Ira’s 10 Takeaways From Bucs-Falcons
November 4th, 2016
BY IRA KAUFMAN
With an opportunity to remain relevant at the halfway point of the season, the Bucs disappointed their fans yet again. Despite an encouraging start, Tampa Bay was overwhelmed by the NFC South leaders in a 43-28 setback that effectively ended any playoff hopes.
Here are 10 morsels to digest after the Bucs proved they weren’t ready for prime time:
* If the teammates of Mike Evans matched his passion, the Bucs would have given the Falcons a competitive game. Evans was spectacular from the start, ravaging Atlanta’s secondary for 11 catches and 150 yards before departing with a concussion. The man’s a headache for any cornerback in his way. Imagine what he could do with more talent around him.
* Mike Smith’s defense made key stops in the season opener at the Georgia Dome, but the past two weeks have been awful. The Falcons rolled up 461 yards and Matt Ryan made it look all too easy. Ryan’s targets were open all night and the recent return of Robert Ayers hasn’t made a stitch of difference on a Buc defense that appears lost.
* Fifteen minutes after the final whistle, Ryan walked out of the northwest tunnel and headed toward the NFL Network crew, serenaded by chants of “MVP, MVP,” from Atlanta fans who lined up 10 rows deep in the stands. At this point of the season, I think they’re right — Ryan’s been sensational.
* On a night John Lynch was inducted into the Ring of Honor, I couldn’t help noticing how Derrick Brooks and Warren Sapp winced on almost every defensive snap by the Bucs. They kept looking at the video board with a mixture of frustration and incredulity as the NFL’s No. 1 offense carved up Smith’s embattled unit.
* All you need to know about Tampa Bay’s defensive struggles came early in the second quarter, when the Bucs declined a 15-yard facemask penalty against Atlanta that would have forced a 3rd-and-22 from the Tampa Bay 38. Instead, Matt Bryant kicked a routine 41-yard field goal that put the Falcons ahead 13-7.
* Speaking of Bryant, he’s still going strong at the age of 41, seven years after the Bucs foolishly released him. While Bryant’s career success rate of 85 percent ranks 10th in league history, the Bucs have struggled to replace him.
* Jameis Winston threw three touchdown passes and generally played well in trying to overcome another pedestrian rushing effort. The Bucs had more penalty yardage (85) than rushing yardage (73) and they are 1-14 since 2012 when attempting 20 or fewer carries.
* How bad was Tampa Bay’s defense? The Falcons had 11 possessions Thursday night and the only time punter Matt Bosher got on the field was when he held for Bryant’s three field goals.
* Mike Smith needs to spend the next week trying to figure out how to restore Lavonte David’s confidence. David’s not making the kind of impact Buc fans expect and his meager total of 44 tackles at midseason is an indication David hasn’t been around the football nearly enough.
* When Lynch talked about the love affair between the Bucs and the community during the glory years, he choked up. His heart will always remain in Tampa, but make no mistake … Lynch is heartbroken about the state of this forlorn franchise.
November 4th, 2016 at 9:05 am
What a debacle! At home! AND, on John Lynch’s induction night! Pathetic!
November 4th, 2016 at 9:06 am
AND…It’s that time of year we Bucs fans look to the draft needs…WR and Safeties top the list 🙁
November 4th, 2016 at 9:14 am
Lol, you think any of these guys care about Lynch, Brooks, Sapp, etc. Look at the love they have for other teams after each beat down. They like guys from other teams more than the legends of this franchise. What a walking bag of d…ks this team is. No frigging anger, no fire. They’re like a bullied kid, laying on the ground, getting kick after kick to their heads. The only guy who looked angry was the only guy having a remarkable game
November 4th, 2016 at 9:14 am
Jameis injury should be on the list … he played it off in postgame, as he’s always done with injuries/knocks going back to FSU, but I’m afraid this one will be more serious. MRI scheduled today, I assume? The season is pretty much off the rails but losing Jameis for multiple games would be another kick to the nuts.
November 4th, 2016 at 9:15 am
On top of everything else, WHO dreamt up those HIDEOUS uniforms?? They looked like the Bucs were playing in their pjs!! No wonder more and more fans are just tuning out!! At least the Falcons were wearing NFL uniforms!
November 4th, 2016 at 9:16 am
Yep, now MJ8 comes in. Good, DK will let Famous heal. Some good did come out of this debacle. Mike Smith needs to be fired NOW!!
November 4th, 2016 at 9:17 am
Whoops MG8. 🙁
November 4th, 2016 at 9:23 am
Every QB that plays the Bucs soft defense is in the MVP conversations the following week, last week it was Derek Carr.
November 4th, 2016 at 9:26 am
This defensive line is downright awful. Time to overhaul. Our linebackers are just fine. It’s the four guys in front of them that can win the LOS. Ayers was a one game wonder. McCoy has cashed in and doesn’t want to be here anymore. The defense is going to continue to struggle untill the front four gets some talent.
November 4th, 2016 at 9:42 am
For the first time I truly feel that there is no longer any hope for the his franchise. They have been one of the worst teams in the league for 7 years now. They are not showing any signs of improvement whatsoever. Normally this is when I start looking to the draft but not anymore. They have weaknesses in so many areas that several drafts will not be enough to make this team competitive. By my count they are in need of at least 7-8 starters to replace a lot of the garbage we have out there right now.
November 4th, 2016 at 9:56 am
There is little to NO pride in the players we have now. Like Ira said, other than Mike Evans, and Jameis Winston we have few if any players that take pride in defending their house the way we saw Lynch, Brooks, Sapp & Barber did back in the day. It’s as if the losing culture of this team is only getting more and more embedded in our coaches and players.
As a long time season ticket holder, it a has become like going to a job you absolutely hate week in and week out………and WE’RE PAYING GOOD MONEY TO GO TO THAT JOB WE HATE!
November 4th, 2016 at 9:57 am
Ira once again nails it. Why? Because he’s been there forever. He’s the guy who knows – and nominates – the Hall of Famers. He’s there on the sidelines. And he’s still there after Ryan is leaving the field.
November 4th, 2016 at 9:58 am
#1 need mobile quaterback!!!!! Quentin flowers!!
#2 need smart safeties 3 of them!!!
#3 cornerback 2 of them!!!
#4d;tackle
#5 m.l.b. that can tackle
#6 Marlon mack!! Running back
#7 #2 wide receiver and #3 wide receiver.
#8 3-4 defence
#9 Willie targget!!!!!!!!!!!
November 4th, 2016 at 9:58 am
McCoy let his boyfriend Matt Ryan, along with the rest of the Bucs D have a stellar game last night!
November 4th, 2016 at 10:25 am
Mobile QB? Lol Winston is the QB of this team and isn’t going anywhere. Right now he is on pace for 34 touchdowns and 4000 yards again. Yes he is on pace for 18 INT but in all honesty he has taken care of the ball better the last few games, and 3 of his int came off tipped balls and one off a Hail Mary losing 40-7 and had no business being in the game. He is innacurate at times but he’s 22 years old, Doesn’t have the best tackles in the game who are allowing way too much pressure, and besides Mike Evans he has a bunch of number 3/4/5 WR to throw to and and decent Tight end but by no means a game changer. On top of all this his 1400 yard rusher from last year is once again injured. This offense needs another RB and atleast 2 WR to add to the mix, along with a whole bunch of help in the secondary.
November 4th, 2016 at 10:41 am
This team is 2-3 years away from greatness. This is what happens when you draft poorly for over a decade.
November 4th, 2016 at 10:59 am
I almost hope Jameis doesn’t play for a few weeks, just so the Jameis Haters can see just how awful this team will really be without Winston leading the offense.
November 4th, 2016 at 11:01 am
Good points by Ira and I wonder who he blames more for the Bucs defensive woes: Mike Smith, the players for mailing it in or Licht for signing most of these sieves and absolutely missing on a majority of his acquisitions? Tough being a Buc fan right now, if they go 5-11 I ‘d be amazed; this is like the Rah slide of 2011, except that the Bucs we 4-2 that year not 3-3 when the 10 game L streak started. Yuck!
November 4th, 2016 at 11:06 am
Miko.
Wrong. The games won at the line of srimmage. Draft time indeed but lets stock up on the lines first. There will be some good WRs in free agency this year. We need speed
November 4th, 2016 at 11:28 am
@BucsSince1976 I totally agree. Everyone is bashing Jameis but it’s not all his fault. See how life is without him. It will be much worse. Management did a poor job surrounding him with talent. Look at how open opposing receivers are when they thrash our defense. Jameis has a smaller window to throw in. Bottom line is he should not be in game when the game is lost.
November 4th, 2016 at 11:48 am
@BucsSince1976 I agree with you on that too.
November 4th, 2016 at 1:19 pm
This team has one offensive lineman worth keeping, Marpet. The rest of them can all go. Dotson looks terrible, Smith get eaten alive by Adrain Clayborne, Pamphile got abused regularly, and both of our Centers are overpowered weekly. Really sad unit. Jameis is doing all he can without any protection and having to force the ball 17 times to one reciever.
This team has way too many needs right now to think that they can be a good team within the next two years.
Oline
D line
WR
Safety
One of our two best players right now is a punter.
November 4th, 2016 at 1:20 pm
#6. I have always hated that we let Matt Bryant go. Said this since day 1. The dude was straight clutch and our kicking game has never been as good since! TERRIBLE MISTAKE by this organization, once again.
#9. Does LVD just not care anymore? He is 3 – 5 yards behind the play almost all the time. And many times he looks like he’s just jogging instead of running full speed. Everyone hates on GMC all the time but I would argue LVD has been far worse since getting paid.
#10. Of course Lynch is heartbroken by it, this franchise has been nothing but an embarrassment going on 8 years now.
November 4th, 2016 at 3:14 pm
Tee in Dallas/Waterboy: Jameis does need to improve on things, no doubt. His accuracy is too erratic, he needs to temper his emotions, and he needs to learn when to give up on a play and live to fight another down.
But the man is 22 years old. And he’s playing with a roster that is worse than any I’ve seen in a long time.
I’m just so tired of the Jameis Haters (Duemig, Fennelly) nitpicking the second best player on this team (Evans is the best now.) Amazing how they all ripped him for “character concerns” but now that is being put to rest by the hardest working guy on the team, they criticize him for errant throws to WRs who are usually covered anyway.
Some of the people on here need to watch Big Ben, Flacco, or Eli Manning for a few games. They make bad throws too. They miss open guys too. They force balls where they shouldn’t too. Myopic fans are the worst.