You Don’t Want To Play This Team In January
January 1st, 2025
Bucs cannot get cocky.
If Joe had a nickel for every time he heard “Nobody wants to play this team in the playoffs,” after the Bucs pounded the Chargers in Los Angeles two weeks ago, Joe could have bought a fifth of Bulleit Bourbon Frontier Whiskey.
The Cowboys sure wanted to play the Bucs, didn’t they?
So Joe admits to cringing when reading follicly-challenged Billy Barnwell of BSPN listing the teams that opponents won’t want to face in the playoffs.
Billy has the Bucs at No. 4.
I’d also gently point out that the other victories in this [Bucs] winning streak came over the Giants, Raiders and in a home-and-home vs. the Panthers, which isn’t exactly playoff-caliber competition. Then again, this Tampa Bay team beat the Lions and Eagles in September, took the Chiefs to overtime and has a quarterback in Baker Mayfield who has thrown for 260-plus yards and three touchdowns in three of his four playoff starts. Ask the Eagles whether they want to see the Bucs again after what has happened the past two times they’ve played them.
After the debacle in North Texas, Joe isn’t interesting in reading how any team doesn’t want to play the Bucs. If Dallas can beat them, then the Lions, Vikings, Packers and Rams sure as hell can.
There is something weird about this Bucs team that since Week 2, every time they have a good game against a good team, the very next week they lay a rotten egg.
That’s one reason why Joe is scared about Sunday when the slimy Saints come marching in.
January 1st, 2025 at 8:03 am
Stanks just stink. No worries.
January 1st, 2025 at 8:08 am
To this joe writing…if our beloved Bucs make it to the Superbowl, I’ll buy you the liter size Bulleit Bourbon Frontier Whiskey. ‘ll have it delivered to JoeBucsFan World headquarters by a Hooters girl. I’ll even throw in wings. Mark it!
January 1st, 2025 at 8:11 am
Here is what is different. They just had a good game against a bad team (albeit improved). Now just doy our job again and win against a lesser team.
January 1st, 2025 at 8:12 am
It’s said you are as good as your record
January 1st, 2025 at 8:22 am
Simply put,
This team cannot lose another game!
Wishing them all the best for the remainder of this run, I can’t imagine another let down in mental preparation.
January 1st, 2025 at 8:27 am
No dumb picks. No careless fumbles. A clean win.
January 1st, 2025 at 8:32 am
Joe my friend you are completely right! man be afraid
January 1st, 2025 at 8:35 am
The fans recognized this pattern early this season. Why wasn’t it corrected ? Yes, injuries played a big part but the total indifference and lack of effort in the Denver home field game should have been cause for some serious head knockings. And the head coach said ” I had nothing to do with that.” Are they playing down to the opponent and up to the bookies ?
January 1st, 2025 at 8:52 am
At the beginning of the year ,, with Lions, Chiefs , Ravens , Chargers , Cowboys ( we didn’t know they wouldn’t be a playoff team at that time), Eagles , Falcons( remember everyone had Kirk as best WB in division at that time), 49ers (was a SB pick to many),,, Who wouldn’t have been thrilled with 9-7 going into last game with a chance to clinch division
January 1st, 2025 at 9:00 am
They have no defense for a decent QB that can get the ball out quickly and has a decent TE or receiver and routes over the middle. McCollum has dropped off. Winfield has dropped off when he isnt out injured. Dean is, well, Dean. David is showing a drop off in speed. Now you have Hayes, Merriweather and a couple other backups who don’t “communicate” well or “try to do too much” or “have to get their heads out of their arses etc….
Good game bad game is a function of putting pressure on the QB and the scheme in one game, not rattling him and breaking up the receptions over the middle in the next.
January 1st, 2025 at 9:06 am
To quote Johnny Rotten the way to beat the Aints is to “Get pissed destroy” Anarchy in Tampa. Cohen should be angry all week..
January 1st, 2025 at 9:22 am
Hope Rattler plays rather than Carr. Carr carved us up next to last game last year. But we are a different team than last year. From here on out it’s find a way to win. Hopefully we’ve got the close losses out of our system this year. I do know we’re positioned to beat anybody in a shootout. If we take down the Saints Sunday we will be the team nobody wants to play starting out in the playoffs. People are saying that because it’s a fact.
January 1st, 2025 at 9:29 am
If I’m a OC I pray to play the Bucs. Their defense is horrible.
January 1st, 2025 at 9:30 am
Good reasons to be scared of the Saints. This team’s inconsistent pass D (especially short, quick, passes) is a main reason.
January 1st, 2025 at 9:31 am
Gotta get rid of the coach.
January 1st, 2025 at 9:33 am
Hey Vinny, “Who wouldn’t have been thrilled with 9-7 going into last game with a chance to clinch division” Many on JBF…
January 1st, 2025 at 9:45 am
Nobody is afraid of this defense.
January 1st, 2025 at 9:51 am
Now *that’s* a delivery! 🙂
January 1st, 2025 at 10:03 am
A team is as good as it’s weakest link…
Obviously it is Bowels as hc/DC…
Don’t expect much from them in the playoffs!
January 1st, 2025 at 10:12 am
I’d agree with them if you got anything from this defense. They play arrogant against inferior opponents unfortunately you won’t find any of those in the playoffs. There is no reason to worry about New Orleans but this is a one and done defense scoring always drops in the playoffs
January 1st, 2025 at 10:17 am
I am not concerned about the O outside of injuries. I am sure DC’s get heartburn trying to figure out how to keep the Buc O under 20.
But the Buc D? OC’s licker their chops thinking about facing the powerhouse Bowles “Tampa Sieve” defense.
Outside the terrible defense, it is brain fart and prep that has doomed these guys. No game-to-game consistency.
This team exemplifies the “O sells tickets, D wins championships” mantra.
Unless the D figures out get an edga rush and cover the middle 1/3, it’s one-and-done IF they make the playoffs and don’t lay an egg against the Aint’s…which is the pattern.
January 1st, 2025 at 10:21 am
Train the duck to fly in and land on the field before kickoff. And now until Sunday, make the defense watch Cooper Rush looking like Joe Montana against them , show Jamar his surrender of what should have been a winning TD, and show Rachaad his fumble that lost the game when they were driving for the winning FG.
And sacrifice a chicken.
January 1st, 2025 at 11:05 am
Banking on the Bowles coached Bucs to play up to their competition in the playoffs is like ” A Bullet to the Head”. The bad thing or maybe good thing about that Dallas game is that no matter how poorly we played we could’ve/should’ve still won. Just a few better plays or Bowles making better clock/timeout management we would’ve won. The one thing I will say bad about Coen is that once teams learn how to properly overload our O line he takes too long to adjust the protections and the offense quickly steps into that proverbial quicksand and sometimes is unable to get out of it.
January 1st, 2025 at 11:28 am
Saints might have Kamara and Olave available, and no doubt they’re going to be extra fired up after the New Years tragedy. And they would love to prevent Evans from reaching 1k yards. This will be a tough game.
January 1st, 2025 at 11:35 am
The Saints are going to come into RayJay and play to the best of their abilities with what they have. I still have a copy of last years schedule. Win one, lose one. Win three lose four, very inconsistent. So what do we expect this Sunday, who knows. A win with a high probability of it carring over into the first playoff game. I don’t like facing Philly again. They are due for a Buccaneer ass kicking. We have their number which usually translates into a let-down for us, another disappointing effort at home. One game at a time, intermittently holding my breath expecting some sort of catastrophe. Why, because let’s face it, the Buc’s under this coaching staff are unpredictable. Maybe with some of our starters returning we can collectively see where the cards fall by taking a deep breath and exhaling a sigh of relief.
January 1st, 2025 at 11:37 am
I am very worried thus week because of what you stated Joe. Bucs suck the week after the destroy an opponent. On top of the playing are nemesis who wants to end our season. Saints will play dirty and are getting all their weapons back on offense. I am starting to get a bad feeling about this Sunday like I did prior to the Cowboys game. PLEASE TAMPA SHOW UP THIS SUNDAY!
January 1st, 2025 at 12:32 pm
Kgh4life- let’s go over this one more time. The last six games our defense has held the opponent to less than eight points in the second half on average. OCs throughout these contending teams are praying to play against our defense? I think you are wrong. Yes we have some weaknesses, we are all frustrated by the soft zone, and yes teams will try to exploit that. Just like our team will be trying to exploit every weakness our opponent has.
January 1st, 2025 at 12:46 pm
Panthers were not a good team. Their defense was atrocious. The Saints’ record says they are also a bad team. If we cannot thrash them we are not playoff ready anyway. Whupping 2 bad teams in a row will give us some momentum. I am confident we will win.
Go Bucs!!
January 1st, 2025 at 1:00 pm
Saints have everyone on offense playing this week and want to ruin our season. Bucs fans like me should be worried. This is not a layup.
January 1st, 2025 at 1:21 pm
Agree with you @Mac.
January 1st, 2025 at 2:17 pm
Would it not serve those in Las Vegas if a team could be so totally unpredictable ?
January 1st, 2025 at 2:19 pm
bucs need to face teams bowles is familiar with. that way game planning is easier for him and he can get his beauty sleep. preferably teams that rely on the run more
January 1st, 2025 at 5:14 pm
Are we talking about a team with a 1-15 record? Same team who beat the crap outta the Panthers 48-14? Sure as h3ll’s bells sounds like it. What a bunch of fakes posing as “fans.” Bucs will be ready for Aints. 10-7 here we come…go Bucs!! And Coen, get a little more creative with Baker, please!
January 1st, 2025 at 7:54 pm
We can beat any team in the league. We can lose to any team in the league.
Who are we?
January 1st, 2025 at 10:03 pm
They put their body threw it on the big games and the results usually are the team is banged up for the next game