Five Things
December 23rd, 2024
Joe hates to be the Grinch with Christmas in two days, but lumps of coal are in your stockings, Bucs! With the playoffs on the line you played like you did nothing but listen to the hype and pretended the Cowboys were the Titans (emphasis on the first syllable).
So let’s get this going so you can finish holiday shopping and make sure you get a good bottle of Christmas cheer to help you forget last night.
The Grinch Stole Bucs’ Christmas — And Maybe The Season
As soon as Rachaad White fumbled on the final Bucs offensive play sealing one of the most depressing losses since the 1999 NFC Championship game, the lyrics to “The Grinch Song” spun through Joe’s head.
You’re a mean one
You really are a heel
You’re as cuddly as a cactus
You’re as charming as an eel
Mr. Grinch
Yeah, it seems the Grinch stole Christmas for Bucs fans. (Doesn’t the Grinch sort of look like ol’ shriveled-up Jerry Jones?)
Here the Bucs were flying high just after curb-stomping the Chargers, and the Cowboys had nothing to play for as they were eliminated from postseason play early Sunday. So exactly who looked like they were playing for the playoffs and who looked like they were playing for the draft?
Yup, the Bucs looked like they were playing for the draft. Really, really, really sloppy football.
Missed tackles all over the place in the first half. Dropped balls. Dropped touchdowns. Not hanging onto the ball. Awful fumbles. Sacks.
It looked like one of those worthless preseason games.
And now the Bucs may be screwed out of the playoffs. Screwed by themselves. Screwed by playing undisciplined ball. Screwed.
Joe will have a tough time enjoying Christmas. That game last night may have ruined all for which the Bucs have worked. And it may have ruined the lone season with perhaps the best Bucs offensive coordinator not named “Bucco Bruce Arians.”
Ruined maybe Lavonte David’s final season.
Ruined perhaps Mike Evans’ chase for 1,000 yards receiving.
Ruined.
Maybe.
The Bucs Are Not Clutch
The Bucs simply melted down trying to come back from the hole the defense dug in the first half. Was that really surprising?
How many clutch games did the Bucs p!ss away this year? In seven one-score games, the Bucs are 2-5.
The Bucs beat the Lions 20-16 in Week 2. Since, the Bucs have been in six one-score games. The Bucs lost five, only beating Carolina in overtime.
The Bucs are simply not a clutch team. So Joe, unfortunately, was not shocked when the Bucs fully melted down on the final drive.
The Bucs don’t win close games. The Bucs can’t handle close games. The Bucs are not clutch.
And that is why, now, the Bucs are wearing out rosaries hoping the Dixie Chicks lose a game and the Bucs can win their final two, both division games at home.
When you cannot play clutch football in close games, mistakes magnify. A penalty here, a dropped pass there, a fumble over here, a missed tackle there, are 20 times more important in a close game.
In a one-score game, one mistake can cost you. And the Bucs made plenty last night.
Time Management Fails Again
Ever since Bucs coach Todd Bowles has been with the Jets, the clock has been his enemy. That has carried over to his Bucs tenure.
For Joe, other than the Rachaad White fumble and the Jalen McMillan touchdown that was ripped out of his hands (It sure looked to Joe that McMillan hit the turf with possession), the game was lost on a timeout.
Late in the first half, the Bucs had the ball on the Cowboys-10 with 54 seconds left. The Bucs called timeout.
Joe doesn’t know if it was ordered by numbers analyst Jackie Davidson on the headset with Bowles, or it came from Bowles himself, but that timeout couldn’t have been stupider.
As soon as the Bucs called timeout (it was their final timeout of the half), Joe thought, with the Bucs defense impersonating Mike Smith’s defense and with Dallas kicker Brandon Aubrey only needing the Cowboys to get across midfield for a field goal, the Bucs should have run the clock down and not given Dallas a chance to score.
Or at the very least make Dallas call its first timeout of the half to stop the clock.
But nope, the Bucs called timeout and handed Mike McCarthy time (48 seconds and 3 timeouts) to get 30 yards so Aubrey could boot a 58-yard field goal, which is exactly what happened.
What was the final score? Oh, 26-24. You mean the Bucs lost by two? You mean the Bucs might have won if Bowles had elected to chew up clock?
What a country!
Joe wants to know how Bowles could not realize this. Or, if Davidson is such a numbers person, how could she not know this?
How many millions a year, collectively, do Bowles and Davidson earn? Yet an unemployed shoe repairman sitting in a bar three beers in could see a timeout with 54 seconds left in the half was setting up the Cowboys to score there.
Again, when teams are in close games, bad decicions are magnified. And calling timeout with 54 seconds left may have cost the Bucs the playoffs.
Easily Influenced By “Rat Poison”
Last week, Todd Bowles confidently said the white noise of talking heads and hollering shows does not affect the Bucs. He said it didn’t when they were losing and it won’t while they are winning.
Last night, did it appear the Bucs’ heads were somewhere else in the first half?
Even though Bowles confidently proclaimed the Bucs are not influenced by the outside world, the very next day outside linebacker YaYa Diaby told Joe the team very much believed its press clippings early in the season and that’s exactly why the Bucs had their arses handed to them by the Broncos.
We live in a different world than when Bowles played in the 1980s and 1990s. Back then, you almost had to try to find sports chatter. Sure, there was BSPN but rarely did the four-letter have talk shows. It was mostly games and news.
There was no internet, no blogs, no podcasts and limited sports radio. Now? It’s everywhere and players can’t escape it unless they are single, don’t have phones or internet, or are social loners and do nothing else but go home after a day at One Buc Palace and stare at the four walls of their apartments.
So while Bowles may think (or portray the image) that his players are not prone to talking heads and podcast chatter about the team, that’s simply unrealistic.
And it’s sad that several on this team are so gullible to the “rat poison” and let it take over their heads. That sure seemed to be the case in Dallas.
When The Bucs Don’t Score First…
This is a sad stat and makes Joe wonder if, as Lavonte David would say, it’s all about mentality.
When the Bucs score first, the Bucs are 8-1. When the Bucs don’t score first they are 0-6.
Joe has no idea why this is. Are the Bucs so weak mentally that they panic or collapse even when the opponent kicks a field goal to go up 3-0?
Are the Bucs mentally not capable of playing catch-up? That’s impossible to believe with their offense.
Something is not wired right if a team cannot win a game without scoring first. Hell, the Bucs damn near got to the NFC title game last year and then-offensive coordinator Dave Canales’ offense never scored a touchdown on an opening drive.
Now the Bucs have the second-best offensive coordinator they’ve ever had and they often score on their first drive. But if they can’t score first they can’t rally?
That’s just really weird.
December 23rd, 2024 at 2:55 am
This team is an psychological nightmare of flippant two faced mendacious leadership
December 23rd, 2024 at 3:31 am
It’s a play not to lose mindset Joe. I wonder where that’s permeating from.
December 23rd, 2024 at 4:30 am
Thanks guys, a win today was the only thing I was going to be the only Christmas gift I would be getting. Most of the time we could not win a game if the other teams janitors and hot dog vendors were on the field playing.
December 23rd, 2024 at 4:39 am
Now we can shut up about the playoffs and being the hot team going into January.
This was the Defense we watched painfully for most of the year.
That pass rush was non existent; The offense was offensive.
I expect we lose one of the remaining and then we can watch the actually good team this Christmas season. Ones that when its time to go off; show up.
And again this team finds a way to blow it on primetime TV.
December 23rd, 2024 at 4:44 am
It’s a Todd Bowles life.
December 23rd, 2024 at 5:07 am
That timeout had me texting my son we just handed them at least a FG why the timeout? Bowles being bowles I call it.
Definitely should have let McCarthy burn his first timeout there. Maybe that would have burned an extra 10 seconds. Perhaps a lot more of the Bucs played it with enough deception.–Joe
Bucs came out for this game like they just had to show up for the win. I don’t get how they came out so flat for another prime time game. I do remember Bowles telling the team after the L.A. win see you all Wedsday. He gave them an extra day off this week, it made them soft for this game, not rested. Todd did not press the right buttons this week, his team wasn’t prepared yet again for the national spot light. We lost all our prime time matchups this season, sad.
December 23rd, 2024 at 5:23 am
The team is reflecting the head coach; not clutch and not focused yet again under the national spotlight. The Glazers demanded progress from Coach Bowles this season, it is obvious now that the team continually makes the same mistakes over and over again so perhaps it is time for the Glazers to start planning for life after Bowles unless the Bucs get a lot of help and manage to make the playoffs and win a game, not likely from what I saw last night. Bucs will be lucky to beat Carolina next week and will need a big assist from the Commanders.
December 23rd, 2024 at 5:25 am
There is only ONE thing that will keep me as a fan and that is a press conference to announce Todd Bowles’ departure TODAY. After 50 years I am truly ready to turn my back. Too much is more than enough. The Glazers need to show fortitude for the entire team to get the message.
December 23rd, 2024 at 5:33 am
Joe, all the (good) points you make here are the telling signs of incompetence from the HC!
Who is responsible for the clock management? The HC!
Who is responsible for having the team prepared to play such an important game? The HC!!
Who is responsible for the tone and mentality of a team? The HC!!!
Does this look like a playoff team? No, it doesn’t! And we can continue to wait and believe in all that talk of “we are just a few pieces away from a SB push” but the crude truth is that Todd is nothing but a middle of the road HC with an overhyped ability to call a Defense (top shelf DCs have their Ds consistently choking the opponent, not only a couple of times a season between shameful “WR wide open” strings of games)
December 23rd, 2024 at 5:37 am
If the Glazers don’t set the tone and fire Bowles TODAY they are admitting to accepting poor effort and mediocrity.
Were my instincts right after the Denver loss that the NFL is rigged and the show is nothing but Kayfabe ?
December 23rd, 2024 at 5:40 am
The bucs did listen to the hype…most of it printed here
December 23rd, 2024 at 5:59 am
Mentally weak like most of these fans. This was a good thing if you are in the “want Bowles gone” crowd. Embrace the suck, next year will be here before you know it. A late season collapse will make for an interesting offseason.
December 23rd, 2024 at 6:04 am
Enjoy the five things! You are definitely on to some patterns. Night games have been beyond difficult, scoring early vs not scoring early, rat poison noise, et al.
December 23rd, 2024 at 6:14 am
Fire Bowles. That defense is atrocious. Every qb we gave plays like a young Payton manning. Compass rush. Open down the middle for twenty yards at will. Clock management. Ugh.
December 23rd, 2024 at 6:15 am
No pass rush. Players open down the middle… stupid phone.
December 23rd, 2024 at 6:19 am
Joe, that time out was coaching malpractice, I said it when it happened “why call that timeout?” JOE, PLEASE ask Todd “how we are improving our time management FUNDAMENTALS!?!?!?!”
December 23rd, 2024 at 6:19 am
Todd Bowles fell into this job. He was forced upon the Glazers by the Kangol Hat as the Glazers weren’t about to hire Leftnut. He was never the best coach for the job. The Glazer’s hands were tied. They had to give Bowles a chance and he did just enough to get a second chance. It is likely that the Glazers would have been scraping the bottom of the barrel of coaching candidates as always if they fired Bowles and the merry-go-round would never stop.
The situation has changed. Coen wants to be here and is legitimate as a head coaching candidate. MAKE HIM HEAD COACH TODAY !!
December 23rd, 2024 at 6:27 am
2 more weeks n radio is gone. Finally turn the page on Mr. 500
December 23rd, 2024 at 6:29 am
This may be all for the best. Had the Bucs won last night and continued on into the post season it would have been difficult for ownership to fire Bowles even though he clearly needs to go. The players likely know that. Perhaps that knowledge contributed to the lack of effort.
December 23rd, 2024 at 6:40 am
For most the game cowboys outplayed and outcoached us. There were calls that
I thought New York and on field refs should have taken a look at. We did not take a wounded CeeDee Lamb out of the game. They negated LVD blitzes some of which seemed to be high and low blocks that I thought were illegal. But
our makeshift secondary did not make enough plays period. Can’t really blame that on Bowles. Now giving the ball back to the other team with time to win the game is a mistake that Todd has yet to learn from, IMO. Can’t predict the future, but if we get in the playoffs then Jason then needs to have a sitdown with Todd at
sooner rather than later about this.
December 23rd, 2024 at 6:45 am
Joe says: “ When the Bucs score first, the Bucs are 8-1. When the Bucs don’t score first they are 0-6.”
This is why I walked away from the TV after that first drive. That and two dropped passes and a holding call.
It’s not that I am not a fan, it’s just knowing when you are wasting your time.
December 23rd, 2024 at 7:01 am
Honestly, Sterling Sharp’s two dropped balls in Q1 lost us this game.
Momentum killer. Sterling was definitely NOT sharp.
December 23rd, 2024 at 7:03 am
Ahhh… allow all the Bowles haters to feast on an excuse on why the Bucs didn’t win this game. We’re going to hang this game on Bowles? Because of his time management at the end of the first half because it lead to 3 points? Smh. Because you think if Bowles doesn’t give up 3 points there the game plays out EXACTLY how it did and we win 24-23!? You’re joking right? That’s how football is played? There are times I cannot believe I’m reading these articles.
Lets really break down what loss this game. Defense isn’t good, that’s not Bowles fault necessarily, it’s called not having enough talent to really execute as a top 10 defense. No, it didn’t turn a corner after that Chargers game, it’s the same defense it has been all year, the difference, Cowboys figured out the blitz in the first half, Chargers didn’t. Oh, and Dallas has a guy named Lamb. To the defenses credit, they stifled the run and held Dallas to predominantly kicking field goals, so DESPITE all the struggles the O-line and this offense had, kicking fields goals is what kept the game within reach. Oh, and Bowles DREADFUL defense came up with 4-straight defensive stops, no points allowed! Yet it was Coen, Baker and this offense who only came away with 7 points from those stops, to include the final drive. Can we focus more on that JBF instead of Bowles calling a time out at the end of the first half as the reason we lost this game?
December 23rd, 2024 at 7:22 am
This team really is bipolar.
December 23rd, 2024 at 7:23 am
1st drive set the tone as usual. No pass rush, wide open receiver 10 yards over the middle. Boom, boom, boom, points. Never really bothered the chubby back up QB all that much and when he did finally throw it to our guy he…….dropped it, DARN!!!! Not ready, again. Gave last weeks glorious win right back. I always thought the tie goes to the runner, just not this week. Severe disappointment. Gonna shake it off, Merry Christmas everybody.
December 23rd, 2024 at 7:33 am
Thanks Joe for an honest opinion.
December 23rd, 2024 at 7:45 am
Man, you guys fighting for the Jackie Davidson job? Or you just don’t like her? If you KNOW she’s calling timeouts on Todd’s behalf I get it. But if you guys are just calling her name so much this season for no good reason…then what the heck? You call her out .ore than the 2ndry coaches. You call her out more than the receivers coach who obviously never taught McMillan to hold onto balls. Do you KNOW she’s making Todd call bad timeouts?
Or you just smacking her name around for fun? Don’t like her?
Don’t understand the ridiculous exaggeration. The archives are here for all to see. –Joe
I’ve read her name a LOT this season. She’s about to reach Rachel Watson mention status…Kay Adam’s is still higher this season. Y’all need to start charging Jackie rent for being in your head so much LOL. 🙄
December 23rd, 2024 at 7:50 am
So what is our position in the draft? That’s all we have left to look forward to
December 23rd, 2024 at 8:01 am
I said I’d shut up and root for the team until after the season, so I will. But I saw a loss like this coming, especially after the Chargers win. It’s a Todd Bowles team—this is what they do: play up to the good teams, down to the bad ones. Lose games they shouldn’t, win games they shouldn’t. Consistently inconsistent.
December 23rd, 2024 at 8:01 am
Yes gut punch for sure … I believe dropping the two to Atlanta is the bigger reason we ain’t going to the playoffs.
December 23rd, 2024 at 8:06 am
Anyone expecting a different outcome last night is blindly ignorant of Buc history.
Once again, the Bucs read their own hyped headlines.
December 23rd, 2024 at 8:13 am
10-7 will get a playoff slot.
December 23rd, 2024 at 8:19 am
Bowles….when Bucs do not score first they have a problem to keep it close as Bowles likes. Simply his way of it. Now they can win out and still come in second place if the Falcons also win out. He will always fall twards .500. Just look at his record. As long as he is HC It may be 8, 9, or even 10 wins but always trend to the .500 record. Now it comes down to The dreaded Stanks. If the Bucs are heavy favorites they prolly lose. That is life in The Bowles Zone.
December 23rd, 2024 at 8:20 am
“And it may have ruined the lone season with perhaps the best Bucs offensive coordinator not named “Bucco Bruce Arians.””
There’s an easy and logical solution to this – Launch Bowles, hire Coen. Problem Solved.
December 23rd, 2024 at 8:25 am
Everything the team does is a reflection of the coach. He’s the only coach that Brady had a losing record with. The division was so weak we won it going 8-9. We’ve been limping in every year since. Bowles is a 9-8 coach, wildly inconsistent and never able to capitalize on opportunities to be a contender. I’ve said this several times…..defensive “gurus” make life miserable for rookie and back up QBs…..Bowles makes them look like pro bowlers.
December 23rd, 2024 at 8:38 am
Cowboys played tough all night with hard hitting on their home fiield. Injuries in back end of defense have punished Bucs. Winfield before latest injury struggled all year.
Needed some inside quick slants to slow down Cowboys blitzes. Thought Coen reacted slowly to the obvious pressure on Mayfield.
December 23rd, 2024 at 8:46 am
CobraBoy is right. Everyone predicting a Bucs victory in primetime = a loss 99% of the time. I hate it, but it’s the truth. Bucs do better when flying under the radar.
December 23rd, 2024 at 8:49 am
Gipper – Fully agree.
Citrus, don’t give up on the Bucs especially after all these years. Better days are coming. We could win the next two games. 🏈
December 23rd, 2024 at 9:15 am
Citrus county didn’t give up on the Bucs he gave up on Todd Bowles and Gipper you sound insanely delusional. I would love to know how people brainwash themselves into believing anything they want. Injuries is the excuse lol the same defense that’s been lights out the past 4 games? They gave up 23 points to cooper Rush in the first half and e we played catch up to the freaking Dallas cowboys
December 23rd, 2024 at 9:35 am
The primary problem is indicted in almost all of the five things above and Jason (who was on the sideline) and the Glazers know it.
December 23rd, 2024 at 9:45 am
Where did Joe type that?
It is a legitimate question to ask why she/Bowles made that decision. She’s on the headset with Bowles live during the game helping with time management (and analytics). That was a critical, costly, maybe playoff-killing decision.
If Joe is going to critique assistants (who are also on the headset with Bowles), why should the person who is on the headset with Bowles be above critique when she was part of such a bonehead error?
(Joe has only talked to her twice, briefly. She seems like an awesome person. But if she’s going to be involved in critical live game decisions, why should she be shielded unlike the rest of the Bucs’ staff?)
Joe typed an entire story about McMillan not hanging onto catches. Where is the full story Joe typed about Davidson? You won’t find it, though Joe did type a story about Bowles (?) calling timeout.
December 23rd, 2024 at 9:47 am
Yet he let 23 of the most important seconds of the game run off the clock to save his precious timeout. We could’ve ran 2 plays before the two minute warning but he wasted them. When your team struggled all game long every second counts
December 23rd, 2024 at 10:22 am
Todd Bowles is the one playing off umbrella zone coverage for 75% of the game also Bucs comeback got robbed at the end by another White Fumble. Oh and Mcmillan not holding onto the ball… Oh and Todd Bowles allowing 26 points to another backup QB who had his career high numbers in the first half and his 2nd Career high game. The only other one with more yards is in garbage time numbers in a loss against Houston 34-10 this year. No one thought the Cowboys with Cooper Rush would score 26 trying to blame anyone but Bowles here is rediculous… Scheme tackling coverage whatever that’s unacceptable defensive performance especially for a defensive minded coach…