Business As Usual
December 14th, 2015
Joe’s got a telling — and real — statistic.
The Tampa Bay defense played just about exactly the way Joe thought it would yesterday.
And frankly, it was eerily similar to how it’s played all season.
Yeah, Drew Brees was a whopping 31-for-41 for 312 yards, with two touchdowns and no picks. But that’s how it goes against the Bucs’ defense.
Opposing quarterbacks are completing 68.7 percent of their passes against Tampa Bay this season. That’s the worst pass defense in the league based on that simple, straight-forward measure.
However, the Bucs tighten up pretty well in the red zone and avoid explosive plays, as they did yesterday. Henry Melton made a hell of play to sack Brees and force New Orleans into a field goal.
The Saints scored 24 points, which is their season average.
So is that such a bad job by the Bucs’ defense? It’s hard to say it was abysmal, though it certainly wasn’t the look of a hungry, playoff-bound team. It’s becoming clear the Bucs will need an infusion of defensive talent to get there — or a radically different defensive playcaller.
December 14th, 2015 at 9:51 am
No pressure by the front four…
Our 100 Million Dollar man was on the ground
62,000 spent $70 plus to see a team that Looked horrible..
Lovie IS NOT THE COACH!! There is a reason he was in a basement waiting on a job.. How else was interviewing him NOBODY!
December 14th, 2015 at 9:51 am
I vote defense playcaller.
December 14th, 2015 at 9:56 am
3rd down D was horrible. We also enjoy getting hit with the quick throws. Beginning of the 3rd qrtr. Saints came out and hit how many quick slants in a row? The D is bad it’s scheme and coaching.
December 14th, 2015 at 9:57 am
Thats about what I expected too. The Howard Jones penalty was so dumb but thats what we do to. Was disappointed to see both sides come out so flat but thats what Lovie’s teams do in big games.
I thought the D did enough to win and the O let us down. You typically have to score 24 or more against the saints to win. Jameis wasn’t sharp and how many big passes can one team drop?
December 14th, 2015 at 9:59 am
I’ve said it before it’s a defensive talent problem. We sit in zone and we get no pressure. We blitz and play man, receivers are wide open. We have neglected young defensive talent in the draft, and it biting us in the azz.
Yesterday was a major letdown, but I have no one to blame but myself. This team is several key pieces away, but I was blinded by the hope of a playoff push.
Lets finish strong with 8 wins.
Love my Bucs!
Go Draft!
December 14th, 2015 at 10:03 am
Actually atrrain, i heard Lovie had an ibterview scheduled with detroit after us. But the Glazers gave him everything to stop him from going and signing with Tampa.
Really, you guys had no problem with the playcalling week 2 did you? Maybe Lovie could have blitzed Drew Brees, but what happens when you Blitz future HOF’er Drew Brees? Especially as suspect as our secondary has been, and missing our starting mike. What changes should have been made. What adjustments? And please say more than “man coverage” *_*
December 14th, 2015 at 10:03 am
The defense was poor…..but the offense is why we really lost the game…..you’ve got to score points on the worst defense and Drew Brees….we were out of sync all day….dropped and missed passes….poor play-calling, penalties did us in.
December 14th, 2015 at 10:10 am
The saints put up 30 plus points on the Panthers two weeks ago, and the Panthers have a very good defense. The Panthers won that game, the difference? The Panthers can freaking score touchdowns!!! The defense did enough to win this game, the offense is freaking terrible, Winston missed a lot of recivers yesterday, let’s not sugar coat it folks. He needs to play better, Evans needs to play better! Hey Joe if that was Mike Glennon out there yesterday missing open receivers all day long you’d be crucifying him, I haven’t seen one article on Winstons struggles, quit the biased journalism, tell it like it is.
December 14th, 2015 at 10:14 am
It sure felt like the Bucs were going to lay an egg yesterday…and they did. It’s what they do these days. I’m so tired of watching a twitchy Brees have his way with the Buc defense. I’m glad his salary has damaged their cap and won’t be around too much longer. Tired of Sean Payton as well…
December 14th, 2015 at 10:14 am
When describing the 22nd ranked red zone defense allowing teams to score touchdowns nearly two-thirds of the time, I would stop short of saying they “tighten up”. I would lean towards phrases like “lie down” or “poop the bed”. We have the worst third down defense in the league by a pretty good margin at 46.5%, yet somehow, allowing them to score at a 62.2% clip once they effortlessly waltz into the red zone is an improvement of some sorts? I have an idea for improvement. Why it’s next years head coach Dirk Koetter! A man who actually understands the goals and concepts of defense in the game of football.
December 14th, 2015 at 10:15 am
8-8 is within reach. Nobody with any football sense even thought we would make a playoff run. Its as clear as a blue sky. The defensive talent is just not here yet. Shame on the Tampa media..including you Joe..for getting these uninformed fans hopes up. Those of us who truly know the game know we got a ways to go Defensively.
December 14th, 2015 at 10:15 am
Winston was awful and Martin didn’t touch the ball enough even when he was effective. The D was bad in the first half but pretty good in the 2nd. I am waiting for the poor play of Winston articles as well?? He was the major reason we lost yesterday.
December 14th, 2015 at 10:19 am
Can one of the Joe’s create a formal petition for Dirk to be our HC next year? I will literally buy fake ID’s and passports to sign the thing as many times as humanly possible!
December 14th, 2015 at 10:22 am
Largo the LIONS really that is who wanted Lovie.. The Lions wanted anyone to run that team…
The Defense played horrible… When Brees was pressured he threw horrible passes and missed receivers. sloppy play and penalties part of that in on the Coach..
I don’t know what yall see in Lovie this is the same Fan Base who was running Schiano out of here after two years and look at what Schiano went through with the off field stuff from Pillhead QB and MRSA..
Now everyone is hurt and that will be the next excuse.. This team is FULL OF EXCUSES..
December 14th, 2015 at 10:25 am
So Jameis was the reason we lost yesterday Patrick? So it had nothing to do with a penalty on the first play of the game, a missed fg, a penalty after a huge sack that ended up resulting in the game winning points, back 2 back penalties on 13, a huge drop by Dye and a defense giving up a 3rd and 21. Yep those are all 100% on Jameis. Your hate for him has blinded you my friend. Oh yeah martin had a drop and so did humpheris but those balls hitting them in the hands were Jameis’s fault as well.
December 14th, 2015 at 10:26 am
All of you Winston bashers are hilarious. He was as flat as the rest of the team yesterday — he’s not always going to be able to overcome idiots committing penalties around him. He’s won numerous awards this year and if we had a defense that could reroute receivers at the line of scrimmage, kickers that made their kicks, and receivers that didn’t have astroglide on their gloves instead of stickem, we’d be in the playoffs this year. You guys should move to TN and lure Mariota into a bathhouse so you can fulfill your fantasies and get it out of your system.
December 14th, 2015 at 10:29 am
Clearly this town is in love with “nice guys” even if they are horrible coaches. Still through 29 games Lovie has routinely had this team unprepared time and time again. They come out flat a majority of the time. I said it before and I’ll say it again. Unemotional, unpassionate coach who is prone to making rookie coaching mistakes, and the team is following his lead. This team would be scary bad if it weren’t for Winston.
December 14th, 2015 at 11:06 am
COUCH FAN AMEN!!!!
Thankful that not everyone is on the Lovie Train.
This team can beat TEAMS… But not with a Coach who plays like this is a YMCA game lets go get Ice Cream afterwards.
December 14th, 2015 at 11:19 am
The defense did fine. Only allowed 7 points in the 2nd half in a close game. If not for the hands to face penalty they maybe don’t even give up that.
We need better corners and DEs still regardless.
Winston / WRs had bad day. Dontae Dyes drop was huge at the end. No doubt in my mind Winston ties the game if he made that catch. Broncos lost in similar fashion on drop by Vernon Davis
December 14th, 2015 at 11:24 am
Lol couch fan please illustrate all the coaching blunders.
Like when he used time outs agressively at the end of the 1/2 to go for a FG drive? Thought that was a great Lovie smith adjustment from earlier in the year. He also went for it on 4th down.
Coaching had nothing to do with individual mistakes like dropping a pass; overthrowing a receiver, putting your hands in some guys face for a penalty; and acting like a baby (mike Evans)
Only allowed 7 points in 2nd half = good coaching adjustments ?
December 14th, 2015 at 11:33 am
Lipstick on a pig. The Bucs have faced only ONE winning team the entire year. They missed facing Romo, Bradford and Luck. Winston had turnovers late, only to get bailed out by the refs. They faced the NFC East and AFC South.
Next year it is NFC West and AFC West. Tougher teams. End of Loveboat.
December 14th, 2015 at 11:54 am
@Lord Corneluis
How much time do you have? I’ll start from the beginning of the game. Lovie’s first mistake was once again starting the worst CB the Bucs have played since Leonard Johnson in Jude-whocareswhaturnamesis. Then, after he struggles to stop any and all passes thrown in his direction for the first two drives, Lovie has an idea! A brilliant idea that involves playing Cover 3 defense, against Drew Brees, with Keith Tandy in as an extra defender! Wtf? So of course that didn’t work, Jude continues to kiss his career goodbye and Keith Tandy drops one of the easiest picks of the year.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:06 pm
Jude has been much better thank Jenkins. Still not good play but he’s an upgrade over earlier in the season. They started bad and finished allowing only 7 points in the 2nd half killing multiple drives and giving the offense multiple opportunities to win the game. 24 points given up isn’t good but is far from terrible
December 14th, 2015 at 12:09 pm
The total spirit of the TEAM is lousy.. THEY are playing like its Saturday at the Rec field and they all will get Ice Cream.
McCoy gets 100 Million dollars HE SHOULD BE A FACTOR EVERY PLAY>>> The Coach has to call him out.
THE COACH IS THE LEADER THE BUCK STOPS THERE>
December 14th, 2015 at 12:12 pm
That loss was totally on the offense yesterday. Too many three and outs, not enough points, didn’t help keep D off the field. Defense held up well considering.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:12 pm
May I add that DYE is still playing .. He has caught one pass in 10 games…
Humphries catches the ball when its anywherebut we throw to Dye.
Lovie has too many favorites..
Lovie also kept Jennings on the field this guy was a JOKE>>
Any more Lovie screw ups..
December 14th, 2015 at 12:23 pm
I have more but I just Typed it out and lost it. I’m not gonna re type my expose on Lovies incompetence
December 14th, 2015 at 12:26 pm
“Lol couch fan please illustrate all the coaching blunders.”
Clearly you have not been paying attention. Or you are just blind to any Lovie errors. 1 game where he didnt screw up doesnt mean he doesnt have the issues anymore.
———————————————-
“Coaching had nothing to do with individual mistakes like dropping a pass; overthrowing a receiver, putting your hands in some guys face for a penalty; and acting like a baby (mike Evans)”
You are correct. However when individual mistakes are repeated by multiple people on both sides of the ball in a consistent pattern going on 2 years now… The fault has to begin to lie on the coach who also has a similiar pattern of rookie mistakes. These are his guys now. Injuries and lack of talent are no excuse for bonehead penalties along with a defense(that is suppose to be his specialty) that clearly doesnt know how to cover 3rd and long. Thats also on the coaching.
But continue with the excuses for great ole nice guy Lovie.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:27 pm
The jist was that after they scored to go up 24-10, the Saints went into turtle mode, which only works when the defense can’t stop you on 3rd down. They just ran the clock out. Lovie would have been more than happy to let the Saints score 20 more points, they just didn’t want to.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:37 pm
Mike Jenkins is a former pro bowler who has been in the NFL since 2008. Jude is a rookie UDFA with a total of zero interceptions, zero passes defended and a bounty of missed tackles in his 6 starts. He has also been the centerpiece of each and every game plan that opposing teams have put together. Saying that he is better than Jenkins is based on absolutely zero information!
December 14th, 2015 at 1:17 pm
Lol @ the idea that the Saints were just trying to run clock and not score the entire 2nd half with only a 2 TD lead.
When u guys say stuff like that it’s hard to take your post game analysis seriously
December 14th, 2015 at 1:19 pm
Jude>Jenkins this year and it isn’t close if youve watched every game. Pass D statistics much better with him than it was with Jenkins so there is a ton of evidence to support it.
Jenkins literally was burned every single play he’s been on almost. Guy should not be in the NFL any more
December 14th, 2015 at 2:14 pm
@ndog
I am a fan of Winston, he’s played some really good games this year yesterday wasn’t one of them. When you see nothing but all of these great articles when he plays well you should also see some articles when he doesn’t. It just honest journalism and something he needs to keep level headed and grounded as he continue to improves.
I was at the game and don’t need to go through every play all I said was he was a major reason we lost yesterday. Only player to touch the ball every snap. 17 points against a historically bad defense is unacceptable.
December 14th, 2015 at 2:28 pm
The Bucs need an infusion of talent on defense. Lovie Smith is doing the best he can with the players on the roster, but nobody can make chicken salad out of chicken droppings. The best jockey in the world can’t ride a mule to victory at the Kentucky Derby.
Think about it, the Bucs have drafted ONE player on defense since Lovie’s arrival, and it was a 4th round pick in Kwon Alexander. The rest of the players are holdovers from previously horrible defenses or guys they picked up off the scrap heap. Lots of mules out there posing as thoroughbreds.
December 14th, 2015 at 4:13 pm
when we lose its lovies fault…when we win its because of dirk and jameis….people say fire lovie and hire dirk…lol…so I guess you want jameis throwing the ball 50 times a game and doug running 10….this is a young team that is inexperienced and mentally weak…there’s nothing lovie can do but hope and pray they mature as men and become mentally strong…people say bench jude…and what go back to playing banks?…it would have no different outcome…banks has gotten beat just as much as jude….I think dirk bailed on the run game too soon…once we draft some talented players on the defense things will start to click…GO BUCS!!!!
December 15th, 2015 at 1:04 pm
Please, talk about ungrateful. This team was picked to finish last in the division. 2-14 last year in the hunt for a playoff this year.
O-line gave up 52 sacks last season, currently at 24.
The team may have the 14th pick compared to the other 2-14 team which may have another top 5.
Yesterday was a bad day, a young team learning to win. To throw the baby out with the bath water makes no sense.
Tampa played bad loss to a Super Bowl Qb by 7, with a rookie Qb and possibly the youngest O-line in the game.
Now you wanna trade a 2nd year wide receiver, get rid of a Pro Bowl defensive player: talk about fickle fan base.
As for the AFC-West: Broncos will be in disarray with or without Peyton.
Raiders like the Buccaneers are learning to win. KC you do not know which team will show up.
NFC West: Seattle has to come to our house. I take our chances with the 49ers at their house. Rams, don’t know whether in St Louis or L.A still must come to our house. The only hurdle will be As at their house.
Still do not know NFC North other than Pittsburgh like my chances with any team in the division to include Cincinnati.
Lastly NFC-East: unknown like our chances against Dallas or New York.
It easy to go for a pass rusher or corner, if Roberto is on the board, take him. Tampa will be set for the next 15, if not 20 years for a kicker.