Turning The Tables On Bruce Arians, Mike Evans
November 9th, 2020
After the Bucs had a comeback win against the Chargers, Bucco Bruce Arians declared his team would have had its ass kicked in that game if it occurred one year ago.
Following Monday’s tight win against the Giants, Mike Evans had a similar refrain.
Joe thought both of those takes were off base and made that clear on episodes of the Ira Kaufman Podcast. Reality didn’t jibe with those comments.
But hey, it’s the head coach and the greatest receiver in Bucs history, and they are quite knowledgeable.
Well, here we are following the Bucs getting annihilated 38-3 at home against the Saints last night. Last year, the Bucs never scored less than 17 points in a game and that happened just twice, and none of their points in those games came in “garbage time.” The only time in 2019 they allowed 38 or more points in regulation play was in a two-score victory against the Rams.
So is it fair to say last night’s blowout to the Saints wouldn’t have happened last season?
Joe’s not going to answer the question because it’s a senseless take, just like those of Arians and Evans after games earlier this season. This year isn’t last year, and last year isn’t this year.
The Bucs, however, did rank third in scoring and in total yards in 2019. For this season, they’re middle of the pack in yards and, per Joe’s quick math, rank No. 10 in scoring.
Again, this year is not last year — and vice versa.
November 9th, 2020 at 1:15 am
Both teams knew this was for the NFC South Championship. One team dominated the game planning. This game clearly shows the biggest gap between the Bucs and the Saints is the coaching staff.
November 9th, 2020 at 1:19 am
By the way they played youd think only the saints knew the stakes… I have no idea how you can seem so unprepared and not ready to play when it’s a division rival and battle over the division lead. Do they have 0 pride? Even the worst teams in the league… They go up against one of the best and you think it should be a blowout, but somehow they make those division games scrappy .. nope not this team
November 9th, 2020 at 1:19 am
the special teams looked like complete sheet on stopping returns…
and pinion punted like sheet…nothing boomed…
is the dude losing his leg?
one series, the saints literally started on our 35 yard line after a crap punt combined with sheety tackling
November 9th, 2020 at 1:21 am
Good take Joe.
This is one of the toughest Ls we’ve had to suffer as Bucs fans…never thought it’d come at the expense of a Brady-Gronk-Brown season…
November 9th, 2020 at 1:23 am
bruce doesn’t really look like he’s even coaching from the sidelines any more…
did he give up on being coach?…
i swear he used to coach, and work the officials…shout…get beet red…huff and puff..
he stands there with just a look of confusion most of the time now…
now i’m getting confused…
what happened to coach BA ???
it’s like the power has been taken from him
November 9th, 2020 at 1:23 am
Also is my memory wrong or is Mike’s only good game when he was limping around? Ive always really liked the guy, but getting tired of making excuses for him. Sucks hearing them talk about his poor form against Lattimore and seeing him consistently shut down by him .. just thankful Bradbury is out of the division. Maybe my expectations for him this year should be lowered a d look for him to return to form next year at this point. Discouraging
November 9th, 2020 at 1:36 am
I’m going to go a different direction.
I’m a long time Bucs fan. I’m used to these games.
Kind of makes me appreciate how good we’ve had it.
We’ve had it so good, we get upset at losses. Not even a year ago no one would have been surprised by this game.
November 9th, 2020 at 1:43 am
“Like Kobe Faker has said before
No one man knows more on how to beat and exploit the Bucs offense than
Saints defensive coord Dennis Allen
He knows and exploits the weakness of the Bucs offense everytime which is
Bucs Oline (Dope Smith) and Byron Leftwich”
Kobe Faker
November 9th, 2020 at 1:51 am
Jesus Christ Joe! This year, last year…What was the point? How about we just played and coached like sh!T… Specifically “coached”, and this is coming from a HUGE BA fan… Come on Bruce!
November 9th, 2020 at 1:56 am
I dunno mobile. Im getting this sinking feeling it’s the same old Bucs in a lot of ways… Hopefully we are just In a slump,maybe make some adjustments to cover the weaknesses.. but just worried how we will play down the stretch. We’ve seen the Browns add a lot of talent in previous years and you can r always just throw a bunch of talent together and have a championship team. Was just thinking of how poor this franchise has really been.. worse than the Browns really… Just hope we can finally turn it around
November 9th, 2020 at 2:02 am
I’ll never understand our STs why do you punt directly to a guy who you know is dangerous? Why does Mickens keep brining the ball out of the end zone only to get to the 23 or 24? Why can’t our punt return team get a block to set up a decent return?
Offensively why is it our running backs can’t make the 1st guy miss when they get a check down or a screen?
Sorry I’m just upset about this beat down we took tonight.
November 9th, 2020 at 6:08 am
Here’s what I’ll say about comparisons between last year and this year, Byron Leftwich is awful at calling plays to get his QB’s into a rhythm early in games. With the weapons this team has on offense, it’s inexcusable to not have a script that moves the ball on the opening drive.
NOT EVERY PASS NEEDS TO BE A SEVEN STEP DROP. Brady has made a hall of fame career out of getting the ball out of his hand fast and these a$$holes want to make him stand in the pocket behind a backup left guard and Dumpster Fire Smith at left tackle for 4 or 5 seconds waiting for guys to break on 20 yard routes. Asinine.
November 9th, 2020 at 6:15 am
Coach Stale Biscuit.
November 9th, 2020 at 6:29 am
Pathetic. The most important game of the season and nobody shows up. Coaches, players. What the F___.
November 9th, 2020 at 6:43 am
Boy, sure takes the wind out of the “fan” sail, doesn’t it?! A stinker like that?! Whew!
Look at the bright side. Maybe it needed to to happen to get it out of our system AND, we STILL have yet to play our best offensive game!
November 9th, 2020 at 6:52 am
Serious question here…. there is plenty of blame to go around here obviously. But I believe most of it belongs on the offensive coordinator. How can you take a guy who wasn’t even a good QB when he played and put him in charge of this offense? That is like taking Mr. Magoo ( for the younger generation he was a cartoon character who was blind) and giving him the keys to your Ferrari. You just don’t do it.
November 9th, 2020 at 7:27 am
Even when Winston came in for the Saints, he had no problems moving the ball. When you design better plays and call them at the right time, you can more than make up for the fact the other team has better players, and make no mistake the Bucs have measurably more talent than the Saints.
We were just reminded how horribly overrated BA, BL, and TB are.
November 9th, 2020 at 7:35 am
It was one game. The season was not over when they had the complete game against GB and it’s not over now after a complete loss.
November 9th, 2020 at 7:50 am
Donovan smith and smb gotta go both liabilities in what we want to do. I’m tired of seeing donovan try so hard to look like brady hitting the ground isnt his fault. And smb gets burnt every game and looks around for someone to blame every week.
November 9th, 2020 at 8:00 am
I cant believe it first off its like a bad dream…and now joe is back to talking trash wow…we came out flat and looked liked we didnt want to play for the most important game of the season we could have been tied for 1st place in NFC WTF!!! Everyone was flat they looked like they didnt want to play..our O-line was a joke and couldnt give brady more than 2 seconds to throw the ball ..something has to change with this line or we will have problems…give brady time to throw he will dominate…i dont care who the quarterback is just like rogers when we played them ..is getting hammered like that they will throw int and run for thier life …we blew it …it could have been very nice on top of the NFC…its not over yet though we really cannot take another loss lets go bucs!!! Wake up!!
November 9th, 2020 at 8:03 am
We got our ass kick in the trenches… Our O & D Lone both sucked badly…
November 9th, 2020 at 8:19 am
JustMyMobileOpinion Says:
November 9th, 2020 at 1:15 am
Both teams knew this was for the NFC South Championship. One team dominated the game planning. This game clearly shows the biggest gap between the Bucs and the Saints is the coaching staff.
BINGO!!!!
sean had his team ready since last sunday to play this game….
bucs must have been partying over the election….
GO BUCS!!!!
November 9th, 2020 at 8:31 am
Most definitely … “We got our ass kick in the trenches”. And that’s half the battle right there: you’ve gotta win in the trenches to win in today’s NFL.
But there was more to it IMO; coaching on BOTH sides of the ball simply didn’t measure up. Not even close. Our DLine got zero pass rush last night & that killed us. Bucs had ONE sack & a total of THREE QB Hits on Brees last night, while the Saints had THREE sacks & NINE QB Hits on Brady, PLUS THREE INTs. Saints won the TOP battle 40:04 to 19:56 mins. Brees went 29 for 35 (83%) BUT … the Saints actually ran MORE than they passed (38 runs vs 36 pass attempts) … THAT’S what you call a BALANCED ATTACK, even though they only averaged 3.7 YPC rushing.
The Saints defense limited our offense to 1 for 12 on 3rd & 4th down conversions. Brady passed 38 times, was sacked 3 times, and we ran FIVE times for 8 yards. That’s a run-pass ratio of barely 10%. That’s pathetic. It’s also terrible game-planning AND play-calling, and that’s all on coaching.
November 9th, 2020 at 11:10 am
“This game clearly shows the biggest gap between the Bucs and the Saints is the coaching staff.”
When to a man we got Physically abused up front on both sides of the ball that is not coaching, that is talent. The Saints have more talent where it counts, up front!
November 9th, 2020 at 11:18 am
No quarterback can be effective if you don’t have time to pass the ball. Tom is not a mobile QB but give him time he is as affective is there is. Russing the ball only 4 times is too a recipe of disaster. At halftime adjustments have to be made but Byron Leftwich is far from a good offensive coordinator. This weakness has to be addressed.
The defense has been very effective the first 8 games. Last night there was no pressure on Drew Brees. He will eat you alive if he has the time and obviously he did. Again no adjustments were made. You have the talent but make the changes when needed. Coaches must react when needed! They were fortunate last week, look in the mirror and take advantage of the talent you have.
November 9th, 2020 at 11:47 am
@Baby Grace … “When to a man we got Physically abused up front on both sides of the ball that is not coaching, that is talent. The Saints have more talent where it counts, up front!”
Good observation & I don’t necessarily disagree, BUT … no NFL team has THE BEST PLAYER at every single position. Excellent coaching capitalizes on your STRENGTHS & minimizes your WEAKNESSES. Sometimes mano-a-mano works fine; other times you’d better double up if you expect to hold certain players in check.
Play design & play-calling also factor in big-time IMO to scheme guys open & get mismatches that your QB can take advantage of. Brady by-and-large is excellent at that. But last night I saw plenty of Saints’ receivers running free all night long, but Bucs’ receivers were being covered like glue from the very first play. I credit the Saints defense for some of that, but at the same time our play designs are too ‘lumbering’. Very little quick short passes (most of Brady’s short passes seem ot be dumpoffs rather than quick hits by design).
Bucs defense was on the field for 40 minutes last night. That’s right … FORTY MINUTES. Our offense converted ONE 3rd & 4th down opportunity out of TWELVE. You can credit the Saints’ defense for standing up, but at the same time our offense was nothing short of ABYSMAL. FIVE rushes? Really? This team isn’t going anywhere with that type of coaching.
November 9th, 2020 at 12:26 pm
At least Jameis would have made it competitive. Brady couldn’t even get a 1st down for half the frickin game.
Leftwich is a terrible coordinator. Been saying this since last season.
His calls are beyond predictable. There is no misdirection. No creativity. It fully relies on us having a ridiculous level of talent at every skill position.
Bowles has usually been good but his game plan last night was equally pathetic. ZERO PRESSURE on Drew Brees the entire night outside of just 1 play. How the hell do you lineup in zone the entire night against Brees?
Absolutely pathetic. These coordinators barely even deserve their current jobs, let alone bein candidates for head coaching gigs next year. Yeah right lol.
November 9th, 2020 at 1:14 pm
What I seen was not enough protection for Brady on way to many lo g bomb type of plays to get the most out of him we need to play Brady’s game not Bas the o line could not keep Saints off of Brady long enough to make them big plays down frie Nd they just can’t do it . They need to just chip away like Brady has done for many years. 10 And 20 yard plays not 30. To 50 yard plays the O line might have a better chance with shoot and run get that ball out of Brady’s hands before O line breaks down they could not hold the Saints back get the ball out chip at 5 10 15 yards a play that’s what Tom does best they tried to dam hard for the long bomb it won’t work against power full defences. So I blame couching its not the best plan that just wore every one out for no gains re think couch if you can
November 9th, 2020 at 1:19 pm
Don’t Blame Brady the hole team Sucked. Its a matter of not enough tough not enough discipline period it looked like the whole team was confused as hell didn’t you see guys jumping up and down yelling because it was not organized just no game plan no discipline Wake up this team could be great but they need a kick in the Ass and the couching was pathetic
November 9th, 2020 at 1:20 pm
Suck it up Butter cups let Brady make the game plan geez
November 9th, 2020 at 1:36 pm
This for sure was ugly af i lost alot of cash on tjis lost if they continue to play like this ill be the laughing stock of my company I talk so much crap to these cowboys fan when my team just as bad all i can say is Oh WOW
November 9th, 2020 at 2:27 pm
So none of this has to do with gambling?
November 9th, 2020 at 2:35 pm
Well Jameis played behind a bad offensive line and an inconsistent running game year after year and still managed to put up points. Brady can’t function without a pocket he can step or slide into. They will have trouble with Teams that have good pass rushers Next up Aaron Donald and company….Ouuch.
November 9th, 2020 at 3:19 pm
How about “nonexistent?”
November 9th, 2020 at 4:12 pm
Arians got exposed last night.
Leftwich is dead weight.
Waste of Brady.
November 9th, 2020 at 7:54 pm
I have been a Buc fan since the inception and personally take every loss with some degree of inner pain. I was there as a kid in 79 when they became the team that went from worst to first. And again as sadly the team that found success had an owner who refused to pay a black man that much money and we watched as Doug Williams left for greener pastures in the USFL Then I watched as that same owner hired a former head coach selling mobile homes. And then watch again as he hired his Vince Lombardy when he hired Ray Perkins. The truth is that for most of the 80’s and 90’s the Bucs are the number one reason that during the football season I lived half of the week in bitter depression and the other half with considerable happiness and hope that maybe this Sunday would be different. That somehow even as huge underdogs the Bucs would win just to be kicked in the teeth and back into the sad reality of the real world of life as a Buc fan. Then hope finally broke though and a ray of sunlight as the old racist died and the Bucs would soon have new owners Malcom Glazer and a new coach Tony Dungy and GM Rich McKay that would be responsible for one of the greatest turnarounds in franchise history as they turned hapless losers into perennial winners, a team that the whole area could be proud of. As these Bucs were no longer the losers under the watch of Hugh Culverhouse. These Bucs were winners and continued to be winners under Jon Gruden. Winning a Super Bowl and still excelled on the field, although not like before that incredible Super Bowl win. And so I will say this as I have thought about it for almost 20 hours now. But before last night the worst loss that I experienced as a Bucs fan came the year after the Bucs won the Super Bowl. That following year the Bucs started out 4 and 0 even giving the Philadelphia Eagles a beat down in their new digs on opening night. But then came the Indianapolis Colts into town on. Monday night and again the Bucs were in Championship mode as they were well on there way to victory up 21 with about four and change to go. And then the thing that you would have said could never happened, well it happened. And after missing a chance to win in overtime with a field goal the Bucs were finally handed a gruesome defeat at the hands of former Head Coach Tony Dungy QB Peyton Manning and the overtime winning field goal by Adam Vinatieri and the rest of the Indianapolis Colts. And in a mater of approximately one hour of real time the Bucs season went from something that was looking special again to a complete let down and loss after loss as they could never regain their greatness. I was sick for days and the days turned to weeks as loss after loss became rule again and thus began the dismantling of the Bucs. Sure they would have a couple more playoff appearances, although nothing like 2002 and soon Gruden would be gone too a victim of winning it all in his first year. And again the losing commenced until the Bucs brought in Jason Lichet as GM and yes everyone is entitled to their opinions, but even though some head scratching daft picks and roster moves HC hirings Jason has done a fantastic job of constructing a really good team and brought in a two time HC of the year in B. A., the GOAT and an amazing number of gifted players to bring the Bucs back into the spotlight. Now I can definitely say that I was able to sleep after the loss to the Colts, but the loss to Saints has been a long sleepless event. And maybe just like me the rest of us are just overreacting to a completely devastating loss to a division rival who looked like they had a copy of the Bucs playbook and that’s the only way I can reason with this loss. But the truth is that the Saints just came out and kicked the Bucs in the teeth for 60 minutes then flew back to New Orleans probably drinking Champagne all the way. The truth is that the Bucs are a really good team that can still elevate their season into a championship at home. Or they could fold under the weight themselves and completely crash and burn into a heap of ashes. Only they are responsible for what happens next, do they take this loss as a wake up call and start crushing or do they realize that they are pretenders with no business to be talked about among the leagues elite. I am personally praying for the first and hopefully last night was a complete fluke. Although getting beat in all phases of the game cannot be a fluke.And must be addressed going forward. I did receive some good news from my brother who stated that the Bucs only win the Super Bowl when they are beaten by the Saints twice in the same season.
November 10th, 2020 at 1:49 am
They only signed the guy that ran our offense last year and went up against our defense all of last year. The number one guy that needed to know every last thing about the O and the defense. Like when we won the super bowl with the raiders head coach. It makes a difference. they know everything about us. they shut us down like the way we shut down the raiders. knew everything we were doing. Why is no one talking about that. who else shut us down like that? My piece.
November 10th, 2020 at 4:34 am
Are you suggesting Jameis’ advice didn’t work Week 1? Or his new teammates ignored him until recently?
The Saints didn’t know how to battle Donovan Smith until they listened to Jameis?
Reason why no one is talking about it is because it is fake news.
November 10th, 2020 at 5:27 am
They played like Garbage i have said this from day one if we start slow against a good team we gonna get our butts kicked every time I blame the coaching staff and the entire offense for playing so weak it was so embarrassing I turned the chann.
November 10th, 2020 at 10:16 am
I know Jameis made his mistakes but one thing I’ll also tell you is that he wasn’t afraid to at least try to get the ball down field. It seemed like Brady was so focused on not making a mistake that it took him out of his game. No pass rushing. I think Drew Brees will be able to wear the same uniform the next game because he didn’t even get dirty.
November 10th, 2020 at 10:34 am
J. Winston is the saints coach letting them in on the playbook if they can coach so good why the hell they aint won a Superbowl in 100 yrs an not winning one this year lol
November 10th, 2020 at 11:05 am
I don’t think I’ve missed ten TB12 games in my life. One could see his “discomfort” from the 1st snap of the game. Almost as tho he didn’t have faith in game plan.
As others stated, the coaching was… Absent? Brady should have been throwing 5-10 yd passes- getting rid of the freakin’ ball b4 O line collapsed.
I no longer wonder why J. Winston threw so many Ints; stupid play-calling.
That said, Bucs D was… Mysterious? A day late and 10 yds slower?
Ugly, ugly, ugly.
The silver lining? We all know how good this team Can Be. We’ve already seen it.
Somebody other than GOAT Brady needs to step up and help unify this team; to take some RESPONSIBILITY. He put the Bucs on his back and lead them to a 6-2 start, but they’re getting awfully heavy to carry alone.
Btw, besides Brady, did Any Other Buc say “I need to make more/better plays.” Did Any coach say “I didn’t prepare properly”.
Thought so.
November 10th, 2020 at 1:50 pm
The only real comparison is the porousity of the offensive line with Ali Marpet
out, which lead to no running game. Tom Brady made the I always thought
Jameis Winston wasted a career with a team that gave him receivers and only
Marpet to block for him the rest were non blocking drive killers. This just prove that JW could have been much further along in his decision making if he had process time instead of spending 1 of his seconds looking for the leak. The running game was atleast the worst in the league, and when good backs were available you draft a tight end who was teed up for you to grab. You never made that draft pay off nor Vernon Hargraveyard no linemen but we’re gonna get a kicker who also was teed up just for Tampa. Take note of how franchises can change your life ali Ryan Tannehill.