Game-Winning Drives Didn’t Faze Shaq Mason
December 7th, 2022
Discusses Tom Brady’s magic.
One guy on the Bucs has seen so many of Tom Brady’s engineered comebacks, he’s lost track.
So on Monday night when Brady took the field with just over five minutes left and the Bucs trailing by 13, Bucs right guard Shaq Mason has been in that same huddle.
Brady trailing? Fuh-getta-bout-it. Let the master work.
“He has that poise,” Mason, who played with Brady for five seasons in New England before Mason eventually made it to Tampa Bay.
“And when you have a guy like that in the huddle, you never doubt anything. We were down two scores with five minutes, and nobody thought the game was over.
“I knew he was going to give us a fighting chance.”
Joe spoke with several Bucs offensive players after the game Monday night and to a man, they told Joe the same thing: The final drive was like practice — laser-focused Brady but calm as can be.
Brady had the same demeanor he would have at practice. And each told Joe that rubbed off on them and kept them relaxed and focused Monday in crunch time.
In other words, with Brady in the huddle, the Bucs were in great hands.
“Absolutely,” Mason told Joe when Joe asked him if Brady’s poise is contagious in the huddle. “I’ve been with him so long I’ve seen this story play out a lot of times. I mean this is awesome.”
Joe isn’t sure if anyone noticed but at least in the first half, Joe noticed Mason blocking his arse off. He was opening wide holes that Bucs running backs either did or did not take advantage of.
Joe is like a lot of fans, focused on the rookies and the free agents like Julio Jones and Logan Ryan. But man, it’s hard to think of a better acquisition Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht made this past offseason than Mason.
December 7th, 2022 at 12:06 am
Agree, Mason was an excelling signing.
December 7th, 2022 at 12:07 am
Sorry, excellent signing.
December 7th, 2022 at 12:16 am
Shaq was in the huddle during the 28-3 Superbowl comeback. Of course he knows. One of the best guards in the league, and a consumate pro. 0 sacks allowed this year, and tied for the 6th most snaps among guards in the league. An upgrade over Cappa, and one of the few good moves by Licht.
December 7th, 2022 at 1:07 am
agree we needed him and not another rookie or young guy
December 7th, 2022 at 1:33 am
Healthy Logan Ryan is second to our top ten safety in the secondary. But Mason was a huge grab. Donny and his ridiculous contract are gone. Even if he wanted to rework it, he still wouldn’t be good enough. An OT in the first round is not totally out of the question. Build through the draft, starting with a good oline for whatever new QB we get at some point. Two young boss OT would be sweet.
December 7th, 2022 at 2:01 am
Its pretty amazing we have “fans” on here who cant wait to see brady leave town. Cause Brady is the problem. Brady isnt a mobile qb and only they can succeed in todays nfl. We have the worst fans. Hands down.
Imagine getting exciting when the bucs lose to blame brady
Yet oddly would never blame jack on jameis. Rewatch the saints game. The red rifle deserves to be saints qb. Imagine being a jameis messiah cult follower and then calling others a brady fanboi. You know like tbbucs3. Who has jameis # still in his poster name. Tbbucs3 is the same guy that still walks around with a naked Ken doll to this day.
Its a dang shame that our offense is now conservative with a defensive head coach. And have a coordinator that literally runs the same 10 plays over and over again. The same 10 plays that were popular back in the 90’s. Go to a game live. Trust me. The defense is ready and waiting on the same screens. Safeties waiting on the same routes down field. Oh and run up the middle. Teams have confirmed on a hot mic/ camera they know what we are running
But yah. Brady is the problem. Just wait. He will be gone soon and the bucs will be relevant. And this is from somebody that didnt watch brady nor the pats before he came here . And wont watch him if he goes somewhere else.
December 7th, 2022 at 2:27 am
Bottom line, a team should not need or depend on Brady to win games. No matter how much he enjoys being the hero.
December 7th, 2022 at 3:51 am
SOEbuc … I’ve been really curious all year why Donovan Smith’s contract for this year (with its $18.4 mil CAP hit) wasn’t reworked, but I’ve got a hunch it wasn’t because the Bucs didn’t try. I’ll take bets though that Donnie’s still here next year IF he wants to be. It’s a money thing at this point for the Bucs.
His CAP hit for 2023 is due to be $17.9 mil. His Dead CAP value though is $8.0 mil if we release him before June 1st; after June 1st it drops to $2.7 mil. That’s a lot of shekels for a team that’s already about $48 mil ABOVE the projected 2023 CAP with only 36 players signed & 26 FAs to deal with, PLUS our rookie class.
Donovan has his issues (uh, untimely false starts?) but he’s an Ironman when it comes to availability & that counts for a lot in my book. Admittedly OLinemen sitting on the bench draw a lot fewer penalties, but they don’t contribute much to winning games either.
December 7th, 2022 at 4:36 am
I learn many things from reading this blog. Considering a game like a practice is actually the best way to not underperform under the pressure. You can see that many students underperforms in exams compared to their capacities. If they are trained to believe that the exam is just another practice, their scores will be increased.
December 7th, 2022 at 6:26 am
@Joe. This is a little off topic but I noticed that a few of the national Screamers are pushing the narrative that the Saints went into Prevent defense on those last drives. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The Saints were all over the Bucs receivers on those drives. Almost every catch was contested. Scotty slipped between 3 defenders and Julio was double covered. Wondering if you noticed this narrative being pushed by some yesterday.
December 7th, 2022 at 7:01 am
Shaq is the only reliable OL with Wirfs out. I think Donnie lost a little bit of Tom’s trust. Tom trusts Mason explicitly. They have a lot of good history together.
December 7th, 2022 at 7:03 am
Shaq has been very solid……don’t miss Cappa at all……I’m quite sure Brady likes having him in there….
December 7th, 2022 at 8:04 am
TB’s demeanor shows amazing leadership that makes everyone believe – all the adversity this year strengthens everyone.
December 7th, 2022 at 10:02 am
Bird, “naked Ken doll.” Hahaha, I love that! TBbucks3 also has 3 there because that is his IQ
December 7th, 2022 at 10:06 am
TB missed some throws but all QBs miss some throws.
Receivers drop passes.
Running backs miss blocks.
Corners and Safeties get beat.
You can’t blame 50 minutes of bad offense on TB. Go back and examine the tape. He is not going to be in rhythm 100% of the time and of course will have rough patches here and there but who else would you rather have when you have to win a game – ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL!
December 7th, 2022 at 11:28 am
When it comes to offensive lineman it’s the only job in sports where no news is good news. Haven’t heard Jason’s name all year. All pro.