Flat?
December 13th, 2015
With so much to play for, how could the Bucs be flat?
For a while today, Joe couldn’t believe his eyes. Then later in the locker room, Joe couldn’t believe his ears.
“We came out flat in the first quarter,” linebacker Lavonte David said.
“That’s what it seemed like,” cornerback Alterraun Verner said.
“We didn’t have the energy,” safety Bradley McDougald said.
Jiminy Christmas!!! This team was playing for a wild card berth! Win this game and you are a game behind Minnesota with three games left. How can any team be flat with the stakes so high?
No energy? How can you not get excited about a game with so much on the line in December? Did a rare sellout of the Den of Depression not tell the players this was a big game?
That is just incomprehensible.
Yes, the Bucs looked flatter than Gwyneth Paltrow. Of course, one could attribute that to the opposition. But to hear the players confess and admit they came out sleepwalking with an opportunity to bolster a shot at a playoff appearance, Joe is just dumbfounded how that can be.
December 13th, 2015 at 6:32 pm
These players should be ASHAMED of themselves!!
December 13th, 2015 at 6:34 pm
This team is what we thought. Better with Winston, but average at best.
December 13th, 2015 at 6:35 pm
We must all remember this team is a very young team and they are still learning to win the big games . We must our excitement overwhelm reality. We will be fine
December 13th, 2015 at 6:39 pm
Team was flat again. Team was unprepared again. Just same ol same ol with Lovie. Every time they have a game like this Lovie says no one played good. Everyone was bad. All of us from the top down. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY, Lovie. When the entire team is effected with the same loser ailment, that’s on Lovie. That means Lovie had a sh1tty week. I’m tired of him not mentally preparing his team for games and then spreading the blame. No good coach does that with that kind of consistency. Not a one. Man up, Lovie. That’s probably part of the reason Evans is such a tool Lovie teaches excuses and buck passing instead of accountability.
December 13th, 2015 at 6:43 pm
I was afraid we would have a hangover after beating the Falcons, the way they were celebrating it was as if we had won the super bowl. Hey boys you forgot you have to keep wining 4 more games. Oops.
December 13th, 2015 at 6:44 pm
Mediocrity is not acceptable. Stop making excuses for ineptness and bush league play. Do your job. You are paid insanely too much not to. Heads should roll . Bench anyone who gets unsportsmanlike penalties and fine them. What would Parcells or any other great coach do? We LEAD the effing league in dumb penalties. Half our 7 losses are because of dumb a$$ penalties. Punish these clowns !
December 13th, 2015 at 6:45 pm
You can blame Lovie all you want….but while you’re at it…..blame Koetter today & especially blame the players.
No coach should have to get his team up for a game like this….in the middle of the playoff battle…..playing in front of a sellout me crowd…..a division opponent who had nothing to play for except spoil us….and they did.
December 13th, 2015 at 6:55 pm
But they like Lovie.
December 13th, 2015 at 6:59 pm
I took all the articles this week that the team was focused and would come out with some energy, knowing this was an important stretch. Maybe they went about it the wrong way… Too focused. Instead of flying around being the fun loving group we know and love. They went into serious mode and it threw them off their game. Jameis didnt look to have that fire today. I didnt see him with that big smile on the sidelines. Too serious.
Teams play better when they just go out and play. You can’t get too serious and press. You have to just go out and play fast and loose. Like what the panthers are doing, and what the bucs have done in their wins. They go out and play hard, but have fun doing it.
December 13th, 2015 at 7:07 pm
Welcome to earth Bucs
December 13th, 2015 at 7:09 pm
Well stated @truebucfan22
December 13th, 2015 at 7:10 pm
Only one person affects the entire team from the top down
December 13th, 2015 at 7:15 pm
Pathetic coaching and lazy, selfish players. I hope we can dispense with talk of playoffs. To come out and play like that in December with so much on the line speaks volume of Lovie and his hand picked losers. Please trade GMC and Evans.
December 13th, 2015 at 7:16 pm
Clearly, the Bucs are not as good as we all thought they were. Maybe some of the young guys got caught up reading their own press clippings. They still are a good draft or two away from being true contenders, but that’s ok, it will be lots of fun watching them build a dynasty like they did under Rich McKay.
December 13th, 2015 at 7:17 pm
I agree, flat is the right word to use. Timid is another one. I was expecting to see more aggressiveness against a Saints team that has struggled so far. We really need to start playing with more confidence, dare I say even swagger. In the future, we need to dominate games like this. This time they get a pass because we have a bunch of young players who need more experience. And also because, despite the loss, I still believe that right now we’re on the right track. Hopefully we can finish the season strong and get in the playoff next year.
December 13th, 2015 at 8:28 pm
Winston wasnt his usual self, he seemed somewhat off in ball accuracy and overall in general. The rest of the team matched the ineptitude.
December 13th, 2015 at 8:36 pm
How does a team come out flat with so much at stake? To me there are no excuses for this loss. The Bucs flat out stunk up the place.
December 13th, 2015 at 8:58 pm
They get paid regardless. That is all they care about.
December 13th, 2015 at 9:15 pm
The energy of this team matches the energy of the head coach…
December 13th, 2015 at 9:15 pm
The energy of this team matches the energy of the head coach…
December 13th, 2015 at 9:52 pm
@supersam 1st time i can remember agreeing with one of your posts… yes! they had to be emotionally drained or something, Buccaneers.com posted Winston’s pre game prep talk and i said to myself the team looked a little unenthused… had me worried then they had the big 1st play i was happy till i saw the flag then i knew it might be one of “those” days… guess the pressure of winning got to them
December 13th, 2015 at 10:13 pm
I for one am getting sick of the NFL as a whole. I am these refs can turn the tide of any game they want to. I mean really in this game alone look how they changed the game. That first call of the game, the hands to the face on that HUGE 3rd down sack, the OPI on Evans that put us in 3rd and forever. It is the same crap week after week, year after year. I mean they could have been penalties but heck I am watching the Patriots hold Watt every 4th or 5th play and they have not been called for holding once. They just call what they want when they want. It is ridiculous and to be honest ruining the game. Also while I don’t think the games are fixed they certainly lean towards certain teams when it comes to the calls, which effects the games.
December 13th, 2015 at 10:18 pm
Its funny that they came out with a sense entitlement against a struggling division opponent, on the brink of the playoffs.
They still just don’t know how to win. That’s part of my issue w Lovie.
December 13th, 2015 at 10:38 pm
It only takes one or two bad ref calls to wreck your game.
December 13th, 2015 at 10:48 pm
There is nothing more demoralizing than converting on 3rd and twenty something. Nothing worse than having a huge gain go from a 30 yard gain, to a 15 yard loss,which is a net 45 yard change in field position, because a man who has a degree in criminology, gets paid a million dollars to play a game, can not figure out how to not grab on to a defender, in order to block him? There is nothing worse than seeing a player drop a perfect pass that could have changed everything and we wonder why they were flat. Go out and get players that get it. They are out there. Anyone watching how well Leonard Johnson is playing for the Patriots right now? It really makes one wonder about the leadership.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:40 am
It’s what I’ve been saying, this team was more than just a QB away from the playoffs…we’ve not fielded that JUMBO WR/TE package featuring two WR’s and a TE that are all 6′ 5″…more than a few games this year. The starting LOT was off from the jump today, the rest of the line couldn’t seem to muster more than “LOOKOUT” type of blocking scheme’s since Indy.
The defense, couldn’t even stop Drew Brees even though they had numerous 3rd and forever’s…and most of that was because we were busy making a prowler out of some guy named Hightower playing RB for the Aint’s…
While the Bucs have won 2 more than I thought they would, it’s not any different than what I expected of them after the draft, this team is at least a year (specifically a RDE and LOT) away.
It’s what happens when you change your offensive philosophy from a base WCO to an offense with a dropback QB. Your entire line had to be rebuilt, and you can’t do that all in one year…they had some nice wins and the rookie QB didn’t play like a rookie for most of the season (although the constant pressure did cause him to force a lot of throws – which resulted in those throws ending up behind, above, or over his receivers…and he was pretty much forced to throw the better part of the 2nd half).