Slip Sliding Away
November 14th, 2022
Talkin’ cleats.
Early in the game yesterday sitting in Munich, Joe noticed Jaelon Darden slide on the turf of Allianz Arena.
Still, it was Darden. He slides if the game is in The Licht House and no pregame rain for a week. Darden will return kicks in a dome as if he’s on a frozen pond.
Then Joe saw other Bucs slipping. Jiminy Christmas! Isn’t that for pregame warmups? To find out what the turf is like and adjust your cleats accordingly? Why wasn’t this done?
It was done, Bucs coach Todd Bowles said. And still the changed cleats made little difference.
“It was slippery,” Bowles said. “We had on seven studs and it was still slippery, but
we understood that. It was equal for both sides.“Yeah, we knew that. We talked about [adjusting cleats]. We kind of understood what
we had to wear.“But it was real slippery and short, so again, both sides had to play. We didn’t use that as an excuse.”
Fortunately, this didn’t hurt the Bucs. Bowles joked Tom Brady went out for a pass and had he not slipped, he would have used his 42-inch vertical to grab Playoff Lenny’s pass.
Yes, Bowles was being sarcastic.
But this is what happens when you play on a European soccer field. Unless a true NFL stadium comes to Europe, the turf is always going to be made and grown to satisfy the soccer team. Bayern Munich is the primary Allianz tenant.
So if the NFL wants games in Europe — and trust Joe, the reaction from the Germans hosting a game has done nothing but fuel the NFL’s desire — this is going to be a standard hazard overseas.
November 14th, 2022 at 12:27 am
Yeah…..that play didn’t work for the Patriots either…
November 14th, 2022 at 12:55 am
That field was garbage. I think it’s made for their cupcake soccer players that weight 130lbs, not big Americans like Vita pushing 400. They need some thicker turf, surprised the NFL hasn’t insisted on that.
November 14th, 2022 at 1:59 am
Has European soccer teams play in American stadiums on our tours both natural and the newer artificial turds?
Or does soccer and how its played dependant on such a slick grass?
Football can be played on real grass, real good grass like the Licht House to artificial turf that is springy & sponge-like to thin & ugly green rugs over barren concrete. Not to mention rain, mud, snow & ice. Hell I remember when games continued during storms.
November 14th, 2022 at 2:16 am
No one calling out BL today? The man called an excellent game today as he has done week in and week out, execution is this teams problem but it has (execution) from the first game until now! Trying that pass to Brady was the only bad call made by BL today! So I say excellent play calling BL!
November 14th, 2022 at 2:53 am
@Tapout. BL didn’t call a good game. It was better than past games, but make no mistake, they still ran those inefficient runs on early downs. Be careful about box score watching. We were still living on 3rd and long. The difference is we converting on those this games. That’s really not sustainable at all. Let’s not turn Leftwich into Bill Walsh just yet. The EPA on those rushing downs were not good.
I would say one thing I liked was that they did mor runs from the gun, and they actually had Brady work out of empty. That was a complete shocker and tells me that they trust their OL a little more. However, it was boneheaded to go with empty protection next to your own GL. Luckily Brady was able to throw the ball away before it was a safety. Brady also needs to watch out for those dropping LBs. They’re gonna be playing to stop those seam throws. That’s how he had that boneheaded pick. Besides that, it was a pretty good, efficient game from him.
November 14th, 2022 at 3:27 am
Whoa, ease up. Your coming across as a Leftwich family member. He didn’t call a good game. Still tipping pitches with first-down runs up the middle. That stunt with Playoff Lenny and Tom Brady was fully unnecessary.
Yes, Leftwich FINALLY called an OK game. Anyone suggesting he was fantastic previously has an agenda.
November 14th, 2022 at 6:04 am
No agenda, but when does he get credit for doing a good job, other O C’s are given credit, he has been a winner, his way has worked, what I wanna say is this team has gotten better and better, clearly we’re a not the best team this season, but on any given Sunday! I’m sure BL is doing his best to put together a plan to top our next rival! This running game is coming around because the OLine is beginning to jell, they are not the best but they are now able to go to war with the best! He called a good game as he has done in the past …execution is the problem! Let BL do his thing, it’s beyond me the whining while we winning!
November 14th, 2022 at 6:28 am
BL will get credit for doing a good job when he actually does a good job.
November 14th, 2022 at 6:35 am
Neither coach had a great game. Don’t forget the 2nd & 3 sweep call on the Bucs 15. The play almost got blown up the first time by the same LB 55 that did blow it up on that play. That loss of 6 negated the first down play and put the Bucs 3rd & long again. The runs on first down are so predictable, I’m surprised the RB’s got any yards.
Bowles on the other hand never made the adjustment once the Bucs D made Seattle one dimentional. That soft zone crap has to stop it’s putting too much pressure on the DB’s. That game was a lot closer than it should have been.
November 14th, 2022 at 6:44 am
No agenda, those plays come from the exact same play book weather we win or lose! If we continue to win, when will he in your eyes deserve the OC title before his name, he is using what he has, 4NET and that #29 ate good today because the OLine was dominating and overall team execution! BRADY is a drop back passer, the very best this league has to offer and there is no doubt in my mind that he will tell you that there are certain plays he shouldn’t try to run ie: that pass to him today! I just don’t get the whining while we winning!
November 14th, 2022 at 6:50 am
@-Joe
Is there any report about Jensen coming back soon?
November 14th, 2022 at 6:56 am
If there was, you wouldn’t have to ask. You’d already know. 🙂
There isn’t a reporter in Tampa Bay who would hold that information if he/she knew it. That would be a pretty big story.
November 14th, 2022 at 7:19 am
@tap-out.. you need to tap out of this forum because you clearly dont know what you are talking about!
In this game, Byron did the same thing he always does. Byron made poor decisions in critical moments with opportunities to score. Byron was very predictable on first down continuously running up the gut of the defense for no gain. Yes there were some nice pass plays and it was nice to see him mix up some formations finally!!! But, he has to stop lining up in the same formation and running these failing plays. I understand what he is trying to do but you have to teach it in practice. Continuously losing your first downs is STUPID!!!
November 14th, 2022 at 7:25 am
nice words from the coach, (Brady). Praising bowles is like saying about a manaquin. “he really stays in his place” but i have to say that he smiled more yesterday than i’ve ever seen. At first i thought he was having a stroke. Now to all you wokers thats not to offend anyone that’s had a stroke. So pull your bloomers up and take a deep breath.
November 14th, 2022 at 7:37 am
I don’t know why Lefty is holding that large Biden’s cue card. You could put Byran’s plays on a bubble gum wrapper or sticky note. To all you wokers, I didn’t say “rapper” so adjust your garder and change the channel to Hallmark. When I saw Lenny’s pass to Tom I thought “what the frick” Did Byran and Todd watch the Buc’s Philly superbowl? Tom IS NOT A RECEIVER. Don’t pull that crap again. It’s a great play if it’s the Raven’s QB or Josh Allen. BUT IT’S THOMAS EDWARD PATRICK BRADY Jr. When they called that play I thought Byron had his play card upside down
November 14th, 2022 at 8:15 am
And the coaches knowing that the turf was slippery is yet another reason Leftwich never should have called that pass play from Fournette to Brady. It’s a wonder Brady didn’t tweak his ankle when he slipped. Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!
November 14th, 2022 at 8:17 am
Rod. Ones weight doesn’t matter on turf. Nor does it matter with cupcakes. I played soccer at about 195. I’m guessing the field was wet but don’t know. And I didn’t see any big guys slipping I saw darden, who if he was wet too might go a buck 65. Familiarize yourself with the turf and adjust accordingly is all you can do
November 14th, 2022 at 8:25 am
Tap out, I like your optimistic view of BL, but imo he still has a long way to go. His conservative style seems to be more out of fear than a ground and pound mentality. That trick play really emphasized how he is coaching scared. The fact that he pulled it out when he felt the team was in a good n safe place in the game rather than to jump start an enemic team (say in the NC game) shows he is a cowardly play caller. With that said, I hope he/this team balls out and another team shares your optimism and lures him away.
November 14th, 2022 at 8:56 am
I don’t know if its overlooked but Chris Godwin looked like he was getting a little closer to returning to form. The shoulder catch he made on the sidelines was fantastic, even did a headstand to finish it off.
He made another catch over the middle where he created seperation at the end of the route. A bye week can certainly help him move forward.
Scotty Miller needs a lot of coaching on catching with his hands. 2 weeks in a row he dropped a touchdown pass, although yesterday he managed to keep his drop from hitting the ground.
Rachad White and Cade Otton are solid rookies. I think the coaching staff has woken up to using White as much or more than Fournette. Leonard will play harder getting less carries and being fresher. White’s vision is impressive as he finds openings and has a burst Leonard doesn’t.
I can see right now that using the shotgun to run White from is a good formula as with extra time he sees the openings and gets to the hole much faster than Fournette does.
November 14th, 2022 at 9:09 am
Thank God Brady did not catch that pass from 4net, otherwise, Brady would have been crashed like a bug on a 4 wheeler wind shield and probably end our season with that dumb play.
November 14th, 2022 at 9:10 am
Thank God Brady did not catch that pass from 4net, otherwise, Brady would have been crashed like a bug on a 4 wheeler wind shield and probably end our season with that unnecessary play.
November 14th, 2022 at 10:05 am
I hate that they play games overseas. It’s a disservice to the players and to the fans.
November 14th, 2022 at 10:26 am
The best thing about that field – it is a hell of a lot safer for the players. Anyone who has actually played football at a reasonably high level knows the collisions vary in intensity according to the quality of the turf. A soft field means you can’t plant as hard and so the collision will not be as violent.
It also means if you plant and your knee torques unexpectedly the turf will give way instead of your tendon.
November 14th, 2022 at 10:50 am
rsjcheapseats – Yeah, that’s why I watch football, to see how safely the players can tickle each other into a feather bed, that’s real exciting stuff.
November 14th, 2022 at 10:54 am
Darin – LOL! I knew some cupcake soccer player would get offended by that! Anywho, it was literally everyone slipping out there, from Darden to Brady to just about every other player on the field. It was a slow, slick surface, looked to me like it’s the type of grass they’re using based on how there were huge divots everywhere that you could clearly see on TV. The best thing I could say is that maybe they put in a new surface that hadn’t rooted yet, which can even happen here. Of course when it happens here, everyone complains about it and the groundskeeper gets fired.
November 14th, 2022 at 11:36 am
I don’t think Tap-Out is wrong. If the Bucs were averaging 27 points per game (like they were last year) because they were executing better then no one would be discussing Byron Leftwich. You can’t win with the critics. He runs on first down and it’s a problem. He mixes in a trick play and it’s the “wrong time”.
November 14th, 2022 at 12:10 pm
@D-Rome.. Their offense was rolling and they were moving the ball with ease on the ground with White and in the air. There was no reason to call that on first down!
November 14th, 2022 at 1:08 pm
They should give Darden an award for how many types of turfs he has slipped on. I am sure he leads the NFL.
November 14th, 2022 at 1:12 pm
That field was slick cos it was a natural grass field set up for soccer. NFL football is a novelty in Europe. I hate these games. They cost us a home game every year. The Glazer Boyz are big pushers of this $$$$$$$$. That second trick play was called by Brady. It would have worked if he hadn’t had a slippery field to deal with.
November 14th, 2022 at 4:48 pm
This coach is sick. Send the oldest and most important player in the league on a fly route to catch a pass from a brutal running back?
If the play was in response to seeing Brady being completely uncovered on an earlier play, what kind of coach doesn’t instruct Lenny to use option 2, just RUN!, if he sees Brady is covered by a world class athlete? And let’s be real: if Brady didn’t slip, he’d have tried to catch the ball over the defender, and the defender would have banged into him and made him go slamming to the turf, possibly causing a serious injury.
Wise up, Bowles and Lefty!!!
November 14th, 2022 at 10:06 pm
For sure BL has a long way to go …but give the man a level playing field, BRADY knows he is not a receiver, now since he is to some of you the “SHOT CALLER” of this offense, why would he sign off on a play like that, somebody tell me why Tom didn’t say nope I ain’t running that! Pounding the rock is what makes this team go, we pound it until the opponent has to bring an eighth man in the box, that’s when Tom can start slicing and dicing! That’s the way we win no truck plays, that pass to Tom was the only blunder of the day, EXECUTION…oh yea a part of this game is for the defense to stop you from running it up the gut! I just thought I’d put that in there! And yes my agenda is to let BL be BL, how just tell me why all the whining while we winning! For those who say I have an agenda …Whoop There It Is! GO BUCS!
November 19th, 2022 at 5:24 am
Tap-Out Says:
November 14th, 2022 at 6:04 am
“No agenda, but when does he get credit for doing a good job, other O C’s are given credit,”
Dude He got credit last year when the team got 13 wins for him.
This year without the red marker…not so much!
November 19th, 2022 at 5:56 am
Tap-Out Says:
November 14th, 2022 at 10:06 pm
For sure BL has a long way to go …but give the man a level playing field, BRADY knows he is not a receiver, now since he is to some of you the “SHOT CALLER” of this offense, why would he sign off on a play like that, somebody tell me why Tom didn’t say nope I ain’t running that! Pounding the rock is what makes this team go, we pound it until the opponent has to bring an eighth man in the box, that’s when Tom can start slicing and dicing! That’s the way we win no truck plays, that pass to Tom was the only blunder of the day, EXECUTION…oh yea a part of this game is for the defense to stop you from running it up the gut! I just thought I’d put that in there! And yes my agenda is to let BL be BL, how just tell me why all the whining while we winning! For those who say I have an agenda …Whoop There It Is! GO BUCS!
Brady was screaming at the sidelines for I assume a timeout!!! Now go away … with our agenda!!!