Third-Down Greatness Crumbles
October 15th, 2023
Rough, rough day today for Baker Mayfield, his first clunker in a Tampa Bay uniform.
Maybe it was those annoying orange uniforms from the last century? Something turned Mayfield, who was spectacular on third down all season, to the guy leading a Bucs offense that converted only 2 of 12 third downs against in a blowout loss to the Lions.
Mayfield had two batted balls in the first half. One was a costly interception — and a lost touchdown opportunity to Mike Evans — which was on first down.
The third-down dominance of Mayfield entering this game was unsustainable. He had been up around an 80 percent completion rate. So Joe isn’t surprised from a numbers standpoint, but it’s never good to see an offense’s execution get so ugly as it did today. At home. Coming off a bye week.
Not being able to run on third down certainly doesn’t help. But with Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, the Bucs should never be 2-of-12 on third down.
Hopefully, it’s a learning-curve game for first year offensive coordinator Dave Canales, rather than NFL defenses starting to catch up his unit.
October 15th, 2023 at 7:35 pm
Blow out loss? Get effed Joe ffs what a Richard thing to say
October 15th, 2023 at 7:35 pm
After watching this game, Goedecke deserves some respect, Aidan Hutchinson did nothing today
October 15th, 2023 at 7:36 pm
Suck it Joe, just effing suck it
October 15th, 2023 at 7:36 pm
Watching the jets game rn man we shoulda never left whitehead go
October 15th, 2023 at 7:36 pm
Hopefully 🤞🏻
October 15th, 2023 at 7:37 pm
If Baker doesn’t overthrow Palmer on both of those bombs, you got 14 points right there.
Of course if Neal doesn’t give up 2 TDs, that’s -14 points.
That means it’s more on the players than the coaches, except for Bowles, who was a completely gutless coward punting on 4th and short, down by 14, near midfield with 10 mins left knowing the defense was gassed.
I never had any doubt the Lions were winning this game, but this was a pitiful effort on the offense and the head coach. Meanwhile the defense, even with the awful play of Neal (who needs to be benched), did its job.
October 15th, 2023 at 7:37 pm
Jets beat Eagles; Browns beat 49ers; and the Bucs can’t even score TD against Lions… curse of the STUPID creamsicle unis!
October 15th, 2023 at 7:37 pm
Bucs ain’t elite. Beat ATL next week and we’ll be alright again. Plays were there to be made by Baker, he channeled his inner Dilfer on those overthrows.
October 15th, 2023 at 7:38 pm
The BUCS wins have been equivalent to me slam dunking a basketball on a 5 ft high basket. BUCS can look ok against weak teams and otherwise we look like garbage.
October 15th, 2023 at 7:38 pm
My concern about Canales is that when something is not working, he doesn’t know where to turn. Detroit is the better team. They made the plays especially on third down. Detroit, Philadelphia, San Francisco are the top tier. Then comes a big middle where we are.
October 15th, 2023 at 7:39 pm
Ryan Neal sucks
October 15th, 2023 at 7:39 pm
Bucs 95 Says:
October 15th, 2023 at 7:36 pm
Watching the jets game rn man we shoulda never left whitehead go
——–
Well it wasn’t just Whitehead, it was Cappa too. For what Davis cost, you got both.
Not that I have any issues with Davis, he’s a very good MAN-TO-MAN cover corner. Problem is Bowles is almost exclusively a zone defense now, and we don’t need expensive man corners if that’s all we’re going to do. Makes no sense.
The Bucs should trade Davis and Dean since both have value, and you just don’t need them in a zone, and you need cap money for next year to keep everyone.
October 15th, 2023 at 7:39 pm
On a happy note, the Eagles lost and it doesn’t matter other than I hate the Eagles that bad.
October 15th, 2023 at 7:40 pm
Palmer n thompkins seen too much work today with evans and Godwin. I like both them guys but today wasn’t it. Godwin barely used! Please for the love of god find a back cuz white sucks!
October 15th, 2023 at 7:41 pm
Canales ……is learning for sure
BUT TODAY was a very bad play calling day for him
…….plus Mayfield was not accurate and overthrow or underthrown balls left n right ….
The defense was just gassed
October 15th, 2023 at 7:41 pm
The interior of the offensive line has been exposed and will be a weakness until next year. Hainsey is a lightweight and it all starts to fall apart there. It’s not his fault, he simply is not naturally big and strong enough to anchor the offensive line. Of course there are others names that are not ready for prime time, Mauch is going to be OK in a year or two after diet and weight training.
It’s the OL as a whole that is the weakness of the 2023 squad.
October 15th, 2023 at 7:42 pm
Just stop with the Mayfield Follies people. He stinks. Put in Trask.
October 15th, 2023 at 7:43 pm
Remember when we were humbled by the eagles? Well it turned out that the sky wasn’t falling after all, and the sun still rose the following morning
Don’t get too high. Don’t get too low.
October 15th, 2023 at 7:43 pm
And this is the reason why he’s on his 4th team in 6 years.
October 15th, 2023 at 7:44 pm
I think Amon St. Brown just caught another pass….
October 15th, 2023 at 7:44 pm
Baker not the long term answer.
October 15th, 2023 at 7:44 pm
All you Brady haters who were upset that he couldn’t hit deep shots show the same energy to Baker. Brady didn’t have the great pass pro like this year.all I’m asking for is consistency with fans
October 15th, 2023 at 7:45 pm
Lipstick on the Mayfield Pig will not win any games.
October 15th, 2023 at 7:45 pm
Richard comment Joe
October 15th, 2023 at 7:46 pm
Give me sneak as RB1 !
He hits a hole hard!
Looks for a cut back!
October 15th, 2023 at 7:48 pm
The three interior olinemen cannot run block. White is too passive and has really poor vision/can’t break tackles. Officially a bust in my view. Still the game could have been had.
Baker connects on those three deep throws plus Mike catches 2 passes he dropped it’s a different ballgame. I really didn’t like his body language.
Really happy with Goedeke and Wirfs who were great today.
I’m happy with the defense. Calijah Kancey looked good and even though it was a losing effort he got a sack and multiple QB hits. LVD played great. They really did enough to win. The only thing missing was turnovers and Ryan Neal was bad. Real bad.
October 15th, 2023 at 7:51 pm
Our OC had a bad day too. They had poor play calls all day and the adjustments didn’t come close to working. If we weren’t running White we were throwing him passes for some reason. Coming off a bye week, this was a piss poor effort from the offense. The D did everything they could minus a turnover. So everything tied to the offense needs a kick in the butt after that horrible day
October 15th, 2023 at 7:53 pm
Can’t blame the 3 interior OL and then also blame a RB .
October 15th, 2023 at 7:53 pm
This game is 50 per cent on Canales…..and 50 per cent on Mayfield…..Mayfield was off and Canales continued to call running plays on 2nd down putting us in 3rd & long all day…
The defense actually played pretty well considering all of our 3 & outs…..we did have problems getting off the field on 3rd downs….
October 15th, 2023 at 7:55 pm
Mayfield was not good today and the WRs had some bad plays. But he really missed the 2 deep throws to Palmer who had clear seperation. Really bad throws.
I have watch many Seahawks games every year cause my brothet is a Hawks fan and Neal last year was really good. I was happy when we got him. The truth is that he has not played good so far but with the Seahawks he was more close to the LOS and not so much deep in coverage. He s been bad but honestly i think in the long TD i believe he played it good to not get the DPI call and he had his hand on the ball. I think it was a good effort.
J.Dean was nowhere to be seen on the TV monitor when the opponents were catching the ball. I think Zyon deserves more playing time.
October 15th, 2023 at 7:55 pm
As much as I’d like to blame today’s game on the creamsicles, which I have always hated, alas, the Bucs offense sucked today. A lot, but not all, falls on Baker Mayfield. His accuracy and pass production sucked, not just on third down but all downs. He consistently missed his receivers, and his play action passing was non-existent.
Maybe this game will pump the brakes on the Baker-Mayfield-to-Pro-Bowl talk which was pretty ridiculous this past 2 weeks.
I am not anti Mayfield, but his best performances were against bad defenses, while against good defenses he’s been ineffective. This is not a call for him to be benched in favor of Kyle Trask, at least not yet. But he has a lot to prove that he is the Bucs best means of winning games. Let’s see where he’s at in mid November.
October 15th, 2023 at 7:56 pm
Well…you got who you got. Enjoy that.
October 15th, 2023 at 7:56 pm
Can we get playoff Lenny back
October 15th, 2023 at 7:57 pm
Mike Evans’ crucial drive-killing drop killed us again.
October 15th, 2023 at 7:57 pm
I hate we lost. But I admire the Lions.
If we had to lose, I’m glad it was to Goff.
He’s a survivor. Great dude.
He said great things about Baker.
And look, everyone else in our sh*tty division lost.
We’re still #1.
“Woot woot!”
October 15th, 2023 at 7:58 pm
Wonder no more! We are NOT a top team-at this point. Everyone healthy and our secondary crapped the bed.With all the time we had to plan for theses guys and our game plan on both sides of the ball showed nothing. Mayfield had a terrible day with accuracy. Nearly everything was high. Our receivers were getting blasted as always off their feet. Bad day for Baker. It happens. Still zero running threat.Zone defense humiliated. Is it illegal to knock a receiver off his route at the line? Playing off in a soft rarely, if ever works. Very few contested catches. Both lines played OK for most part with a couple of big breakdowns. Did Winfield play today? Is it possible for Neal to turn his head toward the ball when defending a pass that should have been knocked down? Defensive line was there all day. Just half a step short. Soooo. The wondering where we are is over. We couldn’t get separation in passing game and when we did, the passes were overthrown. BAck to the film room. Tough road coming up. We CAN play much better. Time to throw out what hasn’t worked for 5 games and install a real game plan. Sad day but confident we can bounce back. ( Kancey is real deal!)
October 15th, 2023 at 7:59 pm
He’s to short. A sure TD for Evans gets batted at the line for a pick. Why he can’t hit the deep ball, can’t see over the line.
October 15th, 2023 at 8:00 pm
“Goedecke deserves some respect, Aidan Hutchinson did nothing today“
Absolutely! Luke was dominate!
October 15th, 2023 at 8:01 pm
How tall is Purdy ?
Lol
October 15th, 2023 at 8:04 pm
Who watches that game and talks about the defense as being an issue?
Yes, Neal was an issue, he’s awful. But the defense absolutely played well enough to win, even with Neal personally giving up 14 points on bad plays.
But the defense isn’t even in the conversation about why the team lost today.
It was 100% on the offense, and out of that, 99% on Mayfield. He was terrible today. I’m no fan of his, but I’ve given him a ton of credit in the wins, he’s played way better this year than I thought he would. With that said, it’s perfectly fair to point out how bad he was today.
If you’re a Mayfield fanboi, just take the L today, he’s way overproduced to this point, and if you believe in him, then you believe we’ll bounce back next week and get the W. Just say he stunk, he’ll be better next week, and move on.
Of course if you’re anti-Mayfield, you’ll point out the Bucs are 1-2 in their 3 games games, getting blown out twice in that span.
October 15th, 2023 at 8:05 pm
HC grover Says:
October 15th, 2023 at 7:42 pm
Just stop with the Mayfield Follies people. He stinks. Put in Trask.
Another game or two like that and the Trask chants are coming.
October 15th, 2023 at 8:06 pm
@SB I sure can. I agree with your take on Hainsey. Bucs need a center and LG next year. Period
RB’s can still break tackles and elude defenders. Rachaad is terrible after contact. Probably the worst RB in NFL averaging 1.2 after contact which is WORSE than last year (2.33). It’s inexplicable even with the line being a work in progress.
October 15th, 2023 at 8:09 pm
Well said Rod
And can’t keep the defense on the field all day and expect them to perform well. They need a break
Positives: Kancey, Geodeke, Camarda
October 15th, 2023 at 8:10 pm
Atl has a defense and can run the ball. Not a lock game by any measure.
Mayfield struggles there and it will be time to put Trask in.
October 15th, 2023 at 8:11 pm
Well I was wrong, very disappointing. Half the players didn’t show up, including the coaches. Baker, Mike, the OLBs and Secondary (specifically Neal) didn’t do their part today. There isn’t much of a talent gap between these teams, coaches got beat and certain guys weren’t up to it.
October 15th, 2023 at 8:11 pm
Now why does a QB throw way over a wide open deep reciever? Wide open kine????
October 15th, 2023 at 8:13 pm
I watched Evan’s making cuts during the game. I don’t think he is even close to normal with that hamstring. Did not run and cut with exceleration.
October 15th, 2023 at 8:16 pm
Also, Devin White was a joke. So far this year he hasn’t done anything near being paid 20mil per year. Not sure he is worth 10 Mil. He just is so inconsistent.
October 15th, 2023 at 8:25 pm
Goedeke played well against some DE that was supposed to be good, the cameras were on the DE and Fox was hoping he would make a play and live up to his hype. WhatsHisName didn’t make any plays.
The whole offense looked like they slept and got rehab the entire time off. Everyone looked rusty except for Godwin and Goedeke. Baker looked very rusty and his timing with Palmer looked worse than the preseason. Whatever the offense did during the break didn’t work.
Canales play calling was the same before and after the bye. I didn’t see anything different except the targets to Palmer. The run game was worse than the Aints game so we took a step back. We started passing the ball way too late in the game and had to throw it deep.
We missed a lot of plays in the first half that killed our momentum. The offensive PI against Evans in the end zone was a terrible call, the DB got in front of Evans and basically blocked him. The missed throws to Palmer were great calls but the timing was off.
Kancey and LVD played solid. When Gholston was in there, he looked good. Neal should be benched.
October 15th, 2023 at 8:25 pm
Play calling is some of the worst I’ve seen. Long throws on 3rd and 1 and 3rd and 2. Shows the coaches have no faith in the Oline and RBs. But this team is cash strapped and won’t give up draft picks to trade for a RB so we’re stuck with….*checks notes* White and Vaughn who can’t break tackles. Smh
October 15th, 2023 at 8:29 pm
Uh and by the way we don’t have a running game. Our running backs don’t hit the hole( when they show up)and when we have day light no action is taken to explode. I watched several games today and most teams in the NFL have running backs no matter how bad they are. Where the hell is Shawn Tucker?, Sneak Vauhn bounced around today with nothing to show for. We missed several touchdowns through the air and I am glad we have Luke Geodeke. Move on and win next week.
October 15th, 2023 at 8:54 pm
I have no idea why people keep calling for Sneak. They have tried him and he is doing no better. We have no true number 1 quality Backs on this team.So I have I do know how anyone would expect to improve the running game without one.
October 15th, 2023 at 8:59 pm
Trash Baker. Introducing City of Tampa Public Works Manager for picking up trash, Baker M.
Defense giving up 20 points and offense scores 6 points. I meant to say Baker.
October 15th, 2023 at 9:05 pm
I didn’t have us winning this game. I thought we would be more competitive than we were. The worst unit on the team is our outside linebackers, no pressure from them, JTS is not strong enough to push the tackle into the quarterback and shaq didn’t play well. Light should go get frank clark or trade for a productive edge rusher. Goff had to much time as did every quarterback we’ve played this year. The problem with our offense is mayfield held onto the ball to long and wasn’t making good reads and wasn’t throwing accurate on the run.
October 15th, 2023 at 9:25 pm
Oh no. I heard the dreaded words from Bowles that I was hoping I would not hear this year. “The coaches and players need to get better”. NO DUH. But, as last year, he never says how.
October 15th, 2023 at 10:12 pm
On passes, we were pressured up the middle all day long. Baker hit his throwing arm on a helmet at least 3 times that I saw. Tough to be accurate when you can’t follow through on a throw. Would have liked to see them get him out of the pocket more when it became obvious that we could not protect him in the pocket.