Ira’s 10 Takeaways From Bucs-Raiders
October 30th, 2016
BY IRA KAUFMAN
I’ve been covering the NFL for 37 years and I’ve watched pro football for half a century. Never have I seen a game quite like this one. None of us have because the Raiders were just flagged 23 times, setting a single-game record in a league that began play in 1920.
And they won.
Oakland failed to cause a single turnover, and they won.
But don’t fret, because here are 10 takeaways to mull over until the Falcons come to town Thursday evening on John Lynch night.
* Demar Dotson doesn’t always speak The King’s English, but he is unusually incisive and he proved it again in the aftermath of Sunday’s bitter setback. “They tried to give us the game with two missed field goals and all those penalties,” said Dotson. “We didn’t take it.”
* Through three quarters, the Bucs and Raiders each had snapped the ball 42 times. When the game ended, Oakland had 85 plays, compared to 61 for the home team. That’s an indication of how much the Raiders dominated down the stretch, when Tampa Bay’s saving grace was Oakland’s propensity for self-destruction.
* David Carr often looks like the best young quarterback in the league, but the Bucs helped him out Sunday with a feeble pass rush that generated only two sacks and three hits while Carr was dropping back 61 times. Anybody seen Gerald McCoy?
* Looking for a bright spot through the haze? Punter Bryan Anger continues to shine, averaging 48.0 yards on his eight kicks while dropping three punts inside the 20. When your punter tops the highlight list, that’s a problem.
* Jameis Winston hit on 8-of-9 pass attempts at the start, but his effectiveness diminished as the game progressed. Most significantly, he couldn’t find a rhythm with Mike Evans, who caught only four passes, despite being targeted on 11 of Winston’s 32 throws.
* And yes, we can’t get through this column without mentioning another Roberto Aguayo miscue. His missed extra point try early in the fourth quarter meant the Bucs had to go for two after their brief go-ahead touchdown. Aguayo didn’t play a major role in the loss, yet he remains a major concern heading into the biggest game of the season.
* Tampa Bay didn’t run the ball particularly well against a defense that had been allowing an average of 5.0 yards per carry. Jacquizz Rodgers averaged 3.6 yards on his 19 carries and that lack of production played a role in limiting Tampa Bay’s third-down conversion rate to 31 percent.
* A secondary that had been playing well had few answers for Oakland receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree, who combined for 20 receptions and 281 yards. The damage would have been even worse had Cooper held onto Carr’s perfectly thrown ball down the left sidelines in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, giving Tampa Bay life.
* The Bucs are now 4-29 in the past four years when failing to register more than two sacks — and here comes Matt Ryan waltzing into town. Defensive coordinator Mike Smith didn’t dial up many blitzes against Carr, who had too much time to survey the field in crunch time. Meanwhile, Oakland’s Pro Bowl defensive end Khalil Mack lived up to the hype with two sacks, two tackles for loss, four QB hits and a forced fumble.
* Let this sink in for awhile. The Bucs just came up short, despite winning the turnover battle and benefiting from an NFL-record 23 penalties by their opponent. That’s not easy to do. Because of the short week, Tampa Bay players and coaches don’t have much time to dwell on this stinker. They have to move on. Buc fans won’t be as forgiving — and they shouldn’t be.
October 30th, 2016 at 6:54 pm
Ira,
It is Derek not David.
October 30th, 2016 at 6:55 pm
When are people in this town gonna begin to question Jaboo’s accuracy? He’s killing this team
October 30th, 2016 at 6:56 pm
Well, Ira called it.
October 30th, 2016 at 6:59 pm
Good article Ira…this was the one game I felt the Bucs would have problems with..I was right..it’s part of the 9-7 season I still predict..
October 30th, 2016 at 6:59 pm
Now we know that there are at least three certain things in this world: death, taxes, and the Raiders leading the league in penalties.
October 30th, 2016 at 7:02 pm
Well tony I will say this, if Jameis had more weapons to help take all the pressure and attention off of Evans, a lot of those over throws wouldn’t have been. Our current problem is that we just don’t have enough speed at wide receiver.
October 30th, 2016 at 7:04 pm
Khalil vs McCoy ,David and Alexander………… Not even close in this game ,Khalil was the star !!!!
October 30th, 2016 at 7:11 pm
We need a speedy deep threat bad.
October 30th, 2016 at 7:13 pm
Well I’ve read all the comments and anguished through that game like everybody else.
I’d could pick out the horrible plays…as well as the great like that catch by Shep.
But for those of you who play sports, especially golf, here is what is happening IMHO.
The Bucs have shown flashes of greatness but they have yet to back it up. They are still wildly inconsistent the mark of a young and growing team. But at least they can at times make great plays and tease and tantalize us.
But I’ve come to accept it is what it is. We have talent…we can make plays…we simply have trouble repeating. It’s like hitting a couple of great shots in golf but not being able to repeat the swing.
This is true in virtually every phase of our game…from OL play..to DB’s and even down to the individuals…#3 is great at times…bad at others…we simply have to keep the faith that with time and effort these guys will eventually be able to repeat their “swings” and play a lot more consistently. That’s what’s really missing. All the yammering about this player or that one, or this play or another play just misses the overall problem. We are very young and terribly inconsistent.
October 30th, 2016 at 7:16 pm
You work with the receivers you have in practice. Give up the excuses. And that is what they are. Excuses.
October 30th, 2016 at 7:19 pm
The issue is we have sheet QB, nothing else matters.
October 30th, 2016 at 7:20 pm
@blake
How are weapons gonna help an inaccurate qb? True franchise qbs put their teams on their backs and win games. Better weapons just means more over throws to tall receivers or missing open guys
When will the excuses run out for FSU fans?
October 30th, 2016 at 7:21 pm
Blake- nice try. I don’t care who fast the WR is if he is being overthrown by 15 yards. Bottom lien- our QB sucks
October 30th, 2016 at 7:23 pm
Should have drafted the flyin Hawaiin
October 30th, 2016 at 7:29 pm
Sad when your best player is your punter. What more is there to say?
October 30th, 2016 at 7:29 pm
Jameis is in his second year, and i will agree he was wildly inconsistent today. But he started the game Hot. And as precise as Carr, but once the Raiders allocated all of their resources to stop mike. And yes Jameis Over threw Mike today, but know this, Mike Evans is not a burner. He is a deep threat who is adept at getting open against single coverage, but he does not blow past people, in fact one of those over throws dropped like 7 inches in front of mikes hands. If we had a 4.4 speedy guy who could run down deep balls, ala Amari Cooper, Jameis would’ve had a better game, and that ball would’ve been a touch down. We are still a young team learning how to win, but I have faith that we will learn to win.
P.S. we had this game won if not for a dumb, stupid, idiotic defensive holding penalty on Jude Adjei-Barimah. Had that not happened, the game would’ve been 24-17 Buccaneers.
October 30th, 2016 at 7:33 pm
How much money is GMC making again??
October 30th, 2016 at 7:34 pm
Browns of NFC
October 30th, 2016 at 7:36 pm
And this Mike Smith Guy I mean wtf?? Carr was shredding his defense and he didn’t attempt to stop him! What’s up with all our recent DCs?? What games do they be watching?? This 4 man rush with the exact same players is the exact definition of insanity!!
October 30th, 2016 at 7:38 pm
Can’t wait til we get Robert Ayers back. Well that pressure worked out well too!
October 30th, 2016 at 7:42 pm
Why can’t DK put Jameis in the best position to succeed, put him on the move, better tempo, we have seen Jamie’s be successful in that up tempo (not hurry up) offense. Not only that when that game went to overtime and the offense was stagnant in the fourth quarter, you gotta do something to move the ball, DK did nothing to help his QB.
October 30th, 2016 at 7:47 pm
Keep trying to blame others. This is on our terrible QB.
October 30th, 2016 at 7:50 pm
…so glad I dvr’d that…got through THAT in about 45mins….I couldn’t imagine spending my day off in Florida during the fall for THAT….yo Dirk why don’t you do what the Rays do and every other punchless waste of time does and blame the fans….eff’n coward
October 30th, 2016 at 7:50 pm
I thought our qb won the game until Jude got a holding call. No rb, 2 WRs and no time to pass.
October 30th, 2016 at 7:51 pm
It’s amazing to me how the patriots have always dominated w less than we have. There just a better coached and run organization.
October 30th, 2016 at 7:51 pm
Jameis’ lack of accuracy cost us this game.
October 30th, 2016 at 7:54 pm
I am a Jameis guy. But man this offense looks bad when we can’t run the ball
I think it’s gonna be a long time before we are good again. Of course we haven’t been good since 2008.
October 30th, 2016 at 7:55 pm
Blake’s comment:
P.S. we had this game won if not for a dumb, stupid, idiotic defensive holding penalty on Jude Adjei-Barimah. Had that not happened, the game would’ve been 24-17 Buccaneers.
———————-
EXACTLY RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why hasn’t this been bought up at all besides Blake and myself!!!????? The game had been won!!!
October 30th, 2016 at 7:57 pm
The Bucs ought to be ashame of themselves Jamesis is limited to one side of the field and I don’t get paid a dime to notice that so if a defensive coordinator definitely notice get a damn true WR
October 30th, 2016 at 7:58 pm
To help Mike Evans!!!!
October 30th, 2016 at 8:00 pm
Even with a heart-breaking loss today, I am not ready to give up on this team for the season. Although Atlanta won today, the NFC South is a weak division, and the Bucs can stay in the hunt for the division lead by winning this Thursday’s game. Having just typed those words, I will self-diagnose for proprioception. A loss this Thursday, however, will spark the dreaded “draft talk”.
October 30th, 2016 at 8:04 pm
I have never been on the side of trading McCoy – now I am. Clean house on the D-Line while we shore up the secondary and WR over the next couple of years. Trade McCoy for picks. At this rate, by the time we have the right pieces, he will be too old anyway. Trade him while he still has value and start again on the D-Line.
October 30th, 2016 at 8:05 pm
Jameis will work his way out of this. . .
October 30th, 2016 at 8:06 pm
I have a few takeaways to add:
1. Our offensive line played terrible today. They couldn’t open up any holes for the running game and Jameis had absolutely no time to through the ball.
2. Jameis was inconsistent, especially on the deep ball. We can’t get those “explosive” plays that we need if he doesn’t start connecting on those. Having said that, again, the offensive line let him get his a$$ beat.
3. I was not a fan, at all, with Dirk’s play calling down the stretch. Our first OT possession he goes to the greatness that is antone smith 3 times in a row. Really!?! Dirk made no attempt to move Jameis around from the pocket with bootlegs or roll-outs to buy him time or at least give him an option to take off and run. I know Dirk is lacking a lot of starters, but being able to call creative players with what you have is what makes you a good coach. A lot of people can call plays and look good with probowlers all over the field.
4. The Bucs need to go back and work on tackling fundamentals before Thursday’s game. There was way too many broken tackles and lack of wrapping up. It was really bad today.
5. The Raiders converted on way too many 3rd and longs today. It has seemed to be an issue with this team overall this year.
6. I don’t want to hear Koetter or anyone else in the Bucs facility about fans in the stands until they can win at least one freak’in game in our home stadium. PERIOD.
October 30th, 2016 at 8:08 pm
Positions of need in the draft (I hate thinking about the draft) — D-Line (anywhere, assuming we jettison McCoy), WR, Safety, Right Tackle. . . in that order.
October 30th, 2016 at 8:11 pm
Best Thing about McCoy is that when he is out of uniform (from a distance) he looks like Von Miller.
October 30th, 2016 at 8:12 pm
Draft a QB 1st round……thats my takeaway!
October 30th, 2016 at 8:17 pm
@Life, 9-7? Whoa. ok. Just making sure I help you understand we might see 1 more win, maybe…..just maybe 2 more if we’re lucky.
Ive seen this play out before, I know the feeling and Im feeling it. We’re done. Is what it is. Just need a new QB to start righting this ship. JW3 isnt the answer! I felt this with Freeman and was hated by many here when I was one of the first to call it…..UNFORTUNATELY Im feeling it with JW3 now.
October 30th, 2016 at 8:34 pm
Too early to give up on JDub IMO. Give the kid some time please. Jameis is NOT Freeman. Dude was a head case with no work ethic.
October 30th, 2016 at 8:36 pm
We didn’t deserve to win that game anyway. They had to give us our final TD and missed 2 FG’s after that, once they tied it up again. Our offense didn’t do anything ALL day. Our other 2 TD’s in the game came on short drives. They tried to give us the game in ALL kinds of ways and we just didn’t want it bad enough I guess. It’s a shame that we need a lucky rabbit’s foot to win a game but that’s how it is. Teams need to implode for us to win, like the Carolina game. We will be lucky to win 6 games this year. It will take the game of Jameis’ career to beat Atlanta on Thursday, so good luck Bucs fans. If Winston is as inaccurate as he was today we will end up 3-5, but should beat the Bears unless Jameis has another meltdown like in Arizona. Go BUCS!
October 30th, 2016 at 8:45 pm
The Bucs just stinked stank and stunk up the joint.
October 30th, 2016 at 8:53 pm
Dotson said it best …. some losses you play well and may “deserve” to win. This is not one of those losses. But it was still one that we SHOULD have won — they tried to give it to us, and we refused to take it.
The 4th down hold on Jude was brutal but that doesn’t excuse Jameis and the offense going three and out three straight times at the end, when all three times a FG would have won the game … and once from our 42 yard line!
I am a huge Jameis fan (and a Bucs fan BECAUSE of Jameis), and have no problem saying he had a disappointing day, a major contributor to the loss. It was kind of bizarro Jameis — accurate and hot early in the game, then erratic/inaccurate for most of the rest. He’s not playing as consistently well as I had hoped he would, not showing the clutchness that I had assumed was part of his DNA (Rams game, this game). But I’m not pressing the panic button … still think he will be great, eventually.
Looking forward to a fourth straight win in the Falcons series …
October 30th, 2016 at 8:55 pm
Jameis is never going to be an accurate, consistent passer. I think we’re going to be looking for another QB in a few years.
October 30th, 2016 at 9:15 pm
i hear chucky is working behind the scenes with voo doo dolls of all players, staff and owners…
things haven’t been right since chucky left and that’s a fact…
i miss the chuckaneers…
adam from ny
ps i have never seen an inaccurate qb become an accurate passer…it doesn’t really happen – jameis is not on point with his passes…this carr kid is quite nice tho
October 30th, 2016 at 9:24 pm
Had we used that last minute and some change, before halftime, To go down the field, and score, we could have won the game. Coach had three timeouts, but We chose not to use them, and settled for three running plays, and No points.
October 30th, 2016 at 9:40 pm
Jameis is far from a finished product. His mechanics, more specificslly his torque and his release point, need work. But it’s not like he can’t improve these things. You can’t expect any qb to be the complete package right out the gate. Sure there are exceptions to the rules, luke the two guys playing tonight, but guys like Big Ben, Eli, McNabb, BRET FAVRE! Give them time to build this thing. Jameis, Evans, Kwon and Ali are coming! VH3 and Spence not far behind!
October 30th, 2016 at 9:48 pm
Buc fans don’t even know what accurate means. Accurate is when a QB has time to throw and misses receivers, not when he’s rushed and is off on his throws. But Buc fans are the delusional fan base that thought they had a playoff team if they just fixed the defensive scheme, lol.
October 30th, 2016 at 9:48 pm
The two that are playing tonight aren’t the total package. They barely get touched no matter how long they hold the football especially Dak
October 30th, 2016 at 9:53 pm
Winston is only 22 years old, one of the 2 or 3 youngest starters in the league. He probably won’t be one of the more accurate QBs, but he has a lot of room to grow. He is on pace to throw 20 picks, but also 30+ TDs. He may end up being average, witch is about what he is right now, but I’m not going to give up on him so soon. He has stretches where he looks great. As he gets older he should have more of those and less struggles. I’m more concerned about the lack of a pass rush right now than I am Winston. Time will tell.
October 30th, 2016 at 10:03 pm
The coach says “Compete!”
The coach says “Take the ball away – Extra possessions are valuable!”
but as Another J Says:
October 30th, 2016 at 9:24 pm
Had we used that last minute and some change, before halftime, To go down the field, and score, we could have won the game. Coach had three timeouts, but We chose not to use them, and settled for three running plays, and No points.
THE BUCS CHOSE TO WASTE THAT POSSESSION!!!
October 31st, 2016 at 8:59 am
Tell me why I knew the play call on the first offensive possession for the bucs, I even knew Rodgers would run it to the right side, why not play action on the first play from scrimmage for a change that was the worst game lovie Smith errr Dirk Koetter has called. Maybe head coach is to much to handl
October 31st, 2016 at 12:52 pm
If you put a #12 or #14 jersey on Winston, he would be indistinguishable from Trent Dilfer or Vinny Testaverde. That’s what the Bucs have in Winston, a player with outstanding physical talent but can only put it all together for short streaks. Winston looked like Aaron Rogers during that 8 for 9 start, then he looked like the skinny Josh Freeman as he went 8 for 23 the rest of the game.
October 31st, 2016 at 4:04 pm
I don’t think you remember Dilfer or Testaverde as well as you think you do.