“You Don’t See It Every Day”
December 15th, 2017
(Brent Grimes photo courtesy of Tampa Bay Buccaneers.)
Here’s a kick in the groin to launch the weekend.
It seems Julio Jones would prefer to not square off toe-to-toe against Brent Grimes.
Now Jones, who is having a bad year when he’s not facing the Bucs, didn’t flat out say that. He’s a competitor and a pure stud, but the implication was clear, via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.
“Oh man, Grimes, he’s one of the better DBs I’ve ever gone against,” Jones said. “His hips, everything about him — kicking 180 [degrees], putting his feet on the ground, driving on balls — I mean, you don’t see it every day.”
Bucs fans know the painful story; Jones rarely was covered by Grimes a few weeks ago in Atlanta. The results were disastrous. Jones had two touchdowns (he has just three total all season) and 250-plus yards receiving
Something will change Monday night. (Perhaps Mike Smith bought a rabbit’s foot?)
The Falcons expect a defensive change, though their offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian shrugged it off as another day at the Julio Jones office.
“When we go into every week, we really anticipate something new, if not numerous things new,” Sarkisian said. “When you have a player like Julio, we’re always going to see different things that aren’t on tape. And it’s our job to adjust to those things as they come.
“It won’t be new to us to see something new — I don’t know if that sounded right coming out — but it’s our job to adjust. They key is to find ways to keep him not just involved in the offense, but a focal point. And to make sure that when he is that focal point and people are doing their things to try and take him away, that provides other opportunities for the other guys on our team to go make their plays.”
Joe looks at it this way. Even if Jones has another great game, it probably won’t come close to what he accomplished in Atlanta. Nobody dominates like that in consecutive games against the same team. (Or do they?)
December 15th, 2017 at 5:51 pm
Their OC sounds koy about the fact that he is licking f his chops thinking about playing this dismal Bucs defense.
December 15th, 2017 at 6:20 pm
How about a pass rush to force quicker reads/throws?
December 15th, 2017 at 6:21 pm
I have known of Brent Grimes…but never watched him until this year…very very special CB/ football player….I’d love to watch his career highlight reel….Ninja
December 15th, 2017 at 6:29 pm
With this inept bunch of players and coaches, I expect worse.
December 15th, 2017 at 6:45 pm
Dewey
Aint happening unless smith decides to blitz. Why he hasnt is another head scratcher in a year full of them.
And Alteredego
Grimes used to destroy the bucs when he was with the falcons. He has been great for many years. Hopefully he sticks around for a couple more years. The new DC next year can hopefuly move him around and shadow top receivers. Or at least have him here to play any way. Guy can ball.
December 15th, 2017 at 7:16 pm
@Darin … “Aint happening unless smith decides to blitz. Why he hasnt is another head scratcher in a year full of them.” You might not be looking close enough Darin; Bucs have been blitzing quite a bit (6 man rush) and have gotten bitten several times as a result. Florida Football Insiders has a very good article (Koetter interview) on what happened in the Lions’ game when they blitzed ( https://www.floridafootballinsiders.com/koetter-says-buccaneers-blitz-winning/ ). Well worth reading. Who knows, it might even change your mind.
December 15th, 2017 at 7:30 pm
Who goes off against the Bucs is irrelevant. It’s who doesn’t. I really hate the fact that they won’t fire Mike Smith right now. The guys never should have been hired. Nobody in they’re right mind has the DB’s playing the way Smith does.
PLAY PRESS COVERAGE YOU FREIKIN MORON!!!!!
December 15th, 2017 at 7:32 pm
Dewey Selmon….say we had this pass rush you speak of….how will that do any good when your corners are 12 yards away from the closest wr? If the QB see’s that every snap it’s going to be 5 yards slants all game….oh, wait it is five yard slants all game. Right!
December 15th, 2017 at 7:38 pm
Bucs still need to draft or acquire a top corner. Grimes not getting any younger
December 15th, 2017 at 7:54 pm
Trust me, The Falcons Receivers are..Chompin at the Bit to up their stats against our Bucs Defense. They cannot wait.
December 15th, 2017 at 7:57 pm
Does anybody even care what Grimes does? If he does return to football he will likely want to play for a contending team.
There’s a percentage of fans wanting us to lose. The only thing I’m excited about is to see what happens in the offseason. They can just sit Grimes for all I care, their games seem like background noise at this point.
Can’t wait for this torture to be over
December 15th, 2017 at 8:04 pm
At this point would it even be an accomplishment if they held Jones in check.
It actually quite pathetic there is more talk about stopping one guy rather then actually finding a way to win the game. It’s just very sad how little faith Anybody has in this team…..How could they possibly go from the preseason expectations we had to this.
It’s one thing to have a poor record but this squad is not even competitive on gameday…….The first Falcon game is a good example, Matt Ryan never even felt any pressure to score in that game. They basically coasted for 60 minutes and never broke a sweat.
December 15th, 2017 at 8:16 pm
Meanwhile….the Giants patiently wait for Mike Smith to become their head coach. Yeah right! Funniest rumor I’ve heard in a while.
December 15th, 2017 at 8:55 pm
We need to cut GMC and bring in an entire new D-Line. Free up about $40 million a year and sign Ziggu Ansah.
December 15th, 2017 at 8:55 pm
@BrianBucs … “Bucs still need to draft or acquire a top corner. Grimes not getting any younger.” That certainly will be one of our biggest needs this coming off-season. But from my perspective, 6 of the 11 starting slots on the defense need replacements right now: 2 DE, 1 DT, 2 CB, 1 SS. And that’s assuming GMC, David, Kwon, Beckwith & Evans all can hold onto starting slots next season (nothing’s a given in the NFL, especially when it comes to injuries … ask Noah Spence).
And that’s just the starting defense. Throw in building some quality depth and those upgrades needed easily double. Now throw in needing at least 2 new starting OLinemen (preferably 3) plus 1 RB and the situation begins to look dire for next year also. That’s at least 9 new starters needed by the start of next season, plus close to that many as new rotational/depth players. Anyone feel like Jason Licht is the right GM to fill all those 18 or so holes with quality draftees AND FAs PLUS re-sign our current key players up for new contracts this year and next? Anyone?
December 15th, 2017 at 8:59 pm
If Grimes doesn’t line up on Julio every play I’m going to lose it. WTH! Grimes is our best defensive player, actually the best player on the team! Turn him loose and let him drop the hammer!
December 15th, 2017 at 9:06 pm
ATLANTA FALCONS…27
TAMPA BAY BUCS…24
Close..But no Cigar.
Speeding towards 4-12. With no Mayday acknowledgement.
December 15th, 2017 at 9:26 pm
@Defense Rules. Seems to me like you’re asking for too much on defense. The five players you mentioned are more then enough to build around.
I think a major problem we have been seeing with this defense is how each year we run a scheme that mainly require pressure with the front four. The scheming has been awful here and centers around the weakest part of our defense. We need drastic changes to the way this defense is schemed or we need to make big moves to get us the lineman required if they continue centering around 4man pressure.
We also need a freaking offense that carry’s the team because that’s what they have been building for. Our defense should be feeding off of what our offense does and should be playing with more leads……..They built the offense to lead the way and it isn’t working at all……..This team need some an identity first and foremost and that’s has to come from up top…..added new players just isn’t going to cut it.
December 15th, 2017 at 9:49 pm
Defense rules
Agreed. Except for a corner and possibly a RB, I don’t want the Bucs to draft anybody who doesn’t put his hand in the dirt
December 15th, 2017 at 10:10 pm
@JimmyJack … “The five players you mentioned are more then enough to build around.” No question in my mind we have to build around those 5 but those other 6 slots are critical. Without the 1 DT & 2 DEs we don’t get any pressure upfront (same problems as this year). Without the 2 CBs & 1 SS our secondary falls on its’ face even if we do get pressure. NFL offenses LOVE weak links, and we’ve all seen how adept opponents’ OCs are at exploiting Bucs’ weaknesses. BTW, I agree with ya wholeheartedly about the offense kicking it into gear & putting up beaucoup points. No way we can fix this defense fast enough to avoid another losing season if the offense doesn’t lead the way.
December 15th, 2017 at 10:54 pm
Well we have gotten worse and worse at stopping the pass since Dirk has been the HC……we have gotten worse and worse at run stop as well.
Our running game has been getting worse and worse in the last two season. The approach has just been awful here to not address(or wrongfully evaluate) three phases of the game and spend all your investment on the passing game.
In two shorts seasons Dirk and Licht have taken a team that was built to contend and turned it into a disgrace of a pro team.
They inherited a team that was good at two phases of the game(rushing,passing) and you could argue they were a decent run stopping team……..They have ruined what was built before them and created more problems then solutions.
The sense of direction with this team is pitiful and it’s why we have no identity. Somebody at the top, either HC or GM, is taking this team in the wrong direction. Eradicate them and hopefully we can find somebody of fixing problems, not creating more.
December 15th, 2017 at 11:09 pm
But I don’t think it going to take a ton of personal moves to fix every problem. The running game shouldn’t be too hard to repair……I don’t think it’s going to take wholesale changes to open up more lane from our Oline.
Of course we need more ability from the RB……If they think this guy in the first round is great then they should probably draft him…..if not I can think of Cincinnati and KC having backs that may be worth considering and shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg.
I just can’t trust our front office to do it. Their idea to fix our running game was to move Marpet to C and to resign Doug. They haven’t had a running game in two years, have no faith they know how to fix it.
December 16th, 2017 at 6:50 am
Mike Smith is of the “if at first you don’t succeed try and try again” mindset. We should see the same garbage as the first game with even better results for ATL. Sorry Tampa Bay has beat me into being all negative.
December 16th, 2017 at 8:14 am
No question we need more free agents to fill the holes after the draft. And that scares me,that Licht’s track record in free agency has not been that good. Defense Rules made a point that we cagey veterans on the team. I agree ,
but with the caveat that they have to be more than a one year solution if that.
Just like the draft you need players to fill a need for 3 or 4 years if possible.
Not sure anybody has done that since VJAX.
December 16th, 2017 at 10:08 am
Yes this coaching staff is incompetent but they can’t be that dumb. I’m hoping they didn’t put Grimes on Jones because they were trying to hide an injury or something. He’s been banged up all year. That’s a valid reason you wouldn’t line him up on the best receiver and an excuse you can’t give in season if that injury is lingering