Pounding The Cowboys
September 12th, 2022
Winning head coach Todd Bowles.
It was almost like stepping into the Wayback Machine watching the Bucs defense bludgeon the Cowboys last night.
It was old-school Father Dungy football. A battle of field goals. What was it Warren Sapp used to say, “Just give me 17 points?” Tom Brady and the offense gave the Bucs defense 19.
Three points allowed. A miserly field goal. Joe cannot remember the last time an NFL team only had a field goal in this day and age of hypersonic offenses.
Grant Gordon of NFL.com said last night’s game was all about the defense — the Bucs defense.
…Tom Brady wasn’t sensational, but he looked good enough to do away with the doubts produced by a chaotic offseason. But it was the Buccaneers defense that truly won the night for Tampa Bay. Facing last year’s No. 1 offense, the Bucs swarmed and overwhelmed the Cowboys. While Micah Parsons (two sacks) commanded notice for the Dallas D, Tampa Bay had a host of contributors, from Devin White (eight tackles, two sacks) to Antoine Winfield Jr. (six tackles, one interception) to Shaquil Barrett (six QB pressures). Todd Bowles’ defense dictated this game, limiting the Cowboys to their lowest point total since Week 7 of 2020. Tampa allowed just 244 yards of offense, held Dallas to 3 of 15 on third down and didn’t surrender a single point after Dallas’ opening possession. The game ball goes to the TB D in this one.
While Prescott may have had one of his worst games yesterday, perhaps since they were shut out 23-0 in December of 2018. Prescott did throw for 206 yards that day, a pick and three sacks.
Last night, Prescott had just 134 yards passing while getting sacked four times with one pick.
Joe really believes the Bucs defense will carry this team until it gets healthier on offense.
September 12th, 2022 at 4:44 am
The last time a team was held to 3 points (or fewer?) HMMMMMMM. I can think of a time and team that did it to a that did it. AND the team was one I hate against one I love.
September 12th, 2022 at 5:24 am
My thoughts exactly crackwise. He’ll probably say I didn’t say put up a big fat zero. When our offense starts to click in the redzone then we’ll be really dangerous
September 12th, 2022 at 5:56 am
Oh, did I mention how HORRIBLE the Oline is.
LMAO
September 12th, 2022 at 5:57 am
SMASH MOUTH FOOTBALL for at least 3 more games. You can write it down in pen.
September 12th, 2022 at 6:03 am
Carlton Davis vs. Slant Boy next week, I cannot WAIT!!!!
September 12th, 2022 at 6:11 am
Pass pro has to improve, I’ll warrant the Aints DL will be licking their collective chops after viewing Well’s game tape. BTW,lets give our new tight end rooks some love cause they stepped up and delivered. What I really liked was watching Playoff Lenny light up Micah Parson. Lenny sent a punishing message that last years rookie sensation won’t soon forget; mess with the bull, you get jacked. Also, that Mason contract restructure by our peerless GM is looking pretty savvy right about now; somewhere a big ugly is taking a late night phone call from Jason Licht. Bet we read about that before the week is out. I mean, it has happened before. Get it done Jason ’cause Wells sure isn’t.
Go Bucs!
September 12th, 2022 at 6:15 am
My first time seeing Rachaad White play. This kid will end up being a wasted draft pick. He looks thin and wiry. The blocking hasn’t helped in the slightest, but his elusiveness seems very much lacking.
September 12th, 2022 at 6:23 am
da cowgirls will be lucky to be 500
September 12th, 2022 at 7:00 am
Kieft and Otton showed well. Nice blocking, loved it when Kieft played fullback and led the way for Lenny.
Kyle Rudolph can be released to make way for the offensive lineman we’ve got to sign today.
September 12th, 2022 at 7:13 am
Excellent first road game. Nice summary by Gordon. D was great and our O was good enough; and they will get better.
September 12th, 2022 at 7:38 am
If I had to pick a nit, the Bucs left some points on the board with very vanilla play calls in the red zone. That said, love the end-around with Julio!
September 12th, 2022 at 7:42 am
‘Joe really believes the Bucs defense will carry this team until it gets healthier on offense.’
No question about that Joe, but I guess I’m not quite as impressed with our defense as you obviously are. The Cowboys’ offense was AWFUL, a mere shell of what it was last season. Dak Prescott looked terrible last night, and his receivers (except Lamb) were Practice Squad material at best. His OLine didn’t do him any favors to be sure, but on most passing situations he did have a lot of time to survey the field & get the ball out. He just stunk.
I wasn’t impressed at all with our pass rush until the latter part of the game when when we finally started applying CONSISTENT pressure. Wasn’t all that impressed with our run defense either because we got gouged several times by Elliott (who finished with a 5.2 YPC average). Thankfully Dallas shot themselves in the foot consistently with penalties (10) & a terrible game plan. They simply don’t have the horses this year, making them a poor gage of what we can expect our defense to do against quality teams.
And I know, holding them to 3 points TOTAL is awesome. I agree. And yes it was just the first game, and we’ve had a lot going on. But our pass rush needs to become more dominant, our Secondary needs to tighten up, and our run defense needs to do a better job of gap control. Other than that Mrs Lincoln, I loved the play.
September 12th, 2022 at 7:52 am
Game was boring
September 12th, 2022 at 8:19 am
Vita Vae says, “just give us 10 points”. Not really. But this D secondary was unbelievable last night. This is the D backfield we thought we would see after the SB victory. It just took another year to arrive.
September 12th, 2022 at 8:21 am
lesson #1. Then 10 yd. line IS NOT the goal line. As a 60 yr fan, i’m still amazed at how a QB like Tompa can get to the red zone that many times and not score a TD. I think I read something from Joe saying how can we lose with all those weapons. Answer in 2 words. injuries and Todd Bowles. Remember what Obama said about Biden? “never under estimate his ability to “F” something up” hahaa
September 12th, 2022 at 8:22 am
Robert… boring… That comment is the reason they don’t let D Backs touch anyone anymore. If a team doesn’t score 50 points, it is boring…SMH.
That defensive gameplay was surgery. It was art. Anyone that doesn’t see that sadly is missing the thing that made professional football the game many of us love. I almost felt I was in a way back machine to the old Packer/Dallas/Steeler/Bucs defenses in their prime. Not saying we will see that every week. But it was great to watch.
September 12th, 2022 at 8:24 am
Looks like our Defense came away healthy……..that’s a good sign…..we’ll need it vs Saints…..
We absolutely need to pressure Winston…..the Falcons did for 3 quarters but let up in the 4th and Jameis lit them up.
September 12th, 2022 at 8:25 am
alton.. missing the point. The D’s squeeze the play in a short field where pinpoint passing and/or smash mouth football is/are about the only thing/s that will get you in from the 10. It is the first game. I expect as we move along the rust off the passing game will disappear, and we will be on the money again. We were off a hair on a number of plays and passes next night. But Lenny sent a message to the league about his weight problems…LOL.
September 12th, 2022 at 8:31 am
@D.R.
Certainly can’t argue with your take. It’s the first game and we don’t know just how bad the ‘Boys” are?
But I have a question. I felt our ENTIRE team showed the typical first game “things that need to get cleaned up” in Brady’s words postgame. He was of course referring to the offense but I think it applies to the defense.
Here is what DID fire me up about the defense. They remind me of our glory defense in one sense last night…talk about PLAYMAKERS and ball hawks.
Devin White narrowly missed adding another int to an already incredible performance. Winfield lived up to the hype.
While I agree that the pass rush seemed a little late in the first half it DID at least get some pressure.
Overall I am now VERY optimistic about both offense and defense with only one concern…health.
How about you ?
September 12th, 2022 at 8:41 am
@mark
commercials on live tv, bunch of field goals and it’s 10pm. choice to watch the game or new kobra kai with no commercials. easy choice.
i’ll finish the game later.
September 12th, 2022 at 8:42 am
It is absurd that some are posters are taking minor shots at our defense.
This is mostly a passing league and the Bucs allowed 3.8 yards per pass attempt. That is elite. The Bills led the NFL last year in that category allowing 5.2 yards per pass attempt. The Patriots were 2nd at 5.9 yards per pass attempt. Every other NFL team was 6 yards or great per pass attempt.
September 12th, 2022 at 8:46 am
Robert … ‘Game was boring’.
If memory serves me correctly, the goal is to win. No to win PRETTY, but to win. Bucs did that, and it was great from that perspective obviously … sure beats a loss.
I’m reluctant to expect TOO MUCH out of a 1st game, but I was hoping to get a glimpse of how we’ll stack up against contenders. I don’t think that came out because Dallas flat-out stunk. Kept asking myself ‘Are the Cowboys this bad because of what WE’RE DOING, or because of what THEY’RE DOING? The answer seemed pretty clear: the Cowboys flat-out stunk.
I guess it should be considered a good warm-up for playing the Saints next week. After watching the Falcons-Saints game yesterday, it became obvious that PASS RUSH & RUN DEFENSE will be the order of the day. Give Jameis time & he’ll pick you apart (so will most any NFL QB for that matter). Keep pressure on him & he’s a whole different QB.
September 12th, 2022 at 9:01 am
Robert. You are not a football fan you must be one of those fantasy football people . That’s why I hate fantasy football the only thing yall want to see is a water down football game with no defense.
September 12th, 2022 at 9:01 am
The Bucs WON!!!! The Bucs COVERED THE SPREAD!!!! The Bucs defense DOMINATED!!! Special Teams PLAYED WELL!!! Don’t forget this was a road game too!! So far so GOOD!!! LFG!!!!
September 12th, 2022 at 9:02 am
Dak was sacked twice. His backup ate the other two.
September 12th, 2022 at 9:07 am
@Defenserules. I always love your posts. They’re filled with nuance and receipts. I have to say I agree with you about your assessment of the game. The defense played well, but for some fans and media to say we shutdown the number 1 ranked offense is disingenuous. Are we really gonna pretend that the offense that Dallas trotted out last night is remotely close to their offense last year? Let’s not be obtuse, people.
Also, could we please give some love to the damn Dallas defense. They are a top 5 defense in the league, and they arguably was the best D towards the end of last year. This was NOT the same defense we played last year where we had our way with them in the pass game. Did we really think we would just dominate them with a banged up OL and question marks at WR. I could argue that our offense had a higher degree of difficultly last night than the defense.
I think the defense played lights out last night, and I was most impressed by Davis. On offense, there’s stuff that needs to be cleaned up, especially in the RZ. The defense is ahead of the offense because they have more continuity than the offense. Brady cannot make that egregious decision on that pick. He totally owned that mistake.
I am taking a slight victory lap this morning. I feel vindicated in my defense of Bowles. I’ve been defending him since his tenure in NY. No one can win with the Jets. He took way too much heat for that ill timed blitz call against the Rams. That wasn’t the reason we lost that game. Bowles didn’t call plays on offense tonight, but you better bet that he told Leftwich he wanted a more balanced attack this game, and Leftwich delivered. Brady threw the ball almost 50x last year against the Cowboys
September 12th, 2022 at 9:10 am
I think this team sent a message to the rest of the league last night. Defense and time of possession can and will make a game one sided. I was ok with the score because it just reinforces the notion that Dallas had no chance even if the score was close. Great win.
September 12th, 2022 at 9:14 am
DR not sure you and I were watching the same game.
“But our pass rush needs to become more dominant, our Secondary needs to tighten up”
** Bucs in pass coverage got their hands on 7 balls.
** We already know that they only allowed 50% completions which is ridiculously low in the NFL.
** We already know that they allowed only 7.8 yards per completion which is also ridiculously low.
So not sure how the DBs have to tighten up based upon last night.
** My guess is the Bucs defense outperformed at least 20 other NFL teams in time they allowed Boys to pass. Will wait on those stats
September 12th, 2022 at 9:21 am
Fanman woke up very happy this morning. Good defense and a healthy, effective ground game can overcome a pedestrian passing attack.
I think one of the biggest statements of the game was that block that Lenny threw on Parsons. You KNOW he’s icing that shoulder today!
We were the “bully” last night. Love it!
September 12th, 2022 at 9:36 am
I’m not sure the Edwards play that was almost a big one for Dallas wasn’t blown coverage in some way. But other then that, I have no problem with how the D played. We gave up more in the run game than I had hoped a few times, but other than that, I’ll take it any day.
The O is fitting in new guys. Many times I remember Brady barking at a lineman… Hainsey and Wells particularly. And Brady having to reposition some guys, like Julio, who is learning the system. I was disappointed in our O production. And guys other than Gronk have to fill the void more. I don’t think Brate had a really good game. But I think the O will continue to grow into what we have come to expect with Brady. Say what you will, but Dallas has some good pass rushers and D backs. So it wasn’t all “dallas stinks” in evaluating the game.
September 12th, 2022 at 9:50 am
Every Bucs team who won championships ALWAYS had a superlative defense. The fact that this defense is getting these kind of positive marks is encouraging. Watching the tape will be fun.
September 12th, 2022 at 10:47 am
I think Bowles will be scheming a lot differently this year. This 3 safety package is strategically an interesting wrinkle and we didn’t even use Neal or SMB last night. So I’m sure there’s more in Bowles’s playbook nobody’s seen from the Bucs yet.
September 12th, 2022 at 10:57 am
Percentage wise, we produced the greatest point differential, ie. beatdown than any other game this weekend.
While the score was low, what we witnessed last night was the seasons first blow out.
Numbers matter.
September 12th, 2022 at 11:55 am
Bucsfan13 … ‘I could argue that our offense had a higher degree of difficulty last night than the defense.’
Can’t say that I’ve ever heard the term ‘higher degree of difficulty’ used to compare offenses & defenses, but it fits perfectly. And I agree with you about that in relation to last night’s game. I’ll say it again … the Dallas offense sucked; their game plan, their execution & their personnel. Dak looked particularly bad last night in the passing game (14-for-29 is nothing to write home about, especially when his completions came in meaningless spurts & he wasn’t even close to being on the same page as his receivers, or vice-versa).
Even though the Dallas offense stunk, that doesn’t take anything away from our defense’s performance. We obviously played a solid game as holding them to one FG attests. Todd Bowles’ game plan was fantastic IMO (I too think he’s an excellent coach BTW & we’re blessed to have him as our HC). I understand that to some it’s nick-picking that IMO we didn’t get enough CONSISTENT pressure on Cowboys’ QBs. We did get 4 sacks & 8 QB hits, but the vast majority came in the 2nd half when the Dallas OLine couldn’t hold it together. And maybe it’s nit-picking also that our run defense allowed Elliott to gain 52 yds on his 10 carries (why Dallas didn’t run him a lot more I’ll never know).
Barring injuries, our starting defense has the potential to be special this year. I think the Saints will be a better test for them, but with more consistent pressure & a tightening-up somewhat on run defense we SHOULD beat them. The Rams looked horrible in their 1st game, but the Chiefs looked very good. I’m optimistic now that we can start at least 3-1 if we clean up a few things. And I’m confident that Todd Bowles will.
September 12th, 2022 at 12:23 pm
With the number four pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, your Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Leonard Fournette.
Nice to see TDL is playing like a first round pick.
September 12th, 2022 at 12:56 pm
Nobody has mentioned this but I thought the broadcasters did a lousy job last night. Very little perceptive analysis. I also thought Brady was off his game. But he had way too many distractions this week. So I expect him to look much sharper next game. All the personal turmoil from da biotch hurt his preparations. I expect a much better focused and prepared Brady next game.
September 12th, 2022 at 1:16 pm
Leonard. Fournette.
September 12th, 2022 at 8:03 pm
^^^^