A True New Era
January 10th, 2021
Following the Bucs winning their first playoff game in 18 years last night, Joe confesses to weeping like a third-grader who lost her new gold bracelet on a playground.
Eighteen years.
A lifetime ago.
If the Bucs had lost in Washington, Joe wouldn’t have called this season a failure, but doubt about what the Bucs achieved would have been real and fair, and a deep and raw wound requiring many months to heal.
Instead, now every fan can sit back and savor that the Bucs truly have turned a corner as a franchise. The stench is officially gone. The dark cloud over One Buc Palace has blown out to the Gulf.
Not only is Tom Brady here and healthy and ready for another season or more, but franchise cornerstone warriors like Tristan Wirfs, Mike Evans and Lavonte David came to play on the big stage and impressed plenty of eyes. (Look below to see what legendary left tackle Joe Thomas threw out on Twitter during the game.)
An allegedly ferocious Washington defense offered little resistance for a dream-team Bucs offense that is good enough to ring up enough points to beat every team in the NFL, and deep enough to handle multiple setbacks.
Joe’s also celebrating how coaches have found ways to turn Antonio Brown and Leonard Fournette into exemplary team players while seemingly motivating the roster to gut through injuries.
The old empty slogan was “it’s a new day in Tampa Bay.” Maybe it’s time to bring that back.
.@TristanWirfs74 is really damn good
— Joe Thomas (@joethomas73) January 10, 2021
January 10th, 2021 at 1:10 am
The Defense has to improve
January 10th, 2021 at 1:15 am
Wirfs getting a shout out from The Joe Thomas. Damn. Good share, Joe.
Go Bucs!
January 10th, 2021 at 1:19 am
Anyone butt hurt about moving up 1 spot for Tristan now? Give Jason Licht his due as well for putting a roster together that’s been getting better each year. Sure he’s made some mistakes, but which GM hasn’t? The draft is half scouting and half luck.
January 10th, 2021 at 1:20 am
This is just a different Bucs team. The soon as we went up by a FG I had full confidence Our Bucs had it.
The Bucs truely are on tge cusp of greatness. It is so exciting following them and watching them get closer and closer!!
Very proud of the Bucs to meet expectations and win the gsme so convincingly.
GO BUCS!!!
January 10th, 2021 at 1:20 am
Enjoy this. It is a great feeling. We probably max out our potention for 2020 but we can build on this. Hopefully brady sticks around for 2 more seasons and we can get a young qb to learn………..This season proves that when you have a legit qb you always have a chance.
January 10th, 2021 at 1:23 am
Lamb awesome shoutout to Wirfs. He dominated tonight. And i noticef quite a few times on critical downs we ran the ball eight behind him. Im pretty sure Tristian paved the way for a 1st down every time too.
January 10th, 2021 at 1:23 am
Oline was really solid. Congrats to Tristan. Great game!
January 10th, 2021 at 1:26 am
I was a senior in high school the last time the Bucs won a playoff game!!!
Defense needs to tighten up significantly having White back will be huge but
The DBs need to figure it out way to much separation. Offensive line has been stellar. Godwin will be better and I hope McCoy and Jones are back healthy. clock control will be paramount against NO if that’s who they play.
January 10th, 2021 at 1:27 am
BTW Brady is the MVP for today. He puts up even more points if his recievers dont drop so many passes too.
January 10th, 2021 at 1:36 am
Hoping for a super bowl then to top it off watching brady play in a creamsicle before he retires. Defense was bad but imagine vea and white playing tonight.
January 10th, 2021 at 1:36 am
Man, that was an impressive ugly game. Think about the fact that the team looked ugly and still hung 31 on that d. Had dropped tds, blocked pat’s, dropped passes. To be dissapointed with 31 against washongton d just shows you that 40+ every week is a real possibility. Need devin white back and have to play tighter coverage against rams or saints. But super happy to have the game be that ugly and still win by 8.
January 10th, 2021 at 2:32 am
Wirfs has been amazing. I questioned the pick and move up to get him but he was worth every penny. If there is a better right tackle in the league i need to know his name.
January 10th, 2021 at 3:31 am
Yes, shame on all the crybabies that whined on this site when Licht gave up a measily 4th to move up a spot to make sure the 49ers didn’t make a trade with an OL-hungry team below us.
Tristan Wirfs is one of the biggest reasons we’ve made it this far and Brady has had time to throw. Imagine if we missed out on him and started some other RT that probably would be the weakest link on our O-Line. We’d be in deep trouble.
I gotta give props to Donovan Smith. I’ve often criticized him but he’s been solid recently.
January 10th, 2021 at 6:14 am
Where did the creative offense go in the second half? #14 dropped 3 passes, #81 was invisible, great plays vanished. I thought they would come out and demolish WFT.
January 10th, 2021 at 6:18 am
If bucs lose this season is a failure.
😂
Yah. Cause the last 5 years were must see tv to you
😂
Get over yourself. Brady the farm animal is reason we are here
January 10th, 2021 at 6:48 am
Washington does an excellent job of adjusting at halftime. They have been tough in the 2nd half all year.
January 10th, 2021 at 6:54 am
I feel you Joe! The enormity of the win hasn’t really sunken in
January 10th, 2021 at 7:00 am
Hats off to another player on the oline that didn’t get much mention last night…..GRONK……he certainly helped.
January 10th, 2021 at 7:13 am
Whirfs appeared to weather 2 missed illegal hands to the face calls and still kept Sweat at bay like a stick of Old Spice. What a stud!
January 10th, 2021 at 8:42 am
Thank god the Giants, Jets, and Cleveland took other tackles in the draft. I was hoping for Becton going into the draft and was disappointed when the Browns took him. Man oh man am I glad they did. The kid may be the best pick Licht has had and that is saying a lot because Evans and White are no slouches!
January 10th, 2021 at 8:47 am
“Joe’s also celebrating how coaches have found ways to turn Antonio Brown and Leonard Fournette into exemplary team players while seemingly motivating the roster to gut through injuries.”
Arians is the Millennial Whisperer. That’s why it took so long for him and Brady to get on the same page. He don’t understand Gen-X lol
January 10th, 2021 at 9:51 am
It’s not a new era yet. Unlike Brees going to Saints, Brady is here 2-3 years and secondary is trash so this team’s playoff future truly depends on the contingency plan after Brady considering even the coach is too old to make it through his contract
January 10th, 2021 at 9:58 am
3 passes….lol my guy dropped 6 to 8 passes . I love Chris but wtf was up with him last night i haven’t seen a worse performance in a long time by any receiver. BTW the defense him and lefty we almost lost to a career back up again. If we don’t stop being stubborn…yes Leftwich and todd….stop freaking playing off coverage. Someone gotta take bunting out…that guy is the biggest liability. Next year I love jpp….but he’s gotta go, suh the same and we need a dynamic edge and starting corner. Oline played great. I actually am proud of Smith now let’s see if he can do it against jordan….thats the team who has rag dolled us….if we don’t use brown like we did against atl…we are done. Byron ironically lucked into it by trying to get his bonus…who knew right… quick passes for ab lol. What a damn joke this guy is
January 10th, 2021 at 10:08 am
No slogans. Just win.
January 10th, 2021 at 10:36 am
Our O line is beasting….
Drafting Rashawn Slater will continue it….he shut down Chase Young in college….go watch it
He can be our G/C in training…end of 1st/mid 2nd…
January 10th, 2021 at 10:51 am
tristan “the wall” wirfs is finally getting talked about…
best to come in the league since quenton nelson
January 10th, 2021 at 12:02 pm
“Joe confesses to weeping like a third-grader who lost her new gold bracelet on a playground.”
And here I thought it was just me.
New era? Next year? Yeah next week is what counts but we can take a little time to enjoy what next year might look like.
The return of VV…White grows…Winfield gets even better and if we could find a true stud DB like Patrick Surtain Jr we’d be golden. D.R. correctly points we’ll be drafting long after he goes…but if he’s as good as he appears he could be Winfield like at corner.
Imagine a defense with VV and White up the middle backed by Winfield and with a true stud cover corner…our offense will just get better…we could be truly scary next year after a full year with Brady and now the vaccine presumably an actual training camp.
How many times have we seen teams get better…get really close but not win the SB until the following year. Last time it seems to me we went through several years before finally closing the deal.
Sunday morning after a win and it’s all good baby. Vaccine on the way…Brady looking like he has another year maybe two…and all this talent.
Just another day in Paradise.
January 10th, 2021 at 6:53 pm
Meaningless win unless they at least get to the conference title. The Saints, Packers and Rams are so much better than Washington.