Red Flag Football
December 26th, 2022
Bucs GM Jason Licht
Good teams play their best football in December and January. The Bucs are playing their worst, and it starts with Tom Brady.
Sorry, Tommy, you set a high bar. Consider what Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said before last night’s game.
Speaking on the Buccaneers Radio Network before Sunday’s kickoff, Licht had a tinge of frustration in his voice. “It’s right there for us and we just need to wake up from our long winter’s nap here.”
Joe hears you, Jason!
Anyone think the Bucs awakened during their ugly 19-16 beating of the lowly Cardinals last night?
Joe is in near disbelief that December football ended without Brady finding consistency, and he’s having turnover issues. Bucs special teams aren’t improving (coverage and returns), and the playcalling is so lacking. Without Brady’s hurry-up prowess, the Bucs would be playing hurry-up to get rid of Todd Bowles and to book suites in Vegas for Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend.
That “long winter’s nap,” as Licht called it, has got to end soon. The playoffs (and a Week 18 rest) are all on the line Sunday against Carolina at 1 p.m.
Joe’s not sure Brady is good enough any longer to win a heavyweight fight against a real playoff team and a big-time quarterback. Its’ a huge red flag for the Bucs’ postseason dreams.
The Bucs have only beaten one winning team all season, at Dallas 3 1/2 months ago. Brady can jab, and land some late punches, but he doesn’t look ready to go toe-to-toe with anyone for 15 rounds. And there’s no quality trainer in his corner.
December 26th, 2022 at 12:40 am
This team sucks. they deserve to be like 3-12 maybe.
December 26th, 2022 at 12:42 am
Brady is done!!!
December 26th, 2022 at 12:42 am
He isn’t confident and is off on his timing.
Looks like he is out of sync with Evans.
15 games into the season he shouldn’t look rusty.
December 26th, 2022 at 12:43 am
I still think Brady is playing with an injury. Brady is playing bad no doubt but this team as a whole is stinking up the joint. Their season is on the line next week because they never closed out this division. Still have a terrible coaching staff.
December 26th, 2022 at 12:44 am
At home. Against sam darnold. If they can’t get it done they don’t deserve to make the playoffs and hopefully they fire this incompetent coaching staff.
December 26th, 2022 at 12:45 am
Shotgun all year bucs look like a totally different offense. Its not brady. Fournette cant get 1 yard 3 plays in a row? Scrap the conservative bs
December 26th, 2022 at 12:48 am
Licht is done
December 26th, 2022 at 12:49 am
The Bucs just aren’t very good this season. Each season is different ( just ask the Rams ) and the Bucs are on life support. BA coming to Tampa and openly recruiting TB12 saved Jason’s arse…plain and simple. This team will be a bottom 3 team next season while the cap is cleaned up and all the decent players are either a year older or gone ( except for Wirfs and Winfield I suppose ). Until then…I’ll watch this season to it’s bitter end.
December 26th, 2022 at 12:49 am
I’m convinced Brady already has shoulder surgery scheduled for the day after the season ends, whenever that may be. He can’t accurately hit the deep ball with any consistency.
December 26th, 2022 at 12:54 am
The timing is off with the wrs when brady is under center with the banged up line
December 26th, 2022 at 12:55 am
I also think Brady is playing with something? Injuries. Maybe that’s why the playbook is so conservative because Leftwich knows Tom cannot fire the balls off like he used????
He passes either are off target or they are just long lobs….very rarely are we seeing that “ZIP” on his passes we used to see. It’s hard watching this kinda play from Brady cause it reminded me so much like Peyton Manning in his final years with the Broncos.
This team is very hard to watch now.
December 26th, 2022 at 12:56 am
Cmon Jason, you know what has to be done. Search your feelings…you know it to be true. This HC is in over his head.
December 26th, 2022 at 12:57 am
Brady is not playing well, but the entire offense is out of sync, and play calling is uninspired. Just look at a sequence early in the game. Second down and one. Three straight runs to Fournette up the middle and turned the ball over on downs. Later in the game, Brady throws a TD — called back by a penalty. He comes back and throws for a first down near the goal line — called back by another penalty.
December 26th, 2022 at 1:08 am
Licht let 3/4 of our toughness walk out the door-
Whitehead, Suh, and JPP. The other fourth was Jensen.
This is what you get for trying to get fancy with personnel.
December 26th, 2022 at 1:09 am
Oh forgot Gronk
December 26th, 2022 at 1:47 am
Injuries are you guys totally blind we are playing with bum o line we can’t protect Brady he is too old to move fast so everything has to be short it wouldn’t matter if we had a new head coach we still don’t have an o line to protect Brady the run game also effected by o line omg maybe we need a new center maybe we need everyone except wirfs we did run off toughness for sure suh and jpp would of helped but our D is good enough to hold us until the offense wears them down and figures them out
December 26th, 2022 at 2:20 am
Come on… there is nothing wrong with Brady and nothing wrong with Mike Evans. It is the Offense Line. Period. Brady has 1 second to read, decide, and throw. There literally is no time for the WRs to get open. Brady is almost like Winston at this point. I’m just throwing it and hoping you catch it. That’s on the GM. If we don’t draft Olineman in rounds one and two and pick up a vet we will not win a game next year. It’s too late now. This season is over.
December 26th, 2022 at 3:05 am
Tom is making bad throws even when he has time and he keeps underthrowing receivers it’s not an elite oline but they ain’t the worst either play calling is predictable garbage alot going on that’s making this team just a bad football team.
December 26th, 2022 at 5:06 am
This ownership is a disaster.
December 26th, 2022 at 5:26 am
Toilet bowl needs the fricking boot to his azz as soon as the season is over ( which will be very very shortly)
December 26th, 2022 at 7:40 am
I know this is incidental at this point, but … Was Logan Hall even in uniform?
Pretty dramatic lack of production for a top draft pick
December 26th, 2022 at 7:55 am
Uhhhhh Go Bucs lol this site is so positive sometimes….. see if we can temper our enthusiasm bucs fans smh.
December 26th, 2022 at 9:07 am
It’s not Brady or Evan’s it the O game plan. How can a O go from unwatchable to world beaters once they go into hurry up and add PA? All of a sudden Brady and Evan’s are in sync. Bowels/BL have cut the balls of the bulls, it’s plain as.day. Licht is using players as his scapegoat and yet NO support to help this oline. Fire his arse to.
December 26th, 2022 at 9:49 am
I know our illustrious Head coach thinks it will wear our team out but we have to go no huddle most of the game. Does anyone remember Manning doing it in Denver? It doesn’t have to be a hurry up but let Brady go to the line and call the play there. It suits his best attributes. He deciphers the defense, makes the right read and puts us in either the correct passing or running play. It keeps the defense off balance and would limit their substitutions. Grow a pair Todd Bowles, your job may be on the line.
December 26th, 2022 at 10:55 am
Well, he did bring us back. A team game haters. You all loved him the last two years. Fickle.
December 26th, 2022 at 11:49 am
I agree with Cleanhouse …
Losing all of the tough-minded, old school leadership (Suh, JPP, and BA) was too much for this team. They don’t have leaders willing to inspire their teammates.
December 26th, 2022 at 11:52 am
@CleanHouse- There was no way to keep them all, and you know it.
Gronk retired. And what has JPP done since leaving? Nothing.
I do wish we had Suh and Whitehead though.
December 26th, 2022 at 12:04 pm
The problem with the OL is so obvious, it seems strange that so many blame Brady, Evens and the rest of the receivers. HE HAS NO TIME TO PASS LONG!
Other than quick slants, it takes time for them to juke the DBs and if you have no time you can’t pass long- -hence short and quick passes and runs.
Why have we not helped the line since the season started ask the GM. He should be in the unemployed line in January ’23.
December 26th, 2022 at 12:16 pm
The problem is Methuselah 0. He’s 45 and too old to play. He throws picks, misses wide open receivers, can barely move around, and calls a lot of bad plays (which he has always had the power to do). Joes, lay off of Jason Licht. He’s going nowhere, and is the best GM Bucs have ever had.
December 26th, 2022 at 6:06 pm
Time stands still for no man. Not sure who first said that but it’s true. Brady is over the hill. So are some other starters on the bucs. Nobody on the current Bucs oline was a starter there last year and that may be the biggest problem. And drafting last or next to last hurts most teams eventually. And last but not least is the the coaching staff.
December 26th, 2022 at 7:06 pm
Bucs have the most coaches of any team.
Quantity over Quality. They still run too many first down
plays up the middle.
December 27th, 2022 at 7:12 am
IF YALL CANT SEE THE HIRRIBLE PLAY CALLING YALL ARE BLIND. EVERY FIRST DOWN IS A RUN UP THE MIDDLE!! SECOND AND 3RD DOWN PASS. EVERY DEFENSE KNOWS IT!! THEN DUMBASS BOWLES ANSWER IS RUN THE BALL MORE??? WERE DEAD LAST IN ALL RUN STATS. ONLY TIME WE MOVE THE BALL IS WHEN BRADY TAKES CONTROL IN NO HUDDLE( WHICH IS FROM NEW ENGLAND), AND 2 MIN OFFENSE. THESE CIACHES NEED TO BE FIRED. THE OLINE IS HORRIBLE
December 27th, 2022 at 9:10 am
Why are so many players missing games through injury? I know it’s a physical sport and injuries happen, but we always seem to be missing at least a couple starters every week for the past two years.
December 27th, 2022 at 9:50 am
Sure, Brady is done. We need an “athletic, running QB”. Like Mahomes? I seem to remember the young, athletic, running Mahomes running for his life all game, getting sacked repeatedly and not scoring a single TD in the Super Bowl 2 years ago when his O-line was decimated and filled with backups. And he had a “genius” offensive play caller.
Aside from the o-line, he’s had a revolving door of receivers all season due to injuries. Hard to be consistently on the same page when you can’t even practice with the same 3 guys every week.
Toss in the poor play calling and philosophy of Bowles and you can bet Brady is as frustrated as we are watching it. I think his hugs of Leftwich after the wins is saying “we survived another one.”
For those who think Brady “forced out” BA, this off season we will see if he actually has that power to oust a HC. He won’t be back if Bowles is.
December 28th, 2022 at 12:56 am
We have to stop blaming the coaching. If the rift was with Bucco Bruce to the point that he was demoted then we can’t blame coaching. We had a super bowl winning coach and we chose the player (Tom Brady). So can we please blame the player. He can’t extend plays and there’s reports he changes the offensive game plan behind the coaching staffs back. I’ve been a bucs fan for over 20 years and I know bad QB play when I see it. The defense is playing bad and so is the offensive line but we need a QB to hit oppen WRs and to not drop
to the ground when someone is within two steps of him. Push the ball down field and force feed ME13.