“Guys Were Hanging All Over Him”
September 10th, 2018
Very much lost in the shuffle of the monstrous offensive explosion yesterday were two beastly catches by tight end O.J. Howard — on the two balls thrown his way.
Two tough grabs totaling 54 yards.
As Dirk Koetter said after the game, “Those were both, guys were hanging all over him. Those were both really pretty plays. But those are the plays O.J. makes in practice. I mean, he makes those plays.”
It was a wide receiver kind of day in New Orleans, with Cameron Brate getting shut out after a pass interference call on him in the red zone wiped out his lone catch. But Joe doe doesn’t want to discount Howard’s impact. Those two plays he made help open up the offense for everyone else.
Damn, Joe wouldn’t want to be a defensive coordinator facing the Bucs.
The video below is of the business-like Howard after the game. It very much reflects the all-business tone Joe detected throughout the locker room yesterday in New Orleans. This was no fiesta; it was a happy team that realized this was just one step on the ladder.
Enjoy.
https://www.facebook.com/tampabaybuccaneers/videos/263540430854097/
September 10th, 2018 at 9:06 am
Hey take next year’s Second round Pick and Ronald Jones ship them to Pittsburgh for a rental on Bell. Even if he only plays starting week 11! The second round pick may be be wasted anyway!
September 10th, 2018 at 9:08 am
OJ is a monster in the middle of the field.
September 10th, 2018 at 9:10 am
@ Ed there is no way they do that. The NFL is keen to the lack of NFL skills Jones has. While I love the enthusiasm we are stuck with the bust.
September 10th, 2018 at 9:10 am
Remember when the Bucs blew out the Bears last year, this is just a reminder we need to stay hungry.
September 10th, 2018 at 9:13 am
#THEAMISHRIFLEISFREE
Interestingly, we have articles about Monken, OJ, Smith, Jensen, but none about the man who came into the lions den with poise and put together a Ring of Honor performance and the best game in the NFL Week 1.
Much more than Stealing a W and making the Bears fret over Jameis’ return. Don’t worry JW3, I guess your spot will be here waiting for you when you come back.
It’s been a long summer, but the Beard did what he’s been capable of the entire time he has been riding pine.
#FREETHEAMISHRIFLE
September 10th, 2018 at 9:21 am
what a luxury our tight ends are
September 10th, 2018 at 9:26 am
Great win, very positive start to season. If we could ever get our defense right we will be a major force come playoff time. 1 game at a time, next Philly.
September 10th, 2018 at 9:26 am
“Joe doesn’t want to discount Howard’s impact. Those two plays he made helped open up the offense for everyone else.”
Why is it that so many only see the TE when he is making plays downfield?
OJ had a LOT more impact on that game than the two great catches. Howard’s blocking was a big factor in helping the OLine look so “solid” yesterday.
Future All Pro…
September 10th, 2018 at 9:29 am
OJ can be a special player. Having Brate is a luxury too- don’t forget that he got hosed on a PI call on a nice catch down the sideline…having both of those guys hitting the seams is scary!
September 10th, 2018 at 9:34 am
Just a beast destined for a monster year. I think our TEs show up big the next 2 weeks.
3-0 for Winston baby.
Plus Mike Evan’s looked like a man on a mission with YAC.
Racked up a ton of them yesterday.
I wonder what the team total YAC was?
Probably tops in the league!!
September 10th, 2018 at 9:40 am
We do NOT need Leveon Bell!!! Why give up on a 2nd round draft pick before he’s played a down. So if we trade our 2nd next year…we’d be without a 2nd AND a 3rd pick?
And so Ed are you suggesting that this team is ready for an SB and Bell would be the difference. Pittsburgh is the team on the hot seat. They ARE ready if they can ever figure a way to get past NE…that perhaps DOES require Bell.
Bell is a great player but what would he add to the Bucs? More explosive plays.
Did it look like we need more explosiveness in this offense. Is that really our problem.
Bottom line…we really don’t have offensive needs our most pressing needs are ALL on the defensive side. What would Leveon have added yesterday. We win with 55 instead of 48 points?
I understand the lust for Kalil Mack…HE could have made a difference on this team. We need defensive help. Our offense is fine…especially if this OL stays healthy and plays like they did yesterday.
September 10th, 2018 at 9:41 am
The offense was incredible but I wanted to bring up the one pass Cam Brate caught. He was in bounds if you look at the replay and it should’ve been holding on the Saints. They somehow called pass interference on Cam and said he was out of bounds(double bad call by the refs on that one). The Bucs would have had first in goal instead of having to settle for a field goal on that drive.
September 10th, 2018 at 9:49 am
@Reality, Evans had 45 yards worth of YAC.
September 10th, 2018 at 9:56 am
StPete – I believe Kerber’s point is that Licht seems to waste our 2nd round picks. From ASJ, to Aguayo, to Spence, and now Jones that is downright atrocious. Licht is lucky he has hit on many of his picks, because when you have blown four 2nd round picks on busts after four years at the helm, that would get many GMs fired.
September 10th, 2018 at 9:58 am
And yes, when you have an early 2nd round pick RB as a healthy scratch he is on his way to being a complete bust. If he hadn’t been taken in the 2nd round he would have been cut during the preseason if he even made it past training camp.
September 10th, 2018 at 10:11 am
Ed Kerber Says
Hey take next year’s Second round Pick and Ronald Jones ship them to Pittsburgh for a rental on Bell. Even if he only plays starting week 11! The second round pick may be be wasted anyway!
I believe it is far, far too early to call Jones a bust. People need to stop treating him like a first round pick. He was one of three second rounders, and the other two are doing great.
The Buccaneers drafted him knowing they had Peyton Barber to start and Rodgers to back him up for this year. They knew when they picked him that he would need a little time to develop. Has anyone considered that?
They must have known, and they must have decided that his potential was worth the developmental time.
September 10th, 2018 at 10:19 am
OJ is a huge weapon in this offense! The guy is an AllPro in the making!
September 10th, 2018 at 10:27 am
JBoo Who? I prefer the way Fitzpatrick eats his W’s. The only way JW stays around here is if Fitzpatrick gets hurt. But then again, I would prefer Ryan Griffin over the short yellow bus patron JW.
***we would have lost that game if JW starts
September 10th, 2018 at 10:27 am
The draft success ratio is approximately 50-50. I’m not sure why people obsess on a certain round for Licht. It’s absolutely coincidence that Licht’s 2nd round picks haven’t worked out when you put them in the total picture.
Licht is doing fine with the draft when you take all of his picks including some 4th rounders and later picks.
It just so happens that Licht’s failures have primarily come in the second round.
Coincidence does not equal causation.
Again…we can debate quitting on ROJO this early. I agree totally with Bonzai.
Peyton Barber’s rookie year would have been viewed as a bust by many of you if he had been selected in the 2nd round. Like ROJO he couldn’t block or catch.
But he worked on his game in the first off season and we see what he now brings to the program.
If ROJO is as hard working and motivated as Barber he too could blossom late in this season or next year.
But what does Leveon Bell bring to this team that we are currently missing. We simply are already blessed with an EXPLOSIVE offense we don’t need Bell.
Now Mack would have been a totally different thing. We are still short on the defensive side.
September 10th, 2018 at 10:35 am
And we have yet another Mariota lover posting again. Yeah GoDeep Fitz is going to perform like that week in and week out. GFOH! Bonzai, he was an early 2nd round and he is a RB. Most rookie RBs with talent see plenty of playing time starting game 1 of their careers. As fans we noticed that he doesn’t seem to have much of anything to offer as an NFL RB. Koetter and Licht saw this too and that is why he was on the sidelines. It is one thing to man up and admit this may have been a terrible mistake, but you need to avoid making the mistake in the first place.
September 10th, 2018 at 10:48 am
Who you tryin’ ta mess with ese?
Don’t you know I’m loco?
To da one on da flam
Boy it’s tough
I just toss that ham in the fryin’ pan
Like spam
It’s done when I come in
Slam
Damn, I feel like the Son of Sam
Don’t make me wrek ya hectic
Automatic got me goin’ like Gen’ral Electric
Damn
–Cypress Hill
Insane in the membrane….48-40 Bucs win!
September 10th, 2018 at 11:12 am
I know it’s off topic, but IMHO the best play of the game was the 6-yeard scramble by Fitz on 3rd down to secure a first down and a BUCs victory. Who doesn’t believe that if NO gets the ball back they score and convert for 2? After that it’s anyone’s guess what might have happened. I was chugging brew like a 20-year old when we were up 48-24. Then 2 touchdowns and 2-point conversions by NO. Damn, how does that happen! IT SHOULDN”T, but Joe’s already elaborated on the D’s performance yesterday.
September 10th, 2018 at 11:26 am
I have watched Licht/DK build this O for 3 years now. I hope they are starting to flower, and yesterday was a sign of things to come. This O is already the best the Bucs have fielded. It could turn out to be as good as Dungy’s SB Tampa 2 D. BTW, Sean Payton got kicked out of the league for a year for blatant cheating. Plenty of it going on yesterday, only more subtle. GO MIGHTY BUCS SUNDAY!!!!!!
September 10th, 2018 at 12:32 pm
Same people calling RoJo a bust already are the same ones saying we had no chance of winning yesterday and were crying their eye’s out when we got OJ over Cook last year.
Quizz is a good blocker even of a man of his size and they were using Cross a lot yesterday which I’m assuming they’re going to continue to do. Shaun Wilson had one carry for 6 yards. Hope he continues to get more. All these RBs have time to develop.
September 10th, 2018 at 2:03 pm
I’m excited to see Brate and Howard become a one two punch.
All this Offensive weapons, no excuse why we can’t score a lot all season. Hopefully the D steps it up, we might have ourselves a little season here.