“Tampa Was Paper Tigers”
October 18th, 2017
Mocks the Bucs.
You can start shoveling dirt in the face of the 2017 season for the Bucs.
Why? That’s the proclamation from ramen-noodles-neophyte, California train-romancing, anti-football proliferation, outhouse-admiring, airline-napping, steerage-flying, Yogi Berra-worshiping, urinal picture-taking, video game-playing, Taylor Swift-listening, pickpocket-thwarting, Bucs-uniform-frowning, Allie-LaForce-smitten, Big-Ten-Network-hating, pedestrian-bumping, olive oil-lapping, popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried-chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, circle-jerking, craft beer-chugging, cricket-watching, scone-loathing, college football-naïve, baseball-box-score-reading, NPR-honk, filthy-hotel-staying, fight-instigating, barista-training, social activist Peter King of Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports fame.
After watching (?) the slap-in-the-face to football fans across the Tampa Bay area that was the outrage of a showing last Sunday in Arizona, King all but told Bucs fans they may as well start getting hyped for the 2018 draft. The season is over. King stopped just short of calling the Bucs a fraud.
On his weekly appearance with the one and only Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, heard exclusively on SiriusXM Radio, King spared few words when it came to the Bucs. In a discussion of teams struggling to grasp the life ring of playoff hopes, King said the Bucs are toast. after that disgrace on Sunday.
Chris “Mad Dog” Russo: I will tell you some other team that might be in danger. Tampa better win this game this week too. That’s a tough division…
Peter King: Yeah, but Chris, Tampa was paper tigers. They have shown right now that they are not yet good enough to compete. And they don’t have a quarterback who is reliable enough to compete at [a winning] level.
Russo: Yeah, that’s a good point. [Jameis] Winston has fallen off. He’s erratic. He’s a good competitor but he is erratic.
King: It is interesting. This was going to be the year I thought that both Mariota and Winston were going to take their place in the top 10-to-12 quarterbacks in the league and right now neither has.
Joe admit to being on the ledge as well. That ghastly performance Sunday just about did it for Joe. Good teams don’t get totally boat-raced like that by [at that time] a losing team. Good teams don’t get caught with their pants around their ankles like that. Good teams at least try to stop a pass. Good teams don’t run away and hide behind the bushes when a couple of nursing home residents [Carson Palmer and Adrian Peterson] shake a fist in the air while leaning on a cane.
That game Sunday had all the attributes of one of Raheem Morris’ classic beatdowns, you know, like the time the Bucs got chain-whipped at home by the Steelers? Big difference is, the Bucs currently have a Pro Bowler and a high draft pick playing safety, not a late-round afterthought of a mediocre college linebacker trying to play safety in the NFL like Morris had.
Difference in that curb-stomping in 2010 and Sunday’s alley-beating? The Bucs seven years ago — with a defense led by immortals such as Styles White, Quincy Black and E.J. Biggers — actually had a defensive stop in the first quarter forcing the Super Bowl-bound Steelers on a three-and-out on their first drive, and got quarterback legend Charlie Batch (!) to throw an incompletion (and not allow the Steelers to complete their first 13 pass attempts).
The Bucs in 2010 also didn’t have a starting cornerback unable to defend a pass in two weeks.
Joe’s pretty confident this year’s Arizona Cardinals will not be playing in the Super Bowl in Minnesota come February.
Another difference between Raheem’s teams and this year’s? As winning Bucs coach Dirk Koetter himself said, this year’s Bucs “have a ton” of talent.
October 18th, 2017 at 10:05 am
We have 8-8 talent
It’s really that simple
October 18th, 2017 at 10:07 am
Same old story with this team. Must be something in the water… or ownership
October 18th, 2017 at 10:07 am
All we have been treated to is a team that speaks loudly and carries a tiny stick. Classic all hype with nothing to back it up. That’s two humiliating beat downs in four weeks. Some teams don’t go four years with a beat down as bad as either one of those. Whatever you do don’t blame Jason Licht. He is immune to criticism much like the offensive line.
October 18th, 2017 at 10:10 am
And we have djx is not a fit in tampa. He making everyone on offense look incompetent because we can’t give him the ball. Remove this player away from Jw and poof just like that the offense is fix. Djax experiment should be trashed. Glazes need to step in on this marriage and divorce djx right away and get your money back.
October 18th, 2017 at 10:12 am
This doesn’t turn around soon, welcome back Jon. Frankly, few things would make me happier than seeing Dirk get it back together. But if we don’t win this week, his future will look very uncertain. Could we only lose two or three games the rest of the year to make the playoffs if we don’t win this game? Remotely possible, but hugely unlikely.
October 18th, 2017 at 10:15 am
Lemarcus…so you are saying Jameis can’t accurately throw to a fast, top flight receiver? And as such, we need to get rid of the receiver? I hope you are wrong, as I can’t remember any franchise QB that can’t hit a wide open fast receiver, in sixty years of watching football.
October 18th, 2017 at 10:25 am
Peter Kings assessment of our Bucs was..spot on. At the beginning of the season, national sportswriters everywhere tried to, wanted to and did support the Bucs..coming off theire HBO Gala. They also brought into the hype. But those sportswriters have seen…..Its hard to be a Bucs fan..Hard. And please if I our Bucs and playoffs are mentioned in the same sentence again…I’ll Puke!
October 18th, 2017 at 10:25 am
The bucs will never compete until the leader of the losing culture cancer93 is infecting another roster with his mentally weak losing ways….
October 18th, 2017 at 10:26 am
Hits the nail on the head. Morris has significantly less talent and was playing against a significantly better opponent. Even Schiano’s teams had less talent defensivey. This team is on the verge ignored a spiral. If they let the run game get going in Buffalo, hold on to your seatbelts.
October 18th, 2017 at 10:28 am
Djx in tampa is equivalent to AP in new Orleans. Just a not fit. It’s been a off season plus 9 games already. It’s not working. I blame jw for about 2 miss fires which is normal. But djx must removed and let’s go w guys jw can hit perfectly. Jw can throw to them with accuracute and timing but not djx. It’s the other way around
October 18th, 2017 at 10:29 am
Joe you feed off negativity. They were down 31-0, final score was 38-33. These guys fought back and should’ve won the damn game after all the ups and downs through the 60 mins. If you take the failed 2pt conversions and at least a field goal we should’ve kicked when we had 1st and goal and got ZERO points out of it?? That’s the points we left out on the field and they come home with the “W” No wonder 620 kicked you off and fired the fat a$$ stick carrying king… lol “I’m a stick carrier” how stupid
October 18th, 2017 at 10:30 am
The point is Mike…if we don’t….what are the ramifications? If Dirk didn’t have the guys ready to play, or if they decide not to get ready to play for him, can he survive? Sure you can trade players and such… but if the come in here and aren’t ready to play, does it make any difference? So that is the bottom line, and where do the Glazer’s go from there.
October 18th, 2017 at 10:30 am
I have fought and fought with my cocky friend, over the Bucs.
I predicted playoffs for Tampa this year, and possibly a division championship.
He insisted that fans here in Tampa, have been had.
He predicted total implosion for us this year, and the removal of some, if not all of our front office, at the end of this year.
So far, it is looking like he was right 🙁
6 of our next 8 games are on the road.
Buffalo is heavily favored over us, they are undefeated at home this year, and have Leslie Frazier and Shawn McDermott, both of who are very familiar with us.
Next, we get the Panthers here in Tampa, and they are flying high so far this year.
I sure hope we turn it around, it is not too late.
October 18th, 2017 at 10:32 am
And tmaxcon is right
It is said u have rid of players from losing cultures to bred a winning culture. Losing is an infection. So we blame jw inaccurate passes but defense is giving 403 yards a game? Jw doest have to time to learn playing catch up from the gate since he got here. Organization fail for real
October 18th, 2017 at 10:32 am
Smokey hills
There is no bright spot or moral victories when you defense is completely embarrassed and abused before halftime. That game was over in 2nd qtr
October 18th, 2017 at 10:32 am
The Dewey realist tried to warn people not to believe hype. I used the phrase “paper champs” more than once. I’m no where near the ledge and not ready to give up. We are 1 game under .500 It will all come together. Might not be this week thought. Buffalo is no joke anymore.
October 18th, 2017 at 10:33 am
Smokey…no….in the balance, we weren’t going to win that game. We didn’t deserve to win that game. We fought, and Arizona played in such a way that we come back, but we “shouldn’t have won that game”…we were outplayed for most of it.
October 18th, 2017 at 10:36 am
Mark
This is not maddening. U can’t put just a fast guy with a poor route tree and expect money. Djx is a diva me first guy and the day he cried about the ball on hard knocks I knew then he was horrible for JW.
We made a mistake cut our ties. Sooner the better
October 18th, 2017 at 10:36 am
ALL ABOARD..The. GRUDEN campaign train is about to hit the trail. I hear the horn blowin down the tracks…ALL ABOARD!!! I just brought my ticket.
October 18th, 2017 at 10:37 am
@tmax- “The bucs will never compete until…” they find coaches that can make adjustments.
October 18th, 2017 at 10:37 am
Even Fitz went deep to him and got picked off. Just not jw. Again if the shoe fits wear it. The shoes are evans ,brate, hump, godwin, and work on oj and we will get better right away
October 18th, 2017 at 10:40 am
Interesting take on the “Big Dog Dumig’s show yesterday. Stadium is 20 years old.The Glazers have sold stadium packages in 10 year periods. The 2nd 10 year period is ending after this season. If the Bucs don’t turn this ship around fast, there are going to be a lot of non renewals next season. That’s MUCHO money lost. Licht does not have a contract after this season. It’s all starting to add up. Heads are going to roll ! Probably why Licht’s draft picks haven’t been safe choices. He knew he is running out of time. Interesting.
October 18th, 2017 at 10:42 am
I’m telling you right now if I see this team down even a touchdown and Hargreaves is 10 yards off the receiver I’m done. Because I refuse to watch a team not smart enough to force that no good punk woman to play up on his man and then listen to the Joes say there’s no pass rush. Of course not. When there’s pressure they know Hargreaves is 14 yards away so they throw it to him. Period.
October 18th, 2017 at 10:43 am
Lemarcus… I don’t care how many balls he catches personally, but when he is breaking wide open, and he is under thrown or overthrown almost every time, it appears to be a problem. It isn’t about the mystical word “chemistry”. And just getting rid of the best speed receiver we have…not a rookie, but a guy that has been a proven receiver in the league, isn’t going to solve that problem.
October 18th, 2017 at 10:47 am
Lemarcus…. you aren’t among the crowd that wants to start Fitz and believes he has magically become a franchise QB, are you? He is an interception machine…so an interception throw by Fitz isn’t a meaningful indicator of a particular receiver me.
October 18th, 2017 at 10:47 am
The Bucs will never compete until they sell this team to an owner that knows how to run it and make it a winner constantly. It all starts at the top!
October 18th, 2017 at 10:58 am
Smith must go whole hog in on the 3 – 4 defense. He’s got 4 good linebackers along with Spence (Tho injured). Bucs gave proven they don’t have the personnel for a 4 – 3 scheme. What happened to Ayers and the rest of the DL. Looks like they’re taking ballroom classes every game.
October 18th, 2017 at 10:59 am
From the looks of it, we will be lucky to win 8 games. I was optimistic until last week but now don’t know what to think. It has to be the players, I can’t see it being ALL the coaches fault. I knew after watching Hard Knocks and the preseason that something was off. Dirk and HK’s kept saying that practice wasn’t that good OR started out good but didn’t finish strong. They must have meant the offense because it has been struggling ALL year. Hope we can turn it around. At least Fitz could hit a WR deep in stride, time for Jameis to do the same or this season is OVER. Let’s go BUCS!
October 18th, 2017 at 10:59 am
We all got Lost in all the Hype this year before we even played a snap, me included, even the players. We got to high on our horse after Bears and the Giants, and then now….welcome to reality and we got exposed quickly in 2 games im surprised the Patriots didn’t whoop us like that. We better do something fast, I’m guessing this will be a good game with the Bills because if you haven’t fixed anything after 2 embarrassing losses this year or to even have a better game plan then it’s time to make some Big changes at the end of the year.
October 18th, 2017 at 10:59 am
Three – Four defense. Blitz…Blitz…Blitz ! Make the other QB get “happy Feet”.
October 18th, 2017 at 11:03 am
Wether they deserved the win or not doesn’t make a difference to me, we lost,game over, bring on the Bills!!The point I was bringing out to Negative Joe was bring out the positive things instead of this negative sh*t all the time. GO BUCS
October 18th, 2017 at 11:10 am
No. Jw is my guy. Jw misses an open djx.? That’s funny. Djx is hardly open. Too predictable. Fitz scares me silly. Djx is a problem
October 18th, 2017 at 11:10 am
First and this is First , you can’t run your defense whatever it may be ? It can’t be run to any degree with Hardgraves playing outside , can’t be done !!
This is classic Coach / GM cover up , I don’t care if he has three picks against Buffalo and I don’t care that they moved on from Roberto , this is a stubborn draft pick decision that is killing the whole team. A break on the sideline or move to the slot which everyone knows he’s better suited for would certainly benefit him !!!
Trade one of our guards for an experienced corner, any one of the three , don’t care , doesn’t matter !!! Has to be done , What was Licht thinking !!! Seriously what was he thinking , he does this every year with a position. Two years ago it was o line and He and Koetter as I’ve been saying for three years have beat their first overall pick to death and then run an offense that makes him hold the ball compounding the problem !!! And and and for three years have not utilized or had a short yardage back that is of up most importance for a young QB . Move the chains !!!
Licht has done some good things but man he has been as bad as it gets and as clueless as it gets in some areas and by the way you don’t get the first pick often and you sure as hell protect them. Ask the colts !!! ask New England the one thing that makes Brady good and the one thing that makes Brady bad , fortunately for them they have put protecting Brady and getting the ball out of his hands the # 1 priority !!!
They have beat Winston to death and it may be the down fall to his career , ask Andrew Luck !!! Ask Sam Bradford !!! Winston has taken a beating and Licht and Koetter are both responsible and definitely haven’t taken this seriously and you can’t take those hits back !!!
October 18th, 2017 at 11:12 am
And gmc can call out fans to fight but cant call his teammates for blown assignments? Gmc is weird and a punk. He had a enough w bashing but not blowouta?
Cut gmc now
October 18th, 2017 at 11:17 am
Isaac
Jw downfall is djx being anywhere near him. Djx can’t get open cuz he too predictable and we have to force feed him targets.
October 18th, 2017 at 11:21 am
Blows my mind people actually care what King has to say. Give me a break
October 18th, 2017 at 11:37 am
7-9 team and if you closely watched the games down the wire last year the bucs defensively were getting blown out on a regular basisi the other team kept the bucs in, i mean derek carr racked up 500 yards passing most of that on vernon, and never was sacked nor touched, then drew brees had 2 easy TDS dropped in tampa and the stick carriers said BUT LOOK at the score, BS…licht has no clue as a GM he mismanaged this team from the get go, letting donald penn walk out the door, that along with the dj swearingers and other buffon initial moves continued and contnue to this day…how do you not sign houston last week to a team that CANNOT touch a qb that is begging to be sacked…..and draft the best player available instead of hargreaves which was laremy tunsil which is immediate upgrade to this crappy OL, but its ok…here comes 7-9
October 18th, 2017 at 11:41 am
I predicted the Bucs will go 7-9 before the season. Now, I’m not so sure, they may go 5-11. If they don’t get it together and start playing football.
October 18th, 2017 at 11:45 am
Been saying it since preseason.
You cant win in the NFL? If you cant rush the QB.
And you wont win, if coaches play guys because of their draft position- and not their talent.
We have the best DT in the NFL. Yet we have failed to get him any help.
Year after year. Its criminal, and the stupidest thing Ive ever seen a team do!
Every coach makes no secret of it.
They double and triple team McCoy- and ignore the rest of our scrubs.
Hargreaves is ranked as the worst CB in the league. Hes playing, because they dont want to admit they missed on a first round pick. No other reason.
If he had been a third round pick- they would have cut him last year.
With those kind of decisions. They deserve to lose.
The offense isnt bad, and will Improve.
But either Mike Smith has lost it- or they are forcing him to play Hargreaves,
And not getting him DEs.
Either way. We lose, until its fixed.
October 18th, 2017 at 11:47 am
But Rah’s team had the legendary Jamael Oronde Barber to lead the defense, anyway, you have to agree with the article. Some.of you say the Arizona game changed your outlook of your beloved bucs. I dropped the towel after New Englands game, this team is lacking leadership, period.
You bring a harda$$ coach like Jim Harbaugh to get the moneys worth out of these guys, he doesn’t tolerate vacations like last we witnessed last week.
October 18th, 2017 at 11:50 am
But captain Tim, the offense hasn’t shown up at all this season, at least the defense had a couple of good games.
October 18th, 2017 at 12:22 pm
This is all just so sad. It’s already Wed and I am not even a little excited about Sunday. This team just takes the fun out of the sport, really pitiful.
October 18th, 2017 at 12:24 pm
You guys are the worst fans ever. Lol.
Every time we lose it’s the 2018 NFL draft. Every time we win it’s the playoffs!
We ain’t done yet. Every team has a blow out game for and against. We’ve already had both. This team will be competing for the playoffs in week 17.
Buffalo doesn’t want to play us right now, trust me.
October 18th, 2017 at 12:44 pm
dis… why wouldn’t they want to play us now? Jameis is day to day, last I heard. Yes, we need the victory..but we needed a victory a week ago. I think they would rather play us what appears to be some turmoil, than if we had won last week and were on a roll. You could say it is a must game, but last week was a must game, too. We are in a very competitive division, and we couldn’t afford to lose to Arizona either.
October 18th, 2017 at 12:45 pm
Divided locker rooms don’t win.
October 18th, 2017 at 12:53 pm
Winston has fallen off. …
that’s the biggest thing that concerns me…..Winston has regressed…simple as that….and so have other players on this team….that screams coaching….these coaches are at best position coaches or coordinators….
while teams are hitting their stride and know who they are, we’re still trying to find our identity….that’s unacceptable when you have a HC that is “suppose” to be an offensive guru and was promoted to get the most out of our young franchise qb….
I said it during winstons rookie year and i’ll say it again….Winston got dirk the job by how well he played his rookie year….dirk did nothing special….he sure as hell did a better job as an OC….since then, both have regressed….clocks ticking dirk!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
October 18th, 2017 at 1:01 pm
Every time we win it’s the playoffs!
nobody was saying that after the giants victory!!!!!…McDermott will have his team prepared to play unlike dirk…..
the M.O. is out on us…come out blazing and stuff the run the first 2series….get up 10-0 in the first quarter and dirk will abandon the run….come out passing because we have NO PASS RUSH and smitty wont adjust….simple as that!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
October 18th, 2017 at 1:04 pm
It starts with Jameis. He has to play better if we are going to have any chance. And I don’t mean just this week against Buffalo.
October 18th, 2017 at 1:29 pm
On the bright side, the last time we were called Paper Tigers we won the Super Bowl that year.
October 18th, 2017 at 1:34 pm
First of all a defensive line that is capable of playing the run surrendered first series to allow Adrian Peterson to go full speed through gaping holes. Linebackers being blown off by blocks leaving Brent Grimes to lead team in tackles? Cmon guy is like 170 lbs and he’s making tackles on AP. That was as weak a front 7 that played an NFL game this year. Pros are not supposed to be completely blocked out of plays like that.
Same old offense Doug Martin being tackled behind or at line of scrimmage. Receivers not running good routes and Jameis being Jameis not throwing accurately to start by missing wide open Mike Evans. Drives ending up punts. Martin dropping passes hitting him on chest. Horrible red zone execution. It’s the same old crap.
Koetter calling that pass to Evans on goal line you should never ever
throw a ball horizontally when backed up. You either run or you throw checkdowns but that was the worst play call from your one yard line.
Dirk needs to put the headset on an let his offensive coordinator call plays from above field because apparently he can see what the defenses are doing and adjust play calling until they are down 20 points!
October 18th, 2017 at 2:13 pm
Actually, I read in the Buffalo Press that they feel Tampa showed plenty of heart, in the last loss.
They were impressed that down as we were,, we did not quit, and nearly came back to win.
October 18th, 2017 at 2:32 pm
It might have just been editing by HBO, but on Hard Knocks, I saw just way too much yuking it up and grab-assing (as my coach called it) at practice. It just didn’t look like a team that took practice seriously. I was not impressed. In fact, I was really disappointed.
October 18th, 2017 at 2:58 pm
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Winston has “fallen off” … um, how can anyone with a functioning brain say that a young QB that had 4,090 yards, 28 TDs and 18 picks the year before but was on pace this season for 4,792 yards, 28 TDs and just 12 picks, has “fallen off” … it’s like these media talking heads just watch each other talk and then play off each other’s inane talking points without doing even an iota of research … the blind leading the blind … you can find better insight from fat guys sitting on their couch in front of a webcam than you can with a lot of the folks at SI, ESPN and the like.
LAZY MEDIA drive me nuts … it’s not that hard to watch games, do a little research and then report the facts … but they seem to rather just peddle thoughtless and meaningless narratives that are generally not even true … FAKE NEWS!!!!!!
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October 18th, 2017 at 3:07 pm
BTW … I a massive Chucky Gruden fan … I was NEVER even a Bucs fan until they drafted JW but I’ve always loved Gruden … even back when he was in Philly!
However … I like Dirk and think he’s a solid coach who is still learning and am not ready to just throw him under the bus … I think 90% of this team’s issues are on the defensive side of the ball … the defense sucks, period.
I do think Koetter may be best served to let an offensive coordinator call all the plays though, or to even let Jameis go full Peyton Manning and call all the plays himself … I think being the HC and the OC is just to much for any coach, let alone a newer coach like Koetter
October 18th, 2017 at 3:20 pm
Cruising the NFL standings……lots of teams are 3/3…..some will go 3/4 this weekend.
Bucs can beat Tatanka (Buffalo)….if they just execute from first possession
And Mr FG kicker comes thru.
I’d Start Fitzpatrick Cuz he did save the Bucs from complete humiliation. ..
He earned the Start.
JW plays if Fitz goes off the rez : )
Bucs management needed to bring in Def rush ends….that was obvious
The Players will respond on pride …or they will faulter. …and it’s
Play a funeral dirge.
The 3/3 NFL standings break this weekend towards who is going to be there despite the crappy start .
Lots of teams are messed up like the Bucs.
Bucs should break into the Equipment locker room and get those Pewter Uniforms and Helmet.
Jersey label guys…..bring them lots of pizza and beer as they work the fix.
October 18th, 2017 at 3:28 pm
King is being honest here and I don’t disagree with him. This is an 8 win team if they are lucky. Really thought this year they would get to 10 wins. Oh, anything is possible, but it will take a miracle that we all of a sudden get a pass rush, which went on the extinction list some 10+ years ago, and corners named not Grimes that can cover, another year and no playoffs. Sigh.
October 18th, 2017 at 3:56 pm
I realize that there will be good games like the Bears and there will be bad ones such as the Cards. The problem I have is that in 4 of the 5 games we played, we had miserable first halves. Then, like a cannonball JW goes into hurry up mode and executes flawlessly giving us a chance to win. How is it that our brilliant offensive-minded coach can’t see that we flourish in the hurry up. Is there some rule in the NFL that says only if you are trailing late in the game, may you go into the hurry up? Dirk’s job is to play to his team’s strengths. JW’s strength is in an up tempo offense and rolling out of the pocket and extending plays. I think Dirk is over his head as Head Coach. I’d rather he doesn’t give up offensive play-calling but rather takes a step back in time and realize what he did as an Offensive Coordinator. When he was with Atl and 2 years ago, he ran an up tempo offense with success. He’s currently running a vanilla offense that anyone can stop. Air it out, move JW, go to the hurry up. Come on man. We are 2-3. Season is not over.
October 18th, 2017 at 4:14 pm
k@#$@# Peter King
October 18th, 2017 at 4:14 pm
And @#$#@ fair weather fans.
October 18th, 2017 at 4:15 pm
Start Winston if he is healthy. You don’t undermine your franchise QB.
October 18th, 2017 at 4:26 pm
Cmurda writes: I realize that there will be good games like the Bears and there will be bad ones such as the Cards. The problem I have is that in 4 of the 5 games we played, we had miserable first halves. Then, like a cannonball JW goes into hurry up mode and executes flawlessly giving us a chance to win. How is it that our brilliant offensive-minded coach can’t see that we flourish in the hurry up. Is there some rule in the NFL that says only if you are trailing late in the game, may you go into the hurry up?
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Great assessment, Cmurda. Nope, no rule. In fact, many of the high scoring teams go up tempo….Green Bay, Patriots, Atlanta (last season, run heavy this year). Maybe Joe can ask Dirk that in the next presser or whenever. But seems that it gives the offense an advantage because A) a team can’t subsitute and if they do they can get 12 men penalty b) it sometimes forces a valuable timeout c) you can catch them in the right personnel for mismatches because they werent able to substitute d) it wears out the defense earlier and allows the run game to be more effective to close out a game.
The issue with Dirk is predictability. The Buccs were the MOST run heavy of ANY team on 1ST and 2ND down last season. That meant teams geared up to stop the run and that forced us into third and longs. The key in the NFL is to be less predictable. Pass on first and second downs, run on third down. Run in the red zone when most teams are expecting a passing play. Warren Sharp had an awesome article (in his preseason nfl guide) that had the stats to back up his claims on how to be more efficient on offense. Staying ahead of the chains and avoiding third downs is the 2nd or 3rd highest correlation in winning games behind winning the turnover battle.