Bruce Arians Cites “Pressing” Players
December 21st, 2021
“Focus!”
It’s hard to imagine that a veteran Super Bowl team, one that returned its entire roster, could be knocked off its mental game at home.
Call it the Saints’ annoying Voodoo hex on the Bucs. But, of course, football coaches don’t believe in black magic.
Bucco Bruce Arians was talking to Dan Lucas of WFLA-TV yesterday and referenced how some of his pass catchers starting pressing after Mike Evans and Chris Godwin were lost to injuries on Sunday night.
“We drop some balls we don’t usually drop. I think some guys were pressing a little bit,” Arians said. “Be just got out of sync and did not match their intensity.”
Joe assumed Arians was referring to Rob Gronkowski, among others. Gronk had two bad drops and the most targets. It’s hard to imagine a Hall of Fame tight end would press and get taken off his mental game, especially Gronk who was the No. 1 target at times in New England.
Arians called Tom Brady “spot on” with his play, so don’t think Arians was referring to The Goat. He was more peeved at receivers.
“Some of those guys just gotta get open. When you’re 1-on-1, and he comes to you, you gotta get open, and that didn’t happen sometimes,” Arians said, adding backup receivers could learn a lesson from the stepping up of reserve safety Andrew Adams and backup cornerback Pierre Desir, the fragrant one, in the secondary.
December 21st, 2021 at 9:28 am
Also the saints were bounty hunting the other night. They’ve done it before they get away with a lot of questionable things on us over the years and you cannot convince me other wise.
December 21st, 2021 at 9:33 am
Can we scheme guys open? You know like the crossing route that won the game in tampa against buffalo. Good coordinators get their qbs throwing to open guys occasionally. We just rely on a guy winning his match up play after play after play. Look at saints. Look at rams. Etc etc
December 21st, 2021 at 9:36 am
What we saw on Gronk is not normal, he will be back again…..
That´s the difference in between very good players and elite players…Sooner or later they will have a bad game, all of them, the difference comes in the speed you come back to be great again…And Gronk, as everybody knows , is elite form elite
December 21st, 2021 at 9:38 am
Bro when a team is keying and locked in on your passing game, and the run is there, but your keep passing….and you aren’t taking what they are letting you have…
It’s not the players fault.
You got out coached…
December 21st, 2021 at 9:49 am
Bird no Byron is a nimrod so he can’t do basic things you would expect like an NFL OC like scheming guys open. Just hope the 3 pro bowl calibre guys we had when healty/not being suspended by rick stroud getting salty at brady over a presser need to win their matchups to get open.
December 21st, 2021 at 9:51 am
Adams missed an easy likely pick 6…..
December 21st, 2021 at 9:52 am
Get off the cart dude and do some real coaching or retire and lets bring in a real OC and head coach. For anyone who watches the games you can see Byron is just limited, he doesn’t have enough experience to be a OC if it wasn’t for Brady coaching him he would be more trash then he already is.
December 21st, 2021 at 9:54 am
Pressing? Here I thought your receivers just were unable to separation but ok pressing lol great excuse for dropping passes though. Now I see why turnover if the roster is so important, same players but this is not the same team of last year. Seems like they just wanted it more last year
December 21st, 2021 at 9:56 am
I just can’t believe we lose these types of games in this fashion with a real OC and head coach I just cant and wont believe it. You put Sean Payton, Bill Belcheck,Harbaughor or Pete Carrol in command of these weapons they would know how to adjust. I CAN’T BELIEVE WE COULDN’T SCORE ONE F-ING POINT NOT ONE.
December 21st, 2021 at 10:01 am
The Bucs receivers knew the Saints were playing dirty and focused more on protecting their knees than catching the ball, which is understandable. They had to protect themselves and their careers to live to fight another day.
December 21st, 2021 at 10:02 am
I agree that the Saints were targeting the knees a lot. Much more than usual regardless of the current legality of those awful type hits. If every defender went at guys knees that often, no receivers would make it through a season. The Saints played as dirty as possible while technically not breaking the rules because we took out Winston and ruined their season and this I feel was their payback statement.
December 21st, 2021 at 10:05 am
Lvmybucs
I here yah man.
3rd and 1
4th and 1
And we throw a 25 yard pass.
We run vaughn up the middle on huge play of game?
And arians is stubborn. I mean our special teams are a joke for his 3 years here but nope. Guy keeps his job. Such bad situational play calling by leftwich. But arians will let it continue? Yup and brady walks right out the door. I agree with other poster. You can seen bradys face for most of season. His face looks like “this sucks”.
You drop back and have to make perfect dimes almost every throw cause we are predictable and opposing secondaries licking their chops
December 21st, 2021 at 10:08 am
I knew something is up when Arians a few weeks ago said something like “we are just trying to get to Sundays.” Which tells me there are serious concerns on health and it’s reducing the effectiveness of practices. Lots of guys are being sit. Lots of sessions are converted into walkthroughs. We can’t get through any game without a significant soft tissue injury to someone. Brady even complained about the 17th game being a bad idea a few weeks ago. It all points to one thing…we’re hurting…physically.
Maybe we just got real lucky with health last year. But this year we are hurting real bad. Not sure if it’s age of some of these guys or bad conditioning. Arians doesn’t make them stretch. Or if teams are playing us far more physically this year and we can’t match that intensity. But I don’t see this team going the distance this year. Unfortunately, it was a super bowl or bust year. We are going to bust. Health has been a problem all year. And it’s going to continue to be.
December 21st, 2021 at 10:08 am
BA is borderline delusional. If not for Brady’s walkoff touchdown in overtime against the bills you that would be 6 horrible quarters of football and the panic would be even higher if bills had beat us. Stop making excuses, wake up and coach this team like you don’t have a super bowl ring yet or has your motivational speaking diminished also
December 21st, 2021 at 10:13 am
this team’s gotta step their game up before the playoffs are here…
a hot and improving team like the niners could become a dogfight and if jimmy g plays a mistake free game, we could lose to a hot wild card team on a roll…
we gotta get this sh!t dialed – teams are improving – especially some of these wildcard teams fighting for position…
hot wild card teams are very dangerous because they’ve got nothing to lose
December 21st, 2021 at 10:21 am
I just watched the game again this morning and I figured it partially out. I don’t know who is doing the play calling but when Evans and Godwin (first string) go down they have no plays for crappy backup WR so Brady throws Evans and Godwin caliber type passes to backups who cant handle that type of playing. ITS CALLED ADJUSTMENT JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 21st, 2021 at 10:27 am
On a good note,
Some of the responses to this article were the most spot on I have ever read in those site.
Strong works boys
December 21st, 2021 at 10:28 am
Yes the separation looked poor which is understandable as the Bucs were left with bench players.
Arians though is referring to the dropped passes. For those of you who never had the opportunity to play reciever on an organized football team, one of the key to catching a football is to keep your hands relaxed. That’s deceptively tough to do when you’re pressing (or worried about getting hit hard). After that series of injuries, physicality, and game situation, it isn’t as easy as it sounds.
December 21st, 2021 at 10:31 am
“Pressing” is a funny way to say, “Our 4th, 5th, and 6th string receivers absolutely suck.”
December 21st, 2021 at 10:59 am
I agree with everyone that asks why didn’t Bucs run the ball more? Alternate series Rojo and Lenny so neither get gassed. Saints strength that night was pass rush & Db’s. BA/BL played right into it. It wasn’t like the Saints were going up and down the field scoring. Someone mentioned no crossing passes, I noticed that to, if not the underneath passes to Lenny & cement fingers Vaughn everything was slants, curls or deep balls. What bothers me most is the lack of emotion from BA & BL when they were getting their asses kicked spoke volumes. Now part of Brady’s job description is calling out teammates to motivate them while the coaches stand with their thumbs up their arses. I can hear BA on his Walkman now, hey Byron who should we blame this game on? We can’t blame Tom we’ve used him up, how about the backup receiver? Ya that’s the ticket let’s call them out.
December 21st, 2021 at 11:03 am
And I had visions of a perfect season. Folks who called me delusional were right on. Don’t know what universe I was living in.
December 21st, 2021 at 11:19 am
Just for some perspective. Green Bay lost to N.O. 38-3!!! Jameis scored some points that Taysom Hill left on the field or the Bucs D was that much better than the Pack D. I think it’s probably some of both.
Meanwhile though are the Packs folding up their tents because they lost 38-3.
We need luck..we have it with the schedule…let’s hope we have it with health.
IF…IF…things work out…ME13 gets to rest his hammy..Fournette gets a breather…AB gets into playing shape…Gronk gets some veteran rest…this team COULD…COULD enter the playoffs in solid position to compete for another SB.
December 21st, 2021 at 11:19 am
Bird
“You can seen bradys face for most of season. His face looks like “this sucks”.
Absolutely. Posters here have been ragging me as a “ mind reader” when I say the same thing. But it’s freaking obvious.
How many times have you seen TB turn to Josh McDaniels from the field and scream “NO NO NO !”
The look on his face is saying I need to get the F up outta here. I don’t blame him.
December 21st, 2021 at 11:41 am
JMarkbuc, I agree in the Bill’s game when BA called the two timeouts, Brady was like WTF? The first timeout totally killed the momentum of the offense and forced them to punt. I think you’re right he maybe tired of the clown posey.
December 21st, 2021 at 12:10 pm
The Bucs receivers played scared after witnessing the slimy Saints intentionally causing injuries. Not that I can blame them. Seems to me that a team player only meeting is in order, with a plan to take it to the Saints, if we meet again. Crack back blocks, play to the whistle, only tackle at the knees. All legally, of course 😉 I worked in NOLA for 6 years. Slimy city, slimy people, slimy Saints. Good food, though.
December 21st, 2021 at 2:10 pm
OJ Howard has been useless all year but if the Bucs expect to win some games while Evans and LF are out, they will need that 3rd tight end to be used in the passing game. Here’s an idea, BL, instead of shotgun put Howard, Gronk and Brate in the game at one time. Run the ball and once you get in the zone, send Gronk and Howard out on passing routes. The man is big, he may want to put some decent film on for his next team. It can’t hurt. Even a slower Howard is faster than Brate. Give it a shot!
December 21st, 2021 at 3:44 pm
TBBF
Went from midnight to 6 o’clock on that Adams drop.
December 21st, 2021 at 3:48 pm
It’s impossible to imagine the triple whammy of loosing your 3 number one guys and having the saints play there best defense and…have your offensive coaching personnel standing there slacked jaw, with no answer! Bright spot …defense held them to 3 field goals no TD’s.
December 21st, 2021 at 5:33 pm
If. If Succop hadn’t missed the FG, if they have finished that late 3Q drive for a TD instead of fumbling it, I still think they might have won, if ugly and unimpressive.
December 21st, 2021 at 5:34 pm
Regardless, I think Payton should have been kicked out of the NFL instead of suspended for a year after all the targeting proof 10 years ago. Maybe he thinks they’ve forgotten about it by now.
December 21st, 2021 at 7:40 pm
It’s simple.
Bad game plan, some bad playcalling, some poor decisions by Brady, no receivers could get any kind of separation, a lot of injuries, and the worst game the O line has played in two years.
So from the head coach all the way down to the back ups, no one in office did anything good.
Get healthy and do better. Next