Gettin’ Off The Field
September 1st, 2016
Bucs DE Jacquies Smith tackles Redskins QB Nate Sudfeld for Smith’s fourth sack this preseason. (Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.)
Shameful and hideous display by the NFL.
Preseason games are a joke and none is more so than a fourth preseason game played in a deluge with both teams dressing roughly half of their rosters.
How is it football thrives on every level without preseason games but the NFL acts like the league would fold without them?
Hell, even Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht said he had all but finalized his 53-man roster before last night’s game in the slop against the Redskins.
If there was anything good about last night’s game it was the Bucs defense on third down.
Getting off the field has been a primary goal for defensive coordinator Mike Smith. So far, the Bucs have done that.
Bucs opponents converted some 46 percent of third downs last year, which is is outrageous.
Last night? Yeah, even though the Redskins pounded Tampa Bay on the ground, the Redskins only converted 15 percent of third downs (2-for-13) and failed on their only fourth-down attempt.
That, friends, is pretty good.
September 1st, 2016 at 7:42 am
Come on man, that D was horrible last night. How many yards rushing did the skins have? 250 or more? Just glad it didn’t count. Good you could find one positive stat though.
September 1st, 2016 at 8:06 am
The pass defense was pretty good last night and the special teams were very good….
Good on 3rd down…..awful on 1st & 2nd…..
September 1st, 2016 at 8:56 am
@Dreambig yes that D was horrible but it’s mostly guys not on the 2 deep or practice squad guys. Half the team wasn’t even dressed. You can take nothing from this game, good or bad. It was useless even for evaluation purposes.
September 1st, 2016 at 8:57 am
What was the attendance? 1,200? Not counting Joe(s) and Ira.??
September 1st, 2016 at 9:03 am
Tampabaybucfan
Mother nature was the best pass defense player last night on both sides.
September 1st, 2016 at 9:54 am
That was the single worst preseason game I ever watched.
September 1st, 2016 at 10:01 am
What I liked about the preseason (despite the football being pretty boring) was that there were very few penalties for things like false starts and too many men on the field… And the personel groups seemed to get on/off the field smoothly. Compared to last year this is a major improvement. Half way into last season Lovie presented a team that did not seem to know who was going on the field and who was staying on the bench in any given snap.
September 1st, 2016 at 10:01 am
When you give up an average of 8 YPC you don’t have to defend many 3rd downs! If they actually had 13, must have been after I stopped watching.
September 1st, 2016 at 11:08 am
The season predictions should be good. Most will probably be guessing a higher number of wins than seems possible. Looks to me like a near .500 season with the improved players and coaches despite the more difficult schedule. I hope I’m wrong and the Bucs emerge as one of the up and coming surprise winners in the league. Starters playing the entire game will be a welcome sight.
September 2nd, 2016 at 12:36 am
Agreed Buccfan37. To be honest, an 8 win season would be quite an improvement. I’d be happy to start there or better. We gotta be realistic though. We’ve made improvements. None of us know whether they are quite enough for a run this upcoming season. I do think we will have a pass rush though. That will be an improvement. Tough league and tough schedule. But you never know. I’m concerned about our depth. I do think our 1st teamers can play with anybody in this league. However we’re all kidding ourselves if we think we will have no injuries. They are coming. and it will be..next man up.
Roll the dice..we shall see.
September 2nd, 2016 at 7:11 am
I love how everyone is still doubting the team. Look guys, last year a rookie QB who should’ve been named AP ROY lead our team to its first ever top 5 offense. Now he’s in his 2nd year, slimmed down, smarter, and has great receivers to throw to. Not to mention we got rid of a head coach that would get a lead and slow down instead of continuing the onslaught. WE WERE PLAYOFF BOUND with 4 weeks to go and Lovies calm D blew it. Now we have a Offensive guru head head coach, and a D coach that is a no nonsense style coach. Our front 7 looked amazing in the 1st 3 preseason games and other than the deep shot that grimes got hussled on, our secondary was WAY better than any game last year. I can honestly see the Bucs winning big this year. We don’t have to worry too much about the Saints and Falcons, and the Panthers are good, but I still think a fall from last years glory is in the cards for them. The Bucs have a great shot at actually winning the division if they can win the 1st 2 games on the road this season. I’m not saying we’re SB bound, but I guarantee a lot of the teams we face this year are going to under estimate us and that’ll get us into the playoffs. Remember there’s 2 wild cards, not one. I don’t think anyone in the East will get one. GB has the North locked now that Teddy is out in MN, the Bears suck, and the Lions I don’t see making a splash. So that leaves the South and West with 4 playoff spots. My playoff prediction is this:
North: Green Bay #2
West: Arizona #1
East: Cowboys #4
South: Panthers #3
Wildcard: Seahawks #5, Bucs #6
That’s how I think it’s gonna go but, the Cowboys D is sloppy, so I could see the Giants slipping into the East lead. Seattle could take the division over Arizona, but I don’t think it’ll happen. Also the Bucs if underestimated could take the division from the Panthers by a win or 2. No one in the league is going to underestimate the Panthers again, so I don’t see them doing nearly what they did last year. Let the Cam head towels fly.