The Bucs Were So Close
February 14th, 2022
Dragged Bucs into 21st century.
Yeah, the Bucs did impressive things the past two seasons: a Super Bowl and team-record 13-win seasons. Big-time stuff to be proud of. Raise a Big Storm Brewing beer!
But the Bucs were so damn close to tying an NFL record and who knows, maybe even breaking an NFL record.
Dating back to the 2020 season, the Bucs had five straight 30-point games in the postseason, a streak snapped in the 30-27 loss to the Rams in the final seconds. Had the Bucs held on and won in overtime, they would have at least tied the slimy Saints for the NFL record of six straight postseason wins with 30 points more. Damnnit.
And this was with a quarterback just a handful of years away from AARP eligibility.
Joe never thought the days of the Bucs being an offensive juggernaut would come. Joe just thought it was a crazy dream. like Kate Upton walking up to Joe at a St. Pete Beach surfside bar and inviting Joe for a private drink in her suite.
That was before Tom Brady came to town.
February 14th, 2022 at 12:09 am
disagree.
mcvey wanted it more
February 14th, 2022 at 12:10 am
Dline so important for the past 2 super bowl champs
February 14th, 2022 at 12:13 am
I guess we xan look on the bright side: Our defensive coordinator may have only cost us a chance to play in the NFC championship game. The Bengals offensive coordinator may have tied Seattle’s OC by calling the worst play….twice in a row to lose a Superbowl. I think that is more heartbreaking.
February 14th, 2022 at 12:14 am
…mind you this was with a quarterback just a handful of years away from AARP eligibility.
——
Tom is only 5-years younger than Wilford Brimley in Cocoon, and only 11-years away from being able to move into The Villages and take part in their senior swing parties.
February 14th, 2022 at 12:47 am
The refs made a bad call against the Bengals on 3rd and goal, but give Stafford and Kupp credit for coming up with big plays and especially the Rams’ D at the end (Aaron Donald) who snuffed out a possible Burrow comeback.
The Bucs’ D was simply not ready or prepared properly for the Rams when they played and it tarnished an otherwise terrific season.
February 14th, 2022 at 12:53 am
We just had too many injuries, that killed us all year wirfs was the nail in the coffin.
February 14th, 2022 at 1:01 am
we’ve had issues with the rams since 1979 with vince ferragamo…
then with bert emmanuel…
and it has really compounded lately as well…
it’s a shame because they’re a good team, but debatably not a great team…and it certainly showed tonight…
for a while there, kupp slipped into oblivion – until his late game plays
bengal should have beat them…
and we should have too…
coulda woulda shoulda….tell it to bowles
February 14th, 2022 at 1:06 am
People keep bringing up bowles as the reason it was some lucky off the wall turnovers that kept the bucs close they were throughly beaten I’m a bucs fan but I see it how I see it and the rams were better that day if we wouldn’t have had some key injuries I feel we would have certainly won but sometimes injury luck isnt in your favor.
February 14th, 2022 at 1:14 am
I hate the Rams and hate the blood sucking city of Los Angeles and it’s fans even more. That being said they were easily the better team on the field both games against the Bucs. They deserve the Super Bowl and this was probably the best chance the Bucs had at repeating in any of our lifetimes reading this article.
We had a lot of injuries, Bowles blundered against Cooper Kupp but otherwise brought the Bucs out of the dreadful drought caused by Mike Smith and Lovie Smith, and maybe if we had Godwin or Antonio Clown we could’ve won. But it was a helluva ride.
February 14th, 2022 at 1:14 am
Thanks Todd. Your stroke, temporary seizure, cerebral hernia, menopausal insanity or whatever it was, cost the team and the fans the likelihood of being in the game tonight, and winning. EVeryone — EVERYONE — know that without Godiwn and AB, and Perriman and Grayson, and WIRFS for Chrissakes, the defense was going to have to put out its best effort of the season.
And what do you do?
Interview for jobs and blitz the best QB in the NFL against the blits, 70% of the time to get behind by 24 points.
AND THEN — after your magic man claws the team back into a tie at 27 all with 42 seconds left — you decide to leave Kupp guarded by no one, blitz everyone against a max protect and lose what Brady had scrapped so hard to claw back and bail your arse out.
Yo, Todd? Anyone home?
THanks, Todd.
February 14th, 2022 at 1:27 am
Projectile vomiting. That’s one way to respond to this atrocity of the Bowels of Todd. The site of the Lambs hoisting the Bucs’ trophy puts all windows, furniture and petite humans and animals in grave danger.
February 14th, 2022 at 1:59 am
So three games in a row now, the arrogant Hollywood Rams almost lose and squeak by a worthy team again. The difference, three times in a row is a few plays, just a few damned plays, and enough bad calls to swing them. I’m more convinced than ever that the Bucs were as worthy as all of them. They played sloppier than the Bengals and 49ers and TB still had them almost KO’d.
The Rams are going to fall, just watch, and I’m going to enjoy it. It’s not the same defending every day with the target on your backs, losing aging free agents, and not having first round picks when it starts to fail. Opposing coaches will develop better blue prints to stop Kupp and the pass rush.
In the meantime, I am impressed with the Bengals and Burrow, who were supposed to be wiped out today. They could very well be back a couple of times, wiser and hungrier. Like the Bucs, so damned close.
February 14th, 2022 at 2:11 am
YOU CAN’T WIN IF YOU TURN THE BALL OVER!!!!!
Meanwhile, Stafford lead the NFL in INTs.
Turns out that you win games by scoring more points than the other team. Who knew?
February 14th, 2022 at 2:12 am
steele — once again, spot the F on. Please apply at One Buc Place. The Defensiive Coordinator could use some of your recommended therapies. Hollywood Rams, perfect. Donald and Kupp are the only two really home grown skill dudes on the whole team. I expect them to crash and burn….but the Bucs can be in the same boat depending on the QB situation and cap management.
Fortunately, Licht is running the team and not the cretins that post “Let’s see what Trashk can do.”
Those that make their living on the basis of the win-loss metric know better.
February 14th, 2022 at 2:16 am
Aaron Donald was a beast.
I don’t want him gone, but yes, Bowles totally blew it. Body of work says he stays. I’m sure he won’t go blitz-heavy against Matt Stafford ever again, although he should never have had to learn that lesson the hard way. Many teams demonstrated that truth before January. It’s all on tape.
Congratulations Rams.
February 14th, 2022 at 2:30 am
If the end result of the fact that they were so close is more infuriating and frustrating. The Rams are unfinished business. Is TB12 more pissed than ever, after watching the SB, wanting another shot? Or content to leave it,and live with the bitter taste?
February 14th, 2022 at 2:38 am
steele — I bet after two weeks at home with the Horsefaced Commandant, bitterness isn’t the only taste Brady’s been foreced to experience.
February 14th, 2022 at 2:47 am
brady can always bail on the fam and live with the sexy bar refaeli in a shack…
he can just become an over sexed old football player in his final years with the bucs…
tom should live wild and free 🙂
February 14th, 2022 at 2:49 am
Damn, the next few weeks will really be annoying having to listen to all the media outlets here in SoCal bragging about the Rams being SB champs.
Most fans out here are a bunch of bandwagon’ers too since the team lost 21 years of support here when they moved to St. Louis. That’s a lot of babies who grew up without a local team, now they’re all just a bunch of bandwagon’ers. Heck, I walk around with my Bucs cap on all the time at the beach, harbors, restaurants and stores. Was even out before the SB game this morning and as usual, I did not see one single LA RAM cap or jersey anywhere.
Come on Tom, one more year, go for 8 before it’s too late, this team can be beat!
February 14th, 2022 at 2:57 am
@Ash:
wake up with this “they were better that day” stuff…
we have lost the last 3 games in a row we’ve played vs the rams…
maybe more, but i would have to check on that…
2 of the 3 were at home, and all 3 were huge national tv games…
so they’ve been kickin’ our dix in the dirt for quite some time now, as well as the 1979 9-0 playoffs championship game and the bert emmanuel 11-6 championship game…
so where you get “they were better that day” isn’t registering with this bucs fan…
we play the rams this upcoming season at home AGAIN…and if we win just one lousy game next year – it sure as heck better be this f’in game – in fact we need to open a can of whoopdeedoo azz on these mofos
February 14th, 2022 at 3:04 am
adam — I like your plan for TB12. I bet he would too.
His wife’s name is Gisele Bundchen. She’s like 7 foot 5 and 220 pounds. She looks like Rachel Alexandra the horse only more masculine and wears polish on her hooves.
She does have something like around $1 billoin of her own, so there is that — but at this point unless she threatened his life where the only option was for him to give her his entire net worth — I am thinking he’d rather play football while he still can.
His saddle sores and spur wounds have got to be getting old by now.
February 14th, 2022 at 3:17 am
@Swampbuc:
if none of it works out for tom, he can always join “fight club”…
it’s there that he shall learn:
“You Are Not Special. You Are Not A Beautiful Or Unique Snowflake. You Are The Same Decaying Organic Matter As Everything Else.”
i will not mention this again because:
“The First Rule Of Fight Club Is: You Do Not Talk About Fight Club. The Second Rule Of Fight Club Is: You Do Not Talk About Fight Club.”
February 14th, 2022 at 3:18 am
😉
February 14th, 2022 at 7:04 am
Where is Bowles? Is he in hiding? He should be. The trickle down effect from that call has caused havoc throughout the organization. How does that man still have a job. On another note, there was NO way those refs were going to let the Bengals win. The NFL needs the LA market to soar.
February 14th, 2022 at 7:09 am
Todd Bowles a head coach? NO, head case, YES!
February 14th, 2022 at 7:32 am
McVey showed how an exceptional coach has game awareness and made adjustments. They put Krupp in motion so he’d be one on one, shorten his routes and Kupp beat the Bengals defense by himself! Stafford looked nowhere else but to Cooper. A one of a kind WR. The anti-diva superstar WR.
Ran stunts to take care of the double teams and sack Burrow all throughout the second half.
Rams were beatable last night but coaching and Donald and Kupp wouldn’t let them lose.
February 14th, 2022 at 8:43 am
As super bowl games go this one was mostly forgettable. A battle between second tier teams. Both teams have some legitimate stars, but overall not so great. But dam if the more talented teams, the conference winners, the top favorites, the top qbs, all failed to make the Super Bowl. The Rams do have some true super stars, Kupp and Aaron Donald. And Cinci was a Cinderella surprise to make it that far. Kupp and Donald had their way with the Bucs both times this season. But they had some ugly losses and back doored into the playoffs. The halftime show was one of the worst ever. LA should do us a favor and fall into the Pacific Ocean during their next earthquake. The Bucs actually did well to go as far as they did. Too many injuries, too many players past their prime, a defense that went from best to porous and less than stellar coaching. Brady and the offense kept us competitive. But the defense was the Achilles heel. So next year looks like the start of a major rebuild for the defense and a huge question mark at qb. But win or loose we will still follow them won’t we. 🙂
February 14th, 2022 at 8:56 am
I had a hard time watching the Super Bowl. Tampa Bay could have beaten Cincinnati. I hate Todd Bowles.
February 14th, 2022 at 9:22 am
Still blaming Todd Bowles eh?! That ONE play…SMH!
Where was that dynamic offense for three quarters? Was Todd calling offensive plays then?
Todd Bowles didn’t lose that game for us. It wouldn’t have been remotely close if not for Akers fumbling twice.
Had we played a full 60 minutes, we might be talking differently. ONE play did not lose this game for us.
February 14th, 2022 at 9:27 am
Bucsfan, the dynamic offense got it to 27-27. Where was the dynamic coach when the entire team busted their balls to tie the game? The players stepped up, why didn’t the coaches?
February 14th, 2022 at 9:29 am
Bucsfan, Cincy was down 27-3 against the Cheifs, guess where they were last night? 60 min game NOT 59:34. Thanks Todd, you loser.
February 14th, 2022 at 9:44 am
Listn- The point is that it is never just ONE play that decides a game. For example, on the long pass to Kupp earlier in the game where Davis thinks he has help over the top. That’s 7 points. Bowles didn’t blow the coverage.
Did it help that on that last play our defense was out of position/not lined up?
Star defensive players standing around?
If Bowles calls a different play, are they still milling about trying to get in position?
You win as a TEAM and lose as a TEAM. It’s unfortunate, true. Things might’ve been different if we had a TEAM effort through 60 minutes. Maybe.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:18 am
Bucs fan, no Bowles didn’t but he should of prepared them for it. That was the EXACT same play Jackson scored on the first game they played. If you can go back and watch it, it’s looks almost like the cropped out Jackson and put Kupp in. Davis did the exact same thing and Edward’s got spun around the exact same way. It is uncanny to watch how mirror like that play was. Why weren’t they prepared for it? I’ll tell you why, BOWLES, that’s his job. Yes games can come down to one play and they often do. The score was 27-27 and that ONE play ended the game.
February 14th, 2022 at 12:33 pm
It must be stated again. The offense was missing Godwin, AB, Permian, Grayson, Rojo, and WIRFS. And Wells was dinged up as well. It was expected before the game that the defense would have to at least be as sharp as they were against KC in the SB last year. So this should answer any idiot’s question about where the offense was.
So, when asked to carry the mail, Bowels just released himself on the team and the fan base. He lost the game. Period.
February 14th, 2022 at 12:35 pm
Stop all the Todd Bowels hate…Last year after his defense shut the Chiefs out of the end zone you all were calling him a genius! Injuries are what did in the Bucs this year, plus the missed field goal (remember that missed chip shot) in the 1st half of the Rams playoff game, and the A. Brown walk off the field at the Jets game didn’t help. Another thing about that…Brown claims his ankle was too bad to play…well he most likely was done for the season anyway if it was as severe as he stated.
February 14th, 2022 at 12:59 pm
Swamp- That’s an interesting argument. However, there are only two “full-time” players you mention that didn’t suit up.
The offense was a notorious slow starter ALL YEAR.
What about the defensive side of the ball? I suppose they had zero issues all year with injuries and such?! In fact, the Rams game was the FIRST all year to have all our starters on the field. Shaq, JPP, LVD, CD, Dean, SMB, Vea, White, Winfield, Whitehead…am I missing anyone that was injured?!
The offense didn’t show up in the first half. It was the defense that kept us in the game. Unless of course, you’re arguing the offense was on the field when the Rams turned the ball over!
Just say you don’t like Todd Bowles and call it a day because you know I’m right.
February 14th, 2022 at 3:03 pm
There’s a bunch of morons up here who want to pick one man for all of their hated and venom for the loss to the Rams. What makes you folks think he didn’t have them ready? He crafted a great defense last year and all of a sudden you act like he forgot how to prepare. On that big bomb to Cupp that was the players fault who didn’t handle his assignment correctly. In the game killer Winfield was too shallow and let Cupp run right past him and on the play before that they let Cupp get out of bounds. So how is that Bowles fault. The front 4 wasn’t getting any pressure on Stafford so what was he to do? Best believe if he hadn’t blitzed and the still got the same result you all cry babies would be up here balling “why didn’t he blitz????” You all looking for one person to pin it on but it’s the players fault as well. Bowles didn’t miss tackles or drop interceptions or make stupid penalties. It was the players. Blame the offensive coaches for not giving Brady enough protection in the 1st half as the reason we lost as well as the STs.
February 14th, 2022 at 6:48 pm
You’re unintentionally funny, DavidBig. Of course it is the defensive coordinator’s fault, who in Hades conducts the practices? And if you watched and actually understood what those guys in uniform were doing, you would realize it wasn’t just one player who blew his assignment. First off you don’t put a safety in single man coverage on the best WR in the NFL, second there were players that didn’t understand their role and stood there like statutes, third you don’t have guys on a blitz taking poor angles, and fourth you don’t blitz a QB who is deadly efficient against the blitz, but spotty when the 8 players are in pass coverage… all in the 30 seconds or so of a tie game where you have home field advantage.
Moron much?
February 14th, 2022 at 7:25 pm
The atrocious defense at the end of the divisional game makes me sick. Bucs tie it up, have great momentum, and the D coordinator does what??? Two straight ridiculously bad calls in a row to keep us from overtime where it’s 50 50 at worst. Leaving the top receiver in the league single covered deep with seconds left??????
February 14th, 2022 at 9:11 pm
@ Trey Long Says, and what about going down 14-0 to start that Div game against those Lambs, behind the entire game from the get go, the tone was never set.
February 15th, 2022 at 12:25 am
PassingThru, I was rubbing the hands together to respond to the Pollyanna narrative that Todd’s Bowels were not responsible for that sh!t we saw on the field against the Rams. You covered everything, except the stench. That will linger long after Brady quit in disgust.