A Monday Night Lesson In Patience
October 24th, 2023
The Bucs’ loss to the Falcons on Sunday sure brought out the negativity groupies for the 3-3 Buccaneers. Many are the same people that would have embraced a 3-3 start for this team back in late-August.
It just goes to show that how the team looks on the field is more important than the record for most folks. They take the famous “you are what your record says you are” quote from Bill Parcells and flush it down the toilet.
Joe won’t pretend the Bucs are in a complete state of doom. First, they’re a very healthy team. Second, they’re a talented bunch, compared to many NFL teams. Third, they’re clinging to the final wild card spot.
None of that means the Bucs are playing well or cruising down a good path, but it is reason to breathe and look around.
Take last night’s Vikings (3-4) win against the allegedly mighty 49ers (5-2). Fans and analysts leaguewide wrote off the Vikings as a garbage team after their rough start. But now they’ve won two in a row and are being discussed as a dangerous potential wild card contender. Hmmm, the Bucs beat them in their own crib.
The Vikings’ next three games are against the Packers, Falcons and Saints. Minnesota could be come quite a friendly ally of the Bucs.
(A quick word for those who moan about the Bucs’ pass rush. Tampa Bay has more sacks than the 49ers and San Francisco has played an extra game, even with Devin White being sackless. The 49ers didn’t sack Kirk Cousins and he threw all night. The Bucs smacked Cousins around rather well last month.)
A couple of Vikings wins do not make the Bucs a good team, but it should be a lesson in NFL patience. At this point in a season, a bad team now can be a pretty good club in a few weeks.
October 24th, 2023 at 9:06 am
Right on. Needed that perspective. Thanks, Joe.
October 24th, 2023 at 9:14 am
I actually think the Bucs will beat the bills this Thursday.
The bills are probably eating bon bons and chocolate milk all week.
does not mean I think the Bucs are a playoff contender…just that they have enough fight in em to throw some heavy punches once in a while when no one is expecting it. but they are not a skilled fighting machine…and never will be when a toilet bowl is their team mantra
October 24th, 2023 at 9:20 am
We had another Rams style Cupp Collapse at the last 46 seconds. Blundered thw winning TD and did not run off enough time. Bucs beat the Bucs.
October 24th, 2023 at 9:23 am
(Sees a pile of horsepoop)
“There’s a pony in here somewhere…”
October 24th, 2023 at 9:24 am
JOe, with all due respect,
If a bucs fan says” We can’t run the ball” or “I need to see more on Mayfield” or” Our CB’s are average” is considered a “negativity groupie”?
Simply don’t get it…..
October 24th, 2023 at 9:25 am
Need a RB and Ryan Neal to hit the bench before any more wins start coming our way. Ryan Neal has cost this team 2 games this year. Dude has zero awareness.
October 24th, 2023 at 9:41 am
I feel like the Vikings beat themselves with making bad turnovers more than we outplayed them. We barely beat a bad Bears team. We handled the Saints. Got manhandled by eagles and lions, and really got manhandled by the falcons if they don’t lose two fumbles on the one yard line. Very easy could be a one win team. We aren’t great. We rely on our defense a lot and they aren’t the 02 Bucs. I don’t see is being a top team this year unfortunately. I do like Canales though, and the defense is playing well but our DBs (outside of infield) are inconsistent and it just feels like they are a little out of place a lot.
October 24th, 2023 at 9:47 am
Ahhh yes the NFL in 2023 where quality of play across the board is average to mediocre. Let’s celebrate.
The NFL is king because it is easily consumed and still predominantly Sunday only, and most importantly gambling and fantasy football. Gambling in football is 10x of the NBA, NHL, NASCAR etc and is carrying the league. Which is fine. But do not tell me it is because of quality of play. Atleast in the NBA I am getting actual superstars. I am getting Steph Curry, Jokic, Giannis, Lebron in a 7 game series and not a 1 and done.
This past Sunday in the NFL was beyond atrocious, bad football across the board with the exception of Kansas City/Mahomes, and it has become all too common. But just like in modern cinema you have to try to placate everyone, you have to make everyone feel like they have a chance because its more money or something.
October 24th, 2023 at 10:10 am
what if:
the bucs are a pretty good team…
and this past 4 games is our lowest point of the season…
you never know…
just say we go into buffalo and houston and smack them around to a 5-3 record…
you never know – stranger things have happened…
all i’m saying is, there’s a chance that “we are who we thought we were” 🙂
October 24th, 2023 at 10:11 am
Joe you need offense to win in the NFL.
Yeah Bucs have a decent defense, but no run game + Baker Mayfield = fertilizer.
No opposing defense is afraid of Baker no matter how dangerous he feels. They can crash the LOS with reckless abandon. We are all witnessing it.
October 24th, 2023 at 10:16 am
We are a talented team that is very poorly coached….and that includes our attractive, well spoken new OC. Until he proves he can produce an offense that can score….he’s just a guy.
And i finally achieved a little faith in Todd Bowles and he’s let me down……again.
October 24th, 2023 at 10:16 am
NutterBuccer Ryan Neal isn’t why this team stinks on offense.
October 24th, 2023 at 10:16 am
there are a handful of glaring weaknesses with the team…
bowles and crew gotta get sh!t fixed and make a few changes…
if personel is an issue at said positions, do the “next man up”…
it’s a next man up league…
man up or shut up and “grab some pine meat”…because it’s next man up around here
October 24th, 2023 at 10:19 am
adam from ny if wishes were horses dreamers would ride
October 24th, 2023 at 10:21 am
Trade for RB and things can turn around.
October 24th, 2023 at 10:21 am
Chris from Gainesville this team has definitely overachieved thanks to some big plays at the right time on defense.
A few of those guys have really stepped up.
October 24th, 2023 at 10:21 am
Can’t have patience with incompetent, stubborn coaches
October 24th, 2023 at 10:22 am
Thanks for this refreshing dose of healthy optimism. I was a far happier and less cynical Bucs fan (as I’m sure many of us were) before the days of Internet enlightenment!
October 24th, 2023 at 10:24 am
I agree with Joe. All Buc fans need to be patient. The end of the season will be here before we know and the firing of the coaching staff can begin. Be patient Buc Fans.
October 24th, 2023 at 10:24 am
Bucs just have to get the offense going. Feed your stars in ME13 n CG14. Otton showed up last week. All 3 especially our 2 studs WR can do some real damage and neither 1 has to carry the load by themselves. We lost 1 div game and are 1 game behind the dirty birds. 1st games arnt as important as the 2nd game. If teams are tied then the 2nd game is the tie breaker. Couple rough games. It’s a long season. If the offense gets going and I know it’s a BIG IF then we will win more than we lose. Defense has bin out strength and they need help. They aren’t perfect but we have the best red zone defense in the league and they keep us in games. Offense just needs to flip the switch and we will be good. Deff gotta address the RB position in the off-season and get run road graders up front. Seasons not over yet like some of these fans are crying about
October 24th, 2023 at 10:25 am
Turnovers are why this team is 3-3 instead of 1-5.
October 24th, 2023 at 10:42 am
I was just about ready to hand the 9ers the damn trophy two weeks ago…… along with alot of other people. Good point Joe, things change quickly, hopefully for the good.
October 24th, 2023 at 10:45 am
Gofortheface…… NBA is a bad joke 👎
October 24th, 2023 at 10:46 am
Thank You Joe!
October 24th, 2023 at 10:46 am
meanwhile…quietly…in the shadows of that singer lady, the chiefs are right there with the eagles
October 24th, 2023 at 10:49 am
It was always going to be a struggle and work in progress. We wasted a great opportunity to set up our playoff future, but that really is on brand. This team is so inconsistent that I can see them playing out of their minds in Buffalo. Enjoy the ride. There is a Big Storm for every Bucs occasion.
October 24th, 2023 at 10:50 am
“negativity groupies” = those who don’t buy the Bakey hype
October 24th, 2023 at 10:53 am
regarding minnesota:
yeah they were like the worst 13-4 team in the history of the world last season…
if you get lucky and the ball bounces your way, you can win a couple extra games in a season…maybe even 3 games…
and that was most likely them…lucky, and won maybe 3 more than they deserved…
nevertheless, if you take away the 3 games, they still were like a legit decent 10-7 team…
watch them win 8+ games this year…everyone writing them off as absolute scrubs is about to do the ole switcharoonie
October 24th, 2023 at 10:53 am
they’ll pull a peter king
October 24th, 2023 at 10:55 am
Good time to acquire a Rob via trade this week. With ten days off after Thursday’s game acquiring Penny from Philly might be golden. Penny knows our offense.
October 24th, 2023 at 10:55 am
RB
October 24th, 2023 at 10:56 am
Vikings had a running game last night, and if the Buc’s OLine played like the Viking’s did, they’d be 5-1. Also, Kirk Cousins played a whale of a game, much better than any game Mayfield has put on tape with the Bucs. And Viking’s receivers were able to get separation, and didn’t drop catches. Vikings turned their momentum around… right now not seeing indication the Bucs are able to.
October 24th, 2023 at 10:57 am
You can be patient but doesn’t change the fact that Falcons’ OLine is better than Bucs”, Falcons’ RB’s are better than Bucs’ and Ridder played better than Mayfield.
October 24th, 2023 at 10:57 am
Brought out the Negativity Groupies?? You guys just wrote that a C grade for Sunday’s loss was too kind and you’d give’em an F. Talk about negativity groupies LOL.
October 24th, 2023 at 10:57 am
I’m just here for all the equine metaphors.
October 24th, 2023 at 10:58 am
@Duane:
yeah being a bucs fan is crazy…
when “buc’s world” comes crashing down, we just might go into buffalo and houston and thump them both out of the blue…
everyones jaw will drop…
we all do a song and dance…
then they come home for tennessee – asuming we’re all good , yet we get rocked at ray jay to a 34-14 loss and every bucs fan is once again shell shocked…
#ItsAyeBucsLife
October 24th, 2023 at 11:06 am
100% true, well said Joe. It’s where I’m at mentally. Contextually, this team overachieved right out of the gate. No way we should have beat the Vikings in that stadium, we had ZERO offensive false start penalties, that’s almost impossible given those noise conditions and the newness of that line playing together. This offense is trying to find it’s legs with zero running game. This is who we are this season. I think it will only get better, but they’ll be some bumps along the way.
But an important caveat to this article, are previous articles Lee I know has written saying we lost to a (paraphrasing) crap Falcons team. This incites your readers but the fact is, the Falcons aren’t a bad football team and their redzone defense is excellent. Prior to the Bucs game Ridder put (2) 300 yard games, and most would say he’s the biggest weakness the Falcons have. What I will say is that it’s a game we should have won and/or was a winnable game, Falcons tried to give it away and we just couldn’t produce enough offense.
October 24th, 2023 at 11:07 am
Can that be Devin’s new moniker?
Sackless White
October 24th, 2023 at 11:20 am
A nice bit of optimism. We don’t often get these articles from you, Joe.
I simply have zero faith in Canales and Bowles on the offensive side of the ball.
October 24th, 2023 at 11:34 am
Yeah, let’s all be Polly positives about the demise of our once great team.
It’s just so wonderful!!!
October 24th, 2023 at 11:40 am
What TBBF said…
And I’m not really sure where we are all that talented,
IOL?
TE?
RB?
QB?
Edge?
Secondary?
One ILB?
Our punter is kick a$$ though…
October 24th, 2023 at 12:10 pm
The Vikings had 3 turnovers, a few of which were not even caused by the Bucs.
Without those turnovers, the game is a blowout loss. Same story for the Falcons game this weekend. And Chicago may have won or tied it up if Shaq doesn’t get that INT.
This team has survived and won because of turnovers, which is not a reliable to way to win consistently.
Offense needs to step the F up.
Defense needs to find a real pass rush.
October 24th, 2023 at 12:15 pm
Tampabaybucfan Says:
October 24th, 2023 at 10:16 am
We are a talented team that is very poorly coached….and that includes our attractive, well spoken new OC. Until he proves he can produce an offense that can score….he’s just a guy.
I agree.
October 24th, 2023 at 12:19 pm
Difference is vikes have a coordinator and qb with playoff experience we have 0.0 of that at those 2 positions
October 24th, 2023 at 12:33 pm
I can’t see the talent on this roster except for Godwin, sometimes-Evans, Winfield and David. Sorry, the talent is very limited and will continue to show, as the year continues. Go Bucs
October 24th, 2023 at 12:35 pm
and Wirfs
October 24th, 2023 at 12:38 pm
“It just goes to show that how the team looks on the field is more important than the record for most folks.”
Nope. It’s the record. I can live with the losses against Detroit and Philly. They were better. But Atlanta? Come on. And at home? Nah. That’s just a bunch of guys who have zero leadership and no direction.
LD does not lead, except by example. Not what they need. Davis and Dean are Beavis and Butthead. Wirfs needs to start thumping people on OL. Evans needs to go to the RB room and talk to them about being men. Devin White needs a horse whisperer. JTS? Just stop. He’s the guy you bring to help pay for the party.
Bowles? Just not a HC. Sorry. Just not. Canales? Not ready.
October 24th, 2023 at 12:57 pm
Bucs untouchables IMO. Listen to offers for anybody else and stack draft picks for next years new head coach.
Offense:
Wirfs
Goedeke
Evans
Godwin
Defense:
Winfield Jr
Lavonte
Vea
Kancey
Keep both kickers
October 24th, 2023 at 1:01 pm
Patience does not equate to instant gratification. Delayed gratification is a tough pill to swallow, especially for football fans and the younger generation.
Yet, us fans have no choice, do we – except to wait and be patient and “hope” this team improves.
Eeeks.
October 24th, 2023 at 1:06 pm
Jeff’s G , Baker has won a playoff game, same number as the Detroit franchise….. but it is some successful playoff experience.
October 24th, 2023 at 1:10 pm
@Joe, did you just call Devon White “sackless?”
October 24th, 2023 at 1:17 pm
Broussard put up a graphic yesterday showing Baker is the same guy who got himself bounced in other places. Same numbers.
Its just more of the same of what got him a career losing record.
Oh and of course we all know none of that is Baker’s fault. Its ALWAYS someone else’s fault.
This year it happens to be the RBs fault, Bowles fault, Canales fault, Cody Mauch’s fault, etc..
This guy gets people fired – except for Stefanski who ran him out of town in Cleveland. He still might get him fired because they had to knee jerk to replace him with a sex-addict head case.
You know what is funny though? PJ Walker is going to get that job and take that team to the playoffs. Once again, practice squad JAG PJ Walker is going to outshine Mr Dangerous.
Can we start warming up Trask already?
October 24th, 2023 at 2:02 pm
Mayfield had Godwin open in end zone on last sack with 50 sec left and he just held the ball for some reason – the play was there
October 24th, 2023 at 2:19 pm
OK! I hear you. They do need to punch a good team in the mouth at some point. And sign a runner or three off the street. Open tryouts!
October 24th, 2023 at 2:31 pm
Mike S: Your observations are truly underwhelming. You must be one of those “participation trophy” guys. Why do I waste my time reading your BS!
October 24th, 2023 at 2:34 pm
Adam from NY, wow that does about sums it.
October 24th, 2023 at 2:37 pm
Sum it up*
October 24th, 2023 at 2:42 pm
In the first few games of the season, teams didn’t know what we were doing on offense. There was promise but after 6 games, they now know. It will be interesting to see if we can adapt and we’ll see how good the coaching really is. The book isn’t written yet but it will be soon.
October 24th, 2023 at 3:32 pm
Alanbucsfan, the play before he had Mike wide the eff open and forced a throw into Godwin. No vision!
October 24th, 2023 at 3:52 pm
Bucs untouchables IMO. Listen to offers for anybody else and stack draft picks for next years new head coach.
Offense:
Wirfs
Goedeke
Evans
Godwin
Defense:
Winfield Jr
Lavonte
Vea
Kancey
Keep both kickers
you high?
Evans should be dealt immediately.
LVD….love him, but can’t wait until he loos like Brooks out there. Kancey has 1 game…and he is untouchable?
yall bust on bandwagon fans…but the loyalists are the most biased and clueless of the bunch
October 24th, 2023 at 3:59 pm
@Doosh: does your equine reference include “and the horse you rode in on?”
October 24th, 2023 at 4:02 pm
I am getting a bit tired of whichever Joe it is that is constantly bashing Buc fans. I am no negative groupie just sick of inferior play, coaching and players.
October 24th, 2023 at 4:38 pm
Joe/Baker fans stop comparing Bucs to Vikings. Vikings won last night cause due to their superior qb, Kirk C. to garbage Baker. Even though Kirk C. is another overrated trash qb.
October 24th, 2023 at 8:34 pm
With few exceptions, every season comes down to healthy teams peaking last December (getting into playoffs) and doing well in the handful of three or four games at the end. And a lot of luck.
Parity reigns supreme. Nothing is certain in October.
But it can be quite evident, as is the case with the Bucs, which direction a team is facing. Bowles, Canales, unimpressive roster, Baker Jeff Garcia Mayfield….do you expect magic in December from this pile?
October 25th, 2023 at 11:53 am
Can anybody tell me why barrett changed his number? I have all his #58 jerseys except the Creamsicle and spent a lot of $$$? Signed confused.
October 25th, 2023 at 12:06 pm
He explained it. Can’t remember the specifics. Want to say it has something to do with a Bible verse. Or indirectly has to do with his daughter that passed away.