Bucs Not Yet “Cooked”
November 16th, 2021
Some working nationally in the fourth estate are starting to think that the Bucs are a team in decline.
With November well underway, the Bucs are headed south the past two games. Injuries have finally caught up to them, it seems.
The defense cannot slow borderline NFL quarterbacks. Tom Brady is lost without his security blankets. The slimy Saints and Stinking Panthers are poised to make a run and leave the Bucs eating their dust, some claim.
Hold up, says Dan Graziano of BSPN. He has a weekly Monday column where he analyzes the overreactions of newsy NFL subjects. In short, Graziano says blowing taps for the Bucs in 2021 is way premature.
The Buccaneers aren’t going to win the NFC, let alone the Super Bowl
The verdict: OVERREACTION. Repeating is hard, and assuming the Bucs will do it just because they still have Brady and returned all of their starters would be a mistake. But so would assuming they’re cooked just because they lost a couple of games in a row midseason. Injuries are a big part of their problem, but at this point it seems as if Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski will return at some point and Chris Godwin won’t have to play hurt all season.
The Cowboys, Rams, Cardinals and Packers are all tough, and any or all of them could muscle out the Bucs in the NFC playoff field. But if last season didn’t teach us all not to count out Brady, I don’t know what ever will.
Every team has issues to overcome at some point in the season. The Bucs had them in 2020 and recovered just fine. To wit: This is the second time they’ve lost two games in a row with Brady as their quarterback. The first time was Weeks 11-12 of last season. They had the bye the following week and didn’t lose again until … well, this season. They aren’t going away anytime soon.
These are all valid points. Of course, Graziano did not mention that it appears Carlton Davis and Sean Murphy-Bunting will return later this season (this month?) and that is critical, maybe as much as the return of furniture-tossing, bicycle-throwing receiver Antonio Brown and foot-rubbing, car-littering film guru Rob Gronkowski.
Yeah, the injured guys are needed. Terribly so on defense. Get those guys healthy and the Bucs should be playing again deep into the winter.
November 16th, 2021 at 8:03 am
Not cooked but we’ve been Flayed two times in a row.
November 16th, 2021 at 8:06 am
I could eat Italian every day.
November 16th, 2021 at 8:15 am
Matt Stafford threw 2 picks last night, McVays comment, “This is not who we are , we are going to figure this out and come back frigging frigging swinging, I can promise you that!” Not one mention of how stupid the team is and didn’t throw Stafford or any other player under the bus. A real head coach.
November 16th, 2021 at 8:19 am
They have looked raggedy every game other than the Bears. Every component has been inconsistent and not a comforting feeling as a fan.
The Jon Gruden Curse the GBoyz placed on the franchise for removing his name from the ROH
November 16th, 2021 at 8:22 am
Stick a fork in them. They’re done.
November 16th, 2021 at 8:23 am
Joe sees what you did there! 🙂
November 16th, 2021 at 8:28 am
Cooked? No. Concerned? Yes. The team hasn’t looked great in all three phases this season, and yes really it’s about who is playing well at the right time of the year and maybe we get it going down the stretch, but all season the excuse had been, “we are just weathering injuries, once they get back we will be great”. I’m not so sure that’s a guarantee, we don’t know when or in what sort of shape we might get players back.
November 16th, 2021 at 8:35 am
Sports is hope, until its mathematically draft time.
I have faith the dudes get their collective sheet together.
November 16th, 2021 at 8:40 am
If any of you can watch Scott Piolli on GMFB and his analysis of Rams, Bucs. He hits the nail on the head. Oh and he’s not really sold on Cam Newton.
November 16th, 2021 at 8:42 am
All depends on when Gronk and AB get back in the game. We need people who can catch, run routes and hang on to the ball.—and keep the D off the field
If they are out more than 2 games we are toast.
November 16th, 2021 at 8:51 am
D backs right now are the biggest weakness on the team and second n third string qb’s can easily put drives n scores together against us.
November 16th, 2021 at 9:01 am
When did dan graziano become a woman? Good look for him
November 16th, 2021 at 9:01 am
Gonna be a tough road ahead for the Bucs. Carolina coming back. A loss this week and we are in big trouble.
November 16th, 2021 at 9:08 am
Cam Newton stinks. If any of you saw him play at New England will confirm that. Bill Belichick uncharacteristically gave him every chance it the book. All show, NO GO!
November 16th, 2021 at 9:10 am
Someone is not connecting the dots. 🤷♂️
November 16th, 2021 at 9:18 am
Looking at the Bucs’ defense stats halfway through the season, it seems to me that there are 3 players who aren’t performing ‘up to snuff’ and 2 others who are exceeding expectations.
o JPP’s hurt and him getting so many snaps isn’t helping the team IMO. In the 7 games that he’s played, he has a total of 9 Pressures (2.5 sacks, 1 QB knockdown, 5 Hurries) plus 1 FF & 3 TFLs. Those numbers are below his career averages (normally averages close to 2 Pressures/game).
o Shaq’s numbers are down also, which is strange since he usually does very well when Vea & Suh are both playing (which they have been). In his 9 games he has a total of 20 Pressures (5.5 sacks, 5 QB knockdown, 9 Hurries) plus 1 INT, 2 FF & 5 TFLs. Those numbers are also below his averages since he’s been a Buc (normally averages close to 3 Pressures/game).
o LVD isn’t having the impact year he usually has for some reason, even before his ankle injury. Despite blitzing 30 times, LVD only has 3 Pressures in his 7 games (1 sack, 1 QB Knockdown, 1 Hurry), plus 1 FF & 1 TFL. And what’s really strange is that he’s given up second-most passing yds on the team (308 yds) and most of that has been YAC (214 yds). Of course, he has been targeted 48 times (2nd-most on the team to White’s 49 targets), but has allowed 40 completions (83.3% completions), about he same as Devin’s 83.7% completion rate. This is not the typical LVD year to say the least.
On the good news side, we’ve got 2 defenders who I think are really standing out.
o JTS is doing exceptionally well IMO, and should be on the field a LOT more. He’s gotten a total of 12 Pressures (3 sacks, 3 QB Knockdowns & 6 Hurries) plus 3 TFLs in only 241 def snaps (half of what Shaq has played & about 2/3 of what JPP has gotten). That puts him 3rd best on the team in terms of generating pressure and it seems to me that they’d want to get him on the field more.
o Jamel Dean’s having an excellent year also IMO, in spite of what some say. He’s really only played in 7 games (hurt early in 1 & sat out another), but he’s been our best corner in those 7. Been targeted 40 times, but only allowed 19 completions (47.5%) to lead the team by quite a bit in that department. Given up 216 yds, but only 73 of that is YAC. Looks to me like they’ve been throwing in front of him quite a bit (average yds/target is only 5.4 yds, lowest on the team for LBs & Secondary. Still, he hasn’t allowed any TDs yet in his 8 games, and has come up with 2 INTs (and could’ve been more).
November 16th, 2021 at 9:34 am
DR- I think the opposing offenses have exploited our depleted secondary. They know that our inexperienced corners are giving them space at the line. Opposing offensive coordinators are scheming to get rid of the ball quick on short routes. Dallas did it to us in the opener and everyone has followed suit.
We had a higher number of sacks against WFT because Heinicke held the ball much longer, but he also used his legs. I think the opposing schemes are eliminating the opportunity for our front 4 to get pressure on opposing QB’s.
November 16th, 2021 at 9:34 am
@DR the Jamel Dean stats are really eye opening to me. Thanks for that info.
Any update on Devin White’s pass defense stats?
November 16th, 2021 at 9:37 am
Bucs are 21-8 since Brady arrived including the playoffs. If the Bucs get to the playoffs and win a game it ill be their first time ever winning a playoff game in back to back seasons.
If they win double digit games this year it will only be the second time they’ve ever done that in consecutive seasons.
Bucs are not winning the Super Bowl, coaching, penalties and injuries won’t allow it. But winning the division and winning a playoff game are great consolation prizes.
November 16th, 2021 at 10:16 am
What team this year hasn’t lost a game they were heavily favored in? Cowboys, Rams, Packers, Cardinals, Saints, et al have all looked terrible at some point this year. This team will figure it out and be fine.
November 16th, 2021 at 10:26 am
ThisIsOurYear!!! … ‘I think the opposing schemes are eliminating the opportunity for our front 4 to get pressure on opposing QB’s.’
I agree with you about opposing schemes, but only to a degree. Might be way off-base on this, but it hasn’t looked like we’ve been adjusting very well to how our opponents have been exploiting what we’ve been doing. Heck some QBs have dinked-and-dunked their way down the field the whole game, and we’ve allowed them to hit on 80% of their passes in some games. That’s kinda telling me that we’re not adjusting very well to what they’re doing.
Also think we’ve got White blitzing way too much instead of staying in coverage. The results haven’t justified the number of blitzes IOW, and it’s been VERY costly to us (Devin has been targeted 49 times in 9 games & surrendered 41 completions for 83.7% completion rate … NOT GOOD) and given up 356 yds passing (leader on the team by far). But he’s also blitzed 72 times in 9 games, far more than Shaq (46) or JPP (32). Granted he’s got 18 pressures (2 sacks, 8 QB Knockdowns & 8 Hurries) but that’s not a good payoff IMO for leaving a big chunk of the field uncovered while he blitzes.
November 16th, 2021 at 10:52 am
DR- I agree with everything you said. We haven’t made adjustments to the way we are being played and maybe that is because Bowles knows he doesn’t have the personnel to play tight on the line. I also agree about White’s blitzing. It’s a catch 22 though. If he doesn’t blitz, with JPP hurt we aren’t getting pressure from the front 4 and the QB has all day to throw. If he does blitz, we open the middle up. I think that’s why White had a great game against the WFT, because Heinicke held the ball longer. It gave White time to close.
November 16th, 2021 at 11:08 am
In terms of defensive vulnerability on dink and dunk, the Bucs use a hybrid 3-4 front. The Bucs can’t use nickel or dime packages on defense. Again, this was a deficiency that was imposed by injuries and a poor drafting decision. The Bucs have run out of even semi-adequate CBs. Offenses can go with multiple wide-outs and overwhelm the Buc pass defense. That’s also why you see Shaq dropping back instead of blitzing, in case anyone is wondering why.
November 16th, 2021 at 11:12 am
@Bird
That’s Giada De Laurentiis, the granddaughter of the Hollywood producer Dino De Laurentiis. She has a cooking show on the Food Channel.
November 16th, 2021 at 12:23 pm
Big head Giada.
Hot for a minute.
Now all forehead and teeth.
Scary.
November 16th, 2021 at 1:50 pm
Google must really hate skin if that’s the pic Joe used for her. 🤣
November 16th, 2021 at 2:04 pm
@“.. The Buccaneers aren’t going to win the NFC, let alone the Super Bo….”
———————
Painfully Agree. This is not predicting… this is what is out there, what we all see.
November 16th, 2021 at 2:10 pm
Yeah, Giada does have a big head. Her arms are disproportionately short too, which makes her body look a tad weird. She does have a pretty face, which is what draws attention away from everything else (and that may include her cooking).
November 16th, 2021 at 3:13 pm
Of course that’s what they’re going to say. What year did they stop hypothesizing Brady’s demise?! NEVER!
We know we have the talent to compete. Overreaction indeed!
November 16th, 2021 at 5:21 pm
Bucs still got a shot. But if we lose to the Giants? Its truly..Goodnight grace.
November 16th, 2021 at 9:14 pm
Pass Rushers need to stop running past the Quarterback.
Pass Rushers need to stop trying to head tackle the Quarterback.
They will either miss him when he ducks down or be called for roughing the passer.
November 17th, 2021 at 8:37 am
I’ve been a long time New England Patriots season ticket holder and went to just about every Brady game in Foxboro while he was there. I followed him religiously.
Trust me I’ve seen this before. I’m not saying they will win the Superbowl but they will be in the final four. He will help the Bucs right the ship just like he did last year.
Although I’m not a big Arian’s fan I believe Brady can lead this team back