Lessons From The Packers, Parcells
November 9th, 2020
Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells
Joe gets the various stages of freakout this morning by Bucs fans, but Joe’s also going to pull out an old Bill Parcells line and a fresh reminder from this season to soothe the non-believers.
Parcells liked to say, ‘You are what your record says you are.” And the Bucs are 6-3.
Say it again, the Bucs are 6-3.
While there may be a divide at JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters on this subject, that 6-3 record is the reason the Joe typing here can’t get too upset this morning after last nights horrible beating.
The Bucs are 6-3.
If you thought the Bucs were a 10-win team this season like Joe projected, than the facts say they are right on track. (Would you have not been ok with a 6-3 start before the season?)
And in a year that features three Wild Card teams per conference for the first time in NFL history, that track is an excellent place to be on.
Joe also wants to remind fans what happened to the Packers after the Bucs blew their doors off, 38-10 on October 18. Green Bay was coming off a bye and got mauled in Tampa, a real shock to their system.
A week later, the Packers hit the road and calmly dismantled a bad Texans team. They led 21-0 at halftime and cruised to a 35-13 lead.
Green Bay then was upset by Minnesota and bounced back to pound the 49ers on Thursday, a game in which they led 34-3. They now sit at 6-2 with a relatively soft schedule ahead, much like the Bucs have.
So relax, Bucs fans. Carolina (3-6) is up next and they’ve lost four in a row. They’ll fight, but they stink.
It’s the Rams (5-3) after that, and if you want to feel better, go watch them get embarrassed by the Dolphins last week or limp to a loss against San Francisco three weeks ago.
After that, its four of five games against teams with losing records. Two are against the Falcons, a talented but ridiculously undisciplined team with no defense.
This likely isn’t the Bucs team fans fantasized about last week or last month, but Tampa Bay is certainly more than good enough to finish out this season 4-3 and notch 10 wins.
After all, Parcells wasn’t wrong that often, and the Bucs’ record is no fluke.
November 9th, 2020 at 7:25 am
Exactly. Get back from the ledge, people. Put down the drink. It’s going to be okay. Actually, last night will be helpful in the long run.
November 9th, 2020 at 7:31 am
Well said Joe! We are winning and sometimes looking damn good while doing it. We took an @ss whuppin but there are 7 games left to play and I’m not daydreaming over who we might draft next year. Good times.
November 9th, 2020 at 7:37 am
Not freaking out but dam we lose like that at home come on Bucs. I hope they learn from this and never play like that again lol go Bucs
November 9th, 2020 at 7:44 am
Get to January, and win in January and February.
Although, the next three games are tough for the Bucs, the last four are easier.
But somehow they’ll have to figure out how to stop someone and figure out how to get a first down before halftime.
November 9th, 2020 at 7:50 am
Joe it’s not that they lost last night it’s more about how they lost. Teams are watching tape and have figured out how to beat Bowles blitzes. Please help me understand how we didn’t run the ball much. I don’t mind the loss as u can’t win them all,but this was a important game they lost.
November 9th, 2020 at 7:53 am
Joe Haeg is not Ali Marpet but DS played poorly and indeed the OL is my biggest fear.
It’s not that Tom Brady is 43. TB12 was NEVER a mobile QB that’s just not his skill set. He has to win with his arm and his brain. He is not Mahomes, Wilson or Rodgers…he HAS TO HAVE AN OL!
If Brady is playing from his backside he can’t complete a pass.
The D looked confused a lot to me last night. They still have the talent and Bowles didn’t suddenly get stupid overnight. He was embarrassed by Payton and Brees. They can get better!
Right now the OL is my biggest fear because it is the ONE thing Brady MUST have.
November 9th, 2020 at 7:54 am
Boytom line, 6-3 is alot better than most years in the 44 year history of this team. Yea it was a pathetic game, but it is only 1 game. On to the Panthers. GO BUCS!!!
November 9th, 2020 at 8:01 am
I don’t know if I’ll ever watch another Bucs / Saints game until we win one. We get out coached in that game 2x every year it seems.
Go Bucs!
November 9th, 2020 at 8:03 am
Sunday Night Football! Are you ready for some football? Well, apparently not the Bucs. And, its not just this one game – think Bears and Giants. I will definitely have to recalibrate my risk assessment of them making it to the SB. Although I agree, they should make it to the playoffs, play like we saw last night won’t get them very far. That game was huge, and for some reason, they either couldn’t bring their A game or their A game is by comparison a D game. Granted Brees was on fire. His passes were perfect, and receivers found a way to get into open areas of the field. No game-to-game consistency on either side of the ball. Not sure if its the personnel or the coaching, but they need to fix it pronto!
November 9th, 2020 at 8:19 am
We need to beat the Rams, Lions, Falcons once & Minn or Carolina & we are there.
November 9th, 2020 at 8:22 am
On the bright side, after possibly THE worst overall performance in franchise history, it literally can’t get any worse.
Nowhere to go but up!
November 9th, 2020 at 8:25 am
On any given Sunday an upset can occur. The Cowboys nearly pulled it off yesterday with a practice squad QB. For no real reason, teams can show up and nothing goes as planned while everything seems to go well for the opponent. We stunk….across the board. The line was trash, Brady missed multiple throws, the defense got no pressure, the defensive unit looked confused on assignments multiple times.
I think the positive to these losses are:
1) If you’re going to take an “L”, do it to a playoff team vs a dud.
2) Sometimes a good beating gets you refocused….better to happen now at the midway point, then week 1 of the playoffs.
At 6-3…we lost to a very good Saints team and a solid Bears team. We’ve beat the teams we should and beat a very good Packers team. There’s plenty to move forward with.
November 9th, 2020 at 8:25 am
The Giants and New Orleans exposed the Bucs weaknesses. They have written the formula. Good coaching , short accurate passes that beat the rush seem to work. Coverage has not been good and a thinking Daniel Jones would have beat them. Teams never play as good after a Monday night game so we did not see Tampa’s best game against N.O. but we really should have been more prepared. We will go on and get in the playoffs this year but let’s face it, the team has flaws. This is not Tampa’s team anymore. It is Tom’s team and as a fan let’s hope he knows what he’s doing down the stretch. I guess we’ll find out.
November 9th, 2020 at 8:31 am
imo, the panthers are licking their chops…..rhule will have his team ready to go just like sean did….panthers didnt look too bad vs KC….
imo, every game from here on out will be a dog fight regardless of record….
GO BUCS!!!
November 9th, 2020 at 8:43 am
Is Haeg still on the team? You can hang that offensive (pun!) ‘performance’ on the left side of the line.
I’ve been a massive DSmith apologist for years. But god help me, the last two games he has been atrocious just god awful stinks to high heaven. Even I am having trouble backing that up.
Dude is getting shown up by a rookie. Weekly.
November 9th, 2020 at 9:07 am
The record is a mirage. Your regular season record means nothing. Ask Tom about his 16-0 regular season. Barely beating the Giants and getting owned by the Saints with the 2nd game being an utter embarrasment (i bet replacement players could score at least 6 points) while being 6-3 is supposed to be some kind of consolation prize? The remaining season is tough, we barely beat the Giants and we think we’re going to do something against playoff caliber teams?!
With all the stars on this team, they have NO business being spanked, tarred, and feathered the way they were. It was almost as if they woke up Sunday morning and realized there was a game to be played.
We are 6-3 pretenders.
This team is going to get bounced from the playoffs in the first game if they make it.
November 9th, 2020 at 9:40 am
No time too panic yet lose to Panthers time to panic.
November 9th, 2020 at 10:36 am
I’m not so sure that I agree here, Joe. I am only slowly sipping the Kool-Aid, now. This makes Two consecutive weeks of piss-poor performances. There are 2 win teams that are playing better than the Bucs right now. The Panthers are no slouch. We can take no one lightly now. The Giants outplayed us & should have won. Light schedule? The Chiefs, the Rams; not light! Who thinks we can beat the Falcons twice? You might want to turn on the Falcons film or the Rams’ last game.–Joe
November 9th, 2020 at 11:49 am
Yes the game plan was terrible and for the biggest coaching staff in the NFL that’s not acceptable. I’m not as upset about the loss as I am at the way they loss. There is nothing positive to take from that game well I’ll take that back. We know not to use that game plan again EVER EVER AGAIN.
Joe we all saw Lavonte David twice going crazy presnap because something was wrong. What we didn’t see him do is be a leader take a time out and get it corrected. The coaches let the players down and the players let each other down with their play on the field.
Yes we’re 6-3 and I’m happy about that but in our losses we’ve looked undisciplined and not prepared that’s not OK.
November 9th, 2020 at 12:13 pm
Joe dismisses Carolina now until the whoop our butts.
Still gotta play KC and LA, plus the Falcons twice.
After the kart 2 weeks, this team will be lucky to even make it to 6-3. And will then get embarrassed yet again in the first round playoff game on the road.
The Bucs are pretenders, simple as that.
November 9th, 2020 at 12:14 pm
*after the past 2 weeks
November 9th, 2020 at 12:16 pm
Joe isn’t dismissing Carolina one bit. They are playing smart, tough football. Joe watched that game with the Chiefs yesterday. In the fourth quarter, the Chiefs couldn’t stop them.
If the Bucs play remotely like they did last night against the Stinking Panthers, they will have their hat handed to them (again).
November 9th, 2020 at 12:21 pm
Have you been watching the Panthers? They are coached well and play hard. Can you say the same about the Bucs after the last 2 weeks? The Bucs have twice the talent the Panthers do, yet I’m legitimately concerned they will beat us after the terrible coaching and preparation I’ve seen from Arians and his staff.
Just don’t be surprised if we get upset this week…
November 9th, 2020 at 1:11 pm
When someone uses the old cliche “on any given Sunday” referring to a Bucs contest its like saying someone who is Bi-Polar can be a “little” moody. Man, you never know what you’ll get with this team, but after any positive stretch you can almost bet it’ll end in disappointment. They don’t sustain.
November 9th, 2020 at 6:12 pm
As one of the oldest farts in this group, I loved this article. If you’ve watched as much NFL as I have, you know this is how the League works. Exhibit A is our destruction of Rodgers and the Pack. Dumpster fire games happen in e NFL, even to Championship Teams. It’s just one game. A terrible one, but still, just one. Burn the tape and move on.
We are 6-3, which rocks. Before we know it the Bucs will be 9-3 and on track to match or exceed its SB team record. BTW, that 12-4 club lost both games to the Saints. They own us.
We have too much talent to fall apart, and we won’t. A win Sunday puts us a 7-3. I’ll take it.
November 9th, 2020 at 7:53 pm
September 7th 2003…………..Ill never forget………..Patriots, and Tom Brady got destroyed by buffalo 0-31 Week 1(IM NOT A PATS OR BUF FAN I JUST KNOW MY FOOTBALL). They just came off an 8-8 Season in which they failed to make the playoffs. Everyone was convinced that the 2001 Patriots were just a fluke especially after missing the playoffs in 2002(BUCS BABY) and getting blasted in week 1…………….what happend after that game was the stuff of legends. Who knew that the greatest run in NFL history had started 2 years before!
Drew Brees was considered a bust in 2001 and 2002……..what happend in 2004…………….who knew that he would become one of the greatest QBs of all time and his legend had already started.
Its just one game!
November 9th, 2020 at 7:57 pm
correction 2002 pats 9-7