Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow
December 14th, 2015
Well, here we are. Back to soul-crushing football. Here it appeared the Bucs just might explode into a playoff spot, a wild card. December games were meaningful for a change.
And then – splat! – like a June bug on a windshield. Playoffs went splat.
Oh, sure, the Bucs are mathematically in the hunt. But let’s be real. Only a hardcore drunk could see Tampa Bay winning out and getting in with road victories at St. Louis and at Carolina, and a home win against Chicago sandwiched in between. The Bucs are a team that can’t get out of its own way against a garbage team like the Saints, at home no less.
Let’s just say the chances of the Bucs in the playoffs are about the same as Rachel Watson coming down Joe’s chimney next week.
Flat
“Normally you play your best ball when this much is on the line. It’s amazing we lost, but by seven points. You have to give the Saints a lot of credit. They played well [on] both sides of the football. Things we did, you just can’t win football games [like that]. Defensively, third downs killed us, big plays really hurt us an awful lot. [We] didn’t make any plays, no takeaways on the defensive side. Offensively, you have to score more points. It’s as simple as that. Dropped balls, missed the field goal, things that cause you to lose football games, we did it all.”
— Lovie Smith
Man, did Lovie hit the bulls-eye with that quote. It was absolutely amazing to Joe to walk through the locker room after the game and here so many players talk about how the team was flat like Kate Hudson. Lavonte David said it. Alterraun Verner agreed. Gerald McCoy also said it. Bradley McDougald said the team didn’t have any energy.
Now let’s think about this for a moment: A team is playing before a near-sellout crowd. They are playing to pull within one game of a playoff berth. In December. Playing a division foe who they should beat. And they had no energy? They were flat?
For the life of Joe, this does not compute.
How can you not get up for a game with so much on the line? Unfathomable.
Now Joe understands AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht and Lovie are trying to change the culture. They took a monster step with America’s Quarterback, Bucs signal-caller Jameis Winston, and linebacker Kwon Alexander. Joe can’t remember the player – but Joe overheard the guy in the locker room (Joe was busy taking notes) mention he thinks the defense missed the “edge” that Alexander brought, his passion.
If a team with so much to play for is just walking through the motions, that tells Joe that Licht and Lovie have more culture-changing to do. Because if a team is that stoic about a game that had so much meaning, it tells Joe losing is still very much ingrained into the locker room. They don’t know to face the challenge of a win-or-plan-your-vacation type of a game.
More than anything, this has Joe puzzled from yesterday.
Penalties
One thing we learned from yesterday, if we didn’t already know, the Bucs simply are not a good enough team to overcome their own mistakes.
Logan Mankins agreed.
“Yeah, this league comes down to making plays,” Mankins said. “We didn’t make enough today. It is a team we should score more points on. What did we have, 17? Not very good. Give [the Saints] some credit but I feel we left a lot on the field.”
This is a silly notion, but after the Bucs had a 36-yard Jameis-to-Vincent Jackson pass nullified on a Donovan Smith holding call to open the first quarter, it took the wind out of their sails. Like they curled up in a fetal position, sucked their thumb and never recovered.
Oh, the Bucs looked to have forced a Saints punt when Drew Brees was sacked, only for the Saints to get new life (and an eventual touchdown) when the immortal Howard Jones was flagged for a hands-to-the-face call.
The players all say they know they need to cut penalties. And they claim to have been told and coached up to do that. Yet they still make them, at the worst possible times.
This all goes back to coaching. If coaches say they tell the players and the players say they are listening, and both parties agree the penalties need to stop, then that means either they are being coached up to do things that give zebras a bitter beer face — or you have a team full of mental midgets.
“[Lovie] always said penalties will come back to haunt us,” McDougald said.
Yesterday was that day. Fittingly, at the worst time.
Buh, bye playoffs.
Sputtering Offense
Aside from the Smith holding call that put the Bucs in a first-half funk, the offense seemed disjointed all day. Of course, the Saints were daring Jameis to throw. They loaded the box and took away much of the running room away from Doug Martin.
Then, Vincent Jackson got hurt. With Evans being Evans, in addition to being keyed on by the Saints defense, that left a pair of undrafted rookie free agents to carry the Bucs. The results were predictable.
Look, Donteea Dye is a neat story about a nobody from Division III making an NFL team. But that’s not the kind of guy who can put a team on his back — and it showed. Same with Adam Humphries. He’s just, well, meh.
This is why Joe isn’t getting good vibes about the Thursday night game. The Rams aren’t much of team, but they play decent defense usually. If Jackson couldn’t finish the game, that doesn’t sound promising for Thursday. So the Rams will likely scheme to take out Evans. That leaves the dynamic duo of Dye/Humphries to carry the passing game.
Oh, and the Bucs are the only team this season who didn’t put up at least 20 on the atrocious Saints defense.
Joe understands if you are already reaching for the bottle of Jägermeister.
On To The Gateway City
It doesn’t look good. Short week, on the road, and the Bucs are beat up. As stated above, if Jackson couldn’t make it to the second half yesterday, how he will start Thursday?
Bruce Carter had to be helped off the field against the Saints. Not good. Gerald McCoy is playing with a bum right shoulder and basically one hand, with his left paw all bandaged up from his “small procedure.”
With the game possibly being the final NFL game in St. Louis, Joe hopes the Rams are so freaked out about not knowing where they will be living in two months, that their heads won’t be in the game at all.
NFL Thoughts:
Cardinals: If any team is going to beat the Panthers, it will be the Cardinals. That’s a fun team, even with old man Carson Palmer at quarterback.
Seattle: Hey Bucs, this is what you are supposed to do down the stretch when you are hunting for a playoff berth. Just watch what Seattle is doing.
Stinking Panthers: Given how pushy Arthur Blank is, you think Dan Quinn Watch is on? Stinking Panthers steamrolled the Dixie Chicks, who are in total freefall.
Redskins: Joe thinks it would be funny as hell if the Redskins, with a losing record, won the NFC East. Brother of Chucky has done a helluva job with Kirk Cousins.
Steelers: What a fun offense the Steelers have. If only they had any semblance of a defense.
Browns: See!? Start Johnny Football and he explodes. Joe is willing to lay cash this Mike Pettine is done in Cleveland. Only a slug would actually think Stewart McClown is a better option than Johnny Football, and the guy has totally botched his handling of the former first round pick.
Jaguars: Holy smokes, did the Jags lay a beatdown on the Colts. The Jags(5-8) are now a game out of first place in the woeful AFC South.
Chiefs: What a gruesome game that must have been to watch, 10-3? Yick! A 44-yard Alex Smith touchdown (!) was the difference.
Jets: Gang Green is hanging in there for a wild card berth. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw three touchdowns. Yes, Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Eagles: That’s now two wins in a row for the Iggles. Sam Bradford actually threw for 247 yards and didn’t have a hangnail.
Rams: Trumaine Johnson’s 58-yard pick of Matthew Stafford was the tipping point.
Raiders: Khalil Mack’s five sacks helped the Raiders punk the Broncos in Denver.
Packers: A pair of Aaron Rodgers touchdown passes is all the Packers needed to take care of the Cowboys.
Patriots: Tom Brady, yada, yada, yada.
Random Thoughts
* This week is going to be weird for Joe. Covering the Bucs-Rams game Thursday is nothing new. Joe did the same two years ago. Joe grew up about a 45-minute drive straight east of where the Rams play in in downtown St. Louis; Joe grew up in the cornfields there. Though Joe was a young football addict, St. Louis and the area surrounding simply isn’t a football burg. Now, the area is on the cusp of losing the NFL for the second time in 30 years. Thursday may be the last NFL game in St. Louis. Joe has zero emotional ties to the Rams. Moved away long before they came to St. Louis. Still, it is sad the town is losing the NFL for the second time in three decades, but frankly, it’s not a football town. Baseball – specifically the Cardinals – will always own that area. Football? People there shrug their shoulders. The NFL is more background noise than anything. It’s something to kill the down time between the World Series and when pitchers and catchers report. Joe swears college basketball is bigger in St. Louis than the NFL.
* Joe still can’t figure out why St. Louis wants to build an open-air stadium instead of just renovating what is already a decent facility. Spend that kind of cash on a facility that hardly gets used? At least with a dome it can be used year-round.
* And it is hard for Joe to fathom the NFL pulling out of any city if there are approved funds to build a team a new crib. There is something wrong if that happens.
* So Derrick Henry wins the Heisman Trophy? Odds are he will never make a Pro Bowl? By the way, is there a more boring show than the Heisman Award Show? BSPN milks that so bad it would dry up a cow. Joe bailed after about 30 minutes. Figured he would find out the winner on Twitter later.
* The first Saturday without football was depressing. Yeah, Joe knows the Army-Navy game was on but that’s more like a football version of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” special than anything; it’s more about the spectacle than the sport, more of an exhibition. There isn’t anything riding on the game. It’s not like the loser misses out on a conference title or a playoff spot or, almost as rare, misses a bowl opportunity with a loss. It’s hard to get into a game that is little more than a glorified scrimmage, though the history of the game is special.
* The Division I-AA playoffs aren’t bad to watch. It’s an excuse to guzzle beer and watch some, often, exciting football. Sort of buys time until the bowl season starts.
* Joe doesn’t understand the haters out there who bellyache about “there are too many bowls.” Don’t like them? Don’t watch! They exist because they make money, real simple. And what animal out there actually believes there is too much football, especially college football?
* Joe isn’t upset Jason Heyward left the Cardinals. This guy is so overrated. Not a bad player but hardly a difference maker. Dude has never hit .300 and never had 85 RBIs and only once has hit more than 20 homers and all of a sudden he is Barry Bonds? Sure, he’s good defense but those guys are a dime a dozen. But what does p!ss off Joe is who the Cardinals let Heyward sign with. Same with John Lackey. You don’t let your good players run off to a division foe. That’s just dumb. For about 10 minutes Friday, Joe was so furious he couldn’t talk.
* Joe can’t get into this human cockfighting they call MMA. Just don’t get the appeal. Doesn’t do anything for Joe.
* Christmas lights are a pain in the neck, but Joe doesn’t want to be the lone heathen in his neighborhood to be dark during the holidays.
December 14th, 2015 at 7:29 am
Being a good coach is about getting your team ready to play and too many times this year & last the Bucs have been unprepared to play. Time for Lovie to go. Plus the defense sucks. Now I know that’s not going to happen. The Glazers are going to say that the team made progress which it has but we are never to win anything with Lovie as our coach.
December 14th, 2015 at 7:35 am
Look at the bright side. At least we aren’t the Atlanta Falcons.
December 14th, 2015 at 7:43 am
Joe, You missed an important point. Lovie now has to win out the remaining games, Just to tie Coach Schiano’s record with the Bucs!! Just to TIE!!!!! To have a college coach that supposedly did not know what he was doing, to Lovie the “real nfl” head coach, I have been thoroughly disappointed!!!!
December 14th, 2015 at 7:52 am
C’mon guys. This team is what it is — clawing it’s way towards the middle of the pack. We’ve upgraded from “dreadful” to just “bad.” There is no way that we are consistently in the class of the current Top 6 NFC teams. This is the kind of inconsistent effort that bad teams put out. But the arrow is still pointing up.
And let’s face it – if you had been told on Friday that the Saints would score 24, you’d have thought that was about right. It was our offense that laid an egg yesterday.
December 14th, 2015 at 8:16 am
Look..we will beat the Rams. We always bounce back after an A..Whippin. But as always we will struggle to reach 500. This Bucs team just does not have any consistent juice defensively. Had you given Brooks/Sapp?Lynch 17 pts? Forgetaboutit..rack’em up. We currently have to outscore our opponents. And when our Offense is off like yesterday..we will not win. Next year will be better. Now the question is..can we finish 8-8. Its what I predicted we would do at seasons outset. Playoffs? Give me a break!
December 14th, 2015 at 8:17 am
Good point NewTampaChris, bad teams can’t consistently shoot themselves in the foot with stupid penalties. This defense has too many UDFA, who are good for depth but not consistent starters, especially on the d-line. As a unit they can be consistent but we got guys on this d-line who haven’t played a 16 game schedule before, including some of our vets
December 14th, 2015 at 8:18 am
Lol you all screaming for lovies head just like you did for shiano and just like you did for Morris.
No one is ever good enough for you losers.
No coach can get gold from from shi t players. Half this team wouldn’t start for other teams. Need time to build through the draft.
Picking the best of the worst free agents isn’t gonna work. He’s doing the best he can with what he has.
None of you could even be a water boy. Anyone who thinks lovie isn’t a good coach is an absolute idiot. He’s well respected throughout the whole league and you idiots act like you’re all smarter. Buckle up cause he’s not going anywhere.
You’re all stupid. And don’t know sh it.
December 14th, 2015 at 8:19 am
Yeah “Realist” that’s what happens when the college coach brings in a bunch of stiffs to play on his team. You have to rebuild from nothing. You are so clueless.
December 14th, 2015 at 8:21 am
And where is all you fing morons that was saying well look at what Dan Quinn is doing in Atlanta? When they were 6-0 he was a great coach blah blah blah.
Now what? You all make yourselves look stupid everytime you open your mouths.
Yea pretty sure Atlanta sucks. So how about that great Dan Quinn now? Fing idiots
December 14th, 2015 at 8:23 am
@ndog
Finally someone with a little common sense.
Lovie IS building from practically nothing. And these idiots already want him fired. They’ve already hit on multiple draft picks better than most teams hit on. But these idiots. Geese just plain stupid
December 14th, 2015 at 8:24 am
Starting the season we all would have argued that a 6-8 win season would be a great season for this team. This season was a rebuilding season with a Rookie QB, plain and simple.
The emergence of our rookies and the continued development of our defense has got us to a point where were starting to believe in this team, so I understand why a loss like yesterday’s was so heartbreaking to all of us. The playoff’s look very unlikely at this point and time. I get it.
But we have to keep a grip on reality. We’ve had a lot better season than most of the realist imagined. Our team got younger and better and we now have a foundation to build on. Our line looks to be a major plus moving forward and more than anything we have the guy under center that most teams don’t have.
This year has been successful. They got our hopes up and let us down. But they got our hopes up and that’s better than we’ve had in awhile. The needle is pointing up. I dont think any of us truly believed that with Schiano running things.
December 14th, 2015 at 8:26 am
@realist
What were your expectations that you’re throughly disappointed?
You really thought this team would be contenders in 2 years?
Just stfu you’re an idiot.
No one on planet earth thought or thinks this team is ready.
If you can’t see the progress this team has made since lovie then please go hand yourself.
Lmao disappointed with a team no one expected to do anything. Lol 6 wins from 2 is a major step stupid.
December 14th, 2015 at 8:27 am
@seth
Good post. People like the buc realist and others are just too stupid to comprehend what you just wrote.
So they won’t get it or understand it. But I get it.
December 14th, 2015 at 8:33 am
If you thought a team that has only won back to back games once during Loser Lovie’s tenure was going to magically turn it on and get into the playoffs you might also believe I’m Santa, Jesus and the Easter bunny
December 14th, 2015 at 8:39 am
They had a bad game and lost by a touchdown, not by 40.
Am I disappointed? Not really. We know we have a franchise QB. We know we have another draft around the corner to fill holes on defense. I thought 6-10 would be realistic this year. We are already there, and can still do better.
Brees can’t last much longer. It’s possible we see half the division clear house and start anew.
Re: Schiano vs. Lovie – Would you rather your team do better in it’s first year, and then totally fall apart in year 2, or the opposite? Some people just love to be negative. This is why they disappear for 4-5 days after a great win.
On to the next game!
December 14th, 2015 at 8:42 am
Joe, you lucked out with the weather. The Midwest is warm as hell right now. It’s almost Christmas and I’ve had my windows open for almost 24 straight hours!! We all know how much you hate scraping your windshields. Maybe you can leave your scraper at home and save it for the next time it freezes in Tampa!!
December 14th, 2015 at 8:58 am
Yesterday’s loss showcased the fact that we still need talent at several key positions…WR, DE, DB. The Bucs are a good young team, but we are still a handful of key players away from being a playoff type team. The good news is that we have a great young core….just not a lot after that.
December 14th, 2015 at 9:14 am
Should have known better than to start going to Playoff Machine and seeing how the Bucs could get in. Of course they drop their worst performance maybe of the year all things considered. It would have been one thing to have Brees just have a big day against a very poor secondary where the Bucs simply don’t outscore them. They pretty much gave a preseason effort with the playoffs on the line. Hugely disappointing effort, not only are they still quite off talent wise, they don’t have the mentality of a winner yet either.
December 14th, 2015 at 9:34 am
We need to rid our team of Dontee Dye and Adam Humphries asap. We need old, slow, salty veterans who catch balls when they are throw to them. Also, Jude-abu whatever his name is needs to be planted so firmly on the bench that him playing is an afterthought in his own mind. I blame this loss solely on our receivers and Lovie Smith for not benching Jude after the Colts game. Man I literally fume when Lovie Smith makes coaching decisions. He might be the dumbest person to have ever been an NFL head coach.
December 14th, 2015 at 9:52 am
Am I disappointed in the loss? Of course. But the Bucs have already matched my expectations from them for the season. I’ve consistantly said that Jameis will win more games in his first year than Glennon has won his entire career. Anything else is just extra, as far as I’m concerned.
It is funny how certain people manage to show up real quick after a loss, but are pretty quiet after a win. Whatever.
@Fsuking…
I think this offseason should be a fun one. We’ve already seen how infectious Jameis is and I think he will be a catalyst to FAs wanting to come here. I firmly believe that people will want to come to Tampa to play with Jameis and he will be our best recruiting tool.
December 14th, 2015 at 10:22 am
I get the same feeling looking towards Thursday Rams game. I won’t be surprised to see the Bucs finish without another win.
December 14th, 2015 at 2:11 pm
for the people demanding lovie to bench jude..who else would you like to see starting at cb?…if you haven’t noticed lovie has exhausted ever resource he has available on the roster…theirs no one else to play…lovie has squeezed 6 wins out of a talentless roster…we have beat teams that have more overall talent than us…im satisfied with this years progress…next year I will expect 9-11wins with the right draft picks and fa’s…GO BUCS!!!
December 14th, 2015 at 5:49 pm
The three games that are left and the playoff hunt, do not matter any more. The Bucs are going to end up 6-10. What matters is evaluating the players we have to determine who will be here next year and who will not. Focus on reducing penalties, turnovers and catching the ball. Work on running screen plays so when Winston gets pressure he doesn’t fold up like a cheap tent. Feed Doug Martin and let him try to break Tampa’s single season rushing record. If a player makes a penalty show him to the bench for the rest of the game. Same for fumbles and dropped passes. Send a message that this stuff is not acceptable and will not be tolerated any more. I agree to bench Jude for the poor performance against the Saints and give Johnthan Banks the start for the rest of the season and see how he does? It looks like we are going to see some more of Dontae Dye with VJax possibly out. That’s fine but if he keeps dropping passes, cut him. Try Dye, Humphries, Verner and Jenkins in kick returns and see how they do? If Mike Evans even looks at a ref or drops a pass or gets a PI penalty, bench him for the rest of the year. Anyone who thinks this team can beat the Rams need to think again. The Rams pass rush was able to create pressure on almost every play against Detroit. Aaron Donald racked up three sacks and three quarterback hits. Todd Gurley took over the game in the second half and was able to break off several long runs.
December 14th, 2015 at 8:15 pm
It is true that the Bucs did better than last year. Winning 6 games is better than 2. Watching the Falcons go down the drain I have to admit that I don’t see them in the playoffs. The Saints will come back to reality next week. With the Bucs … I hear a drum roll that ends with a giant splat … Can one honestly think that the Bucs can win a game in Carolina this year??? I don’t care if they play their best football ever … The Panthers will basically tell them to forget any playoff ideas. The Rams may even set the Bucs straight and show them that they truly belong in the playoff picture. Here, back at home, with the Bears .. OK I see a possible win. But I saw a deffinite win against the Saints … how wrong I was.