“Do Something; Do Anything”
September 16th, 2023
Joe has been enjoying monitoring Chicago media after the Bears were drubbed 38-20 by the Packers in Chicago.
High hopes imploded when the Packers scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to take a 38-14 lead.
Now the Bears head to Tampa for a clash tomorrow. Then the Bears are off to Kansas City. Bears fans are melting down because their team looks destined for an 0-3 start if they can’t revive many phases of their game against the Bucs.
“Do something. Do anything,” pleaded CBS2 Chicago sports director Marshall Harris to his large audience. He was referring to the Bears defensive line needing to show up against the Bucs.
“Love is an action word, and Jordan [Love] made sure to action last week when the Bears applied next to no pressure on him. So this week the line better find a way to make Baker Mayfield uncomfortable again. The QB play does not have to be elite if there’s no pressure in the pocket.”
Joe heard all kinds of chatter about the Bears’ weak defensive front this week, and about shoddy playcallng that saw top receiver D.J. Moore only find two targets against Green Bay.
The Bears sure looked like a bad team, and their fans have just about had enough through their current 11-game losing streak, one Bears faithful thought would end Sunday in Chicago.
Joe thinks the Bucs are catching Chicago at the perfect time: desperate and disjointed.
September 16th, 2023 at 5:15 pm
Surprised the spread is only 2.5 pts. Not even the full cursory 3 pt home field advantage. I see it as a gift….bucs by 10. Then things get interesting next week!
September 16th, 2023 at 5:25 pm
Bucs win.
September 16th, 2023 at 5:28 pm
Wouldn’t it be nice for the Bucs to start off 2-0, after Peter “Puffer” King said they’d go 2-15 (I think that was his record for the Bucs)?
September 16th, 2023 at 5:32 pm
Or we have caught them at the right time for an upset. I don’t like these teams with extended losing streaks, they make me nervous. You know like let your guard down nervous. I watched the Eagles for a short period of time the other night and they are beatable. Ray Jay sometimes isn’t good to us so cross your fingers, I have faith and we haven’t seen the true potential of our offense yet, GO BUCS.
September 16th, 2023 at 5:35 pm
Hoping the Bucs defense makes Justin Fields look like Kim “Tootie” Fields.
September 16th, 2023 at 6:09 pm
Joe, is Tristan Wirfs playing good/great at left tackle? I assume he has because nobody talks about offensive lineman unless they are terrible
September 16th, 2023 at 6:18 pm
In the gambling world 67% of bets are against the Bucs covering this week so that means Bucs will win big.
September 16th, 2023 at 6:31 pm
2-0 would make liars out of a lot of people – including myself.
Still think Trask’s ceiling is an entire level higher than Mayfield’s, however.
The Bucs have opted to go with Mayfield who knows how to maximize what he can do in the NFL over Trask who they believe has not yet learned how put it together.
My argument all along is that Mayfield at best is only good enough to give a false hope – or perhaps more accurately – keep the Bucs a fringe playoff team and thus not defined as hapless which is “good enough” for some.
With Trask the Bucs might have had a growing pain bump here or there, but by the end of this season become the QB that makes the Bucs elite ready for next season and beyond.
It’s a moot point now. Mayfield has the ball. But remember the guy had two miserable seasons prior and a career losing record. Bucs have no running game. A “good enough” season isn’t a guarantee. We’ll see how it unfolds.
But yeah the Bears are in complete disarray. It’s a bad football team. Bucs should come out of this 2-0 and sitting pretty.
September 16th, 2023 at 6:48 pm
Let’s carry this MO into week 3 with a win that highlights our talent! Godwin oughta have a big game, some sacks by Nelson and Barrett would be nice and can a brotha get a 100 yard rusher?!
September 16th, 2023 at 7:03 pm
“Joe has been enjoying monitoring Chicago media after the Bears were drubbed 38-20 by the Packers in Chicago.”
——-
No kidding – I’ve been listening to a bunch of Bears podcasts and radio, because nothing is more fun than a bunch of whining yelling insane fans who lost big at home to their biggest rival. Highly entertaining.
Also fun to hear them all talk about how their team stinks, and they all had this marked down as an easy W, apparently completely discounting the fact their team has been blown out three times in a row here, and is 4-7 in this stadium – only the Vikings and Packers are worse since ’98.
But also highly entertaining to hear these morons talk about player groups, in particular when they’re talking about how the Bears wide receivers are probably better than the Bucs wide receivers. Lets see, the Bucs have a future HOF’er and an ALL-PRO, and the Bears have a pro-bowler (Moore), a malcontent who might not even be active (Claypool), and an underachiever (Mooney). Yeah, real close.
Also one of the morons said Wirfs is ‘pretty good’, probably as good as their LT, Braxton Jones. LOL!
Anywho, the Bears fans are mixed on if they win or not. They all expect to win this game in terms of talent, but Bowles is such a superior head coach over what they got, about half of them think the Bucs will pull out a close W.
Me, I got the Bucs 38, Bears 10. Won’t be close. Beat your kids insurance policy on it.
September 16th, 2023 at 7:15 pm
This game scares me. A lot of times when everyone seems to expect Bucs to win they do the opposite.
September 16th, 2023 at 7:26 pm
Rod Munch,
I see the game as a Bucs win, 31-21.
September 16th, 2023 at 7:29 pm
D-Rok – Not as big of a cushion as I’d like, but getting 31 points would be great, and hopefully the 21 is inflated by a late garbage time TD.
I’ll take it as it still covers.
September 16th, 2023 at 7:30 pm
As a kid, my dad took my brother and I to a Bucs Game at the old sombrero against the Bears. We whipped that ass, and on the way onto the game I saw a sign, “Da Bears, Dey Suck”.
Go Bucs, that was a fun game to go to. Another one we lost bc Barry Sanders decided we were going to lose. I fell in love w the game after that. Was also fortunate enough to be 7-8 y/0 and my dad took my to Joe Robbie to see Marino play.
September 16th, 2023 at 7:32 pm
Rod,
Me saying the Bucs will score 31 is a huge gift. It’s hope, it’s optimism. But, I think it’s solid the Bucs D will hold the Bears to 17 -24 points.
September 16th, 2023 at 7:38 pm
I’m cautiously optimistic, but not sure by any means, cuz the Bucs have a tendency to make some crappy teams have their best games against the Bucs. This is a team that they need to get pressure from their front 7 and let the DB’s do their thing.
September 16th, 2023 at 7:56 pm
I have no clue who will win on Sunday. I do know that if the Bucs put forth the same type of effort as last Sunday they will win!!!! Few penalties, big plays when needed, fast to the ball gang tackling, and playing an entire 60 minutes got them a victory last week. Similar effort produces similar results against most teams in this league! Can’t wait!!
September 16th, 2023 at 8:08 pm
Tim
I’m with you. Cautiously optimistic. But I always remember the words of the late great Chris Thomas. NFL stands for No Freaking Logic.
And yet week after week we come here and make all kinds of assumptions based on the last game.
IMHO I do not imagine the last game going any better!!! Besides all the individual stories that resolved themselves that win has to benefit the TEAM.
Go into a loud hostile place against a playoff team…a totally revamped OL…new QB..OC…well you get it. But to fight through all of that and finish with that win is an EXCELLENT team lesson that Bowles could not have scripted any better.
September 16th, 2023 at 9:25 pm
I’m with dbbuc711 … ‘This game scares me.’ Just got back from going to the Bama-USF game. Normally folks would expect a blowout favoring Bama, but someone forgot to tell the Bulls. They played a great game defensively, but their offense just couldn’t get untracked (even though Bama’s defense is but a shadow of what it was in past years). Yes Bama won, but it was coyote ugly.
Have this feeling tomorrow’s game against the Bears could be eerily similar. Defensively we’ll probably hold our own, limiting the Bears to probably around 20 points. Offensively it’s anyone’s guess right now. A couple of takeaways by our defense would certainly help, but I keep having this feeling that our offense is gonna score sporadically during this first half of the season (then hopefully settle in). I think the Bucs will squeak out another close one 24-20.
September 16th, 2023 at 9:38 pm
We can absolutely go 2-0.
That said… the Bucs, historically, are the team that other teams always okay against to “get right” when they’re struggling… so I’m counting my chickens yet.
September 16th, 2023 at 9:40 pm
Let’s try this again:
We can absolutely go 2-0.
That said… the Bucs, historically, are the team that other teams always play against to “get right” when they’re struggling with something… so I’m not counting my chickens just yet.
September 16th, 2023 at 10:21 pm
I have never seen a team coming off a ten game losing streak, and 15 year mediocrity streak, be overrated like the Bears this offseason.
September 17th, 2023 at 12:06 am
“Joe thinks the Bucs are catching Chicago at the perfect time: desperate and disjointed.”
Yeah thats what has me worried Joe. Ummm. Being a long time fan I’m sure you understand. LOL
Go Bucs!
September 17th, 2023 at 3:54 am
My prediction: 17-14 Bucs go 2-0
September 17th, 2023 at 10:57 am
You people who think it will be close are crazy. We held a MUCH MORE talented offense to 17 points on the road. If mayfield can scrounge up 21 then the bears will be lucky to have scored 3. 21-3 bucs win bucs win bucs win!
September 17th, 2023 at 11:55 am
Whenever I hear people around the league talking about the opposing team’s “weaknesses”, such at the Bears’ “weak defensive front”, I cringe. As a Bucs fan, I’ve seen it happen too many times when a team’s weakness becomes a strength against our beloved team. An opposing team’s mediocre player transforms himself into an All-Pro, All-World, Hall of Fame player overnight (Derek Anderson, Case Keenum, etc). Still, I think that the Bucs can get it done against a beleaguered Bears franchise.
September 17th, 2023 at 1:09 pm
Bucs 24-17