper
Normally I’d call you for 20-20 hindsight. But your post was well written and sadly accurate so I’ll take your word. It was pretty obvious when I think back.
But I’m not the very last, but usually one of the last to take off my rose colored glasses. I was still excited after we upset Pittsburgh. Silly me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 11th, 2014 at 12:44 pm
I would take Robert Griffin here. Tampa has bad luck when it comes to QBs, but not when they come from Washington. In fact, it works both ways. Doug Williams went there to win a Superbowl, Brad Johnson came here to win one.
Really, if you think about, because Doug was the start of the QB Curse, maybe the secret to breaking it is to get Griffin.
I think he’s salvageable. And his upside is huge if mentored right.
December 11th, 2014 at 12:54 pm
Even if Cam was playing he isn’t that mobile because of his ankle. At least we will see if the Bucs are going to play better this time around against Anderson or not. I predict a win this time out.
December 11th, 2014 at 3:34 pm
StPeteBucsFan….
Thank you for the kind words. Every word I typed was true. I was so distraught after that first game I skipped the Derrick Brooks game vs. the Rams.
That Carolina game legitimately changed my Bucs-DNA. I have been a Bucs fan since I moved here in 1980 and rode my orange Bucs bike around our Dunedin neighborhood and I have spend the past 5 seasons being angry and upset after seeing how the Bucs limped through each season with multiple 7 game losing streaks, terrible personnel decisions, disgusting lack of effort. and just a general apathy amongst the fan base. I finally realized that my passion has no bearing on the outcome. It’s not fun. It’s not entertaining.
I have a really good laugh when the “elitist” fans chastise the empty seats and claim that you have to support them through thick and thin. I think those are the people who go to the game and think that since they are miserable, EVERYONE has to be miserable. Well excuse me. If your idea of fun is seeing your hand-picked $10 million QB throw balls forcefully into the ankles of his receivers, have fun. Personally, I’d rather spend a sunny Florida Sunday on a rented jet ski…. or catching up on my DVR….. or pulling out my toenails with needle-nosed pliers. You know… being entertained.
Since that Carolina game, I stopped wearing my “BucTrooper” jersey. I leave my Bucs-Themed Stormtrooper helmet at home. Largely, I tailgate because picnicking is kind of fun and I like to cook, but I spend a lot of the game making grocery lists and playing games on my iPhone while pausing to peruse the sarcasm and frustration published under the #BucsNation hashtag on Twitter.
I don’t know if I’ve matured or just became so disillusioned with this team that it’s not worth my effort. Now I literally watch and laugh. It’s become dark comedy. When the 4pm games come on and you see Andrew Luck completing 7 yard OUT patterns… they make it look so easy. The Bucs look like they’re trying to cut down a palm tree with a sledgehammer.
At least if the Bucs would have done what CLEVELAND did and traded back into the first round to take Manziel we would have something to watch. I can handle GROWING PAINS, but the fans are drowning in a swamp of dumb.
December 11th, 2014 at 5:24 pm
Everybody thinks Newton is such a better QB but he isn”t. If you sack Newtopn a couple of times or intercept him early in the game, he still puts a towel on his head and Superman goes and sulks like a little girl on the sidelines.
Anderson also knows how to read pro defenses a lot better than Newton. So why is Newton starting, because he is a No. 1 pick and the Panthers are still trying to decide if they are going to offer him a long term deal.
Anderson, for one season, actually went to the Pro Bowl, something Fig has never managed to do.