A Common Denominator On Bucs’ Two Big Mistakes
January 16th, 2025
Rookie mistakes happen.
Joe wrote last week about how much different and intense playoff games are over regular season games.
Joe spoke with a couple of Bucs players who had their first taste of playoff action last year and who were mentally ready for a playoff game last weekend.
Postseason games really are that much more intense, they told Joe, and even little mistakes are magnified. Each said it’s hard to really grasp the intensity unless someone has already played in a playoff game.
For rookies, an intense playoff game is usually an eye-opener, Joe was told.
Boy, were they ever right about how much bigger small mistakes are in the playoffs.
Take the Bucs on offense Sunday. The botched handoff between Baker Mayfield and wide receiver Jalen McMillan in a four-point game on a jet-sweep from the Bucs-15 turned into a disaster. Washington recovered and later scored a go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
Then there was Graham Barton’s premature snap that blew up a Bucky Irving run on third-and-one from the Commandos-12.
Irving got dropped for a two-yard loss as the early snap caught the Bucs’ offensive line off guard and Bucs coach Todd Bowles kicked a field goal to tie the game.
So Mayfield and McMillan screwed up a handoff when it looked like a big play might pop. Then on the next possession, Barton didn’t have the correct snap count. (Yes, Joe knows Barton was trying to catch Washington off guard and draw a penalty — not a dumb idea. Problem was, the zebras didn’t see the penalty.)
What do those plays have in common? Rookies.
As Joe likes to say, rookies play like rookies because they are rookies.
January 16th, 2025 at 10:21 am
I still love this rookie class. Barton, Bucky , McMillian ,Culp, Braswell i forget the rookies name in the defensive back field but he played teally good when healthy. I hope Klien can turn into a good Guard also. He looked good in preseason so if nothing else he should gove us a solid backup. With this rookie class and the previous year ( YaYa and Kamcey) came on strong at the end of the year to show growth also.
January 16th, 2025 at 10:21 am
Jayden Daniels was a rookie and had no issue 🙁
January 16th, 2025 at 10:23 am
Why is Bowles still coaching like a rookie then?
Riddle me that Joe.
January 16th, 2025 at 10:28 am
Daniels had no issues cuz he was going up against a sorry defense, but rookies will grow and be better next year, one difference between a rookie like Jalen and a vet and leader like baker, Jalen said it was a miscommunication between me and baker, baker took full blame for the fumble and everyone blamed baker only for the fumble but that fumble was on both of them. Offense is going to be great next year, upgrade the defense and this team could be dangerous next year
January 16th, 2025 at 10:31 am
Very impressed with the rookie class this year. Especially Barton, he had his fair share of rookie center holding flags and the botched 3rd down play, but overall he was getting to the second level during run plays and played physical, showing great athleticism. He’s gonna shine each year he is in the league.
January 16th, 2025 at 10:36 am
Rookie class is very impressive, but Shepard should have been running the jet sweep with McMillan blocking. No reason to put a rookie, who already had dropped a gimme pass, in that situation!
January 16th, 2025 at 10:38 am
Firing off good articles about these things and being met with commenters shoehorning in a far from original Bowles take has gotta be killing the Joes.
January 16th, 2025 at 10:39 am
A rookie coach gets 10 wins? Not too shabby.
January 16th, 2025 at 10:40 am
Nah, man! Sometimes Joe even hears that some readers love the comments. 🙂 Seriously.
January 16th, 2025 at 10:41 am
That’s a bit of a stretch.
January 16th, 2025 at 10:44 am
The rookies definitely hurt us in the end but all promising if not star players in the making. And all our young guys have playoff experience which is great for the future.
These rookies, this team was built by Jason Licht. Not without help but he is the primary architect and deserves credit for the Bucs sustained success.
Anyone see the media or people in Philly praising Sirianni for the success of the Eagles? Nope, they credit and talk ad nauseum about Howie Roseman and the team he has built. The Bucs are no different. Licht built a top 5 OL, drafted Evans Godwin, and now Bucky. He has missed on some D pieces but he has built through the DL first.
Bowles can get credit for maintaining a strong locker room culture, best thing he does. Difference for us from Philly is that Bowles loses 5 of 6 in the middle of season and gets to finish vs the Panthers to save himself. Siranni loses 6 of 7 end of season and almost gets canned because people know he has a top shelf roster and they deserve better. So they change coordinators and could be in NFC champ game next week.
Sirianni has an OC and a DC… Bowles needs the same. He can’t do 2 jobs. He’s back, I’ve accepted that, fine but he needs to make changes and he needs 2025 results! Results are him coaching a clean divisional round playoff game next year. Clean means if we lose it wasn’t because of him and things could have went either way. Anything less and we wasted a season and he’s gone.
January 16th, 2025 at 11:01 am
Steven #55 Says:
January 16th, 2025 at 10:21 am
Jayden Daniels was a rookie and had no issue 🙁
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Daniels had a lot of help from the officiating team, several ‘bad’ calls/non calls that extended drives. As bad as they played, the defense played well enough to win, if the game was called evenly.
January 16th, 2025 at 11:03 am
Want to talk about another rookie mistake? first drive of the game mcmillan drops an easy pass that would have been a first down. we then settle for a field goal a couple plays later. sickening.
January 16th, 2025 at 11:14 am
Another common denominator: running plays. Going into the game, I expected the Bucs to run all over a reputedly weak Commanders run defense. Didn’t happen. Granted the limited possession time, the rushing game was not there; with the same limitations of time, the passing game was almost impeccable. What happened to the “three-headed monster” we featured during the season? White and Tucker were absent. Were the coaches captivated with Buckymania? (I like Bucky, but not for every situation; the variety was key during the season.) Why, in the key play of the game, was the carry assigned to a rookie receiver who never ran an admittedly complex play before? From replays, he did not seem to know where he was going or what he was doing. Had he even practiced it? I’m not blaming the players. The offensive coordinator was a rookie, too.
January 16th, 2025 at 11:27 am
This losing at games we should be winning happened many times throughout the year. It was a very weird season and they say no one is a rookie at the end of the season, so I don’t know how we continually beat ourselves with the roster and coaches we have.
January 16th, 2025 at 11:27 am
The biggest common denominator:
Inability to address the defense properly over the past two seasons.
It is no one’s fault…the Bucs had to build around Baker Mayfield to assure his success. We had a decimated offensive line. Not fixing it would have prevented Baker from succeeding.
Addressing other offensive roles were a priority too.
Given the cap issues, injuries, and the above, the defense had to suffer. People can blame Bowles until they are blue in the face, but it is what it is. Facts are facts.
Given the depleted defense, I think Bowles made the most of it.
He deserves to stay. This year.
But…if I were the owners, I would insist on a DC coming in too.
January 16th, 2025 at 11:32 am
interesting….i agree shep should have been running that jet sweep with baker, in hindsight
January 16th, 2025 at 11:54 am
After watching the replay 100 times of the fumble heard round the world. Some blame to go around? No, Mayfield put the ball on the ground. He took responsibility and should. I might not like the play call but it looked like it would have really popped if they’d have executed it properly. But the folks around here saying Baker choked… well, they still don’t know what kind of QB we have.
January 16th, 2025 at 12:50 pm
Baker Mayfield is a very good QB who still makes mistakes sometimes. If he can tighten up his game he just might become great. I love the guy. He is ours, for now anyway.
Go Bucs!
January 16th, 2025 at 1:42 pm
I’ve been watching “Tyreek Hill-Jet sweep cut ups” on you tube.. It shows the Kansas City Chiefs running the jet sweep in 6 different games. Each time Tyreek is 2.5 yards off the ball not 4-4.5 like McMillan was. Mahomes didnt reach at all he turned and Tyreek was tight in his back pocket, Baker did. Tyreek was running completely parallel with the line of scrimmage, McMillan was not. When KC ran all 6 times their were 2 words that came to mind they were quick and precise. When we ran it Sunday it was semi-quick but precise did not happen.
To run a JET sweep 4 things have to happen. The runner can be no more than 2.5-3 yards off the ball, 2-the runner has to be in the quarterbacks back pocket when he turns with the ball, 3-the runner has to be running parallel to the line of scrimmage and 4-the quarterback has to time the hand-off EXACTLY when the runner is right at his back foot.
If those 4 things happen the play works great. They didn’t happen Sunday, wasn’t even close.
January 16th, 2025 at 1:58 pm
In fact Hill is so tight each time to Mahomes once he gets the ball he has to take a quick step back to keep from running into Mahomes
January 16th, 2025 at 2:11 pm
On Barton’s premature snap-
The replay shows Washington lineman jumped offsides during the hard count and that’s when Barton snapped the ball – the refs blew the call.
January 16th, 2025 at 2:27 pm
What it is Says:
January 16th, 2025 at 1:42 pm
I’ve been watching “Tyreek Hill-Jet sweep cut ups” on you tube.. It shows the Kansas City Chiefs running the jet sweep in 6 different games.
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Agree with you. McMillan wasn’t where he should have been. When Baker realized it, he should have just eaten the ball. That is why Baker is shouldering the blame.
January 16th, 2025 at 2:49 pm
Not a rookies fault the refs suck…..
January 16th, 2025 at 2:50 pm
Exactly Buc Bonzi
January 16th, 2025 at 3:20 pm
Once again everyone, the Buccaneers beat the Buccaneers!! They handed the Commanders the game on a silver platter!!
Still Love my Bucs, everyone of them !!
Go Bucs
January 16th, 2025 at 4:24 pm
Joe your getting old and illogical starting to sound like another Joe “rookies play like rookies” meanwhile a rookie is the one who beat the Bucs. C’mon man!