“I Think He Might Be Scarred For Life”
September 17th, 2021
Rare opportunity
Of course Joe watched the Falcons-Eagles game to prepare for Sunday’s NFC South clash at The Licht House.
What Joe saw in the Falcons’ blowout loss to Philadelphia was an Eagles team committed to taking away the pass rather than stacking the box. And the Falcons proceeded to run the ball damn well, racking up 24 handoffs for 116 yards before the game got out of hand and Matt Ryan became a throw-first quarterback.
Yeah, the Falcons moved the ball on the ground well, but can they do that against the spectacular Bucs run defense?
Doubtful. Very doubtful.
Former Redskins, Bills, Cowboys and Patriots offensive lineman Ross Tucker, one of Joe’s favorite analysts, watched every Eagles-Falcons snap as he works on an Eagles’ pregame show.
Tucker told 92.9 FM in Atlanta this week that too many of the Falcons’ woes in pass protection came down to one player.
“That poor kid at left guard, [rookie third-round pick] Jaylen Mayfield, I think he might be scarred for life,” Tucker said. “I watch every snap. Every guy took turns embarrassing the kid. I legitimately felt bad for him. Right? Like I played offensive line. That’s one of the worst games I’ve ever seen a guy have. To me, that’s more a personnel failing than it is the coaching.”
Is there a Falcons fix for Sunday? Tucker sounded like he expects Mayfield to be back in there against Ndamukong Suh and Vita Vea, but now Tucker expects Atlanta to “do whatever they can to coach around it,” referring to left guard.
Joe expects that to mean trying to duplicate what Dallas did in its short passing game on opening night.
Joe sees the bigger problem for Atlanta is their trenches overall. They are bottom tier, middle tier at best while the Bucs’ offensive and defensive lines are upper tier, potentially top-5 in the league.
If you believe games are won in the trenches, then you fully understand why the Bucs are nearly a two-touchdown favorite.
September 17th, 2021 at 1:30 pm
If we don’t have 3+ sacks this game, after what happened last game, then we may have a problem.
September 17th, 2021 at 1:53 pm
Jason, agreed. I would like to see Davis press Ridley who is their biggest threat. If we get any kind of push it will be hard for Ridley to get behind Davis for any long passes and of course that will be a much better scheme for the short game.
September 17th, 2021 at 2:01 pm
The goal of the cowboys was definitely to throw a lot of short passes as an extension of the run game. That reduced the pressure % by quite a bit. Overall, that was an odd abnormal game by the defensive front and unit as a whole against a Dallas team that matches up very favorably against our d. No other team in the league can put pressure on our d with their wr the way Dallas can (maybe rams). Without that trio, all and everyone else will struggle.
September 17th, 2021 at 2:28 pm
Statement Game for the Bucs.
September 17th, 2021 at 2:33 pm
Jaylen Mayfield got destroyed, I’m not sure if he’ll even start this week. Mayfield wasn’t even supposed to be an interior O Lineman, and from what I recall he didn’t have the best camp. He was pressed into action because of injury and he clearly wasn’t ready.
September 17th, 2021 at 2:40 pm
Bucs Dline are licking their chops.
September 17th, 2021 at 2:50 pm
Teams know they won’t be able to run with consistency up the middle. Dallas knew that and so they attacked the edges, both running and short passes. We better be able to protect the edges better than we did last week. But, the main thing is just clean up the mistakes (dropped passes, fumbles, penalties, etc.). Don’t beat ourselves.
September 17th, 2021 at 3:03 pm
Kid needs some propofol, alprazolam and sertraline omeprazole, hydrocodone, paroxetine, carisoprodol, and hydromorphone.
He’ll be in a “Michael Jackson” state….and may not survive….but WTF….
September 17th, 2021 at 3:17 pm
MedicatedJaylen…
September 17th, 2021 at 3:30 pm
We didn’t rush the passer well against Dallas nor did we run block well. Last year’s rankings don’t mean squat.
September 17th, 2021 at 7:24 pm
I just want to see Vea pick up the center forklift style and throw him into Ryan. My day will be made then.
September 17th, 2021 at 9:51 pm
Prediction?
Yes… Prediction.
(pause…..)
Paaaaaaaaaain.
September 18th, 2021 at 12:18 am
Davis has tweaked his hammy! Next
Man Up!!
September 18th, 2021 at 3:25 am
DaBux: I’ve been thinking the same thing. It can’t be roughing the passer if you tackle him by tossing the center through the air to land on the QB.