Defense Didn’t Show Up
December 19th, 2016
Exposed or fluke?
So, about that new Bucs defense.
Two things jump out at Joe from last night’s game.
1. The defense just didn’t show up. Oh, they had great moments, but not enough. The killer to Joe was a rookie quarterback carved up the Bucs as if Lovie Smith was still in charge. Dak Prescott completed 89 percent of his passes. Second-most in NFL history.
That is appalling! To have a rookie go nuts like that is inexcusable. Yeah, sure, he had won 11 games entering yesterday, but for him to do that against a defense that was choking out the likes of Drew Brees and Russell Wilson, well, it almost smells like the defense had their heads up their posteriors.
2. In the five-game winning streak, when the Bucs needed a stop in the fourth quarter, they got the job done. Not so last night. In the fourth quarter, the Bucs defense played OK but the team needed more. Sure, the Bucs forced a pair of field goals (difference in the game). A killer play was a 42-yard run by Ezekiel Elliott on second down late in the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys scored more fourth-quarter points last night (nine) than the Bucs had allowed in the fourth quarter of the previous five games combined.
No, America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, wasn’t his best today. Neither was the defense when the team needed it the most.
December 19th, 2016 at 6:17 am
The defense was due to have an off game. But Jameis really laid an egg last night on national TV.
I’m highly disappointed not just disappointed. But its all about the future.
Playoffs!?! PLAYOFFS!!???!!
Time to breathe and regroup for Bucs fans too…..
December 19th, 2016 at 6:21 am
McCoy did not play with the same fire he has had in the last five
He is the key to the D line …
December 19th, 2016 at 6:27 am
Just when people started to drink the kool aid they play like that once again on national tv.
December 19th, 2016 at 6:27 am
Joe if GB and the Bucs wins out, who has the tie breaker? Is this 2010 all over again?
December 19th, 2016 at 6:37 am
Can’t argue with points 1 or 2 Joe, but give props to the Cowboys’ offense & defense please. Dak Prescott’s uniform was so clean at the end of the game it probably didn’t need laundering … a credit to the Dallas OLine which was outstanding in run-blocking and pass-protection (32-for-36 passing kinda says it all). Dallas played the kind of game that Dirk Koetter would love to play: a stout running game that forced us to respect it big-time and then opened up the short passing game, especially outside, and kept our defense off-balance. Cowboys had the ball for over 36 mins … a big problem. Elliott had as many yds in 1 run (42) as Martin had in 16 runs (42) … that’s another big problem. Turnovers (3 INTs & 1 fumble lose) yet another problem that we haven’t been having, but again some credit has to go to Dallas. Lots of credit has to go to the Bucs though for getting back in the game in the 3rd quarter. This team has a lot to be proud of.
December 19th, 2016 at 6:38 am
If you would’ve told me this team would’ve embarked on a five game winning streak during which it beat Kansas City, Seattle, San Diego, and a dangerous Saints team I would’ve called you crazy. I would’ve called you a liar if you would’ve told me that, during that same period, the Bucs defense would’ve been the best in the league. It’s easy to overreact to a subpar performance, and even easier to blame the QB for laying a so-called egg. The hardest thing to do is to admit we got beat by a better team. Not just better, but the BEST team in the league if records mean anything. A team with two MVP candidates playing behind the best offensive line in football. To me, like it has been all season, the future is next week.
December 19th, 2016 at 6:39 am
No pressure on Dak, they had a 4 man rush most of the night. It wasn’t until they rushed 5 or more did they get to Dak. Please no more national night games!
December 19th, 2016 at 6:43 am
I had issues with the offensive play calling as well, seems to predictable for the run
December 19th, 2016 at 6:46 am
WHY
December 19th, 2016 at 6:47 am
I woke up shaking! Im too into this $H!T:(
December 19th, 2016 at 6:48 am
Did McCoy play cause I watched the game and barely noticed him then I looked at the stat sheet and he did not appear. But I sure saw him before the game running his mouth and I sure saw him get 1 on 1 multiple times and get stonewalled but I guess that doesn’t matter. This guy is the most overrated player in the history of the league period!
December 19th, 2016 at 6:50 am
In the NFL a good defense can only carry you so far eventually your “franchise qb” has to perform and carry you to a win. He had his chances and couldn’t score on a bad pass d. That’s two weeks in a row a bad pass d has shut down Winston and Evans
Not a good sign at all
December 19th, 2016 at 7:01 am
Jameis was harassed all night and we had no run game.
There’s a reason nobody signed Cherilous before the start of last season.
And two of the turnovers were to end each half while the other two was when he was getting hit.
The only reason we had a shot to win the game was because of Jameis.
Some of you deserve to have Brock Osweiller as our QB
December 19th, 2016 at 7:06 am
Tampa Tony, Winston scored two TDs. We were beat by the Cowboys, but we were not embarrassed by them. The interception to end the half was no big deal, hale Mary in the endzone. Bring on the Saints!
December 19th, 2016 at 7:19 am
This F$%ing game definitely cost me a year and a half relationship, with my girlfriend… Which I’m fine with. What’s bothering me is the fact that if we showed up even just s little, we win that game. I can’t believe we had to wait all day for that. Fuc, reality check.
Please use this as motivation, keep getting better… offense – Get it together!
Defense, the O made it tough on u but wtf, did u not watch the giants cowboys film? We had the blueprint. Didn’t use it. damn.
December 19th, 2016 at 7:22 am
I could not disagree more, I thought the defense played well. Yes the Cowboys marched up and down the field but how many points did they get out it. Also, the Bucs offense did not help by turning over the ball and giving short fields to the Cowboys. Look at the money and draft picks invested into this defense, it performed well enough to win against, you are what your record says you are, the best team in the NFC. The defense kept the them in the game despite a relatively poor offensive performance. I foresee a new rivalry for NFC dominance, the Bucs and the Boys. These are two young teams on the rise, the Bucs need to upgrade personnel to be contenders.
December 19th, 2016 at 7:28 am
They lost because they got best in the trenches on both sides.
Maybe Joe will acknowledge is not mostly Martin- it’s the run blocking !!
December 19th, 2016 at 7:33 am
@mcbuc- how many overthrows did he have? Passes behind receivers? I can live with 1 INT but 3 and 2 fumbles? That’s inexcusable.
Cowboys d was allowing almost 70% completion by opposing qbs but James failed to put this team on his back. Dude has a lot to work on to earn that franchise qb label
December 19th, 2016 at 8:00 am
Both front lines stunk. Defense couldn’t get to Prescott. Offense couldn’t open a hole and got pushed around like a bunch of 12 year old girls. A special mention for Cherilus, what a garbage performance. Dude needs to go away.
And did Winston have money on the Cowboys?
Lastly, they were completely out-coached.
December 19th, 2016 at 8:05 am
Defense was gassed on that 42 yard run, offense couldn’t keep the ball, gosder cherilus is so bad, sign a better RT, draft a safety first round, second round get a receiver, third round get a bigger CB or an edge rusher.
December 19th, 2016 at 8:15 am
This isn’t fantasy football. The game is won and lost in the trenches. The Bucs was dominated on both sides of the ball. Any decent QB requires time to go through his reads and have a balanced running attach. Bucs showed neither last night. The Bucs right OT was an embarrassment!! The better team won, Point blank. Lets pony up for the Saints and Panthers… Go Bucs!
December 19th, 2016 at 8:20 am
Fake is a rookie QB, not the average rookie QB, 20 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions,that’s why they are winning, they won the line of scrimmage on both sides, when that happens, you can’t run the ball, you are constantly under pressure and on defense, the db’s and lb’s have to cover longer w/the threat of QB who can run.
I don’t think Dirk helped his running or passing game forcing JW to stay in pocket and lack of screen game (even if godser, hawley, and Myers would’ve missed the block)
December 19th, 2016 at 8:47 am
Lavonte David: garbage!
-PACman Jones
December 19th, 2016 at 9:04 am
the defense could’ve played better….smitty allowed dak to sit back and be comfortable….he should’ve blitzed a lot more….another thing that killed us was the yardage on 1st down….every time I looked up it was 2nd&2….McCoy was getting mauled on the inside by fredricks and martin all night….no doubt they smitty could’ve put them in better position to win…with that said the defense was put in a few bad spots by the offense….the fumble and the first int….dak was too comfortable….we didn’t force him to do anything he didn’t want to do….GO BUCS!!!!
December 19th, 2016 at 9:17 am
Sorry joe. This article is stupid. GOSDER EFFING CHERILUS didn’t show up, and the defense kept holding Dallas to FGs everytime the offense gave them a short field.
December 19th, 2016 at 9:49 am
Point blank, these linebackers stinks,always out of position and will not filled the holes created by the defense line. This team was intimated by by the cowboys and the bright lights.
December 19th, 2016 at 9:50 am
Smitty played soft D and Dak made them pay. Brought 4 all night against the best OL in football. Brilliant Mike! Dak says thank you. Should’ve dialed up 58 on the blitz, he was ballin out there.
Both lines for the Bucs sucked eggs. McCoy didn’t show up and Gosder got owned by a guy who was on the Chiefs practice squad earlier this season.
December 19th, 2016 at 10:00 am
26-20 final score. Bucs give Cowdungs 10 points off 4 turnovers. Any NFL team, EVEN Cleveland, will kick the other team’s azz given that many turnovers! JFameis goes haywire. Dallas didn’t beat the Bucs; Bucs beat themselves. Tampa Bay is developing into a potential SB team. It won’t be this year; it will be next year. 🙂 I predicted 8-8 this and last season. Bucs are already at .500. I don’t think they’re quite playoff ready though. They need the off-season to fix the remaining problems: WR, OL, DBs. ME13, Brate and Hump are turning into an all-star group. Looking forward to the final 2 games and next season. GO BUCS!!
December 19th, 2016 at 10:04 am
The people who are commenting on the play in the trenches are spot on. I was upset at some plays last night and not pleased that the Bucs lost but I think most of you chalked up this game as an “L”. I’m not surprised the Bucs lost. I’m far more disappointed that despite getting dominated in the trenches they had their opportunities to win.
As an aside, I don’t think Dak is anything special. His success is coming from that offensive line and having the next great running back next to him. I think Ezekiel Elliot should be RoTY and MVP. No one has been better this season.
December 19th, 2016 at 10:12 am
We did lose the game in the trenches and I was afraid that we would. Winston was under pressure but why did we not roll him out more and give him the choice to run or pass. You just can’t live in the pocket against Dallas with out pathetic OL and lack of any semblance of a rushing attack. Winston is not the most accurate QB by any stretch of the imagination and constant pressure cant possibly make that any better. If he is at his best rolling out, the roll him out for cruing out loud. Are our coaches clueless or what?
December 19th, 2016 at 10:36 am
Dak’s stats are inflated! He is the CHECKDOWN king. yes, he completed 32 passes and Winston completed like 17 BUT he only threw for like 30 yards more than Winston. Don’t get me wrong Dak is pretty good, but he had time and all he was throwing is short high percentage passes. If we could have stopped the run, we win this game. plain and simple.
December 19th, 2016 at 11:05 am
Defense left a lot of plays on the field, yes. Some of our biggest “stars” didn’t show up (McCoy and David).
But this game was lost on the offensive side of the ball.
December 19th, 2016 at 11:07 am
The culture change needs to show up here within our fan base. We should not launch a blame game here but instead understand that the NFL flexed our franchise into a playoff clinching party but I feel they repaid us with the next two games. I still think we get in and make some noise.
December 19th, 2016 at 11:19 am
It was so obvious that both of the Bucs lines are light-weight and got pushed around in the trenches the whole game, that is where a game is won or lost. Protect on offense and attack on defense, the Bucs could do neither, that’s why they lost.
December 19th, 2016 at 1:01 pm
LVD hasn’t been a star since Schiano. Can’t cover anyone.
December 19th, 2016 at 4:56 pm
Some say JW is at fault.
Some say play calling.
Some say NYG gave them the blueprint.
They can’t play like giants up front.
Every issue came down to one thing —–
They were better in the trenches – on o line and d line.
Another 2 pieces for each line will be added this offseason via draft and fa
Plus the #2 we
And JW maturing another year…
next year they are a SB contender
December 19th, 2016 at 5:10 pm
I meant #2 WR