Looking back on the Bucs’ loss to Seattle

5 Thoughts

1. Maybe it's all the losing, but I think Bruce Arians is getting caught up in the speech of a losing coach. He keeps talking about how close the team is getting, and how many rookies he's playing. and hw narrow the margin of victory is. It has always been a bottom line league. You win, or the ears grow deaf.

2. When the Bucs' secondary become a gathering place for an U.S. Figure Skaters?

3. You know the real shame? The Bucs' quarterback, receivers, offensive line, defensive line and linebackers all played well enough to win. And they didn't. Yikes.

4. Which ex-Bucs' coach is laughing the loudest today? That's right. All of them.

5. When the Bucs draft a defensive back, how highly do coverage skills rank?

5 Comments

(From Bruce Arians' Monday press conference)"

(On how Ronald Jones II held up to 18 carries): "I think he handled it really well. He’s been consistent (and) he’s been more explosive. It’s not that Peyton (Barber) did anything wrong. I think RoJo (Ronald Jones II) has earned the right to play a little bit more and start the ballgame. Then, again, nickel – that’s always going to be either T.J. (Logan) or Dare (Ogunbowale). All those guys I thought had a really solid ball game.”

(On the rookies on defense): "I think Sean Murphy-Bunting played really well – maybe the best of anybody in the secondary. Mike Edwards needs to tackle a little bit better – he missed a tackle. Devin (White), I think, is back to full speed since the knee injury. He had a really solid game. Jamel (Dean) got thrown in there. He won some, he lost some – just technique stuff down in the red zone. He had a tough matchup, but I think he’s a guy that’s got enough confidence that he’ll bounce right back. I think he’s going to have a hell of a career in front of him. Losing Carlton (Davis III) pregame hurt, but he jumped out there and held his own for a while."

(On how losing two outside linebackers played into blitzing more): "It had a big (affect). We had to get pressure. When you get up into the 70s as a pass rusher, that’s a lot of snaps and [we] tried to create some pressure other ways. But yeah, it hurts. We’re not going to dress more than four normally anyway, but when guys go down in the same position, like tight end and outside linebacker, it’s tough.”

(On young payers learning by mistakes): "Yeah – I think Todd [Bowles] had a really simple game plan and we still didn’t execute it like we should because we’re young at times, but that’s really not an excuse. We’ve got to be able to play the last five minutes of ball games better, because we’re there to win games. Like I told them today, there’s nobody left on our schedule we can’t beat, and there’s nobody that can beat us if we finish ball games."

(On if the game plan was affected by not having tight ends O.J. Howard or Cameron Brate): "No, not at all. We used a tackle at times – Josh Wells went in and did some good things in the run game. Antony Auclair, I thought, played a heck of a ball game. We’ll see – he’s got a bad turf toe. We’ll see where that’s at. Cam sucked it up [and] gave us some snaps. Tanner [Hudson] I thought had a chance for another touchdown. I’ve seen him catch that ball every time in practice and he didn’t pull it down. O.J. should be ready to roll this week and we should get him back.”

5 of the Best Takes

"Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean seemed to get targeted on every throw, and the biggest play he gave up—on a day where he gave up quite a few—was on a deep crosser to D.K. Metcalf who had him by a step then kept on going all the way to the house."

-- Pro Football Focus

"It was a game of three Jameises. The Jameis Winston who shredded the Seattle secondary in tandem with superstar Mike Evans over the first three quarters, the Jameis who began the fourth quarter with a three-and-out and a fumble lost, and then, there was the Jameis who reconnected with Evans to drive the Bucs’ offense on two consecutive scoring drives to tie the game and send it to overtime.

-- Pro Football Focus

Eerily similar to Week 8 versus Tennessee, Mike Evans came out of the gate white-hot against the Seahawks, with gains of 17 and 21 yards on the first drive. However, dissimilar to last week, Evans saved some gas for the fourth quarter, snagging passes of 25 and 23 yards to help the offense keep pace with Seattle to force overtime. Evans took quite a bit of punishment throughout the game and deserves a large portion of the credit for the team’s entertaining showing.

--- Pro Football Focus

"Rookie linebacker  Devin White had two huge plays knocking the ball loose from Seattle running back Chris Carson One unluckily bounced out of bounds and the other, while recovered, didn’t lead to points."

-- Pro Football Focus

"The Bucs struggled to get pressure in the first half. Their few sacks came late after lots of time in the pocket for Russell Wilson. In the second half, Shaquile Barrett went to work on the right side of the offensive line, and the time to throw decreased as a result."

-- Pro Fooball Focus

Game Balls

Offense: Yes, Mike Evans drops the occasional ball. Yes, he pushes off sometimes. But he's the Bucs' best football player.

Defense: Rookie Devin White had 12 tackles, half a sack and forced two fumbles.That's why the Bucs drafted him No. 1.

Specuak teans, T.J. Logan averaged 10.7 yards per put return and 26 yards on kickoffs.

Grades

Quarterback: Winston did everything he could do except to call the coin flip in overtime. He had a rating of more than 100, and it's hard to fault him for fumbling with an offensive tackle in his lap. Grade B+/

Running Backs" Ronald Jones II rushed for 67 yards and scored a touchdown. Grade; B-.

Wide Receivers: Mike Evans keeps putting up numbers like a star. Grade: A.

Offensive line: Winston was sacked twice, which is an improvement. Grade; B-.

Defensive line: The Bucs didn't get enough pressure on Russell Wilson, and they gave up a 100-yard rusher in Chris Carson. Grade: C.

Defensive backs: There were defensive backs? Grade: F.

Unsung Heroes

1. Jerome Whitehead had seven tackles.

2. Jamel Dean had four passes defensed.

3. Jason Pierre-Paul had half a sack and three quarterback hits.

4. Lavonte David had eight tackles, two of them for loss, and a sack.

5. Breshad Perriaman had four catches for 42 yards, including a touchdown.

Previous 2-6 Bucs Starts

Year Finish

1988 5-11

1993 5-11

1994 6-10

2006 4-12

2017 5-11

Winston Stats

Passing Yards 7

Touchdowns 5

Interceptions 1 (tie)

Rating 43

Percentage 54

Random Stats

Rushing Ronald Jones II 30

Receiving Chris Godwin 8

Sacks Shaq Barrett 1

Tackles Lavonte David 21

Punting Bradley Pinson 20

The Receivers

Godwin Evans

54 Catches 50

766 Yards 842

14.2 Average 16.8

6 Touchdowns 7

42 First Downs 40

More Random Stats

Penalties 6th, tie

3rd Down Pct. 20

Passing Yrds Defense 31

Opp. QB Rating 23

Red Zone Offense 1

Looking Ahead

5 Great Cardinals

1. Larry Fitzgerald

2. Patrick Peterson

3.. Kurt Warner

4. Ollie Matson

5. Larry Wilson

5 Favorite Cardinals

1. Pat Tillman

2. Simeon Rice

3. Larry Fitzgerald

4. Conrad Dobler

5. Charlie Trippi