Finish? How About Being Complete?
October 17th, 2024
Complete game desired.
Very interesting observation on if the Bucs can take another step up in play (and wins) now that the team is beginning to pull away from two NFC South foes.
Jenna Laine of ESPN admits she still can’t figure the Bucs out. At times they look like a contender. Other times, they look like the Bucs of The Lost Decade, a team devoid of an edge rush and too often overmatched.
Laine wants to see the Bucs at least play a full competent game to demonstrate they have turned the corner before assessing the future of the Bucs in 2024.
What direction is this team headed in? With “finishing” being such a key point of emphasis after last week’s loss at the Falcons, the Bucs managed to do that in New Orleans — but not without an ugly second quarter. They jumped out to a 17-0 lead and then allowed the Saints to score 20 unanswered points before pitching a second-half shutout. Getting Antoine Winfield Jr., Calijah Kancey and Luke Goedeke back was huge, especially with Winfield’s fumble recovery for a touchdown. But it’s too early to tell where this team is headed when it can’t put together complete games.
That’s a helluva point. But Joe thinks the Bucs have played a couple of full, competent games already (wins over Detroit and Philadelphia). Because of that, it makes the nutkick in Atlanta, the laydown against Denver and the second-quarter implosion in New Orleans so frustrating.
Good teams who go deep in the playoffs don’t often have those types of hiccups.
The collapse in Atlanta was unforgivable (Joe puts that loss directly on Bucs coaches). The loss to Denver was flat out embarrassing. The second quarter at New Orleans was galling.
Joe thinks the Bucs are just one position, just one player from making a Super Bowl run (take a wild guess what that is). But Laine seems to have the big picture in focus.
Play a full, complete, dominant game. At least, show that Denver, Atlanta and New Orleans’ brainfarts have been buried and put to rest.
October 17th, 2024 at 12:08 am
The 2020 SB as hardly a flawless season. I’m more interested in how they do down the stretch with a lead in the NFCS. We don’t need perfect games, we need timely wins.
October 17th, 2024 at 12:08 am
*was
October 17th, 2024 at 12:12 am
Ravens will be a helluva test. Henry and Jackson are no joke. That and they are well coached.
Would be great to soundly beat them.
October 17th, 2024 at 12:20 am
Bingo lambchop. I’m fine if they just keep swinging and stay healthy enough. Win the ones you need to and be ready to make a run once you get to the dance. I fully expect to lose this Monday to the Ravens and everyone will, once again, label us frauds. It doesn’t matter as long as we take down Atlanta and control our destiny.
I don’t expect dominance from this team. But I do expect them to take care of business when it matters most and come January it’ll be time to really hit the gas.
October 17th, 2024 at 12:29 am
That SB year with Brady had a 38-3 drubbing by NO at Home in it.
Sometimes it takes a game like that to say the Hell with that, Im putting my foot down. I think they did that in the 2nd half and it will carry over to the Baltimore game. They are definitely getting the best version of Tampa.
Will it be enough?
We are gonna find out what this team is made of.
Especially running the rock!!!!
October 17th, 2024 at 12:41 am
The Bucs are the second youngest team in the NFL. Some of these young guys didn’t ever play in a winning program – or at a big school. As Nick Saban says, you have to play to your highest standard, no matter who or when you are playing.These young players need to understand how good this team can be, they don’t have to be superman, just focus on their job. The coaching staff and vets need to do a better job with the young players, getting them to play to their own high standard on every play, every quarter, and every game.
October 17th, 2024 at 1:30 am
The Lions game was Dan Campbell’s gift to the Bucs and he admitted it. That was a loss. Making Atlanta failure so much more glaring. Jenna is spot on.
The reason for the above examples of suckitude lies at the feet of one man. If he can emerge evolved, the sky is the limit. This game against Baltimore is an excellent litmus test. Bucs defense is very unlikely to hold Lamar and friends in check. Liam has the horses and brains to match them in a shootout.
Does Todd? We will see.
October 17th, 2024 at 2:35 am
Bucs will beat Ravens in a shootout provided ME can participate. He was dragging his legged virtually the entire NO game. Watched the replay and it looked like he hurt his leg on the first offensive play which was a quick over the middle slant which gained about 12 yards.
October 17th, 2024 at 3:20 am
If it’s a shootout, Bucs are gonna need better than 55.
October 17th, 2024 at 3:25 am
Brady threw 3 picks in the game that took us to the Super Bowl. Travis Kelce screamed at Andy Reid in the first half of last years Super Bowl because they were doing so badly.
The sentiment of playing *complete* games is nice. It’s not reality at this level. Mastering bad days is what gets you championships. Saints playef a *complete* game twice to start this season. Who the hell cares now?
October 17th, 2024 at 4:37 am
Thinking of the Falcons game on their home turf, I think about the refs too. They gave the Falcons some favors at the end. That non face mask call was a huge turn of events. The Broncos game was an unsettling shock, for sure. They had lost two in a row, so when we played them they were very hungry and showed it. Recently they just lost to the Chargers.
Bruce mentioned in the Ira interview that they were going to get Mike healthy. With the entire team staying healthy, we can win the Falcons at home. First up Ravens, and then the Falcons. Those two wins should quiet all the naysayers.
October 17th, 2024 at 4:38 am
2020 Bucs were herky Jerkey all the way until the super bowl, Tom had 3 picks in the second half of the NFC Championship game. This currant team looks more put together at this point in the season than the 2020 team did 6 weeks in.
October 17th, 2024 at 5:34 am
This isn’t college with cupcake schedules
Teams aren’t dominate for 4 quarters. Win 3 of 4 quarters and keep the W’s coming
October 17th, 2024 at 6:41 am
Careful Joe. These are the points that get you mocked in this forum.
October 17th, 2024 at 7:16 am
have you seen the Bills play? way worse and considered a SB contender, even the Chiefs can be beat this year
October 17th, 2024 at 7:55 am
It’s the FIRST third of a long season. The Bucs are 4-2! Have their been hiccups?
DUH. 4-2 is EXACTLY the same record the Super Bowl team had at this point!!!
And amazingly according to one poster since that team was stuck with sucko Todd Bowles as the DC.
The SB Bucs then reeled off 2 more wins to move to 6-2 before being HUMILIATED in far worse fashion than the Bucs just B-slapped the Saints.
The Saints came into RayJay and CRUSHED the SB Bucs 38-3!!!
The Bucs “rebounded” with a win over the hapless Panthers before losing another 2 consecutive games to hit the bye at 7-5.
Then came the fantastic finish with 4 straight wins and the SB post season run.
The Bucs are getting HEALTHY! HEALTH will determine this teams future, not Todd Bowles, Coen, or Mayfield. The Bucs need ME13 but they could afford to rest him if needed and just get to the bye.
The next 4 games are the TOUGHEST part of the schedule. Beat the Falcons and all is well even if they lose the other 3, and enter the bye 5-5.
The Bucs enter those last seven games after a bye to truly heal and against the weakest part of the schedule!!! Do you really fear the Cowboys? On paper they are the toughest. 2 games against the lowly Panthers and a 2 game finish at home against the two weakest Divisional opponents.
Yeah spit happens and I get the “Don’t count your chickens” but I choose to go with another bromide from the Little Train…”I think I can, I think I can.”
Why do you think that nursery rhyme gets pounded into us in Kindergarten? Because Positive Thinking is a REAL thing! Right now it’s time to CELEBRATE!!
The Bucs have a good team and perhaps a VERY good team!!!
October 17th, 2024 at 8:08 am
JimBobBuc Says:
October 17th, 2024 at 12:41 am
^^^^^^^^^
I agree wholeheartedly, JimBob. Plus, Bucs are on their SECOND OC in the last 2 seasons!! All these NFL darlings, Ravens, Chiefs, Detroit, 49ers, etc. have had the same group coaching them for more than one season. You have to have some stability in the coaching ranks. People call it complete; I call it a perfect Bucs game Same idea. I want to see Tampa Bay do it. I also want ME13 to rest and heal, even if it means he sits out this one. BTW, Bucs did not win the NFCSo. when they won the SB in 2020. I’m nuts but I feel similar vibes to the Detroit game with this one as in a win. Hey, I’m a Bucs fan so it’s allowed. 🙂 Go Bucs!!
October 17th, 2024 at 8:11 am
*game. Same…. Hate typos but not fully awake yet.
October 17th, 2024 at 8:25 am
Bucs have the prefect opportunity this week.
Commanders who the Bucs beat easily played the Ravens and lost by one score.
Bucs will see if their run game has actually improved against a defense that allowed the Commander 50 yards on the ground with 22 of that coming from the QB.
Daniels threw for 269 with 2 TD’s so Lil B and the YAC Crew should put up 400 Plus.
Lay an egg and it will pretty much prove that without the fortune of playing the Lions on their worse day and the Commanders on their first day would be going into this game 2-4 and probably closing up shop before the Bye.
As far as pulling away from two Division foes? If the NFCS had only three teams that might be saying something. Just so happens to be one more team sitting 3-0 in that Division.
October 17th, 2024 at 8:32 am
A brutal stretch of games ahead:
Ravens on Monday night
Falcons on a short week
Chiefs on another Monday night
49ers on another short week
All coming off a hurricane/Saints week. Two wins in the next four would be pretty good. Zero wins would not be too shocking. Hopefully they come out resilient, tough, and experienced.
October 17th, 2024 at 9:08 am
I got you Joe! Coming up on Monday night. We are going to shock the league with a dominating performance against Baltimore!!
October 17th, 2024 at 9:10 am
Larrd Says:
October 17th, 2024 at 8:32 am
A brutal stretch of games ahead:
Ravens on Monday night
Falcons on a short week
Chiefs on another Monday night
This will be a historic stretch for the Bucs! We will best all of them handily!!
October 17th, 2024 at 10:16 am
When is the Buc injury report for week 7 going to be released Joe?
October 17th, 2024 at 10:30 am
We should be 5-1.
That ATL loss will come back to bite us. Mark my words.
But I agree Philly and Detroit were pretty complete games, though if we’re being honest we also had some luck in Detroit with them dropping some passes. I guess you could say the same about ATL too, even though we ultimately lost. New Orleans was about 40 minutes of good play, 20 minutes of horrendous self sabotage.
October 17th, 2024 at 10:44 am
HOW CAN YOU DISAGREE?
There’s been good and really good. But also bad.
The Broncos loss was pathetic. The Falcons loss was a coaching disaster. This team routinely “lacks motivation.” With the Falcon’s easy schedule, each loss significantly diminishes a Division Title. It’s tough to bank on a Wild Card birth.
October 17th, 2024 at 11:09 am
“”There’s been good and really good. But also bad.
The Broncos loss was pathetic. The Falcons loss was a coaching disaster. This team routinely “lacks motivation.” With the Falcon’s easy schedule, each loss significantly diminishes a Division Title. It’s tough to bank on a Wild Card birth.””
All valid concerns. Bowles deserved every drop of criticism for the Denver and ATL games. He also got many kudo’s for the Saint’s game. The key point you brought up. We can not afford to lose games like these if they want to get to where they want to go. Losses in Sept/Oct count just as much as losses in Dec.
October 17th, 2024 at 11:12 am
All NFL games and teams have ebbs and flows. The Saints game was not unusual. The only unusual game was the Cowboys/Lions game where Detroit gave the ‘Girls such an ass kicking if the the game had been a boxing match the referee would have stopped the fight.
October 17th, 2024 at 12:40 pm
jenna is a good reporter. hopefully good to you joe as i know you have stories of other media types who have not been
October 17th, 2024 at 1:51 pm
ATLBUC …I hope you’re right.