Bucs 18, Rams 17
October 24th, 2010
Coach of the Year contender Raheem Morris
Joe’s not sure the Bucs launched into the ranks of great football teams after this somewhat ugly home win against the Rams. But who the hell cares? Tampa Bay is 4-2. And the Bucs didn’t crumble in the face of getting Jim Batsed in the first half.
Plus, the Saints got punished at home by the Browns to drop their record to 4-3.
The Bucs managed to score an impressive game-winning, 81-yard touchdown drive with the likes of James Lee, Ted Larsen and Jeremy Zuttah on the offensive line, and Erik Lorig at fullback.
LeGarrette Blount emerged as a go-to guy with 11 carries for 72 yards. And Cadillac Williams catches the game-winning touchdown. How’s that for irony?
Joe doesn’t lose sight of the Bucs defense pitching yet another second-half shutout, its third of the season.
Joe will have so much more through the day.
October 24th, 2010 at 4:17 pm
great win but Jim Mora is a buc hater all he did was complain about what the bucs were not doing what he still mad that rah has him unemployed remeber jim 24 7 you asshole jim mora
October 24th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
one more thing o line penatlies almost killed us play blount more wow and jim mora is a hater that is hey mora you have no coaching job just announce
October 24th, 2010 at 4:21 pm
come on guys,where are all u haters at u were here at half time ,talk about the halftime ajustment,aww look at the babies grow,the piece together offensive line.4-2 were just lucky and hope to be that way all year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 24th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
That was sooooo stressful to watch. Our offensive line just plain sucks. Far as I’m concerned, keep Faine and Joseph and replace the rest. That penalties were killing us!
I can’t really blame Lee for his penalty…well I can blame him but not hold it against him as he came in cold and is entitled to at least one mistake…unfortunately it cost us huge.
The Rams defense should be seeing some fines this week, as they were hitting helmet first so much they even injured on of their own guys doing it.
Still not stoppoing the run…this is a huge issue.
Our Offensive line better start protecting Freeman better too, because if they don’t he’s going to get injured.
LeGarrette Blount should be the starting tailback…I really don’t see why this has not happened yet. Please don’t tell me Caddy’s start position is saved by that game winning TF, because he could get that as a backup too.
This win is welcome, but it was ugly, and my heart is still pounding from the ending. I don’t mind a close game, but what we as fans should not have to worry about is seeing great plays negated by stupid penalties.
October 24th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
With all the injuries to the O-line, anyone who doesn’t believe Josh Freeman is the real deal is out of their mind. There will come a day when he doesn’t need a 4th quarter comeback every single week, but until then he’s carrying this team like a champ.
This team needs to clean up stupid penalties, but I understand some of them with new guys on the O-line that haven’t been playing regularly. The D came up big again in the 2nd half. I think they’re looking more like they did early in the season, before the Steelers game. Tim Crowder should take over the starting spot, he’s continually getting pressure. EJ Biggers has been very good in coverage, and Ronde is all over… making tackles, getting pressure, and even in coverage.
Not a sign of greatness, this team still has a LONG way to go, but they’re scrappy, and I like that.
October 24th, 2010 at 4:25 pm
THAT’S MY QUARTERBACK! *sobbing uncontrollably*
October 24th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
mike56wesley , that comment makes no sense to me at all, lol. But then I wasn’t in the chat, so I guess I had to be there.
TJ…you must really, really hate Mora, lol.
October 24th, 2010 at 4:27 pm
WOW GREAT GAME GUYS
October 24th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
I agree about Blount. Today he showed me he has the same great heart that Caddy does, fighting for every yard, breaking tackles, and pushing the pile…. but he’s younger, fresher, has better burst. Caddy is still a good option as the 3rd down back, he catches the ball well out of the backfield, picks up the blitz well. I will say this though… I don’t want to hear one word about his (Blount’s) “42 yard run”…. just like Caddy’s runs called back by penalty, it didn’t count. I’m really liking Lorig at FB too.
October 24th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
In memory of Casey Weldon and Eric Hipple, the Bucs have a QB who is a winner. Ladies and gentlemen the Bucs have their franchise QB.
October 24th, 2010 at 4:29 pm
So Caddy is now a third-down back only, right? He can be our Faulk
October 24th, 2010 at 4:29 pm
AND THE BEST THING ABOUT IT IS THAT ALL BUT WINSLOW AND BARBER ARE STILL GROWING.
October 24th, 2010 at 4:29 pm
TODAY, there was NO quit in this team. Gotta give some love to the DC on the second half performance. Clearly these guys play for him. Listen, “stats are for baseball, eyes are for football” -jesse j…
October 24th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Blount has to learn more of the offense and figure out how to pick up pass rushers ASAP because that’s the only thing stopping him from being the starter imo. But he just finishes runs and doesn’t go down at the first contact like Caddy does so often.
I don’t see how anyone can excuse half the penalties we committed today though, despite being an inexperienced piece-meal line. Late hits after the play and holding penalties behind the play that take back huge gains are just unacceptable no matter how raw or new you are.
We didn’t deserve this win based on the first half and the type of penalties we committed today. But the defense adjusted and stepped it up, got pressure (altho just 1 sack) and Free delivered us to the promised land. 5th comeback victory in 7 wins for Free. Dude. Is. Clutch.
October 24th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
i attempted to pull my hair out a few times during that game, those penalties were killin us.. but hey a W is a W, freakin love it…. wish Iowa and Tampa could win on the same weekend again.. those were good weekends :o)
October 24th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
Pete im sorry u wasnt there.you know who u are. we wont hear from you until we lose.
October 24th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
@mike56wesley- We were all hating on Raheem at half time because the coaching was horrific. Passing on every first down??? Raheem doesn’t deserve credit for this win. If anything all Bucs fans should be pissed that he let the run game suck so bad these last few games when it is so obvious(and even more so to him since he sees him in practice too)that Blount should have the majority of the carries from the moment he stepped on the field against Pittsburgh onward. I still think there are some great points to Morris as a coach. But its more than a little ridiculous how he has to learn everthing the hard way. They should not have waited till game six to can the 3-3-5 and hand the ball to someone besides Caddy. I am glad he is a good motivator and the players like him but we as fans have a reasonable expectation that we should not have to wait six freaking games to see every needed adjustment made. Rah and Olson tried to piddle this game away too in the first half with their pathetic offensive strategy. Why did we have to wait till the second half to see what the Bucs should have been doing from drive one?
October 24th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
And If I see one more person say “Well Blount needed time to learn to pick up blitzes before you give him the ball” i am going to have a stroke. The second half today proved that theory wrong. You don’t have to wait till you have the lead, or wait till he is a master pass protector. You run the ball on first and second and then you put caddy in to protect on obvious passing downs. This has been common sense to most of us for weeks now. Why did the head coach take so long to figure it out?
October 24th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
TJ: mix in some punctuation man, I need to take an Advil every time I read one of your posts!
Blount was very good today, showing that a stronger RB can make this line look better.
The D was sooo bad in the first half it was embarrassing but good job coming back and holding them scoreless in the 2nd half. I hope this is the start of a better running game and tougher play on D.
October 24th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
Fire Dem Cannons
October 24th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
gitarlvr, you must be one of those douche-bags that were screaming superbowl after we beat carolina and cleveland. PLEASE gain some simple perspective, WE ARE REBUILDING. enjoy a win you f’n idiot. i dont have my tickets for next home game yet, but when i do, im posting them to all you morons hopeng that you visit me.
October 24th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
A win is a win and that’s great, but we still looked awful.
The defense looked better the second half, but I’d say they went from absolutely embarrassing in the first half to just below average in the second half. A good team would have continued to kill us. I’ll just continue to hope we get better on defense each week because right now we are awful.
On offense, we had three practice squad guys on our O-line which just about killed us. We didn’t look good at all but we managed to come up big in the end when it mattered, so I’m not gonna bag on the offense. I think we all saw a glimpse of what we can be today when we have Blount running the ball. It opens up everything. There is reason to be excited about the offense.
In the end I am still excited about Free, Winslow, Blount, and Mike Williams. Stroughter has looked good too, but I’m not to sure about anyone else on either side of the ball. Biggers has looked better than Talib, and Barber seems to be our best linebacker. It will continue to be a roller coaster season with lots of excitment and even more fustration.
4-2 Go Bucs!
October 24th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
I really think everybody is missing the point with Raheem NOT starting Blount. Rah admitted that he has better rushers on the team than Caddy. He said that keeping Freeman upright is the number one goal and Caddy is a great on the blitz pick-up. When Blount learns how to pick up the blitz better he will get even more carries. They cant just have Caddy in passing situations because it would be too easy for teams to know if we were running or passing. I think Blount will be the starter by season’s end and everybody will be happy. Great win today!! Go Bucs!!
October 24th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
OMG, I thought it was just me. Jim Mora is an idiot!!!! Call me crazy but I’ve been saying this all year, Let Josh go no huddle kind of like Manning. Now I know some of you will say he not ready but alot of you thought he wasn’t ready to be drafted (Bust in Waiting) Olson can still call the plays but keep the pressure on the defense.
SensibleBuc that post was CLASSIC!!!!! LMAO
October 24th, 2010 at 4:49 pm
And how many damn times did they mention that Steven Jackson is going to break the record? OMG you would’ve thought he was going to be the NFL all time leader!!!!!!!!!
October 24th, 2010 at 4:49 pm
Gitar… blame the offenses play calls on Olsen, Morris has nothing to do with that. In half the games this year, Morris has made great halftime adjustments to the D and it has helped us win 3 of the 4 games we’ve won. Also, we haven’t “waited 6 weeks” to get Blount in. He came in the week before game 1. He didn’t know the offense at all when he got here, he barely knew NFL playbooks at all at that point. It took a couple weeks to get him to know enough to get in the game. Against Cincy, facing all out blitzes constantly, Caddy was often the better choice still. We are seeing him progress into the starting RB we all hoped he could be. This is a good thing, but the timing had to be right. The thing we waited 6 weeks to see was Tim Crowder getting significant playing time at DE. It’s a process, and it’s looking ok at this point, the record looks much better than ok. We can still grow and improve with these young guys. They’ll learn to get the ball in the end zone instead of kicking FGs, but in the meantime I’m glad we have Barth.
October 24th, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Blount looked very good out there today and I’m excited about him! But I think Caddy can still be a valuable asset to this team. Not as the #1 running back, but maybe as a #2 or #3. He’s also a good receiver out of the backfield.
October 24th, 2010 at 4:54 pm
Hey jesse j- I have been defending Raheem for most of the year. But anyone that doesn’t realize how badly mishandled the running game was up until the second half of todays game just apparently doesn’t expect anything out of their coach. Just because the Bucs are rebuilding doesn’t mean the head coach should be immune from any criticism. I have said plenty of positive things about Raheem but its pretty pathetic how long it took for that change to be made in the running game, thats all im saying. And by the way I just love posters that use cursing at other posters as a substitute for having any real take.
October 24th, 2010 at 4:57 pm
gitarlvr:
Again, it’s not just blitz pickups. He has to understand the playbook, which took time. He has to know which gap, what run (Counter, ISO, Stretch, etc.). He also had to learn the audible calls, in case Freeman changes the call at the line. Six weeks is pretty good for Blount to have picked up as much as he has. They must have been giving him a crash course. I’m glad he’s in now, but it had to be worked in like they did, or you wouldn’t be seeing the Blount you are now.
October 24th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
sorry if anybody did not understand what I was saying . I was so excited for this win. I was trying to say Jim Mora was critical of everything The bucs were doing , it leads me to bleeive he has the Rich gannon syndrome where he is bitter at eht bucs . We spanked the seahawks last year 24 7 which I beleive caused him his job which he only had for one year. If you aing Brain Billick or Cowehr all you old coaches need to stop trying to coach and announce . Go Bucs
October 24th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
Just picked up blount in my fantasy…im REALLY liking this kid!
October 24th, 2010 at 4:59 pm
4-2 go buccs, where are all the hater’s now…
October 24th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
Freeman and Olsen are saving Rahs ass.
This defense is TERRIBLE. We need a new defensive coordinator.
Keeping Raheem as the head coach is a charity case at best.
October 24th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
Blount really should be running out of the tunnel pre-game.
Fire Todd Wash…now….today.
October 24th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
Great game… I was shocked in the end….. Great day for Tampa Fans!!!!!!!!!!! THANK GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 4-2 BABY!!!!!!!!!
October 24th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
gitar, real take? really? how bout this for a take, cheer for your team. quit hating in a win, especially when there are plenty of positives to talk about, we are the youngest team in the league if you take out Rhonde(which i wouldnt do). Our coching staff picked up Blount when plenty gave up on him, you really dont think they dont want to prove themselves right? The dude has PLENTY to learm. Again, we are rebuilding. Everyones favorote player is the backup, you ever heard that? Fans suck as GM’s thats why you dont get paid. Do you really want to read takes from the likes of idiots like ” buc you” every day.
October 24th, 2010 at 5:18 pm
Nobody seems to notice Lorig, but for the second straight week I’ve noticed him blowing guys up, taking them off thier feet and taking them out of the play. Graham is a RB. I love him, but he can never provide that type of run blocking. When your O-line struggles as much as ours does, a 275lbs FB can be a huge difference maker.
October 24th, 2010 at 5:18 pm
sorry about the spell check, cooking dinner and have flour all over my fingers
October 24th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
Got to give Rah and the staff credit for halftime adjustments. The D held SJ39 to a ROBUST 36 yards in the half and took him out for a series. We completely took them out of rhythm offensively in the 2nd half.
MAJOR kudos to Olie and the offensive staff. Sometimes you’ve got to be a man and say “Hey, this isn’t working. Let’s try something different,” and that’s what running Blount was all about. Freeman was protected solidly the entire game despite the Zuttah & Larsen tandem and exotic-looking pre-snap looks from the Rams D. We attacked with the pass AND the run (finally) and kept the Rams D on the field tiring them out.
I was just listening to Rams radio (since I can’t get the Tampa radio stations here in South Carolina) and the announcers said that the Rams defense was absolutely gassed due to the combination of Blount running and the heat/humidity in Tampa.
All in all, good win and a GREAT comeback!
October 24th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
Hey BamBam- thanks for responding politely with a well thought out counter argument instead of pointlessly swearing at me.
October 24th, 2010 at 5:22 pm
Morris says;
“Morris clearly enjoyed the victory.
“Were 4-2 and we’re the best team in the NFC,” he said. “There, I said it. We’re the best team in the NFC.”
If Morris still has a job he should get down on his knees and kiss Freeman’s ass. Best team in the NFC! hahahahaha!
October 24th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
@gitarlvr,
I really don’t think you understand the game of football very much. First of all, Morris doesn’t call the plays on offense. If you are upset about the play calling, blame Olsen. It’s not as easy as just run the ball on first and second down. This is the NFL and you just can’t be that predictable. In reality, we ran the ball well and often, we just kept making penalties to put us out of running downs. When you are in 2nd and longs, you are pretty much forced to pass.
So you don’t want to give Raheem any credit for the win? Really? You didn’t like the 2nd half adjustments??? Are you kidding me? 0 points, only 4 first downs, 86 yards on offense. What more do you want? We’re not the damn Steal Curtain!
I think game 6 is a pretty good time to start making adjustments. You go through OTA’s, training camp, and the preseason with a certain plan. You have to be careful to not just blow the whole thing up after a couple bad games. Besides, those adjustments take time. I know it’s easy as a fan to just say “we need to do this and we need to do that”, but it’s just not that easy. Be happy we are 4-2! There’s a s%#@ load of teams in the NFL that would love to have that record.
October 24th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
@ JDub
I started watching Lorig in the 2nd half and he was absolutely road grading linebackers! I saw one run where he went through the hole on an iso on the right side and all you could see was Laurinitas get lifted up off the ground, then disappear. Are we seeing the makings of a Big Boy running game?
October 24th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
I’ve decided that I want the haters to stay on this board (not like I have a choice). I find myself cheering harder for the Bucs now, because I love it when grouch, unhappy people don’t get their way. I also love it when stupid people are exposed for their stupidity.
October 24th, 2010 at 5:34 pm
Hawaiin- Of course I liked the second half adjustments. Adjustments that should have been made a game or two ago. God, I get a little negative on Raheem one time and people want to run me right off the boards. Its not like Im one of the people calling for his head. Just a little exasperated with his learning curve as a coach. And I do blame Olson for run struggles but ultimately the head coach has a say in who will be the starters on offense too. I am happy with the Bucs record I just hope Raheem has had enough of going with things that obviously don’t work.
October 24th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
@gitarlvr,
Sorry didn’t mean to jump you so bad, still kind of of pumped up from the game, lol. I think people just need to realize that we are not a “pretty” team. We are not going to blow people out, but as long as we win I don’t care. I can’t believe we won today with that offensive line, especially on the last drive. I will say, starting really is irrelevant in football. Blount had 11 carries, Caddy 4, ’nuff said.
October 24th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
Tampa 2 great post lol
October 24th, 2010 at 5:43 pm
If they can simplify the plays for a QB in his first few years they can do the same for Blount. Give him the ball and let him blast through some people. He is a force and if we can get him going for 80-100 yards/game then it will give more room for play action, etc. Great comeback today. Even with all of the problems, a comeback like this builds confidence.
October 24th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
Andrew,
Most players have the whole offseason to learn, even those “simplified” offenses. Blount didn’t get here til the week before game 1. He’s now had 7 weeks to catch up and is doing well. The timing is about right. He should be ready to contribute consistently.
October 24th, 2010 at 8:58 pm
It was nice to see them play a little defense in the second half. I think the refs were really nitpicking the Bucs and calling a one sided game. This win goes to Freeman. He’s awesome but the team needs a lot of work. Also good to see the backup line men fill in fairly well on offense.
4-2, beat up, and a little hard to believe.
October 24th, 2010 at 11:34 pm
Former Buc…I now am sure you are not really a former Buc…Never really thought you were, but your comments tonight pretty much sum it up. Stop being a poser, if you really were a fromer Buc you would post your name. Instead you come off as a loser.
October 25th, 2010 at 3:02 am
AS USUSAL RAHIEMS GAME PLAN DIDNT WORK HE MADE AJUSTMENTS .PLEASE REMEMBER THAT ST LOUIS HAS A COACH TOO THAT ALSO MAKES AJUSTMENTS.4-2WHAT ARE YOU GUYS GOING TOO DO IF HE KEEPS WINNING?BECAUSE YOUR ARGUEMENTS ARE REALLY BEGINING TO SOUND STUPID.HES 4-2 AND YOUR SURE HES GETTING FIRED.NEW ENGLAND HAS THE BEST RECORD JUMP FAST BEFORE WE MISS YOU!