Why The Bucs Have A Puncher’s Chance Against The 49ers
December 10th, 2022
Underrated Bucs defense?
Joe really believes if the coaches let the Bucs offense out of jail (there is a Santa Claus, isn’t there?) the Bucs can hang with if not beat the 49ers tomorrow.
Yeah, the 49ers have a damn good defense. No question. But guess what? So do the Bucs.
Rich Hribar of Sharp Football Analysis has yet another example of how the Bucs defense is one of the NFL’s best.
40.0% of the drives against Tampa Bay have failed to gain a first down or touchdown, the highest rate in the league.
This stat is largely based on facing offenses with established starting quarterbacks. Remember who the Bucs are facing tomorrow.
Making his first NFL start tomorrow is Mr. Irrelavent, Brock Purdy. That’s one draft pick before becoming an undrafted free agent. The NFL thought so much of the guy he nearly wasn’t drafted.
Now he he makes his first NFL start against a defensive guy like Todd Bowles who has crazy blitzes. You don’t think this kid’s head will be spinning?
Since coming to the Bucs in 2019, Bowles is 6-2 against rookie quarterbacks.
Watch The Bucs tomorrow with Bucs fans and Ira Kaufman @BigStormBrewing in Clearwater.
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December 10th, 2022 at 3:20 pm
The Bucs defense isn’t the problem.
It’s the offense (and the Niners defense). Brady gonna be running for his life, especially if Bosa plays.
December 10th, 2022 at 3:29 pm
Bucs offense has been crap this year, no one can say it’s because of gronk and Ali marpet. That’s part of it but teams expecting to make the playoffs have turnover every year. The only reason why his team sucks is the head coach took the ball out of the goats hands and put it on the run game and BL’s ability to think beyond the gameplan set during the week
December 10th, 2022 at 3:34 pm
It is going to be REALLY FREAKING NASTY WEATHER tomorrow in S.F. – Cold Windy and Rainy-this is not the weather to be slinging it all over the yard. Bucs were very fortunate to lose the turnover battle and win against the Saints. Bucs must win the turnover battle against SanFran. If bucs win the toss they should put SF offense into the wind to start the game. Wind and rain blowing into your face as a QB is brutal. Bucs win this one 16-13.
December 10th, 2022 at 3:44 pm
The defense will probably have to score, or at the least, force a turnover on the 9ers side of the field. I’m expecting a less than 20% 3rd down conversion rate by the Bucs in this game. Evans, Godwin, and Jones will have to carry the offense. If they can’t get open fast it’s going to be hard to move the ball.
December 10th, 2022 at 3:44 pm
Purdy is a pretty good QB but he can get rattled. Hope the Bucs can unnerve him early and often. Maybe a pick or two. Then coast home in the rain.
December 10th, 2022 at 3:49 pm
The only hope is a bunch of turnovers.
Otherwise, the 9ers could shut out this putrid, predictable, sorry, lame excuse for an offense.
December 10th, 2022 at 4:02 pm
The defense will have to get turnovers and the “offense” will have to score more than field goals off the TOs. BowlesWich a philosophically opposed to scoring… so this is an unlikely scenario. Big loss likely.
December 10th, 2022 at 4:23 pm
Purdy just beat the Dolphins last Sunday.
December 10th, 2022 at 4:24 pm
Sorry Joe, we don’t seem to do too well against backup and rookie QBs. And, if you watched the 49ers against the Dolphins last week, you saw a young QB that looked pretty sharp. Shanahan is not changing the 49ers offensive scheme and the kid has practiced in it. Granted, some of Bowles’ blitzes will catch him off guard, but overall Purdy is not going to be blowing chunks all over the field. Let’s just hope our offense can get more than 18 points tomorrow.
December 10th, 2022 at 4:25 pm
I couple of pick sizes would sure hit the spot right now..
December 10th, 2022 at 4:50 pm
Bucs will have under 200 yds. total offense.
9ers 24, Bucs 6.
Bowles says “we just weren’t in sync.”
Leftwich says “I thought we played great. We had almost 40 yards rushing. Kwit yer b!tchin'”.
December 10th, 2022 at 4:52 pm
Bucs have a chance “because Tom Brady”. Beyond that, who knows.
Weather and conditions will be a major factor. Rain, wet, ugly will be a problem for both teams. Whichever team can smashmouth will have the edge. Niners will have a clear advantage with Shanahan’s play calling, McCaffrey, defense.
I fear for Brady behind this season’s makeshift OL vs. SF.
However, Brock the C ock is an x-factor. It’s one thing to win a game in relief, it’s another to do it after opposing teams have had time to analyze film and tendencies. Unfortunately…it’s Todd Bowles doing the analyzing.
December 10th, 2022 at 4:57 pm
Pewter Power … ‘The only reason why his team sucks is the head coach took the ball out of the goats hands and put it on the run game … ‘.
You surprise me Pewter Power. You know as well as anyone I’m sure that the Bucs run less than any team in the league. And are worse at running than any team in the league. The GOAT has thrown MORE passes than any QB in the league (524 for an average of 43.7 passes per game). That’s the MOST he’s thrown (average/game) of any year in his career, and well over what he threw in 2020 & 2021 under BA.
Just my opinion, but this offense is struggling primarily for 3 reasons: (1) our OLine is struggling to protect Brady & to run-block; (2) our receivers are having trouble getting open; and (3) the play-calling leaves a LOT to be desired. They’re all intertwined though. Fixing any one would help some, but all 3 need to be addressed.
December 10th, 2022 at 5:01 pm
Let’s hope someone gets this team ready to play a full 60 minutes with the foot on the gas pedal the whole game, not just with 5 minutes to play….
December 10th, 2022 at 5:16 pm
DR, the only reason they pass more is because they cannot run, if you are a DC and know what’s coming defending gets pretty easy, ask the Ravens, I find it hard to believe they are exclusive. I rewatched the Saints game and I believe gotbucs@ nailed the answer in a earlier post. Bucs run everything out of a tight formation, inside the numbers which obviously allows the D to narrow the field. I really believe if the O spread it out more they could run and hit intermediate passes for positive gains. A good OC and HC should see this. I don’t have any other games on dvr I would be curious to see if this is consistent.
December 10th, 2022 at 5:26 pm
DR, when a DB knows the QB will release the ball in 2.5 seconds, it’s clear that’s how long he has to remain tight on the receiver.
Plus, when was the last time you saw pass plays that were schemed open? Bucs used to do it all the time. Past tense.
December 10th, 2022 at 5:27 pm
Problem is they may need only 13 points to beat us.
December 10th, 2022 at 5:29 pm
Im going to pit my positive thinking into this page and hope and pray it works. Brady and the bucs prove they can still have a killer offense. Bucs win this one big 31-14. Tom brady throws over 300 yards and 3 tds. The oline keeps our boy in check while brock is running around all day like maholmes in the super bowl.
December 10th, 2022 at 5:48 pm
If you get a chance to listen to the Bucs
Kickoff podcast I bet you will end up being worried about Purdy.
The team doesn’t think about him like a rookie.
December 10th, 2022 at 5:48 pm
I’m sure Shanahan will try to protect the kid as best he can. Lots of safe throws, and getting the ball out quick. Agreed that the only path is with a couple turnovers, maybe a defensive score. If the bucs offense runs out the same tired gameplan, they’ll get killed. Brady and company are going to have to take some chances. If they have a trick play saved up, tomorrow would be the time.
December 10th, 2022 at 6:00 pm
Brady will pull out his inner Flutie and will this team to win. Of course, SO much depends on the rest of the Bucs TEAM. Even tho the Niners are awesome defending the quick pass, they haven’t seen the GOAT do quick passes, yet. If our O-line gives him 3 seconds to pass, watch the surgeon dissect this defense. We can’t run on the Niners, methinks. Not successfully, anyway.
The big question is whether our D can hold down this very, very talented team.
50/50 chance we win, with turnovers being the final determinant.
GO BUCS!!!
December 10th, 2022 at 6:13 pm
If by some amazing miracle we beat the Niners and Bengals we are division winners and get in the playoff.
December 10th, 2022 at 7:14 pm
Purdy looked pretty good against the Dolphins last wk….our secondary is not back to full strength….but with the weather forecast there should be some turnovers that we can take advantage of –very hopefully..
December 10th, 2022 at 8:04 pm
I’m thinking about the other Bucs games and how the defense came out undisciplined, where reverses and trick plays went for TD’s. The Bucs can’t afford those kinds of lapses against a good opponent.
December 10th, 2022 at 8:15 pm
NEfan … ‘Bucs run everything out of a tight formation, inside the numbers which obviously allows the D to narrow the field. I really believe if the O spread it out more they could run and hit intermediate passes for positive gains. A good OC and HC should see this.’
I agree 100%. Running play designs & play calls are too predictable, making them easy to defend. We can’t seem to run-block or even pass protect effectively, thus we’re seeing far more really short passes than ever before (intermediate passes used to be our bread-and-butter).
Cobraboy … You’re spot on; our pass plays are super easy to defend because Brady isn’t getting the time to let the patterns develop or even to maneuver effectively in the pocket. Seems like TB12’s having to go to his checkdown receivers far too often (like I said, the intermediate pass completions have albeit disappeared). Very hard to sustain drives and score using nothing but dink-and-dunk.
December 10th, 2022 at 8:18 pm
I give up on any prediction of Bucs team performance. Their record speaks for itself and pretty accurately predicts their likely outcomes. They have been a 50/50 team so far and I see no reason to expect any big changes. They should win their division and make the first round playoff round, but that’s only because their division is the weakest. No great joy here in mud ville this season. Rebuild season next year from top on down.
December 10th, 2022 at 8:32 pm
D-Rok … The Chiefs beat the 49ers very soundly (44-23) and I think that game plan could be replicated IF our OLine blocking holds up. Mahomes threw deep 6 times; completed 6 for 169 yards (tells me that they can be beat deep). Chiefs also ran it 21 times (36% run-pass ratio which is similar to what we run) but they did it very effectively (112 yards rushing & 3 TDs). Five of their rushes were outside (for 45 yards & 2 TDs).
December 10th, 2022 at 9:15 pm
Casual observer Purdy a good QB WTF are you kidding he was last pick in the draft and Grover niner defense beat dolphins not Purdy. Hey he would not even be playing if there first 2 QB were not hurt so get off that crap both you if the bucs lose tomorrow won’t be because of purdy.
December 10th, 2022 at 9:32 pm
I don’t trust our coaches anymore than I do a politician from either side of the aisle. If we win, it will be in spite of coaching, not because of.