Turning The Corner
November 22nd, 2022
New season ahead?
For a moment there, Joe didn’t know if he was watching reality.
The Bucs just stomped on Seattle in Munich, dictating the way the game would be played. They were not intimidated. If anything the Bucs were the intimidators.
It was refreshing and entertaining to witness. Even the way the Bucs took it to Seattle seemed to raise an eyebrow with Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports, as he looks to this coming weekend’s games.
The Bucs have looked a little more like themselves in the previous two games before the break and edged out the Seahawks in a 21-16 win in Germany back in Week 10.
And that is the question: Were the Bucs, the last time we saw them on a football field, the same team we can expect to watch through the next seven weeks (and beyond)?
If the Bucs team that stomped the Seahawks is the real Bucs team, then the rest of this season should turn into a fun ride.
November 22nd, 2022 at 12:21 am
I think the stars that are left will have 2 step up and TB12 will have 2 get everyone on same Paige. We can make a run if we stay healthy and win the division .gotta mix up the game plan and get white involved more . MR. I Leftwitch play call out there BETTER GET HIS ARSE IN WORK EARLY AND REALLY FIGURE OUT WHAT AND HOW 2 ATTACK
November 22nd, 2022 at 12:25 am
I’m not believing it until they do it again. They’ve played like donkey sh!t in most of their games. One game does not indicate a turnaround. Let’s see what happens.
November 22nd, 2022 at 1:27 am
Well we’d definitely have to keep it going on offense. I think our pass rush in d will be our Achilles heel
November 22nd, 2022 at 1:39 am
Bowles & leftworst will have had 2 wks to figure out what will work against Browns ..Browns played well for 1st half against Bills + Chubb is a very good runner …
November 22nd, 2022 at 4:31 am
‘Turning The Corner?’ It seemed like that title needed a question mark after it Joe. The way this piece was written, I’ve got this feeling that you’re not convinced we really have turned the corner (your question at the end gave it away BTW).
That’s OK, neither am I. We’ve had TWO resounding victories this season (Dallas & Seattle) in which our running game was a major factor in our offense, and our defense pretty much shut down our opponent’s strength, their running game. Bucs ran on 53.2% of our plays in the Cowboys game & on 59.5% of our plays in the Seahawks game, dominating the time-of-possession.
Meaningless I’m sure to those who believe in pass-pass-pass, but it helped keep our defense fresh, which is important. Bucs defense was on the field for 69 plays & 27 minutes against Dallas and only 52 plays & 23 minutes against the Seahawks. That’s partly thanks to our defense itself (only allowing 4-of-24 combined on 3rd down conversions) & partly thanks to our offense (sustaining drives & going 15-of-29 combined on 3rd down conversions). The former IMO was due largely to our defense pretty much being healthy in both games (especially having BOTH Vea & Hicks in the middle).
I’m sure that in JBF-world there’s no such thing as a ‘balanced attack’ but the Bucs came close in those 2 games. NOT because they were both around 50% running & 50% passing; that’s NOT what a ‘balanced attack’ is to me. Rather we were ‘balanced’ because we kept our opponent OFF BALANCE with an overall effective combination of running & passing plays. We did a much better job of NOT telegraphing our plays, making our offense more unpredictable. And it all started on the field in the trenches. THAT’S what we need to continue in our remaining 7 games & (hopefully) into the playoffs IF we’ve truly turned the corner.
November 22nd, 2022 at 4:36 am
Joe
I’m all for the optimism. But im an original Bucs fan from 76… It’s difficult for me to jump on that optimistic bandwagon after just one good outing (IMO) the whole season. Go Bucs!
November 22nd, 2022 at 6:09 am
If the Bucs r serious about winning any game moving forward they would come out aggressively Grimm the beginning of the game. Run ur two minute offense, n not wait till we are behind with 6 minutes left in the game. Throw in every play u can think of. Draw up mismatches. I watched some of the most creative plays installed by OC over this past weekend. Design special plays for Ko Keif, surprise the defense, teams expect him to do no more than block. Leftwich has got to get his head out his arse.
November 22nd, 2022 at 6:14 am
I’m kind of with garro here on this. Let’s see the Bucs play the same way again this weekend. I’ve been a Bucs fan too long to sit here and say they have turned the corner. I hope they have and if they have turned that corner the rest of the league better look out. The Bucs team we saw in Seattle was just not going to be denied. They played hungry and nasty. Let’s see it again after the bye before we start to believe that they believe.
November 22nd, 2022 at 6:33 am
As long as Leftwich is calling the plays, we are in no better shape than we have been. It’s up to the players to make to something out of the garbage he’s dealing out. Hopefully, they can do it.
November 22nd, 2022 at 6:40 am
Keep it simple folks. Too many people injured, too many playing less than 100% and a new offensive line that needed half a season to be playing at an average level. Things get way better from here. Truth.
November 22nd, 2022 at 7:32 am
Suffering @ I agree with you to a point but BL has been the OC since Brady arrived. The question is will Bowles let Brady overrule BL’s stupid calls, BA did? I’m not sure how Joe can write “STOMPED”, that was hardly a stomping. I saw a team that was kicking the shat out of another and praying the offense could kill the clock to hold on to a W. Should it have been a 35-10 game? Absolutely but either the D got bored in the 4th qtr or Bowles just didn’t make the right adjustments. Also if not for a Geno fumble, ,Bucs could have been 4-6.
November 22nd, 2022 at 7:53 am
The Bucs set up the run with the passing game. Lefties has been doing the opposite.
November 22nd, 2022 at 7:54 am
Anyone remember when the QB called the plays? If ever there was a qb who knew the playbook backwards and forward and had the experience and success to qualify it is Brady. I would not advertise it beforehand but if I was the head man I would use all of my talents to the max and that would certainly include Brady’s experience.
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:42 am
Turn the corner means benching Fornette.
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:44 am
And firing BL! Frank Reich!!!
November 22nd, 2022 at 9:49 am
I am optimistic that Brady’s brain has regained some focus, maybe because he didn’t have to focus on the O-line.
The Seahawks are what they are, but the Bucs don’t have enough strength across the board to deal with some of the marquee D0linemen and LBs of the league.
If the line reverts to being Jello, Brady’s brain will do the same. He dislikes getting sacked enough to sacrifice a drive by throwing the ball into the dirt.
November 22nd, 2022 at 10:52 am
Given the talent on this team and looking simply at the records of the remaining opponents, the Bucs should do very well. However, there are some serious tests ahead, they’ve lost to some truly terrible teams already so “any given Sunday” can be an upset.
Cleveland will definitely test our run defense. 49ers will test our entire defense and O-line. In fact, losing to the 49ers would be the only one that won’t be a horrible loss because they are much, much better than their record indicates. If the Bucs can at least be competitive in that game I won’t lose hope.
Poor showings against the Cardinals and our division rivals (even if they win most or all of them) won’t inspire much confidence for a deep playoff run. If they keep their swagger from Munich and bully the weaker teams as they are capable, they’ll be dangerous in post season.
I’m an optimist and think they have turned the corner and keep getting healthier as well.
A convincing win over Cleveland and a strong showing by the run D this Sunday and I’ll plunk down $100 on a Bucs SB win. After all, isn’t Brady due for another one? Lol
November 22nd, 2022 at 10:57 am
I’m not going to sit here today and say they need to bench Lenny. Today, I won’t say they need to fire Bowles or Leftwich. I won’t even say at this moment that the team needs to start winning more games…even though it would be great.
When it come down to it, I just want to enjoy watching the team play. That means each player trying their best 100% of the games. Don’t drop catchable passes. Open up run lanes.
Sack the QB. Play smart, but be aggressive.
Don’t make us so frustrated that we want to turn off the games.
November 22nd, 2022 at 12:43 pm
Too many years as a Bucs fan to be a blind believer.
Lovie got his 2015 Bucs to 6-6.
So did Schiamoron in 2012.
Arians even got JaMiss to 7-7 in 2019 before JaMiss showed that not even the best can keep him from imploding and taking his team down with him.
Can Tom overcome all the complacent, negative inertia coming from Bowelswich? We shall soon see.