Tuesday, 3 a.m.
5 Thoughts
- Maybe Ponce de Leon was right about that Fountain of Youth in Florida stuff. Only he didn't find it. Tom Brady did.
2. In 13 starts, Ronald Jones II has 977 yards. His 111 Sunday were his finest moments, however.
3. It's a shame O.J. Howard was injured. Just for the record, I'd still rather have Dalvin Cook.
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4. Mike Evans is good even on one leg.
5. After their last viewing of Mitch Trubisky (six touchdowns, 154.8 rating), I think the Bucs will be just fine looking at Nick Foles.
5 Comments
(From Bruce Arians' Day-After Press Conference)
(On Ronald Jones II carrying the load): “It was huge. He’s been close a number of times this year and I don’t think that safety tackled him all day – he made him miss every time. That’s what he’s capable of doing. I want to see him catch the ball a little bit better – we’ve got to throw the ball to him a little bit better and I think he’ll have an even bigger impact on the offense. It was huge. I thought our offensive line blocked really, really well all day.”
(On Mike Evans playing with an ankle injury): “He’s as tough as they get. He was really playing on a leg and a half and we’ll see where he is this week. Mike’s tough – the one thing (is) he loves to play and he’s going to give you everything he’s got.”
(On what he liked from the offensive line): “Just about everything. Run blocking was outstanding – a lot of push. I think we got hit one time when we crossed up. We should’ve had it picked up – it was a blitz – and we didn’t get it between the back and the guard ironed out and Tom [Brady] got hit. I thought we pass protected extremely well [and] had a lot of time to throw it. That’s as good as I’ve seen them play in a long time.”
(On Tom Brady throwing more downfield): “I think they gave us those shots. Not everybody’s been giving them to us. He saw it – we actually got a play in late. The long ball to Mike [Evans] from the seam, that was something he called. Obviously, he had a reason he called it because he was going to Mike all the way. Mike came up with a great 50-50 ball. I think it’s a trust thing and just continual repetitions in practice. Knowing where to go with it, when to go there and all those things that go with practice that we didn’t get [in the offseason].”
(On whether Leonard Fournette might return this week: “I think there’s a shot for Leonard this week. We’ll wait and see. We’ve got a bunch of guys right now that we’ll wait and see until probably tomorrow. Today and tomorrow will be all walkthroughs anyway, but we’ll see who’s going to be available for Thursday night.”
Game Balls
Offense: You might want to mention Evans and Jones, but how can you give it to anyone but the 43-year-quarterback who threw for five touchdowns and led a comeback? This was Tom Brady's day.
Defense: Lately, Devin White has taken over the Bucs' tackle lead. But Sunday was a Lavonte David game.
Special teams: On three punts, Bradley Pinion averaged 57 yards per kick and nailed two inside the 20. He also kicked off seven times with seven touchbacks.
Grades
Quarterback: I'll be honest. After a half, I thought the Bucs had signed Jameis' Winston's dad instead of the greatest quarterback ever. But he was sensational in the second half. Grade: A-.
Running back: Without Leonard Fournette, running was a concern for the Bucs. But Ronald Jones II had a personal best of 111 yards rushing. Grade: A.
Offensive line: No sacks for Brady, and a 4.6 average running the ball. Grade: A-.
Wide receivers: Chris Godwin missed the game, which is supposed to be a big deal. It wasn't. Grade: A-.
Defensive line: The line gave up two yards per carry and forced a key fumble late in the first half. Grade: B+.
Secondary: The secondary was playing chase all day. Yes, they had a huge interception late, but not until giving up three touchdowns to a rookie quarterback: Grade: D.
Special teams: A good day, all in all. Grade: A-.
Most TD passes by a Buc
Player Opponent-Date Pass TD
1. Tom Brady* vs. LAC-10/4/20 5
2. Steve DeBerg* vs. ATL-9/13/87 5
3. Josh Freeman vs. SEA-12/26/10 5
4. Brad Johnson* vs. MIN-11/3/02 5
5. Jameis Winston at PHI-11/22/15 5
*Plus 300-yards passing
5 at the Quarter Pole
Yards. TD Int Yards TD Int
James Winston 1167 9 5 Tom Brady 1122 11 4
Yards Ave. Yards Ave.
Ronald Jones 253 4.4 234 4.4
Rec. Yarsd Rec. Yards
Mike Evans 18 368 17 230
Rec. Yards Rec. Yards
Chris Godwin 26 386 11 143
Sacks Sacks
Shaq Barrett 9 3
5 More Thoughts
- Did I mention that I hate Thursday night games? I hate TV commercials, medicine and escargot, but mainly, I hate Thursday night games.
2. If the Chargers had folded any more on Sunday, they'd have to change their name to the Falcons.
3. Brady now has 222 regular season wins. Think about that for a minute. That's more than 11 wins a year for 20 years. Yeah, the guys lead the NFL in victory formation.
4. There were a lot of impressive numbers against the Chargers. I liked this one. Going against rookie Tristan Wirfs, Joey Bosa had one tackle and no sacks.
5. Don't sneeze at a 3-1 start. In 2002, the Super Bowl Bucs started 3-1, and went 3-1 every quarter of the season. Yeah, it's an acceptable pace.