“Who Do You Want To Be?”
December 20th, 2020
The identity of the Bucs is…
The theme of the past two weeks with the Bucs is the empty football mysticism known as “identity.”
Joe has written about this. What the hell does that even mean? It’s almost as bad as vapid “leader” chatter.
The Bucs are loaded on offense but they are often one-dimensional. And it’s as if that has become some mortal sin and Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians is always peppered with questions about “identity.” It’s gotten the point he’s using that as a punchline in interviews.
Count DeAngelo Hall as the latest to jump on the pile of this “identity” pile. The co-host of the weekend version of “Good Morning Football,” Hall told the NFL Network audience that the Bucs will be better and more consistent if they figure out what they are.
“Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Who do you want to be?” Hall began. “One day you want to run the football; one day you just want to drop back and throw deep with Tom Brady. Find out who you want to be.”
Why this has become some knock on the Bucs, well, Joe cannot figure out. Isn’t the goal (outside of scoring points) of an offense to be unpredictable? Not get buried in a trap set by the defense to become one-dimensional?
When and who all of a sudden changed the rules on the Bucs?
Joe actually hopes the Bucs take on an identity. First, Joe hopes the Bucs embrace the identity of consistency. And if they cannot do that, Joe hopes the Bucs’ identity is known far and wide as winners.
How’s that for an identity?
You may view Hall’s full take on the Bucs in the NFL Network video below.
What’s the Bucs’ identity?
@DeAngeloHall23 says answering this question is key. pic.twitter.com/X34p05gm5a— GMFB (@gmfb) December 19, 2020
December 20th, 2020 at 7:00 am
Would that be the same as who did DHall want to be during his playing career as a corner in the NFL? Did he have his own identity or did he wanna be Dion Sanders, Darryl Green, or Charles Woodson, or all three. Being that he played for the same teams they played for, Atlanta, Washington, n the Raiders, n they all happen to be HOF corners, just a thought.
December 20th, 2020 at 7:18 am
Who do you want to be? Duh… Super Bowl champs.. that’s who!
December 20th, 2020 at 7:27 am
The Bucs identity is a team that is 8-5…..hopefully soon to be 9-5…..
December 20th, 2020 at 8:42 am
In this culture, identity is fluid. Buccaneers are just with the times.
December 20th, 2020 at 9:58 am
They have to talk about something to have a show. Easier to talk an old subject than come up with new material.
December 20th, 2020 at 10:26 am
The Bucs know who they want to be. A balanced team that runs the ball effectively and has a deadly play action game.
December 20th, 2020 at 10:26 am
When media or fans have talked about the Bucs over the years, we’ve almost always been known for our defense IMO. In our best years, Bucs always had a superb defense.
If you look at our seasons (with a full slate of games) with winning records, our defense has been in the Top-10 (Points Allowed) for every one of them except one: our 2016 season (9-7) when our defense (under Mike Smith) ranked #15 that year.
Since 1976, Bucs offense has ranked in the Top-10 (Points Scored) exactly 3 times: 2000 (QB – Shaun King); 2019 (QB – Jameis Winston); 2020 (QB – Tom Brady).
The ONLY season in which BOTH our offense & defense ranked in the Top-10 in our history was 2000 when our offense ranked #6 (scoring 388 pts) and our defense ranked #7 (allowing 269 pts). Coincidentally, that’s also the year when we had our best Turnover Differential … Offense made 24 giveaways but our defense registered 41 takeaways. And yes, Shaun King was at the controls when we lost that year’s wildcard game to the Eagles 21-3 that year.
December 20th, 2020 at 12:11 pm
Good point Joe — score points and be unpredictable. The third and fourth elements of that are, execute with precision and win.