Stealing A Win
September 9th, 2018
When Joe saw the 2018 schedule come out and learned of the three-game sentence to America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, Joe feared for his life the Bucs would go 0-3 to start the season, which dooms any team of playoff hopes.
Joe just hoped somehow, someway, Bucs backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick would somehow steal a win.
Fitz didn’t just steal one today at the Superdome, he stomped through a front door and beat up a hood for his motorcycle keys.
Fitz went full blown Dan Fouts today hitting 21 of 28 passes for 417 yards and four touchdowns.
“Man, he was lights out today,” Saints DE Alex Okafor told Herbie Teope of Yahoo! Sports about Fitz. “You have to give it to him, first of all. He came in focused and he torched us.”
Torched is just the perfect word. Joe isn’t sure this came from Fitz or from Bucs offensive coordinator Todd Monken — currently calling plays — and his aggressive gameplan.
Maybe we should have seen this coming? DeSean Jackson hinted on SiriusXM NFL Radio this morning the Bucs were going to open the offense up. And how many times did we hear this training camp and preseason that the offense had elite talent?
Against the defending NFC South champs and in their own crib, the Bucs showed what they are capable of offensively.
And in the process stole a win and avoided a virtual season-ending 0-3 start.
September 9th, 2018 at 5:23 pm
Earning a win
September 9th, 2018 at 5:25 pm
Eating crow never tasted so good.
Won’t doubt this team again.
September 9th, 2018 at 5:25 pm
Why not 2-1? Hell, no Bell, why not 3-0?
September 9th, 2018 at 5:26 pm
LETS GOOOOO!!!!
September 9th, 2018 at 5:27 pm
Fitz was lights out!! His pre-snap reads were awesome, the ball was out of his hands quickly and he was very accurate!
September 9th, 2018 at 5:27 pm
Classic Joe’s here
Yah. It was all Monken.
How bout good quarterback play can win a game all by themselves when the defense plays like crap. Remember how many losses you blamed on the defense last year.
Same old Joe’s
September 9th, 2018 at 5:28 pm
Philly can be beat and browns tied with the Steelers
September 9th, 2018 at 5:28 pm
Only the idiots who feared the saints defense in the first place see this as a stolen victory, I wish I had a tally of all the can’t miss bets against the bucs just to laugh at their pain from all the money lost. The bucs won’t get any credit and they’ll just say the saints came out flat because everyone is still in disbelief. The bucs will have to win the first 3 games to be taken seriously by the media.
September 9th, 2018 at 5:28 pm
It’s all great but our defense scares me! I fear koetter kept mike smith 1 year too long 🙁
September 9th, 2018 at 5:28 pm
How bout he earned the win.
He didn’t steal anything.
September 9th, 2018 at 5:29 pm
Literally incredible game start to finish – Fitz was just on fire 🔥- they were lost on D
September 9th, 2018 at 5:30 pm
Easily the game’s MVP!!!! Jameis will be having dreams of distributing the ball to all his talented weapons like this man does!!
September 9th, 2018 at 5:31 pm
It was no doubt an inspired performance from the entire offense and especially Fitz. But we can’t They can’t score 41 points every week. Save for one excellent play from Hargraeves and Evans on the scoop and score fumble, the defense was awful.
Smith must break free from his obsession with calling the same damn off-coverage quarters look 70 percent of the time. Or else he’s gonna weigh this team down. Any other day, if Fitz didn’t play what was essentially a perfect game, we lose this one due to the defenses ineptitude.
How anyone can look at that side of the balls performance today and say “hmm the defense played good” is beyond me. The mental gymnastics necessary for that kind of statement is astounding.
Also, everyone’s favorite QB Jimmy G looked like crap against the Vikings today and threw a butt load of picks. Can you say over-hyped and over-rated?
September 9th, 2018 at 5:32 pm
Yes the Bucs problems are far from over.
Without Grimes the defense surrendered big points Brees…
…and without Hargreaves (who was having a good game) it was
open season….Brees marched down the field in 4 passing plays and scored.
The Dline had some good early pressure but then lost it later in the game (as they’ve been known to do year after year)….
But today is about the Bucs nuclear-powered offense and Fitzpatrick and his epic beard. That beard has more testosterone than both teams put together.
Howard believes it’s the same beard from Sumerian gods passed down through the millennia
Howard is really happy the Bucs won and the offense looks so good but he advises fans not to get too excited. It’s a long difficult road ahead
September 9th, 2018 at 5:32 pm
Moncken called plays like Spurrier did for the Gators in the 90s. That was a LOT of deep passes. Awesome play calling.
September 9th, 2018 at 5:34 pm
By the way, Fitzpatrick’s game today was better than any game that Winston has had for the Bucs, so far. Doesn’t mean that JW wouldn’t have done the same, but….
September 9th, 2018 at 5:35 pm
It’s not calling deep throws that counts, it’s hitting them
#Fear The Beard
September 9th, 2018 at 5:36 pm
Can you guys sanity check me- need to rewatch, but it looked like Ryan Smith move over to Saftey at times? Maybe my eyes were playing tricks and he actually went in at CB for VHIII, with Davis also outside and Stewart playing slot.
September 9th, 2018 at 5:36 pm
I hope he can do it again, we shall see.
September 9th, 2018 at 5:36 pm
D-line play didn’t come through for at the end, but our o-line played phenomenal. Fitz and playcalling were cherries on top.
Did Brate get hurt, or (SPECULATION) does Monken prefer OJ out on the field?
September 9th, 2018 at 5:38 pm
Ryan Jensen was as advertised: Dominant center
September 9th, 2018 at 5:39 pm
This was a big step for our offense. What will defenses do now? The receiving group is just unreal. No team is going to have a deep enough group of DBs to man us up. That means more zone coverage, which means a better running game, which opens the pass again. This is a beautiful thing to watch. The D-line was better and should continue to get better. That’s the new NFL. Big offense to get a lead then rush the passer. Soooooo pumped! Huge huge win for ourbBucs today.
September 9th, 2018 at 5:40 pm
The game changed with the two roughing the passer penalties. 30 yards and 2 first downs to open the 2nd half. That helps. Fitz ran the ball well, I think he felt a lot more comfortable taking off than jw does. And I can’t lie that pass to ME was a thing of beauty, play of the game!
Mike Evans had 7 catches for 147 yards and 1 TD and he wasn’t even the leading receiver. Godwin is super impressive and so is OJ. Btw where did Brate disappear to? Too many weapons and not enough balls and we sure could use a DE, but I digress.
Monken did such a good job Koetter didn’t even want to say his name publicly, lol, as to not start an entire offense controversy, lol.
As for the oline they played well. The right side with Ali and dsmith should be money all season. Barber had a 8ypc at one point in the game, crey.
McIceCream still jumping offsides,lol, and I didn’t see him make a play until well into the 3rd qrt. I expected JPP and lvd to create turnovers but it was Teflon kwon and VH3 go figure. Hey, Ira, did Brees have to take a shower after the game?
Next week is the real test, if Fitz can drop 40 on the eagles and come away with a win I’m all for a qb controversy. #RunJameisRun
September 9th, 2018 at 5:40 pm
#BestOL
#QBskipsShower
#DilferCouldWin
#WeaponsForTampaQBs
#WhoDat
September 9th, 2018 at 5:40 pm
The Bucs offense overcame a sub-par Bucs secondary today…next week probably not…..just being real
September 9th, 2018 at 5:43 pm
We saw this in the preseason. Anyone who’s followed this team through the years has seen many inept offenses with the organizational reply of, “it’s just preseason,” only to see it carry over into the games that count (“Tennessee ready” anybody?) I think this is going to carry over into the rest of this season. I was hoping they’d continue with Monken. The real surprise is Fitz! I thought he would do well due to the playmakers around him but didn’t see this coming! Loved the Dan Fouts reference, too. Quite appropriate!
September 9th, 2018 at 5:43 pm
Wasn’t just the Saints that got torched. Koetter roasted an idiot report who kept asking about who called the plays. “Were you at the game?” When the jerk wouldn’t let up Koetter hammered him repeatedly. I think the turd deserved it.
September 9th, 2018 at 5:44 pm
Next week at here yet… But who is better than Breeze???
Still waiting????
September 9th, 2018 at 5:44 pm
good thing is foles looks like crap but he usually has a 3-5 game hot streak in his career hope it doesnt start next week
September 9th, 2018 at 5:44 pm
Next week *aint* here yet…
September 9th, 2018 at 5:48 pm
Duthsty Rhothdes – Oh no, I wasn’t thinking of that… Foles is playing, G-damnit. He’s going to throw for 400 yards probably. But then again the Bucs always beat the Eagles at home. This is quandary…
September 9th, 2018 at 5:49 pm
Been saying all along. This team has talent. Just depends on who wants to show up and put their wares on display- any team on any Sunday. The Bucs were in a groove today due to outstanding play calling through 3 plus quarters and an o line that played like they wanted to prove something, to themselves and the rest of the league. For the most part part they gave Fitz clean air to seethe field and his receivers. Nothing but good comes from that. They, collectively, deserve a game ball for keeping Fitz on his feet. Agree with the other posts that the D needs a lot of work in communication and coverage. The rooks played well, even though beat by half a step on many plays. That will improve but Smitties scheme has way too much play off the receiver for me. Great way to start the season. I applaud everyone who chose to win today! Remember the feeling of kicking some serious butt today and keep it flowing. Go Bucs
September 9th, 2018 at 5:49 pm
@Free
No one is a better technician than Brees (except for maybe Fitz’s beard)…
….but the Eagles are a much better team than the Saints.
If the Bucs can beat the Eaglles they’ll be ordained
September 9th, 2018 at 5:51 pm
Really happy to see Fitz ‘s ball security today. I just know Winston would have forced balls when he should’ve. Winston could be great if he would just learn how to eat a sack, pull the ball down and run get a couple to play another down. The most frustrating thing about Winston is him trying to throw balls with defenders hanging off of him.
September 9th, 2018 at 5:52 pm
That was an impressive and gratifying offensive performance.
September 9th, 2018 at 5:53 pm
Howard Cosell – The Eagles aren’t much better than the Saints, they are somewhat better, but they barely beat the Falcons at home. The Bucs can win the Eagles game, but it will be a lot more difficult on offense than this game since the Eagles do have a much better defense.
September 9th, 2018 at 5:53 pm
Spot on bro
September 9th, 2018 at 5:54 pm
Lol so the Eagles aren’t “much” better than the Saints but they have a “much” better offense?
September 9th, 2018 at 5:54 pm
*defense
September 9th, 2018 at 5:57 pm
The defense wasn’t great, but they forced punts and turnovers. That was an upgrade over last year.
#TheWinningHasStarted!
September 9th, 2018 at 5:57 pm
Great win but either Mike Smith needs to change his Defensive Scheme or he needs to be let go. The Dline was not all that bad, especially against the run. Brees threw a bunch of quick outs so the line did not have enough time to get to the QB. Smith needs to have his his DB play closer to the line and stop the quick slants and outs. We drafted two physical CBs and Hargreaves was cover corner in college. Why let the CB play so far off the line – because M. Smith scheme is based upon not giving up the big play. Well it did not work last year and it is not working this year. Teams have figured out Smith’s Defensive scheme.
September 9th, 2018 at 5:58 pm
Good thing we have Half the eagles DL… Inside scoop anyone!?!?!
September 9th, 2018 at 5:59 pm
This was the most important one of the three…all are vitally important, but this is weighted the most being a division and conference game.
September 9th, 2018 at 6:00 pm
Good thing we have Half the eagles DL… Inside scoop anyone!?!?!
Just incase you didnt notice… 2 turnovers a QB sack and a TD…
#BestDinTheLeague
September 9th, 2018 at 6:04 pm
They gave up 450+ yards and 40 points. The only defense they’re better than right now is the Saints lol.
September 9th, 2018 at 6:09 pm
Eagles DB’s ain’t no joke. We can’t expect to score 30 plus on those guys. So hope the D mans up because we’re going to need them next week without a doubt
September 9th, 2018 at 6:09 pm
The Eagles-Falcons game last week was a display of offensive futility. Ajai can run the ball for Philly but Foles was horrible and the only receiver he went to was Ertz, a tight end. I believe the Eagles defense is one of the better ones in the league but they can’t cover Evans, Howard, Jackson, Brate, Godwin, somebody is going to be break out for the Bucs. Eagles are a well coached team and have a lot of depth on defense. Fletcher Cox is a monster so the Bucs won’t have an easy go at it when on offense, but their balance on offense can offset a great defense. I hope Desean Jackson is ok as he set the tone for this game from the beginning.
September 9th, 2018 at 6:12 pm
Everyone saying this is better than Jameis has ever played must have forgot when he hung 5 touchdowns on the Eagles.
Anyways, great game from Fitz! As meaningless as preseason can be, one thing we have seen over the years is our offense tends to play the same way in the regular season. This year they were firing on all cylinders, with every quarterback, and it’s continued into the regular season so far.
Fitzpatrick EARNED this win.
September 9th, 2018 at 6:22 pm
@Unbelievable… while that was a great game there’s a huge difference between doing it against a divisional rival in their place and against an Eagles team that quit on Chip Kelly
September 9th, 2018 at 8:16 pm
Greatest show on turf 2.0
September 9th, 2018 at 9:11 pm
Delusional Buc fans wanting to turn Fitzmagic into Fitzerella. Sorry pumpkin heads but when the clock strikes 12 Fitz will revert back to Fitz. Remember the first preseason game when Fitz tore it up. Then the second game came along and well Fitzerella ran and left his cleats behind. Don’t get me wrong I like Fitz and think he’s in a perfect situation to help mentor Winston. He’s also a very good back up QB who is capable of winning games. He is not a franchise QB with an upside. Winston is. End of story.
#Get After It!