Five Things
October 19th, 2020
(Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.)
Joe is a little foggy this morning from Big Storm Brewing beer chugging last night to calm down and get to sleep. It’s Victory Monday! Fill your coffee mug and park yourself in your office chair. Let’s go!
Throwback
Joe must be upfront: Joe sure as heck did not see what was coming yesterday afternoon. When the Packers went up 10-0 early, Joe was expecting a very long, long evening.
(You should have seen Joe’s Twitter mentions at that time.)
When the Bucs defense finally said to itself, “That’s enough!” and started going after future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers like wolves after raw meat, Joe began having flashbacks to almost a quarter of a century ago.
When Ndamukong Suh, wearing those pewter pants and white jersey, kept having jawing sessions with Rodgers, didn’t you flash back to 1997 when the Bucs, playing at Green Bay in the playoffs, had Warren Sapp chasing Brett Favre all around and the two were constantly at each other?
The way the defense smothered the Packers after letting the Cheeseheads jump out to a 10-0 lead, it was like Joe was watching those great defenses of the past led by Derrick Brooks, Sapp, John Lynch, Rondé Barber and Simeon Rice. That’s the last time Joe saw a Bucs defense smother a good team that ferociously.
When has anyone ever seen Rodgers shut down like he was? Rodgers was absolutely rattled after he gave up two picks in three passes, including a pick-six by Jamel Dean to flip the momentum, on the third pick-six of Rodgers’ career.
Smiling greats of the past.
Somewhere, the aforementioned defensive stars of a bygone era were smiling. The Buccaneers Radio Network pumped out info that is almost mindboggling, considering the Bucs’ opponent: Rodgers was put on the ground five times and blasted by a Bucs defender 13 times.
Per Rob Demovsky of ESPN, Rodgers took his biggest beating of the season. Demovsky had the Bucs with 12 quarterback pressures, the most Rodgers has endured in 2020. In those pressures, Rodgers was 2-of-7 for 10 yards with four sacks and a scramble.
Demovsky had defensive coordinator Todd Bowles sending blitzes at the future Hall of Fame quarterback 17 times and Rodgers was 5-of-14 with two sacks two picks under the blitz. This was tied for the most blitzes Rodgers has faced in the past two seasons, Demovsky added.
This is the kind of suffocating defenses the old Bucs used to play, when quarterbacks, like yesterday, would just wilt under the waves of Kamikaze-like defenders.
The Buccaneers Radio Network also reported that the final 41 Packers offensive snaps gained a total of 54 yards. That’s just insane.
Streak ends.
Bucs center Ryan Jensen had an ironman streak snapped yesterday and he wasn’t even hurt.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Jensen had a streak of 3,726 straight snaps played that was broken when he sat out the final series of the win yesterday. The streak began for Jensen in 2017.
The only NFL player who had played more consecutive snaps was park-violating, home-invading, NFLPA-ignoring, down-forgetting Bucs quarterback Tom Brady.
Jensen put this all in perspective when he retweeted Pelissero’s info Sunday night with one sentence. “Winning is better than a streak.”
Playing clean.
Joe can only imagine the odds one could have gotten in Vegas on the Bucs, who entered yesterday’s game leading the league in penalties, to make it through the Packers game without one penalty.
(Yes, Ndamukong Suh got a penalty for tossing Aaron Rodgers to the ground. But that was nullified due to an offsetting flag.)
Additionally, the Bucs didn’t allow a sack.
For an NFL team not to commit a penalty in a game and not give up a sack in the same game happens about as often as seeing Halley’s Comet. In fact, Jenna Laine of ESPN notes that’s only happened three times since the 1960 season. The 1972 Vikings did that, as well as the 1999 Colts. Then the Bucs yesterday. That’s it.
The rebirth of RoJo.
Joe has been typing a lot recently about how RoJo has gone from a third-string scrub into one of the NFL’s top running backs.
Yesterday, RoJo again ran for 113 yards, a lot of them were tough yards, too. He also had two touchdown runs. This was RoJo’s third-straight game of 100 or more yards.
Eduardo Encina of the Tampa Bay Times notes this has only happened four times in Bucs’ franchise history.
James Wilder — why isn’t he in the Ring of Honor? — accomplished the feat in the 1984 and 1985 seasons. Cadillac Williams did it in 2005, and the last running back before RoJo yesterday was Doug Martin in 2015.
The way RoJo has gone from a nobody into a somebody is outstanding. Good for RoJo! As of this morning, RoJo is third in the NFL in rushing with 472 yards.
October 19th, 2020 at 7:12 am
Joe I seem to remember how you were counting the minutes Fournette was going to be the starter after he was signed. How you put Rojo on the bench after Fournette had one TD run.
October 19th, 2020 at 7:19 am
Rojo is a big dude.
He runs right up the middle. No need to run him outside
Best spot is between jensen and marpet
The winstonites are trying to downplay win
Saying it was obvious trap game for packers
This is biggest win in years. All experts picked packers that i saw.
Packers were scoring 40 on teams at will …were 4-0 and coming off a bye. The game was set up perfectly for them
And then rodgers got abused. They should have called the police on the bucs defense. Forcing 2 picks. As we all know , most teams lose when the give up the ball
Go bucs.
October 19th, 2020 at 7:23 am
ROW HO ROW HO A BUCS LIFE FOR ME
October 19th, 2020 at 7:26 am
Rojo has been making much quicker decisions, faster cuts and power runs. No more tip toe dance looking for holes. And he looks much more physical. Good off season training. has paid off.
October 19th, 2020 at 7:30 am
@joe, it totally reminded me of Sapp vs Favre… Suh is just a touch meaner tho ya?! Well at least looks meaner! That’s a mean mug! Love it!!! GO BUCS!!!
October 19th, 2020 at 7:33 am
Rojo doesn’t go down easy and it usually takes more than one to bring him down.
Our secondary played the best it’s ever played yesterday.
This game was a confidence builder….showing what we can do when we play mistake-free football.
October 19th, 2020 at 7:40 am
Eduardo got that from the telecast. I saw it coming. Then again I see that coming every week. A team playing to its potential. What a sight. Where’s all the whiners today? Same first place team! It’s a week by week league let that be a lesson. Anyone can win any game. Gota play well. And that the Bucs did. Great job men!
October 19th, 2020 at 7:54 am
Watched the Aaron Rodgers pressor……He said that the speed of our inside LB caused problems across the entire field….that it’s rare speed…..
October 19th, 2020 at 7:59 am
I also wanted RoJo benched for Fournette. I was wrong. I’d rather be wrong and us winning than right and us losing. I told you so’s don’t get you to the playoffs.
October 19th, 2020 at 8:03 am
For me the highlight were no penalties. This is huge, I hope we can build on that. If we don’t shoot ourselves on the foot with penalties, we are very hard to beat.
October 19th, 2020 at 8:03 am
Rodgers tried to blame a bad week of practice and being out of rhythm for the loss.
No Rodgers you just got beat plain and simple. And if you had a bad week of practice it’s probably because you thought you were just gonna walk in here and easily win.
NOPE!! Got STOMPED!!
October 19th, 2020 at 8:05 am
@DANNYC
Yes no penalties at all was huge. That was an area that needed a huge fix.
Glad they were much more disciplined this game.
This game should give them some confidence going to Vegas.
October 19th, 2020 at 8:08 am
@Joe, you forgot to mention the often used phrase from 20 years ago, “Gang Tackling “.
Saw a lot of that yesterday too. Reminiscent of the Sapp-Brooks-lynch years
October 19th, 2020 at 8:18 am
I like the Name ‘Den of Depression’ Now
Did You see the look on Aaron Rogers Face as he left the field.
He Was Depressed!
October 19th, 2020 at 8:24 am
LETS GOOO BUCS!!! Pound that rock!! Sprinkle in some high flying offense defense keep playing like the savages you are and the playoffs here we come. Love victory Monday.
October 19th, 2020 at 8:28 am
BL is laughing at all you haters!!!!!!!!!
BL will be a HC next year with either the BUCS or Texans….
GO BUCS!!!!!
October 19th, 2020 at 8:46 am
People are writing off Fournette’s value far too soon. Yeah ROJO is the real deal and has earned his spot but it’s a long season. Depth at running back is critical.
October 19th, 2020 at 8:48 am
As for all really good running backs, ROJO seems to get stronger and better the more touches he has. That was evident as the game wore on. Keep feeding the man the ball!
October 19th, 2020 at 9:02 am
I’m glad Jensen recovered in time to send that tweet, bc he sure was pissed about it on the sidelines. Fox caught him whining and throwing towels around.
Tom Brady chewing suckers out last week had the EXACT intended effect. It was a sight to behold! This is the Bucs’ potential finally realized, now turn this into week-in and week-out consistency.
Next 3 games continue the national spotlight too!
October 19th, 2020 at 9:06 am
I’m almost always correct about Bucs draft picks over the past ten years. I’ve been wrong about two draft picks over the past ten years. I thought Jameis was going to be the next great QB but he ended up being a bust. I also thought Ronald Jones II was an over-rated RB that who’s career would flame out by year 3 but I was wrong. RoJo is running like a guy who’s life is on the line if he doesn’t get a first down. I really can’t believe what I am seeing when I see several players surrounding him trying to take him down.
October 19th, 2020 at 9:15 am
Coaching Baby!!!!!!
Dirk could not handle how to get Rojo to be successful.
Arians and company earned their money with Rojo and many others in this team.
Go Bucs!!!
October 19th, 2020 at 9:21 am
Amazing how you win games when you are not continually turning the ball over
October 19th, 2020 at 9:51 am
I usually don’t toot my own horn, but I was one of the few who got it completely right on RoJo this season. Let’s see how it shakes out when Lenny gets back, but I’m sticking with my prediction that RoJo still sees 65% of the snaps.
PS. Shady should not see ANY snaps. While Vaughn is still learning (that drop off of his helmet could have been a disaster), he shows a lot more potential. Shady shows nothing out there. Let Lenny and Vaughn split the passing down work.
October 19th, 2020 at 10:05 am
Love how the “D” responded after the “Karen” Rogers touchdown run… He was pumping his hips/groin like making fun of the defense… And not only did his TD get called back, but…
And they promptly lit him up with 2 picks in 3 passes. pick 6 and near pick 6. Karma bitch slapped that jackwagon look on his face!!
LOVE IT!!!
October 19th, 2020 at 10:37 am
Rojo is definitely more decisive and keen to get what he can on the play, even if it’s just picking a hole and falling forward. Those Walter Payton offseason training efforts are definitely paying dividends for him! And yeah, Shady is not getting it done out there. Hate to say it, but he just doesn’t have it anymore. Time to give more snaps to Vaughn.
October 19th, 2020 at 11:45 am
🚨🚨🚨True Story From Last Night🚨🚨🚨
My wife said out loud after a 3rd quarter sack, “Man… they are really pounding on Favre.” Then her eyes got really wide and realized what she said.
Talk about a “turn back the clock” moment.
October 19th, 2020 at 11:57 am
Joe’s going to guess Eddie got that from the Bucs media relations staff. Even though there is no reason to go to games this year — reporters do not have access to players or the locker room because of the virus but some reporters go anyway — Bucs media relations pumps out nuggets like this all game long (for both print and electronic media).
Besides, in press boxes, reporters do not have access to the audio on broadcasts. In fact, depending where you sit in the press box at the Den of Depression, the only replay or video you have access to is the scoreboards.
October 19th, 2020 at 12:02 pm
Thank God we won! The Joe’s and Ira all were about to step off the deep end.
October 19th, 2020 at 12:13 pm
About the Sapp/Favre and Suh/Rodgers relationships. I think Sapp and Favre had mutual respect for each other, and on some level liked each others passion. Suh and Rodgers hate each other.
October 19th, 2020 at 1:35 pm
I’m happy to say that, thus far this season, I’ve been wrong about Rojo.
Hey Buc fans, DEFENSE is alive and well in Tampa Bay!
Cleanest game I’ve seen the Bucs play in a looooong time!
October 19th, 2020 at 1:38 pm
Defensive back played outstanding, best I’ve ever seen lately! LB’s were swarming around like mad Hornets! Sound offensive play as well! Great game! GO BUCS!
October 19th, 2020 at 1:49 pm
Rojo has always been this good but the injuries FINALLY allowed him to play a whole game!! He’s that old school type back that needs to pound the defense a little then take over!! That playing him one half then Peyton the next last year always blew me away!! Even when Rojo was having a good game!!! …. They do need to rotate Fornette in a good amount but Rojo needs to keep getting the ball all game!! Even if he hasn’t looked that great for the first 3 quarters!! Keep giving it to him!! Only a few teams still do that with their running back!! Tennessee being one of them….. Of course they have a tremendous back!!! But still that’s what you have to do for running backs!! The best back should be at their best in the 4th quarter
October 19th, 2020 at 4:33 pm
Count me among the Rojo doubters at the beginning of the season, but I am starting to believe and certainly didn’t want the offense to go away from him too early in the game. That’s why I was going out of my mind on the second or third drive when they ran Shady McCoy on 3rd and 3, and he got stuffed when there was a gaping hole on the left side. I thought: Are you kidding me? It seemed that they were more concerned about getting a third string veteran back touches rather than keeping the chains moving. I had lost all hope…and then, the pick 6!
October 19th, 2020 at 4:39 pm
Just re-watched the game, it was a 3rd and 2 when Shady was given the ball.
October 19th, 2020 at 5:13 pm
I like how our defense turned Aaron Rodgers into Jay Cutler.
October 20th, 2020 at 12:41 am
“The Buccaneers Radio Network also reported that the final 41 Packers offensive snaps gained a total of 54 yards. That’s just insane.“
THAT IS INSANE!
This was the top offense in the NFL, the 2020 high flying, high scoring NFL!
October 20th, 2020 at 1:01 am
Good stuff. Such a fun game.