Ira Kaufman’s 10 Takeaways From Bucs-Rams
November 7th, 2022
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BY IRA KAUFMAN
The only Tampa Bay snap that gained more than 20 yards may have just triggered a massive turnaround.
We won’t know for sure until late November, but that 28-yard strike down the middle to rookie tight end Cade Otton could emerge as the catalyst for a Buccaneer surge.
The situation appeared daunting when Tom Brady took the field with 44 seconds remaining at his own 40 with the Bucs down 13-9. Ryan Succop had supplied Tampa Bay’s only points and the Rams must have figured Brady didn’t have enough time to cover 60 yards with no timeouts remaining.
Touchdown, Cade Otton!
And there was Otton, who would end up catching five of the six balls sent his way, including the game-winner from one yard out. The line did its job, keeping Aaron Donald out of Brady’s grill, and Otton found an open seam against a hard to handle defense that suddenly turned soft.
Instead, it was the Buc defense that deserved this win. All you need to know is Los Angeles finished with as many punts (9) as first downs.
That 3-game slide is now history, making for a much more enjoyable flight to Munich.
Brady topped the 100,000-yard passing plateau in his majestic career and he passed the Rams dizzy on that final drive. He went 5-for-5 against a defense that foolishly believed time would run out on a quarterback who has made his bones engineering late comebacks.
The Rams needed this game as much as the Bucs, perhaps even more considering the comparative strength of their respective divisions. For 59 minutes, Donald and company kept Tampa Bay out of the end zone.
Then Los Angeles made its fatal mistake — forgetting that the clock rarely runs out on Tom Brady.
Here’s how the Bucs joined Atlanta atop the NFC South and rewarded a stout defensive effort:
* Special teams, led by rookie punter Jake Camarda, played a pivotal role all afternoon. Camarda averaged 59.5 yards on four punts, including a 74-yarder that tied a franchise record. Succop kicked three field goals and he can’t be blamed for Bobby Wagner’s deft block. Jaelon Darden did a nice job returning eight punts. As a result, the Bucs had a significant edge in field position.
Carlton Davis was back after a two-game, hip-injury absence.
* Carlton Davis played his best game of the year with tight coverage and six tackles, limiting yards after the catch.
* It wouldn’t be a Rams-Bucs game without major production from Cooper Kupp, who latched onto eight of the nine throws sent his way for 127 yards. His 69-yard TD reception represented a rare defensive breakdown, but it reinforced his reputation as a classic Buc-killer. In five career games against Tampa Bay, Kupp has 46 catches for 672 yards and 5 TDs. “We have done a terrible job of staying ahead of the sticks,” Kupp said. “The defense has done such a great job and we’ve let them down.”
* Tampa Bay converted 9-of-21 on third down, far more efficient than the 10-for-39 success rate during the tailspin.
* Big game for Vita Vea with a pair of sacks and three of Tampa Bay’s eight QB hits. Guess who also had three QB hits? If you said OLB Genard Avery, pick up your door prize.
* For most of the day, the past two Super Bowl champions were terrible on offense. For the Bucs, scoring 13 points wasn’t a hiccup … it was more like a belch. During the past four weeks, the Bucs have scored four touchdowns.
* These teams entered the game with dismal running attacks. They left the stadium the same way.
* Quiet game for Mike Evans. He led all players with 11 targets but finished with five catches for 40 yards. His biggest contribution came on the game-winning drive when he coaxed a pass interference flag against rookie Derion Kendrick.
* The defending champs look like toast. Matt Stafford’s arm strength looks diminished and the Rams offensive line makes Tampa Bay’s front look like the 1973 Dolphins. “I just wish I would have played better.” Stafford said, “because if I had played better, we probably would have won the game.”
* The Bucs will feel very good about themselves if they even their record at 5-5 by beating the Seahawks in Germany, but it won’t be easy. Riding a 4-game winning streak, Seattle tops the NFC West at 6-3 and Geno Smith’s offense is averaging 9 more points per game than Brady’s offense.
Ira loves that lifetime warranty on new and used vehicles!
Watch the Bucs-Seahawks game Sunday with Joe, Ira Kaufman and fired up Bucs fans at Big Storm Brewery in Clearwater. …. Great breakfast menu and bloody mary bar, mimosas and Florida’s best craft beer. (Lunch starts at 11 a.m.) … Giveaways and more.
The taproom is at 12707 49th St. North in Clearwater
SUNDAY, Nov. 13, Bucs-Seahawks in Germany!
The fun starts at 9 a.m.
Join Joe and Ira Kaufman and Bucs fans!
November 7th, 2022 at 4:23 am
Yeah Ira, but the Jets shouldn’t beat Buffalo, and Detriot beat the Pack, so I suppose the Bucs could beat Seattle. We’ll soon find out if this was the start of something, or we were just lucky this week to beat a very bad Rams team.
November 7th, 2022 at 5:36 am
Brady won that game himself. In spite of the coaches. The coaches set up the loss but Brady improvised and overcame them.
November 7th, 2022 at 6:18 am
Bucs’ D played much better against an inferior OLine, but they still haven’t come up with a turnover since the Chiefs game 5 weeks ago.
November 7th, 2022 at 6:23 am
Offensive line needs work.
November 7th, 2022 at 6:44 am
Starting to heat up fellas. Let’s hope the sine curve started its upswing yesterday…to peak the first week of Feb.
Der Suh.
November 7th, 2022 at 6:56 am
Victory Monday is back! Buc ball is back! The Cardiac Kid has returned! Long live the Cardiac Kid!
November 7th, 2022 at 7:21 am
Evans play went downhill after he took that shot to the ribs. Wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out that he cracked a few or tore his rib cartilage.
November 7th, 2022 at 7:48 am
Thanks for the shout out for Camarda, Ira……but it was more than 4 punts.
60 yards a punt on 6 punts…..4 inside the 20 and a punt at the one that should have been challenged….
Rams had a total of 13 yards on returns.
This may be the best performance of a Buc punter in history.
It could be said that Jake Camarda kept us in this game.
And the much disparaged Darden did quite well showing sure hands and getting positive yardage on most returns.
November 7th, 2022 at 7:58 am
Brilliant. That final drive was brilliant football. But Ira, you forgot Scotty Miller, who came thru big time…
November 7th, 2022 at 8:04 am
Excellent comments on Camarda, Tampabaybucsfan! You might be right about best performance by a punter in Bucs history. I can’t remember the last time any punters performance stood out to me in any football game at any level.
November 7th, 2022 at 8:31 am
@Tbbf
Camarda’s performance last night tied for the highest single game punt avg EVER which is a 12 year old record that was set & held by Mike Scifres of the Chargers back in 2010
November 7th, 2022 at 8:53 am
Nope not a good game because we won the game out of desperation on the last series of the game. The offense played like 3 minutes of good football all day
November 7th, 2022 at 9:38 am
Very delusional to think this sparks a turnaround. Did you watch the first 3.5 quarters? These are two very bad football teams. The offence had 9 f*cking points in 3.5 quarters. Seattle will have a field day with this defence. Seattle’s D is excellent, especially in the secondary. Bucs may still win the division but you’re dreaming if anyone thinks it means playoff success.
November 7th, 2022 at 10:06 am
This defense is being left out to dry. They have played well enough to win every game except the Chiefs game. Offense needs to step it up.
November 7th, 2022 at 10:07 am
Who found Camarda?? Licht/Bowles? We’ve had excellent punters, but this dude is scary good!! The whole ST did well which psyched the mighty Defense who played great with all the injuries. And ME13. I had this sucker on after spending a week giving myself pep talks to listen to it. Bucs Radio on audio (time delay SOP), and CBS, muted, on the BT. I watched Evans get crunched by 3 Rams guys, and it was all he could do to get off the field. I figured he had broken ribs and was done. Nope, he went somewhere on the sideline, got painkillers, came back out and had the med guys wrap a major chest ace bandage around his entire chest. Meanwhile Brady the Senile ran around looking like scared deer on a lot of plays. His OLine protected him even with Aaron Donald on the loose. Why does this yahoo not retire?? He, at least, found some brain matter to help the team win in the final minute. Cheers to the O Line, Miller, and Otton. This was a TAMPA BAY BUCCANEER win.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:36 am
Any given Sunday! We going to knock the crap out of Gina and the birds
November 7th, 2022 at 11:42 am
There were quite a few lessons that should have been learned yesterday by this coaching staff, who knows if they learn from them though.
Julio Jones and Breshad Perriman are a hindrance to the offense. Perriman is clueless when they put him in the game and Julio physically cannot play the game anymore. If Brady wants to have any chance this year they need to put these old guys in the pasture on game day. I would much rather see Deven Thompkins get playing time now.
Rachaad White is by far the more explosive RB and should be getting the lion’s share of the carries. Lenny can pout on the sideline all he wants, but that’s the truth.
Vita Vea is a piece that should be moved around to create mismatches more. If this team wants to win they need to get more creative with their front four defensive linemen.
Donovan Smith’s technique is completely gone. I don’t know if it’s the elbow or what, but he’s catching and absorbing on every single pass set instead of elbow tight punch. He needs to get back to absolute basics.
If this team is going to win, and that’s a massive IF, they have to embrace some change on offense. This “Good Old Boys” club that Brady feels comfortable with needs to start fading out and new juice needs to see the field. Guys collecting checks need to be put on notice in favor of guys still looking for contracts.
Logan Ryan should hopefully be back after the bye. Antoine Winfield could be back this week. Ryan Jensen is a who knows, but they obviously think there’s a chance he comes back at some point. IF we somehow can beat Seattle in Germany I could see Gronk getting a strong itch to come back.
Win the game this week before the bye and all bets are off.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:45 am
Level for excuse making for Mike Evans is hitting epidemic proportions his play has gotten worse and worse, week by week, drop afterdrop, not looking for extra yards going out of bounds or right down and basically quitting after the Carolina game. Yesterday was the low point of the season he was terrible. At this point what he cares about most is preserving his body for his record
November 7th, 2022 at 12:33 pm
The Bucs cannot be faulted for lack of trying when it comes to finding good kickers. We have had some good punters in the past. We have been struggling for years to get a superior punter, a good field goal kicker and a solid kick off guy at the same time. The kicking game can make a big difference for any championships runs. Licht has taken his hits for some of his draft choices in the past to be sure.
Succop has succeeded in extending his range to fifty yards in this his eighth season. Coaching? Not bad for a former Mr. Irrelevant. Camarda is looking “scary good” indeed. What a find!
This year’s draft is already looking as good or better than any we have seen during Licht’s stewardship.
Go Bucs!
November 7th, 2022 at 3:52 pm
Otton recently lost his mother and played a hell of a game.
November 7th, 2022 at 5:36 pm
CADE OTTON…….I’ve said it since the beginning of the season, needed to be used more. This guy could be a real weapon.