Tuesday, 4 a.m.
5 Thoughts
- If I were Tom Brady, I'd be angry at Bruce Arians for his flaws. If I were Bruce Arians, I'd be miffed at Tom Brady for his mortality. So is it any wonder that the world thinks the two of them are disgruntled toward each other. Blaming someone else is a very old story in sports
2. So what's the most disappointing unit on the Bucs? The receivers, where there is so much untapped talent? The defensive line, where the rush is invisible? The secondary, which couldn't cover Roseanne Barr? The offensive line because, well, you see? The backs. who fade in and out like a bad radio reception? How about all of the above?
3. I see that Arians hates it when people give Donovan Smith a hard time. I assume he's talking about defensive ends.
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4. I think the Bucs will inch into the playoffs and quickly depart. But I don't think they'll go 4-0 down the stretch.
5. Telephone for Clarence Davis III. Toast Jones called. He wants his game back.
5 Comments
(On if the coaches are reconsidering how the offense is installed): “I feel like it’s really first quarter stuff – catching up with their game plan versus us and adjusting to it, because we were in very manageable third downs. (The Chiefs) had a blitz zero package that we didn’t handle well the first couple [of times] – who was hot [and] what they were supposed to do. [We] kind of ironed it out on the sideline [but] it led to another interception late when the ball went off the helmet. It was the same blitz, but we just didn’t correctly adjust. Tom [Brady] was perfect on it and we didn’t adjust to the right angle of the route for the zero blitz. Other than that, I thought when we adjusted, we played pretty, pretty solid.”
(On using more play-action passes): I’d love to if we’re not 17 [points] down early. The nice thing about this one [was] we stayed with the game plan and clawed back in it. I look at the game and three possessions offensively. Kicking a field goal on the first drive [of the second half] when we’ve got first-and-goal on the five[-yard line]. We got three [points], but seven was huge. Then, the two scoring opportunities where if we just get field goals, that’s six points [and] that makes the difference, [but] we turn it over. To me, those were the drives offensively that were really important. Defensively, we get hit on the out-and-up and we really got exposed twice in man coverage. I don’t care who’s covering Tyreek Hill because Carlton [Davis III] had him covered – it was just great throws and you can’t defend a great throw. Hindsight’s always 20-20 – the zone coverage, they were hitting a little bit in RPOs (run-pass options), so you’ve got to pick your poison with that guy. I was really proud – I thought the defense adjusted really well in the second half. The penalty on the roughing the passer cost us about 3:40 at the end of the game. That was huge – I still don’t believe that was a penalty.”
(On if poor pass coverage was because of the secondary or the pass rush): “I think it’s that combination. We’ve got to cover tighter and we’ve got to get home faster. We can’t let a guy in man coverage have 3.7 [or] 3.8 seconds to throw a ball – it’s got to come out in three or less. We can cover for 10 to 12 yards, but we can’t give them that much time. Again, Patrick [Mahomes] is an unbelievable guy and he just keeps backpedaling. He was backpedaling to his left for about 9.5 yards and then throws a dime. We don’t see him every week, but I think tighter coverage – against the Rams it was tighter coverage – but when we’re playing man, we have to get home.”
(On if the league has gone too far in protecting the quarterbacks)" “I thought Kevin [Minter’s penalty against Carolina in Week 10] was a good call. He’s got to lower his target, go to the side and not directly land on the quarterback. He did all three. I thought JPP (Jason Pierre-Paul) hit the quarterback’s arm and glanced into his helmet. I didn’t think that would ever be a penalty. Again, we stopped them, but we lost almost four minutes off the clock when we had that ball off the interception, which changes the end of the game. I’m all for protecting quarterbacks – we don’t have a league without them, especially low hits on the quarterback. There were a couple that didn’t get called.”
(On if Ronald Jones II needs more touches): I don’t think there is any doubt, when we don’t have to be in two-minute [offense] for an entire quarter. When you’re down three scores, you’ve got to put your best pass catcher in the ballgame. ‘Ro’ made a nice catch and run. I think he’s getting some more confidence back that we can use him more in the passing game. But no, Leonard [Fournette] has been the guy in third down and nickel, so once you go two-minute, [it’s him in the game]. But for sure – if everything is equal and we’re not down 17 and fighting back – he needs to have 20 touches.”
Game Balls
Offense: Tom Brady threw for a lot of yards, Rob Gronkowski had 106 yards and Mike Evans had two scores. But the best player for the Bucs was receiver Chris Godwin, who had eight catches for 97 yards.
Defense: Not a lot to brag about, but Devin White had 12 tackles for the Bucs.
Kicking: I hate to sound like a broken record, but punter Bradley Pinion averaged 52 yards on four punts, one of them inside the 20.
Grades
Quarterback: Tom Brady threw for a lot of yards, but he threw two more picks. His 11 interceptions is the most for himsince 2011. Grade: B.
Wide receiver: It was a better night, but it started too late. Grade: B.
Offensive line: Brady is under constant pressure. Grade: D.
Defensive line: Where's the pass rush? Grade D.
Linebackers: A lot of tackles, not a lot of impact. Grade: C.
Defensive backs. Would the Bucs be better if the secondary just sat down before each play? Grade: F.
Kicking: Decent, but that's not a big deal. Grade: C.
Numbers
(No, he hasn't quite been himself, but as far as yardage and touchdowns, Tom Brady's statistics aren't that off. However, some others in the huddle can't say the same. A look at the falloff.)
Player Previous Seasons Avg. This season
Mike Evans 77-1210 48-613
Rob Gronkowski 58-873 37-505
Antonio Brown 84-1126 11-168
Chris Godwin 60-900 49-562
Leonard Fournette. 877 217
NFL Stats
Passing Yards Tom Brady 2
Rushing Yards Ronald Jones II 4
Receptions Chris Godwin 30
Tackles Devin White 3
Sacks Jason Pierre-Paul 7
10-Win Seasons
The Bucs have had five quarterbacks with 10 wins in the regular season Current starter Tom Brady has seven wins with four games to play.
1979 Doug Williams
1997 Trent Dilfer
2000 Shaun King
2002 Brad Johnson
2010 Josh Freeman
5 More Thoughts
- Is it just me, or are there times you expect to see Bruce Gradkowski on offense and Sabby Piscatelli on defense? The more things change...
2. Odd that Bruce Arians would grouse about "everyone trying to hand the Bucs the Lombardi Trophy in August." What happened to "we embrace the expectations." Oh, wait. Five losses happened.
3. Did one Glazer say to the other "we're paying this much money for that?" Or was it me talking to anyone who would listen?
4. The best thing about a bye week is that the Bucs are only an eight-point underdog.
5. The final lesson for this season might be simple: Pro sports are about young talent who can own tomorrow. It isn't about what you've done for another team in another year.