Saints In “Soft Tank” Mode
January 2nd, 2025
Happy 10th anniversary to Team Glazer and Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht!
Joe is late on this because the NFL has now blessed fans with a 17-game schedule, but it’s been 10 full years since the Bucs tanked their season finale before their hometown fans.
What a Lost Decade moment in time that was as the 2014 season closed.
Some Bucs fans were in favor of tanking to lose to the Saints. That meant securing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. And the Bucs were on board. After losing every home game that season, the Bucs decided they had to lose one more.
The Chase for Jameis was on!
But a lot of folks who had coughed up their hard-earned cash to see a quality home football game were treated to a very expensive sh** sandwich and didn’t appreciate it.
The problem was, the bumbling Bucs wouldn’t admit they were tanking. They didn’t rest starters. Instead, they yanked them haphazardly after the opening kickoff so it didn’t feel as bad to the home faithful.
Poor Mike Evans. He has told a story of getting a halftime IV in that game so he’d be hydrated for the second half — only to be told he wasn’t playing.
Lavonte David got pulled from the game, so did Vincent Jackson.
No way did the Bucs want to win. That’s why quarterback Josh McCown went the distance instead of Mike Glennon filling in.
But the Saints also were a losing team that didn’t need a win or necessarily want one.
So right on cue, the bumbling Bucs jumped out to a big early lead. Still, they nearly tanked the tank.
Then-Bucs wide receiver Tavarres King, a late-season practice squad call-up, was targeted over the middle on a quick in-route with 5:30 to play and the Bucs driving with a six-point lead.
The ball was catchable and would have been the first catch of King’s career, but he couldn’t wrap his mitts around it. The ball popped into the air and was intercepted. The rest is history.
On Sunday, it’s widely believed that the five-win Saints will be tanking against the Bucs in Tampa for a better draft pick. But this time is very different. The Bucs need a victory and have a high-voltage offense.
Ex-Bucs quarterback Chris Simms of NBC’s Pro Football Talk called it a “soft tank” that will come from the Saints on Sunday.
Joe’s listened to some New Orleans media this week call it a full-blown tank, though many say it doesn’t matter because the Saints don’t have enough talent to compete with the Bucs anyway.
The Saints have scored only 57 points in their last five games.
However Sunday plays out, Joe just hopes the Bucs accomplish their goal more smoothly that they did 10 years ago. A tight game against a tanking opponent would be very troubling.
January 2nd, 2025 at 6:22 pm
F the Aint’s
January 2nd, 2025 at 6:49 pm
If the Bucs would’ve beaten the Cowboys we would be debating resting Evans or going for the record. It would be the Chris Godwin argument all over again.
January 2nd, 2025 at 6:50 pm
Tank or not. It would be great to see our Bucs win 10 games despite having a piecemeal Defense. Just imagine the game we Coulda/Shoulda won if we had a halfway decent D. Which means..Bowles is here for yet another season. Just hope he works on the D for next year.
January 2nd, 2025 at 6:59 pm
If you always bring 100%, you don’t need to worry about whether the other team is tanking or not.
January 2nd, 2025 at 7:09 pm
Justvisiting spot on!
January 2nd, 2025 at 7:17 pm
Wut da Tank R U talkin bout!?!?!
U confuse
U b on dat sauce yo!
😁
January 2nd, 2025 at 7:20 pm
There’s one thing I’ve learned since the Bucs Creamsicle days…….
…NEVER underestimate this team’s ability to underachieve when they need to play their best!
January 2nd, 2025 at 7:50 pm
The Panthers were in the tank in every way last year and it was only a 9-0 win, and should have been closer. Never make assumptions that the people on the field are going to give less than 100%.
January 2nd, 2025 at 7:58 pm
The Saints will be playing for pride and to ruin the Bucs chances of winning the division. Every single Bucs player needs to treat this as a playoff game and better be ready for every trick play in the Saint’s playbook.
January 2nd, 2025 at 8:14 pm
The Bucs are not expecting the Saints to tank…the fans and media are.
January 2nd, 2025 at 8:15 pm
I wonder why the rookie qb in Washington beat out Baker Mayfield fornthe pro-bowl? Any thoughts?
January 2nd, 2025 at 8:18 pm
Glad that the only team the saints hate more than us is the falcons
January 2nd, 2025 at 8:20 pm
Organizations may choose to tank, but players almost always play hard. These guys are auditioning for a new staff, either in N.O. or elsewhere.
The 11 on the field will give 100%, no doubt.
Furthermore, their d will NOT want mike to get 85 yards.
Talent says we win, but they are going to go all out to beat Tampa up in the process. They still have PRIDE.
January 2nd, 2025 at 8:21 pm
Remember when a certain Saints player said that the Bucs would go back to being losers because Brady retired?
F the Saints.
Pour it on and get Evans his 1000 yards too.
January 2nd, 2025 at 8:29 pm
@TheBucsAnthem…lmao…that should be the banner/phrasing as the Bucs are leaving the locker-room through their doorway and onto the field… I mean even when Brady was here, during our 4-loss season, we managed to play down to almost every damn team that we should have destroyed. The Saints were playing with a third string QB, and to lose twice to them, and the worst was being blanked at home by them for our only home loss that season. We also lost to Heineke that year, wtf… he managed to eat-up the entire 4Q clock on one drive… I couldn’t believe it. Hopefully this team figures it out and just plays their brand of football they’ve been playing since the bye. This run game has become the great equalizer when the pass isn’t as sharp as it needs to be.
January 2nd, 2025 at 8:32 pm
@TheBucsAnthem…. You’re not wrong.
January 2nd, 2025 at 8:39 pm
Defrock the Saints! GO BUCS
January 2nd, 2025 at 8:51 pm
Was this pic at a Diddy party lol
January 2nd, 2025 at 9:12 pm
Yea f the aint’s and their whole fanbase
January 2nd, 2025 at 9:14 pm
As a Saints fan, I encourage the Bucs to win convincingly. It shouldn’t be any particular problem. The offense only has about three starters left. So those guys will play hard, they’re all substitutes or practice squad players looking to land a starting job. That’s the bad news. The good news is, they just aren’t very good.
In further good news, even though the defense is mostly healthy, they appear to have quit. The last few games I’ve seen more missed tackles then I’m used to seeing in a whole season. Some of these look like business decisions to me.
So in summary, please win, all we have at stake is a draft pick position
January 2nd, 2025 at 9:18 pm
Louisfriend… the Panthers were not tanking last year, losing games only gave Chicago a higher pick and safe to say they wanted their young QB getting experience winning.
10 wins and playoffs will be great if they don’t choke here and I highly doubt they will but just remember… we WILL be a strong Super Bowl contender next year and we will lose an important game or 2 if Bowles is still the HC because he will or won’t use a timeout at the proper time or will continue to get burned in the pass game by inferior QBs due to his stubbornness.
January 2nd, 2025 at 9:46 pm
From listening to Saints fans this week they hate the falcons more than the Bucs. saints fans want them to tank just so Atlanta can’t get in
January 2nd, 2025 at 10:25 pm
Anthem said it best. If there’s one team that can foil an opponent’s attempt to tank, it’s the Bucs.
January 2nd, 2025 at 10:29 pm
saints want to lose the game, but stop evans from 1k
January 2nd, 2025 at 10:29 pm
the aints want to lose the game, but stop evans from 1k yards
January 2nd, 2025 at 10:37 pm
taints need to replace the tank in the porto-potty
January 2nd, 2025 at 10:38 pm
🙂
January 2nd, 2025 at 11:45 pm
Dont get overconfident. Saints only care about beating bucs. This is their superbowl
January 3rd, 2025 at 12:35 am
NFL teams not playing to win is dispicable to me. Period. Saints or not.
Roger and his pal Richie should be focused on this kind of thing instead of making sure the Refs throw flags every other play and changing the rules because he thinks there is not enough offense and guys are getting hit too hard.
If they tank Sunday, then embarass them! Make the NFL stand up and take notice!
Go Bucs!
January 3rd, 2025 at 2:46 am
Saints could be motivated because of that tragedy. Teams rise up all the time for their city in times of need. Dangerous game.
January 3rd, 2025 at 6:52 am
In the heat of battle when a 250 lb player is barreling down on you, I doubt very seriously they are e gonna grab their jock strap and tackle hard because 10 random people died in their city.
Let’s quit looking at the crystal/plastic balls and watch the game.
January 3rd, 2025 at 7:28 am
If we go into the game with this mindset then we will invite trouble.
We need to take this game seriously and play hard.
Coach Bowles needs to play attacking defense and not let the QB sit comfortably in the pocket thrown easy short passes. Dont let them in the game.
Go Bucs
January 3rd, 2025 at 7:56 am
The ONLY thing they’re going.to be focused on is keeping Mike from getting yds. I truly hope he is able to dodge their dirty play and stay safe/healthy. For the first time sinve he has been here I’ve seen him trying to extend multiple plays…forcing it. I don’t want to see the first tackler holding him up in a tackle while another guy or two are going after his knees.
January 3rd, 2025 at 9:48 am
All this noise is just that….noise. The Bucs need to go out there on Sunday and punch their ticket to the postseason. I have trust issues because of their recent history of poor play the game after a blowout. And it is the Saints…….the Saints…..you know…. the team that usually has our number.
I want Mike to get his 85 yards almost as much as I want us to win this game, but it makes me nervous having the Saints know this as well. It has to happen in the natural flow of a beatdown, not because we are forcing it. EVERY ONE of the Bucs must come out hungry and plant our flag in the bellies of the Saints this Sunday.
January 3rd, 2025 at 1:06 pm
Why is Carr and Kammera working so hard to get back on the field for their last game of the season with no playoff hopes? They would love to be a spoiler for the Bucs playoff hopes. The Saints play the Bucs tough every time. I hope the Bucs are believing this hype and take this game seriously.
The Bucs HAVE TO win this game. Go into this thinking it’s gonna be a cakewalk at your own peril.
January 4th, 2025 at 1:42 pm
Anyone check in on big mouth cam Jordan lately?