Pro Bowl Versus Practice Squad
October 27th, 2024
Joe is writing this up partly to call attention to the iconic JoeBucsFan.com photographer.
The young man is legendary and he snapped the photo above today. It’s a picture of Baker Mayfield’s first of two red zone interceptions — a failed flea-flicker target to backup receiver Ryan Miller, who spent September practice squad.
Miller got two hands on the ball, as did Pro Bowl safety Jessie Bates, who had six interceptions last season. Miller has one career catch.
Guess who came down with it? It was Bates, and that helped crush the Bucs’ hopes of taking the NFC South division lead. It also was Bates who punched the football out of the hands of rookie running back Bucky Irving three weeks ago to seal a Falcons win.
The Bucs’ need their defensive stars to make more plays like Bates has.
SHAKE & BATES ♨️
FOX | NFL+ pic.twitter.com/QAX2oXjS2z
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) October 27, 2024
October 27th, 2024 at 9:00 pm
Now we blaming receivers lol
October 27th, 2024 at 9:02 pm
Next man up.
Can’t give up ‘half the team’ to get a WR, just grab any scrub off the PS and bring them in!
October 27th, 2024 at 9:03 pm
ENOUGH OF THIS NONSENSE.
START KYLE TRASK!
October 27th, 2024 at 9:04 pm
Liam called that play with his least experienced receiver as primary target against the Falcons best defender. Then Baker threw a pass that ME13 would’ve caught. But not a bartender.
October 27th, 2024 at 9:05 pm
But, Todd is great. Todd is good. Todd bless the Buccaneers.
October 27th, 2024 at 9:07 pm
The generally accepted rule is, if a WR gets his hands on it he should come down with it. Miller has to know he either has to catch that or break or the INT
October 27th, 2024 at 9:10 pm
Let’s be realistic Todd Bowles is just wasting our talent he will not get us anywhere I guarantee it
October 27th, 2024 at 9:23 pm
The trolls male these message boards great. Start Trask LOL.
October 27th, 2024 at 9:30 pm
Fire Bowles and permanently retire the creamsicle uniforms.
October 27th, 2024 at 9:31 pm
Baker is NOT making good decisions. I’m not saying start trask but baker throwing picks is why we lost l these last 2 games. Don’t give me oh it’s the defense faults. Yes they play like cat puke. Our team is not good enough to over come these turnovers. When baker doesn’t turn the ball over we are 4-0.
October 27th, 2024 at 9:32 pm
As for Ryan Miller why didn’t he fight for the ball? He just gave up. Also, will someone please explain to me the reason Rahim Jarrett isn’t starting over a scared to get hit Trey Palmer? Jarrett is a clone of Chris Godwin. Im so disappointed in him Trey Palmer. He’s another former bust Jaden Darden. Why isn’t Sean Tucker starting. He’s big, fast and hard to bring down. Contrary to RWhite, he gets to the first down marker pronto. Why not put 4.4 tightend Devin Culp in the game in the red zone to box out with his speed n height. Some of our problems falls on bad coaching n lack of creativity. JTS is pure garbage. We need a pass rushing DE.
October 27th, 2024 at 9:33 pm
Memo to Baker— Miller Is NOT Mike Evans
October 27th, 2024 at 9:33 pm
OK so let me get this right Atlanta Falcons don’t have a defense but their players are where they’re supposed to be? theirZone didn’t have as many “communication” issues as ours
October 27th, 2024 at 9:33 pm
Amazing photo, taken with a potato.
October 27th, 2024 at 9:40 pm
Suit up the male cheerleaders as linebackers….I would say tight ends but theyre not so tight back at their end anymore, i would guess….boy have we become something lol
October 27th, 2024 at 9:59 pm
It was a bad pass. You don’t throw a flea flicker against Bates w/ Miller. That isn’t ME13 over there. Just check it down, run it or chuck it out of bounds.
OR throw that damn ball far enough and to the sideline to avoid Bates and the other DB peeling off to attack the ball dropping into Millers hands clean. That’s the diff between QB elevating their game and ball placement vs Shake N Bake.
October 27th, 2024 at 10:13 pm
We have become what we use to be. Like the old saying. What’s new is old what’s old is new. We are back to the old again.
October 27th, 2024 at 10:21 pm
So the point is Bucs defense sucks? Agreed
October 27th, 2024 at 10:42 pm
Neither Evans nor Godwin lets the DB come down with that.
Just sayin.
It could have been thrown a little better too, but WR has to fight for that.
October 27th, 2024 at 10:45 pm
You know how many points ATL scored off those 2 INTs today?
Zero.
I’m not absolving Baker as we needed points instead of turnovers, but those didn’t end up giving ATL any points.
Last week we lost cuz the defense was straight trash.
October 27th, 2024 at 10:47 pm
unbelievable Says:
October 27th, 2024 at 10:42 pm
Neither Evans nor Godwin lets the DB come down with that.
————-
I think they might have knocked the ball down, but that is a pass that should never be thrown in that situation. It wasn’t 3rd down, the Bucs were moving the ball without any issues, it was a puzzling call, and a much worse pass.
October 27th, 2024 at 10:56 pm
Dave pear again Todd’s fault for baker’s throw closet raciest
October 27th, 2024 at 10:57 pm
I know we are not in the best of moods after this game. I know we were all hoping our Bucs would win and take the division lead. But there are bright sides to these last two losses. Our Bucs fought until the end in both games. That shows the team is bonded and willing to continue to fight. Good gosh we scored 108 points against the Saints, Ravens and Falcons. No one is giving up ! I believe good things are going to happen !!
Hopefully Todd, Liam and coaches can get us back on the right track to execute better and possibly win against the Chiefs in Arrowhead and/ or the 49ers in Tampa.
Go Bucs !!
October 27th, 2024 at 11:01 pm
That’s what I’m saying Rod. WR has to put up a fight.
It’s not like it was that far off. Weird okay design tho and poor execution.
October 27th, 2024 at 11:02 pm
*play design
October 27th, 2024 at 11:11 pm
Learn from it and move on,,, bad play , bad throw , bad catch attempt ,,,
Bowles kicking a FG when he should have went for it ,, runs a fake punt when he should have punted or at least let baker try ,,, Baker gives everything he’s got and at times it comes with ints,,, but again,, it’s not why they are losing ,, Mahomes has what 8 or 9 ints and they haven’t lost yet . (Spags vs Bowles)
October 27th, 2024 at 11:19 pm
We lose the next two…..all good, lot of games left…we’re getting it together on the O….the D side needs a new commander!
October 27th, 2024 at 11:35 pm
As long as ‘Swiss cheese’ runs the defense the Bucs are in trouble.
October 27th, 2024 at 11:48 pm
unbelievable – Yeah, but you can’t expect a practice squad guy to play like a future 1st ballot HOFer and a guy who was leading the lead in receiving this year and is a former ALL-PRO.
Saying Miller should have knocked the ball out of his hands is a bit much.
It’s all on Baker for throwing that and not having any awareness of the situation. That is a pass that never should have been thrown, the guy wasn’t open, and he’s a scrub.
October 27th, 2024 at 11:54 pm
Ironically, neither of the interceptions ended up as points for Atlanta. In fact, one ended up as two points for us. Yes, we don’t want interceptions. But that’s not why we lost this game.
October 27th, 2024 at 11:56 pm
Or Rod…. the ball should have had better placement like deeper and to the sideline, dropping in the bucket. Not having the WR to have to come back and out fight a pro-bowl safety for the ball.
But I agree, Baker has to make better decisions. I’d like to see the All-22s on that play and see what else was there. Bates was a beast today and considering playing short-handed, Baker has to be more careful.
October 28th, 2024 at 12:02 am
“When baker doesn’t turn the ball over we are 4-0”
That’s is basically saying it takes baker playing perfect to overcome this D.
Packers, rams, Texans, bills and chiefs all won despite their qb turning the ball over. Wanna know why??? Not one of those defenses gave up more than 27 points. And most of those qbs didn’t put up 330 yards and 3 tds while turning the ball over.
Baker has had some bad picks. But if the d helps, the team can win without requiring him to be perfect. Without his top weapons.
October 28th, 2024 at 12:25 am
Yes Baker threw picks.
Not the reason they lost.
Todd Bowles and his horrific defense and decision making is.
The fake punt.
The FG instead of going for it.
The bad time management at the end of the game. Same song, different day. This is a Todd Bowles trademark.
Britt still not benched. He held Funderburk accountable, but Britt is a total liability every damn game. Yet he continues to start.
DL dropping in coverage – WTF – all the while Cousins has enough time for milk and cookies back there.
October 28th, 2024 at 3:04 am
Terrible decision by the QB. Throwing to a nobody into triple coverage. Go ahead and throw that ball if its to Calvin Johnson or Randy moss they may come down with it. But this unproven player is just dumb
October 28th, 2024 at 5:39 am
Steven007 … ‘Ironically, neither of the interceptions ended up as points for Atlanta.’
Very true, but INTs halt a drive in its tracks and potentially cost YOU points. Those 2 INTs probably cost us at least 6 points, maybe 10 or even 14.
It was the other 2 turnovers that really screwed us (Falcons scored 14 points off of those 2 TOs AND we ended up losing potential points).
Our defense is mediocre at best, but it actually played good enough to win if not for the 4 turnovers. Explosive plays killed us once again, but about half of those would’ve never existed if not for the field situations created by those turnovers. We beat ourselves once again.
October 28th, 2024 at 5:53 am
StormyInFL … ‘Britt still not benched. He held Funderburk accountable, but Britt is a total liability every damn game. Yet he continues to start.’
Wish Bucs could bench Britt, but we painted ourselves in a corner with ILBs. A blind man could see this past Spring what a weak link that position group was gonna be, yet we did NOTHING to shore it up. Same thing with our CB group; once we lost Bryce Hall after Game 1 that group was totally dependent on very shallow depth (Funderburk is no where ready for Prime Time).
Our lack of depth is totally on our Front Office. Not just in the ILB & CB position groups, but also the DLine & OLBs. We’re getting exactly what we paid for. We ponied up for McDonald’s hamburgers expecting to get Bern’s filet mignon. Duh
October 28th, 2024 at 6:05 am
StormyInFL … ‘The bad time management at the end of the game. Same song, different day. This is a Todd Bowles trademark.’
The bad time management at the end of the game, with no time outs left, was totally on Baker Mayfield Stormy. You don’t run a 1-minute drill with no time-outs & 64 yards to go by throwing to the middle of the field. Well, unless you’re driving for FG territory to tie it or win it I suppose.
We needed a TD & had a long way to go. Bucs got the ball at our own 36-yard line with 1:01 to go & 5 points down. We actually ran 8 plays & gained a total of 26 yards … 3 completed passes inbounds for 31 yards (that ate 46 seconds), plus 4 Incomplete passes and 1 False Start penalty. Sorry, but THAT time management is on Baker (and yes, somewhat on Coen).
October 28th, 2024 at 6:24 am
Not sure which is worse, flea flicker to a practice squad player that was not open or Da Bears giving the ball to a lineman on the goal line, 😢
October 28th, 2024 at 7:54 am
Toad is garbage
October 28th, 2024 at 10:22 am
That flea flicker was designed for Mike Evans.
Evans goes up and fights for that ball.
He catches it or knocks it away, rarely loses a contested ball.
Coen had no business calling that for Miller.
October 28th, 2024 at 10:50 am
the injuries at linebacker and db are proving costly. we’ve got guys who may be talented but have no experience out there and you can see the difference in the points given up stat line.
October 28th, 2024 at 11:38 am
I expect the Bucs safeties will grade out terribly AGAIN.
Bates was a monster
October 28th, 2024 at 11:42 am
Just found it. Winfield’s play has been so bad. Whitehead was a 70 so better this game.
Bottom 5
1. CB Funderburk 30
2. OLB Braswell 40.2
3. OLB Nelson 46.8
4. FS Winfield 47.5
5. OLB JTS 53.4
October 28th, 2024 at 11:51 am
a backup has 2 problems, first their game has limits, which is why they are backups.
secondly, they dont have enough playing time to adapt to the game at this level.
2 or 3 starters hurt is not an issue, 7 or 8 is.
we should be thankful its not worse. injury prevention must move up in our prioritization
October 28th, 2024 at 12:29 pm
a third issue with inexperience is discipline. some players may have the talent, thats why they are on the team, but are ok with lapses because they got away with it at a lower level due to talent.
professonalism is when you reach an attitude of wanting to eliminate lapses so your performance is more consistent
October 28th, 2024 at 1:34 pm
JBBUCS_06 Says:
October 27th, 2024 at 11:56 pm
Or Rod…. the ball should have had better placement like deeper and to the sideline, dropping in the bucket.
———–
From the TV view, and behind the QB angle, it certainly didn’t appear like Miller was open, no matter the placement. From the quick, in game replay, it looked more like the deep receiver might have been open, but also Baker might not have had enough time to deliver the ball before the player ran out of field.
The ALL22 will show it better, but it certainly appeared to me like Baker should have checked it down if he had an option, or just threw it away. I’m all for being aggressive and letting your superstar WR’s make a play there, but Miller is a practice squad scrub, not Mike Evans, and Baker should understand that most basic concept.
Overall I’m not all that down on Baker, but that was a stupid play.
October 28th, 2024 at 3:03 pm
It highlights the difference between NFL starters and the giant drop off to “next man up” starters.
The receivers did well. That ball was a 50/50 ball that NFL starters come down with. The starter did come down with it.
As has been pointed out, the turnovers did not result in any points. This particular turnover DID kill a scoring opportunity. This WAS partly on the receiver. The receiver is responsible for this well positioned jump ball. Baker can’t check down because the receiver hasn’t shown the consistency, he has to DEVELOP the ability to be an answer for the QB. If his hands were on it and he had position, Baker SHOULD be able to expect the receiver to do his part.
Tough loss, put us firmly in a tough spot in the playoff run, but our receivers ARE being sorted out. Can’t remember too many games, or stretches of games, where we are without our two STARTING receiver stars. That is NOT on Baker.
What was on Baker we’re reading the defense. He assumed that the defenders would dig on both throws, but neither did. They are noticing tendencies Baker has developed, and they’re adjusting to show something the coverage doesn’t typically do. That is on him, it’s happened in several games against athletic DB’s and he’s got to start expecting it.
All in all, the offense did there job in this game.