Testing The Waters
September 9th, 2014
Was Josh McCown just feeling things out in Game 1?
Yes, Joe has calmed down somewhat from watching Josh McCown pretend to be a high school sophomore, the way he panicked under pressure and was so irresponsible with the football.
His rank careless Garo Yepremian impersonations led to Carolina picks, which directly led to two Stinking Panthers touchdowns.
And that, boys and girls, was your ballgame.
To hear a dejected McCown talk after the game, Joe sensed that the season opener was sort of a feeling-out process for the offense.
“This is a journey to find out who we are and you do that every week and there are 16 games and we’re going to find out,” McCown said. “You want to be balanced and good at both and that’s the key. You find yourselves in situations where you’re seeing, ‘We move the ball better when we throw it’ or ‘We move it better when we don’t.’ We certainly moved the ball better later in the game and so I trust that the coaches will look at that and we’ll see.
“It is the first game and we’re on a journey here and we’ve got to be better every week and we’ll look at this tape and there will be good things. That’s hard for me to say right now since all I’m focusing on is the bad, but there will be good things and we will build and keep getting better and that will be the key for us.”
Joe sure hopes so. Just like the Stinking Panthers were vulnerable — and beatable — Sunday, so are the Lambs. How desperate were the Lambs for offense? They turned to their third-string quarterback in a rout of a loss to the Vikings, under the guise of an injury to starting quarterback and second-stringer Shaun Hill.
In retrospect, as horrid as the Bucs offense was for three quarters, it was as if they pulled a Lazarus and woke from the dead and damned near pulled out a win. If they hadn’t dug themselves such a hole, who knows?
Hopefully, McCown’s journey Sunday portraying an irresponsible quarterback is not a path he chooses to march down again.
September 9th, 2014 at 8:09 am
It’s like the loss hurt more yesterday I’m just about over it now but geez he was so bad it was pitiful
September 9th, 2014 at 8:15 am
Successful seasons are all about notching those “winnable” games and with Cam Newton spectating, this was ranked much higher in the “winnable” category.
Now, the Rams game, is not just winnable, even as early as it is in this new season, it’s a “MUST” win with the three formidable road games to follow.
Does anyone else see it that way?
September 9th, 2014 at 8:25 am
Make no mistake, McCowen was awful.
But I did like how he was able to bounce back and make some plays.
I’m willing to give him the benefit if the doubt against one if the top D-lines in the league.
It’s bit going to get any easier against the Rams line though so he’ll need to figure things out quicker this week.
September 9th, 2014 at 8:34 am
Dismal……
September 9th, 2014 at 8:35 am
I really don’t have much faith in Lovie to make a QB change so I’m afraid we are stuck with what we saw.
When you have all off season to prepare and stink the place up at home then there are major problems. Hoping I’m wrong. Just not much faith in this coach.
September 9th, 2014 at 8:36 am
I just love the “journey” card.
And…
“Were working hard.”
“We’re trying to get better everyday.”
“We’ll watch the film and learn.”
“We’ll focus on the positives and take them forward”
The truth squad says…
It’s been 12 seasons and 3 new head coaches since the playoffs….
September 9th, 2014 at 8:40 am
D-Money
Voices of Reason return.
The Panthers are a fantastic defense, and division champs.
We are a 4-12 team, totally rebuilt- trying to improve, and find an identity.
Why everyone spazzed so badly yesterday was incredible. From the reaction, you would have thought we were defending SuperBowl Champs. It was Stupidity at a high level.
With 2 minutes left, we were still in a position to win the game. That wasn’t the case last year in games.
We looked better for first trip out. I expect more improvement this week.
15 games left. I still fully expect 8-8 or 9-7.
It’s a whole new team. If you understand ANYTHING about Football- you had to know this was going to take time to feel out.
All the screaming after the lose was ignorant and Childish.
Hopefully the smarter fans will be able to discuss the team intelligently going forward, and the tantrum throwing idiots have moved on to watching Soccer- where they belong
September 9th, 2014 at 8:41 am
Just remember
Lovie made sure everyone knew right away that Josh was are starting QB before he even had his first practice.
September 9th, 2014 at 8:42 am
I think the offense wasn’t the problem it was execution meaning we got outplayed at most positions of course I hope I’m overreacting but I’d rather see lovie react instead of seeing that dead a$$ stare of his while their getting stomped
September 9th, 2014 at 8:42 am
I don’t think the Bucs will handle the Rams the way that the Vikings did. It’s going to be another tough game to come out on top of. The Bucs win in a close game.
September 9th, 2014 at 8:45 am
The Panthers got 3 of their 20 points that were not the result of our carelessness with the ball. Meanwhile, none of our 14 points were the result of the turnovers that Lovie covets. If they can protect the ball and take the ball away from the other team, the way that Lovie preaches, then we could have easily won that game and I think that there’s a chance that implementing that against the Rams would give us an opportunity to win this game.
Watching the Panthers game has made me a pessimist for the season until they prove to me that I can be more optimistic and playing a backup QB is clearly not enough for us to just assume a win but it stands to reason that we could walk away with a win.
September 9th, 2014 at 8:46 am
So we as fans are stuck along with everyone else on this ‘journey’ – because what else are we going to do? I’m a long time Bucs fan, and this game was a tired cliche of so many past Bucs failures it’s almost funny that we expected something else to happen.
Will the offense get better? For 3.5 quarters, it couldn’t get any worse.
We face the Panthers-lite version this week. Are we good enough to beat a lesser clone of our division foes? Maybe, but even if we do win it won’t answer a single question. Winning against a team with a 3rd string quarterback doesn’t give any clues about how strong you are. It just feels like you’ve avoided disaster.
But if we do lose to the Rams, now that’s going to tell us a lot. Here’s hoping that doesn’t happen.
September 9th, 2014 at 8:50 am
L&L preached they where preparing for Carolina since the schedule came out…now they have a week for the Rams
September 9th, 2014 at 8:50 am
I think that now that we saw Martin do very little last season and do nothing so far this year the drafting of Charles Sims makes a lot more sense. I’m not sure that Martin is the phenom that we want him to be. He’ll be serviceable until Sims gets back in the roster but I think the bloom is off of the Doug Martin rose.
September 9th, 2014 at 8:51 am
If it had been Johnny Football that threw those horrid passes, we could chalk it up to a learning experience. But this guy was brought in for some short-term stability. I’m stunned. He got this contract by putting in five performances very similar to what Derek Anderson just did to us.
September 9th, 2014 at 8:51 am
As far as the Bucs fans airing their anger after the opener, I don’t have any problem with it no matter how critical their opinions were. Everyone has that right even if some of you think it’s senseless and going overboard. Fans have different opinions and in the heat of the moment anything goes. Back off puritans who attack free speech.
September 9th, 2014 at 8:51 am
@ Capt. Tim
You must have been watching a different game than I was or you are just delirious from the beating OUR TEAM took.
Poor coaching and bad play by a team that is suppose to be better.
We will be lucky to match last years record.
September 9th, 2014 at 8:52 am
Came away from Sunday’s game very unimpressed. I understand that it’ll take time for the Bucs to gel (on both offense and defense), but what I saw was disheartening, as in ‘we don’t have the talent that I hoped we had’.
For 3 quarters the Bucs were flat out man-handled, on BOTH offense and defense. Bucs came alive in the 4th quarter, but it looked to me like the Panthers changed their defensive strategy for some reason. They left a lot more room underneath, and the Bucs were able to capitalize on that somewhat. The pressure from their DLine also didn’t appear to be as dominating (more like a ‘let’s protect our lead’ strategy). Maybe they just pooped out.
Offensively, I was most disappointed with our offensive game plan. Very unimaginative for the most part. Saw very few quick slants for one thing, allowing the linebackers to roam free as opposed to having to ‘stay home’ more often. Martin was totally ineffective, and not just because the OLine had trouble opening holes. Saw several times where if he’d made the right cut he could’ve easily gained 5-10 yards, but instead he just ‘ran into the pile’ (like he does too often).
Defensively, no pressure from the front-4 as everyone else has already noted. Any QB in the league will pick us apart if we don’t do better there. Could be a long season.
September 9th, 2014 at 8:54 am
I will be the first to say I was wrong if the team proves me so but this just looks like the same old crap with a different coach
September 9th, 2014 at 9:00 am
It’s not the loss so much as the way it happened. Three irresponsible turnovers which led to three scores for a team that is lacking a starting QB & WR’s. Not to mention a line that was just assembled this off season. When you are a struggling Organization like the Bucs; you really need to win the games you are supposed to win. Like opening day at home against a backup QB. You won’t get many more opportunities like this one.
September 9th, 2014 at 9:01 am
The 35 Year Old Rookie starring in “Ground Hog Day II”
September 9th, 2014 at 9:08 am
This is an organizational failure with 90%
of the blame falling on the very top.
Case in point: I and my friend both
got sick as dogs from the food in the
East Club Lounge (the hotdogs from the
North vendor).
If you can’t cook a freakin’ $9 hotdog
so it doesn’t make people sick then you
really can’t do anything, let alone run an NFL franchise.
September 9th, 2014 at 9:12 am
The OLine was bad. The pass rush was non existent. Were safeties even on the field? And yet – if McCown hadn’t made those 2 TERRIBLE decisions – The Bucs win that game. Hell even if he had just made 1 terrible decision we would have probably won.
As flat as the the team played and despite the loss, perhaps the positive that can come out of this game is that McCown knows he lost that game for us. He took responsibility and he is upbeat in looking forward. He tried to do too much Sunday – he tried to MAKE something happen amid bad circumstances. Hopefully lesson learned.
I still believe McCown can be an effective QB for us this year if the OLine becomes good enough to open some holes for the backs and pass protect long enough for our talented receivers to complete their routes.
I was pissed Sunday watching the Bucs suck like that on both sides of the ball for 3 1/2 quarters. The “comeback” didn’t make up for it either. Yesterday I didn’t feel much better about it. Today – like Joe – I am “calming down” and looking forward. We do have talent on this team and as long as we see marked improvement each week – hopefully we can live with that – win or lose.
Most who looked at this team objectively did not predict a winning season anyway. New coaches, schemes, players all at once is bound to take time to gel. Let’s just all calm down and look for improvement in the areas of greatest concern. I hope McCown won’t make those kind of mistakes again and if he does and it becomes obvious that he is not capable of improving, I hope Coach Smith has the guts to see what Glennon can do with 1st teamers in a real game.
The ultimate answer though is that we need more talent at the QB position IMO. This year’s crop of QBs coming out was not that great – Bortles who I believe they liked best was off the board and drafting Carr at #7 would have been a big reach (based on general consensus at least). They did not want Manziel or Bridgewater and I think not drafting either at 7 will turn out to have been a wise decision. Next years QB crop looks better.
Go Bucs. Let’s see some improvement and hopefully a win this Sunday.
September 9th, 2014 at 9:18 am
The more I rationalize the more I tell myself that maybe Carolina has one of the best defenses in the league.
McClown was getting hit from the backside all game.
The offense needs to be able to adjust and throw quicker throws that don’t take 5 seconds to develop. Quicker routes when the defenses are able to apply that pressure.
These are the types of defenses that the Bucs will face in the playoffs… so they need to figure out how to deal with them now.
September 9th, 2014 at 9:19 am
I can’t wait to get me one of those Derrick Brooks bobble heads on Sunday and see our first win of the season!
September 9th, 2014 at 9:21 am
@Pickgrin
Well said.
I’m just pissed off that they have all off season and put that crap on the field. Looking forward to Sunday
September 9th, 2014 at 9:27 am
Feeling out process my ARSE Joe!!!!!! The “Feeling Out” process is something you do when you see a dejected Rachel Watson after a loss. You try to find ways to comfort her and make sure she is ok. You “feel” her emotions out and find a way to console her. Wink! Wink!……. No way in hell is Mccown supposed to be feeling out in such an important, winnable, division game. If he keeps this up im not going to take him to the woodshed. Im going to take him inside the elevator. Just look at my video. #RayRice
September 9th, 2014 at 9:29 am
Well it is only one week and it will definitely help curb expectations for the rest of the year.
Shame on us Bucs fans form believing the hype. All of the fans who are venting so heavily probably were just like me. Hoping Lovie and McCown would be different. Probably similar to Ray Rice and his wife. He proposes and gets her hopes up, only to knock her the F out. The Bucs offense is my ray rice. I thought I could trust Lovie but he fooled me.
Josh McCown can’t do any better because he isn’t any better. He is a career 77 QB rating. That is 7 points higher than Sunday’s performance which is a result of the inflated numbers from last 5 games of last year. The fact that Lovie can’t see that scares me.
Last season I thought we should be patient and let the rookie develop and bring in a GM that knew what he was doing. Instead I was told Glennon doesn’t have “it” 83.9 QB rating and Shanio is over his head. Well yesterday I saw a Rahem Morris type of Ass Kicking. McCown can’t throw a deep ball in bounds(and yes the o-line sucked but I am looking for a 3 step drop and a quick fade jump ball) and he holds the ball way to long. Ronde made mention of such threw out the game that there were open receivers but McCown isn’t finding them. Yes the Bucs accumulated some points when Carolina went to the prevent. Then when Buc fan gotta a little hope they went right back to what they were doing most of the game. It is like playing against your little brother, you let him score and get a little close only to slam the door in his face.
Hoping things turn around this week, but if they don’t I will understand why.
September 9th, 2014 at 9:31 am
McClown can take all the responsibility he wants for the loss, but what we saw from him Sunday is the level of his play, he has had literally 20 good games in his 13 year career. What Chicago saw last season was an anomaly, he was able to string 5 decent games together, of which he actually lost 2, what you saw Sunday is the real Josh McClown, get used to it…
September 9th, 2014 at 9:41 am
If Josh McCown gives us the best chance to win then our QB’s are a sad sad bunch. On another note, if we had the offensive line of the Dallas Cowboys in the early 1990’s, our QB’s would probably be better. That is all.
September 9th, 2014 at 9:44 am
“It is the first game and we’re on a journey”
Spoken like a true journeyman.
September 9th, 2014 at 9:45 am
Ponder or Pryor would be nice now.
September 9th, 2014 at 9:49 am
The first interception was not a bad throw.
He threw it up for ASj, but kuechly made an amazing play on the ball to tip it away.
The second interception was awful.
But the first was not that bad.
September 9th, 2014 at 9:53 am
If feels dirty to say it but if Mike Glennon Started on Sunday the Bucs win.
Sure there may have been one more sack but probably less Ints and he doesn’t fumble all the time either (McCown fumbles on every backside tackle, his Madden awareness is like a 2) that was bailed out by the o-lineman jumping on the ball. The Bucs must practice O-line jumping on fumbles in their backfield weekly cause they were god at in the preaseason too. Glennon can hit a check down as well as McCown. Glennon throws the ball away more than McCown which maybe we get 1 less first down. Everyone watching knows the turnovers lost the game and that is something Glennon doesn’t do.
I am turning in to a MG8er, yikes. I really just don’t think McCown is any good or maybe my engineering back ground leads me to look at numbers and see that the Bucs took a steel backwards by signing McCown. My Bucs are wasting there time. If the Bucs are gonna go 7-9 with an old man and 5-11 with the kid. Then do it with a kid instead of an old man and get the best QB next year.
September 9th, 2014 at 9:55 am
Capt Tim = the man who told us all that he was done with the Bucs last season and he gives up. Does not want to have ANYTHING to do with them anymore.
Fast forward to 2014 and Capt Tim blasts fans for thinking the same way he did last season.
A little hypocritical don’t ya think Timmy?
September 9th, 2014 at 9:56 am
Joe Mamma… his name is McClown okay?
Update your spell check please.
September 9th, 2014 at 9:59 am
Capt Tim says : “With 2 minutes left, we were still in a position to win the game. That wasn’t the case last year in games.”
You obviously did not watch last season either Tim.
September 9th, 2014 at 10:03 am
The fans create the hype and Joe keeps the site active by inciting the fans who think they really know football because they watch the quarterback and after allthat’s all football is…the quarterback. Baloney. I don’t know anyone in the local media who predicted more than 8 wins. How could one with 7 new starters on offense. but it was not the offense that lost this game. It was the defense’s inability to get off the field. And by the way, how many times to the Buccaneers score 14 or more points in the last quarter last year? All the so-called fans want to attribute this to the “prevent” defense. Well we had a prevent defense playing against us in at least 12 games last year in the fourth quarter. Shallow analysis Joe. certainly, McCown played poorly in the first half. But…
September 9th, 2014 at 10:15 am
I would pay money for a video low-light
clip from last week set to the venerable classic:
Yakkity Sax.
September 9th, 2014 at 10:17 am
KC had 8 new starters last year….
Carolina Had 8 new starters this year…
It happens all the time in the NFL, heck Gruden had 8 new starter when he came in.
Buddha are you defend the Bucs offense. It isn’t the point total in a loss. If the Bucs would have scored 12 points I might have been more optimistic. If the scoring was done throughout the game. It isn’t that the Bucs lost, it was how the team was dominated by at team with a new o-line (thought to be worse than the Bucs in preseason) a new secondary, a new WR core, and a back up QB. Great Carolina has the best front 7 in the game but that is it. I agree it was game plan and QB play that lost the game. if those two things turn around we can pull off some wins, but for what? If you aren’t going to win the Superbowl then build for the next year. I don’t want to fiddle faddle with mediocrity because Lovie wants to be loyal to some one. Be GREAT or SUCK don’t try to be in the middle.
September 9th, 2014 at 10:52 am
Well Orca when the head coach hires the GM instead of the other way around, it sure is an experiment. Many suggested at the time. That that’s not how it works and it will fail.
“We don’t expect our fans to be patient” — Jason Licht
September 9th, 2014 at 10:56 am
Maybe we can draft Marcus Mariota Oregan, Hurley UCLS, or Winston FSU (although he may not last if he keeps dioing dumb stuff) in the 1st round. Or a O-linemen or both. We need help asap.
September 9th, 2014 at 11:00 am
The journey was McCown making bone head decisions. More to follow.
September 9th, 2014 at 11:12 am
@ Mathius
EXACTLY Bro!
The “wait for this team to develop”, “what did you expect
from a new system” crown can stick it up their collective
shill ***.
Seriously.
Anyone that espouses the above argument has to be
either mentally challenged or paid by team G to shill
on the internet.
September 9th, 2014 at 2:38 pm
All I know is I’m always pulling for the Bucs to win but my optimism went out the window after Sunday’s performance, on both sides of the ball. It’s kind of ‘hope for the best, expect the worst’ until they show me that this past week is not who they are.