Bad Gamble
November 21st, 2019
On paper, and heard through a Bucco Bruce Arians explanation, it seemed like a smart thing to do.
The best cornerback on the worst secondary — not a title one strives for in the NFL — didn’t play one snap last Sunday, so Bucs fans are still wondering why rookie corner Jamel Dean didn’t see the field.
Dean was coming off his best game as a pro and was healthy. His reward? Hello, bench.
But Dean was not benched for anything bad, Arians explained. Dean is not a good zone coverage guy, Arians said. And since the Bucs were going to play a lot of zone against the Saints, playing Dean would be like fitting a round hole in a square peg.
Sort of like expecting a fastball hitter to drive in runs facing a junkball pitcher.
And, since #ItsABucsLife, Drew Brees sliced and diced the Bucs’ secondary apart. What’s new?
But Jenna Laine of ESPN believes Arians and Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles outsmarted themselves. Laine, armed with research from her employer, found not playing Dean because the Bucs were going to play zone was bad logic and a bad gamble.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Dean’s four pass breakups on 19 snaps played in zone coverage this year are more than any other player on the team. (He has two pass breakups and an interception on 41 snaps in man coverage.)
Well now, this is interesting.
To be fair, Arians said earlier this week that the Bucs should have played Dean and that he must be on the field more in games the rest of the season.
Given Laine’s information, it is fair to wonder if Dean didn’t see the field on defense against the Saints for some reason other than zone or man coverages?
Presented by Caldeco Air Conditioning & Heating, TAMPA TWO is back with a new episode, with Bucs legend Derrick Brooks and Ira Kaufman diving deep into Sunday’s mess against New Orleans. Another great production from The Identity Tampa Bay and Joe.
November 21st, 2019 at 8:12 am
Who knows. Him, SMB and Carlton Davis all need reps so we know exactly what to expect going forward into planning for next year. Same reason we need to see loads of Edwards and Whitehead.
November 21st, 2019 at 8:15 am
Mort – add in RoJo. This season is over and that man needs more carries and more confidence not to mention the need to take the ball out of JW’s hands.
November 21st, 2019 at 8:28 am
Anyone think that Mr. I will show you up by throwing a challenge flag when I have none left isn’t all that smart??? Of course he DID fleece a big time contract from the Bucs so there is that.
November 21st, 2019 at 8:29 am
Ahh moderation again! Guess honesty is NOT the best policy
November 21st, 2019 at 8:30 am
I was hoping to see dean in the last game, and was very disappointed when he did not play.
Brees and his receivers shredded our zone defense.
November 21st, 2019 at 8:32 am
“Given Laine’s information, it is fair to wonder if Dean didn’t see the field on defense against the Saints for some reason other than zone or man coverages?”
Yes. Because our head coach is is straight gangsta
November 21st, 2019 at 8:42 am
Lots of questions about a team that simply isn’t ready for primetime. I never thought this was a 1 year plan but I was hoping there’d be a little more success by now. We’ve seen glimpses obviously. And I won’t chime in on the JW rhetoric since I have in the past but the fact remains with even an average defense we probably have one to two more victories, possibly three. Lots of work to do.
November 21st, 2019 at 8:43 am
BA does not care as along as the check clear for him and his homeboys
November 21st, 2019 at 8:43 am
A cluster Phuck of Yes Men @ OBP in the coaches room…how many coaches are there again ?
November 21st, 2019 at 8:45 am
I’m not so sure our coaches really know what they are doing, especially BL
November 21st, 2019 at 8:55 am
“Everytime I see Tom Moore’s face
Kobe sees the 2019 Tampa bay Buccaneers ”
Kobe Faker
November 21st, 2019 at 9:07 am
The only way that a lot of BA’s decisions make sense is if he is subtly sabotaging the Bucs in an effort to tank for a top 5 pick without being too obvious, else he looks to be a coach who is past his prime and simply cashing a check for his retirement fund. Then again, would it matter who was out there last Sunday in the secondary? Brees would have disected anything that Bowles could have thrown at him and sadly, unless Koetter goes full blown turtle next Sunday so will Matt Ryan. If the ****ing Saints did not knock me out of my suicide pool 2 weeks ago vs the ATL by taking the day off, I would pick the Falcons this week, that is how sure I am that the Bucs are gonna get scorched in the ATL, just like last year. Its a Bucslife, here’s to 4 dash 12 fellow fans!
November 21st, 2019 at 9:22 am
I think they’re tanking for a QB in the draft.
November 21st, 2019 at 9:26 am
BA is lying. The team has statisticians and uses saber metrics. There is no way they didn’t realize that the majority of Dean’s success has been in zone coverage. However, it makes BA look incompetent when he uses a lie that is easily proven to be false. While it almost certainly doesn’t matter which young CB we actually play as they all suck at this point in their careers, it is concerning that the coach may actually not know how to best use his players. Again though, I would say he was simply lying about the real reason Dean wasn’t playing as that is the more logical explanation.
November 21st, 2019 at 9:40 am
Technically….9-7 might sneak you into the playoffs so I try to appreciate the strategy as to fielding the most competitive team you can. Bill Belichick has players appear/disappear every week…..He’s probably the master of per game adjustments on a weekly basis. The goal is to win THAT week.
That being said, at some point just leave them in for experience…..The season is one loss away from being officially done, once that happens, use the games as teaching platforms and measuring character. We obviously have holes but also need to gauge depth.
November 21st, 2019 at 9:44 am
Bobby Says:
November 21st, 2019 at 9:22 am
I think they’re tanking for a QB in the draft.
.
.
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Gawd…I don’t trust them to pull that off according to their plan….no matter…they’ll say after whatever pick it was the player they were after all along…”the beatings will continue until morale improves”…don’t forget BA is NOT the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers future….so there will be that to deal with too
November 21st, 2019 at 10:02 am
brees wouldve attacked dean regardless…..he’s a rookie….
GO BUCS!!!!!
November 21st, 2019 at 10:05 am
Our younger DBs will get lots of snaps because that’s all we have……we need to give more snaps to Rojo & yes…..Scotty (sorry Joe, but he fits well with your “play for the draft” losing culture philosophy….
That includes mysteriously missing Justin Watson…..
I wouldn’t mind giving Ryan Griffin some snaps later in the year unless we (unbelievably) need to get more looks at Jameis.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:17 am
The Bucs are not, I repeat, not tanking.
They just simply suck too much to win in the NFL.
The entire franchise starting with the owners, are not on the same level when it comes to NFL knowledge and talent as their peers who own, manage, coach or play for 31 other NFL franchises.
Yes, I realize that there are a few teams with worse records for now but over the last decade, the Bucs lead all others in failure.
November 21st, 2019 at 10:47 am
Tank seems a good word guess. More like septic tank.
November 21st, 2019 at 11:25 am
Too many cooks in the kitchen, and the head chef has lost his sense of smell.
November 21st, 2019 at 12:33 pm
“The season is one loss away from being officially done,”….Bobby
OK, there it is! The dumbest post of the day. Anybody not realizing the season is way, way over by now, is slightly (at least) delusional.
And, I’m with Rayjay, this team is most definitely not tanking. They are just plain bad, unfortunately, and show little if any improvement.
Ask yourself, is this a better team than last year? If so, why? Does the record support your belief?
November 21st, 2019 at 7:14 pm
Playing to lose guarantees nothing but losing. The Bucs played to lose to get Jameis. How well has that worked?
November 22nd, 2019 at 10:11 am
Anyone who plays out defense carves us up like a thanksgiving turkey. We’ve had 3 diff defense coordinators. Mike smith , Mark duffner an now Todd bowels. All have the same results. Worst pass defense in the league they all have brought in diff players an at diff positions yet same results. What do we have to do to get a average defense this is ridiculous. Joe I grew up watching the Bucs best defense in history of the franchise an NFL. We’ve got the offense for the most part now let’s get a dam defense so sick of this sieve
November 22nd, 2019 at 11:53 am
To me this whole organization is LOST IN SPACE. Is anybody out there? Can you here me? Feel sorry for Dean. The one that should’a been benched is Winsome.