There Was A Positive Sunday
November 28th, 2011
Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck unloads a pass just before getting drilled by Bucs defensive end Da'Quan Bowers.
OK, OK, OK, Joe knows that today many of you have the torches lit, the pitchforks sharpened and the guillotines polished.
Joe’s not going there right now.
There was one bright spot in the Bucs loss, no, really. And that bright spot was Da’Quan Bowers.
The Bucs rookie defensive end got his first start Sunday and played for Michael Bennett at left defensive end.
The way Bowers played yesterday, he may not lose his starting gig.
Previously, Bowers had been pretty much invisible. The Bucs — and many throughout the NFL — crowed how Bowers was a steal in the second round as he dropped due to knee injury concerns.
But of the two defensive ends drafted by rock star general manager Mark Dominik, the better of the two was Adrian Clayborn by light years.
But slowly, Bowers was improving. He showed little in preseason but in the past couple of weeks, there were flashes.
Yesterday Bowers got a lot of penetration and his speed was evident, more than once rushing Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck to rush a throw.
If Bowers keeps improving, with Clayborn on the other bookend, quarterbacks for the next 10 years in the NFC South should be afraid, very afraid.
November 28th, 2011 at 2:48 pm
I noticed too..and that was on a field that traction was, at best, questionable.
November 28th, 2011 at 2:49 pm
Bowers and Clayborn are both looking like good picks. Too early to say for sure, but I’m hoping those two plus Bennett will give us good DE play for years.
Also, looking for bright spots, Talib had a second solid game in a row. I was starting to think he didn’t have any more in him, but last week and this week he has been mostly good.
November 28th, 2011 at 3:05 pm
As long as nobody refers to them as “beasts”.
Seems to be the kiss of death.
November 28th, 2011 at 3:09 pm
That was the bright spot on defense. Bowers and Clayborn both look like great DE.
Blounts receiving was a bright spot on Offense.
That’s about it
November 28th, 2011 at 3:17 pm
Come on Capt., Talib played lights out yesterday. It’s not going to kill you to say that.
November 28th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
@HawaiianBuc
Oh it will kill him to give Talib credit…i’m surprised Capt hasnt called Talib some racist names by now
November 28th, 2011 at 3:50 pm
Agreed, Eric.
Let’s be done with “kool-aid” comments, as well.
Bowers looks good at getting his hands up on the ball if he’s out of the play, too. Good awareness.
November 28th, 2011 at 4:03 pm
Good for 10 years? Didn’t most reports have his knees only lasting a few years…
November 28th, 2011 at 4:08 pm
we got a guy that pressured the qb twice?
my heart be still….
November 28th, 2011 at 4:21 pm
Liked the D line in general yesterday. Hasselbeck is a cool customer. Lots of other QB’s would have had trouble.
November 28th, 2011 at 4:30 pm
They played good yesterday but the D took a dive when price left the game.
November 28th, 2011 at 4:42 pm
No love for Crowder? Had a great game
November 28th, 2011 at 4:59 pm
Another positive from yesterday:
Every loss is another nail in Raheem’s coffin.
November 28th, 2011 at 5:09 pm
HawaiianBuc- Talib has played ok in two games. In the other Nine, ge played horrible, and was covering the Third receiving option. Forcing Biggers and Barber to cover the top two guys .
Nine games of suck, bad coverage and poor tackling
Two games of ok. Nobody played lights out yesterday. The only reason they didn’t throw more, was because Quincy and Geno make it so easy to run. Nobody respects our Secondary, either. The only good thing about the secondary, is that it’s the strongest unit on the team.
Of course it is . We have the absolute worst LBers in the league, and the youngest, least experienced D-line in the league.
So, of three bowls of Crap, the secondary is top crap.
I expect Talib to be on the same bus outta town as Black and Hayes. Lotsa trouble, no production
I know you have some strange affection for Talib, HawaiianBuc, but the truth is the truth. He has been part of the problem the majority of the year. Meybe he plans on actually contributing these last 5 games, but it’s a little to late.
November 28th, 2011 at 5:17 pm
Capt. Tim. I have been harsh on Talib this year too but I honestly think once these pending legal issues are out of the way he will be back better next year. Mentally he has just made too many mistakes and that is what I think it stems from.
Black and geno HAVE GOT TO GO. They suck. They make a “splash” play once in awhile and get mentioned… big deal. I would rather have a solid consistent LB.
DRAFT TWO LBs (along with WR & RB speed)
As far as D-Line – I think McCoy, Price, Bowers, and Clayborn are going to be outstanding in another year or 2.
November 28th, 2011 at 5:18 pm
I personally believe that allowing Talib’s ridiculous behavior, both on and off the field, is one of the reasons Raheem has lost discipline on this team. Talib has an incident every year, has physically injured his teammates, and committed stupid penalties at the end of games, that may well have ruined our opportunity for a comeback. Yet Raheem has taken no stance against this repeated poor behavior.
Want to see a coach loose control of his team, and the Team become undisciplined? Let the players see the coach playing favorites. Raheem damn sure snatched Blount off the field- for a minor incident. Yet Talib does far worse, and Raheem does nothing.
Bad character ruins teams. I said in preseason that he was the one bad apple.
Don’t know if that was the case, but we sure got stuck with a case of bad Apples!
November 28th, 2011 at 5:19 pm
whoa come on, talib has been suspect at time but he is not always covering the teams third best WR. game one aqib was on calvin on all day and he actually played great. The long td was not talibs responsibility jones is on record saying he screwed up and the other one calvin is just simply a monster stafford put it in the right spot up top that nobody could have gotten it but calvin.
AM i saying talib is a pro bowler, far from it, however i think he has played well enough to stick around barring anymore offseason troubles. I would love to see what talib could do with a pass rush
November 28th, 2011 at 5:47 pm
Why is it that when Talib gets beat, it was a perfect throw and a nice catch or the WR is just a monster, but when Biggers is on the WRs hip in tight coverage and the catch is made, Biggers is a screw up? Seriously, there have been some very nice throws and catches against Biggers as well, but he is “horrible”, and a “backup at best”. I’m not saying he’s a Pro Bowl player either, but my goodness, at least make it a fair fight. Biggers hasn’t been horrible, and has had to go against some of the opposing team’s better WRs this year. While Talib is on Julio Jones (rookie), Biggers gets Roddy White. Biggers gets Reggie Wayne, Talib gets Pierre Garcon (and gives up a HUGE TD). Against the Saints, Biggers was on Colston most of the game and even picked off Brees. But he gets no credit unless it’s bad credit. Again, he’s no all-star, but he’s not playing worse than Talib as far as the season total is concerned.
November 28th, 2011 at 5:54 pm
@Capt Tim
I think Talib is just now getting healthy, he had a pretty serious hip injury, throughout the season it’s looked like he wasn’t running properly, kind of short stepping, then last game I saw him actually taking full strides while running, definitely something there.
Bowers looks like he’s figuring it out, Clayborn is the man, he needs to step up and take a leadership role as well, this young team will follow anyone who shows leadership, they crave it, every team does.
I have jumped ship when it comes to Raheem though, he has to go, he is proving that you cannot take just anyone and make them an HC, you have to go through the steps to get there. If they win out, I would assume he keeps his job, but I have to think Dom and the Glazers are seriously looking at a change, one thing to keep in mind with the new CBA is draft mistakes don’t cost you nearly as much as they did even 2 years ago, so that could factor in with any decisions to replace the HC. Our last high priced draft pick was “Mash” McCoy.
November 28th, 2011 at 5:55 pm
@Joe,
Joe, any news on Hanesworth? He seems to be playing better and from what i can see, he also looks like hes interacting in a positive way with the other guys? How is he fitting in with our D line?
Has his performance improved with the bucs? Its only two games but im interested to hear any news if he has had a positive impact on the team.
thx!
November 28th, 2011 at 6:29 pm
Bowers is playing like the QB owes him money. Glad to see him step it up and maybe keep the starting job. Now if the Bucs can get some linebackers that is not afraid to tackle in the draft…
November 28th, 2011 at 6:32 pm
stimpy:
What news?
November 28th, 2011 at 6:33 pm
I like all of our DB’s especially Biggers. He has played some stiff competition this season and done well all in all. I like our D line and as mentioned above, without Price in they took a nosedive yesterday. Fat Albert is doing a really good job but Roy Miller is a joke. There isn’t much good to say about the LB corps as a whole. They will have 1 or 2 good plays and then 3 or 4 bad ones. Inconsistency is the theme for those guys and this defense. Talent wise I still think the Bucs are only a couple of players away when healthy. Lumpkin is the worse player in NFL history, well close anyway. They need to leave Blount in on 3’rd down and why Olson won’t. I just don’t know. So predictable and the worst 3’rd down conversion rate in the league. At this point I almost think they should just tank it and go for the high Draft picks. I’d look to Alabama and LSU for LB’s, Safety, and CB. We need a RB with speed but who is the guy? I’d still take Reggie Bush in a heartbeat and don’t know why they passed him up. All you guys that were calling for Sproles were on the money. I had no idea how good he really was, but that dude rocks and the Chargers suck without him.
November 28th, 2011 at 6:35 pm
BamBamBuc:
Fans have to have a foil. Last year was Barrett Ruud was the cause of worldwide cancer and famine. This year it’s EJ Biggers, which actually began when fans tried to blame the loss to the Lions on him because — GASP! — Calvin Johnson beat him. The nerve!
November 28th, 2011 at 6:36 pm
I wonder if Dom and the Glazers have finally realized its time to break out the Check Book.
Annnnnhhhhhh!! Overdrawn!
November 28th, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Barrett Ruud still sucks, and has for the past 3 years.
November 28th, 2011 at 6:40 pm
EJ Biggers is not a CB capable of keeping up with Elite WRs. He’s a good second or third CB, however. It’s funny how our run defense is no worse with Barrett Ruud gone. I still think we would have done much better with Ruud and Foster on the field.
November 28th, 2011 at 7:09 pm
CHARLIEB
I still think we would have done much better with Ruud and Foster on the field
Thats because Black or Hayes wouldnt be on the field
November 28th, 2011 at 7:12 pm
i think bigger’s biggest problem is sean jones. he always seems to out of place on the over the top safety help. he’s good at runnin up and hitting a runner but in coverage? no thanks.
November 28th, 2011 at 7:27 pm
give these guys time, our expectations were too high. Biggers a 7th round pick, D-Line can be good in time if they can stay healthy, however the LB’s and Foster gets a pass, are trash. If they step up even a little bit on CJ2K stretch runs he only gets 140 yards (lol). I agree with @ BigMackAttack, go to the SEC (primarily LSU/Alabama for defensive help) please leave the BIG 12 alone, we got too many of those players. I am afraid if the Bucs keep Olsen as OC, we will lose Blount when his contract is up.
November 28th, 2011 at 7:32 pm
[Radio Mushmouth: Joe found it interesting that under your new handle, you’ve had the pleasure of taking pot shots at the guy who runs this site in just about every comment. You kick a dog enough pretty soon the dog bites. Joe just bit. See ya! — Joe]
November 28th, 2011 at 7:53 pm
Capt.
He didn’t play lights out? He caught the same number of passes as the guy he was covering!!! He also forced a fumble. What more do you want him to do??? I don’t have a thing for Talib at all, but a good game is a good game. I don’t understand why you refuse to give him credit. It’s just like how Thomas is with GMC, but you are better than that. If he’s gone next year, you won’t hear me cry about it. However, that doesn’t take away the fact that he played great yesterday. I can’t believe that you could possibly argue that.
November 28th, 2011 at 8:03 pm
@srqrr
Oh wow, how much time? 5 YEARS?!?!
Look, I understand that they’re rookies, but seeing the way Dominick, the owners, and this management operate, we’re never going to spend money where it’s necessary and sign any free agents. Our only offseason acquisitions will be our draft picks and practice squad signings. They’ll just continue to throw rookies into the starting lineup, and it’ll be more of the same crap next year. “Young team”, more patience required, give it time, etc. Losing mentality to the max and no urgency to win right now, at least that’s what my opinion is. We’re always going to be the “youngest team in the league” unless Dominik changes his philosophy a little and learns that veterans and some proven talent is not “fool’s gold” like the Glazers say.
November 28th, 2011 at 8:05 pm
Yeah Greg Jennings 2 catches for 6 yards is pretty impressive and than he forced two turnovers yesterday and scored on one… But no Aqib is a no good thug who sucks at football and only has a job because Coach Morris and him attend Magic games together… You probably cringed when you saw Talib bringing back that pick six, which was his second of the year. Hate it or love it Talib and Tanard are both two the of best players we have on defense
November 28th, 2011 at 8:16 pm
Joe is getting excited about how the 2011 2nd round pick FINALLY shows signs of life!
FLASHBACK – Joe did that last year about Benn right before he went out for the season.
At the rate Bowers and Clayborn are developing the NFC QB’s should be shaking? Maybe in 2015 or 2016 but right now Brees and Matty Ice probably are laughing at the Bucs DE’s.
Cam Newton is likely licking his chops thinking about how many TD’s he’s going to rush on the Bucs.
November 28th, 2011 at 10:52 pm
Big issues on with the linebackers here. Quincy and Geno play like a couple of pu**ies and we might do better to just play out of a freaking dime package all game… The jury is still out on Foster, but he seems small for a middle line backer. Hayward is a good guy but not a starting caliber NFL linebacker.
The secondary is also in trouble… Talib will be suspended if not locked up for the majority of the 2012 season and Ronde will probably retire rather then go through this crap again. Sean Jones just flat-out sucks and T-Jax needs to work on his run support and tackling. Biggers is a serviceable nickle corner at best and who knows what’s the hell is going on the Myron Lewis or Elbert Mack.
The line is the least concerning unit on defense, but we still have to question McCoy and Price on their health and long term effectiveness. Haynesworth (I dare anyone to call him Fat Albert to his face), is playing good ball and I fear he might not want to resign with the Bucs at this stage of his career especially if he can find and offer from a winning team with his niche system. Clayborne and Bowers are upgrades from last year but will fail without an interior playmaker.
The Glaziers and whomever is managing/coaching this team in 2012 must still commit to the defense in the draft and free agency.
November 28th, 2011 at 11:26 pm
LOL, it is Albert Haynesworth making everyone better, doing what McCoy was supposed to be doing.
November 29th, 2011 at 12:04 am
“Brees and Matty Ice probably are laughing at the Bucs DE’s. ”
Not so sure about that (at least not Ryan) but i was:
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d8228d0e6/Clayborn-sacks-Ryan-forces-fumble
GO BUCS!
November 29th, 2011 at 7:34 am
Not convince about Bowers yet. 1 tackle a pressure or two barely gives me hope. Also, this coaching staff hasn’t shown any ability to get players better year over year. Just look at Freeman. However, I’ll give them a little bit of a pass considering the lock out period.