5 Thoughts
- I know a guy has to watch his diet as he gets older, but after watching the Bucs' attack on Sunday, I have to ask: Has Bruce Arians given up biscuits.
2. The most amazing stat of the day was this: The Bucs had five sacks, but forced just six incompletions (in 32 attempts). Can anyone challenge a pass besides yelling "drop it" when the ball is in the air?
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3. Do the Bucs privately believe that Mike Evans is a great player? The team plays like Evans owes Brady money.
4. Why in blazes would this team believe that any game can be won without energy?
5. Think of the worst quarterback in the history of the Bucs: Randy Hedberg? Jack Thompson? Bruce Gradkowski? Every one of them would throw for 300 yards against this secondary. Vinny, Trent, Josh and Jameis might go for 400 each.
5 Comments
(From Bruce Arians' Monday press conference)
(On the reason why they didn’t have many downfield throws on Sunday): “Most of it was the way they played defense. Everybody is playing us in a very soft, two-shell [defense] and forcing the ball to go underneath and make you run with it. I think we have to protect our quarterback better early in the game and maybe we’ll take some shots down the field like we normally do when he’s protected. But if he’s being hit a bunch early, he isn’t holding onto it for very long. I don’t know one that does.”
(On QB Tom Brady feeling the first hit in the game): “There’s no doubt. We got whipped up front and that hasn’t happened much in our interior this year.”
(On what surprised him most from Sunday’s game against Washington): “Them scoring after we scored. When we had momentum in the second half and got it to three, they scored. We scored, missed an extra point and never got the ball back. So, we didn’t capitalize with the energy level on defense after we made plays on defense and our offense scored a touchdown. That was the most disheartening thing for us to [let them] have a 10-minute drive against us, that just can’t happen.”
(On if the team needs more pressure from its front four): “Yeah, definitely. We had some blitzers coming free, they just didn’t get there fast enough to affect the throws. Playing more zone than man-to-man because of who we’re playing with, it’s going to be a little bit softer back there, so we have to get home when we’re blitzing.”
(On the motivation and the drive of the team now after consecutive losses): “When you practice as well as we did last week, I think they assumed they were just going to go out and play [well]. That’s something we’ll address. Just because you have a great week of practice, you have to show up on Sunday. If everybody played with the passion and the energy that Devin [White] played with, we wouldn’t have any problems. He should have been the player of the week with the game he just had and the way he played the game. We’ll use that as an example for everybody else to play with.”
Game Balls
Offense: Leonard Fournette was the best of a bad lot. He caught eight passes (45 yards) and ran 11 times (47 yards). Sometimes, a pedestrian day is the best a team can offer.
Defense: Devin White had 18 tackles. Which means not a lot of others had a lot.
Special teams: Two of Bradley Pinion's three punts were downed inside the 20.
Grades
Quarterback: The first interception absolutely was not Tom Brady's fault. This second was. So were most of the off-target throws and the refusal to go deep. Grade: D.
Running back: The Bucs ran 13 times. Can you remember any of them? Grade: D.
Offensive line: The line was whipped. Period. Grade: D.
Defensive line: Five sacks, but there was an inability to stop the run. Grade: D.
Linebackers: White had a good day. So did Lavonte David, who was in on 14 tackles. Together, the two were in on 32 tackles. Nothing from the outside linebackers, though. Grade: B.
Secondary. You're kidding, right. Grade: F-.
Mr. Invisible
- Shaq Barrett: No tackles, no assists. He had fewer tackles than center Ryan Jensen.
2. Ronald Jones II: One snap, no carries.
3. O.J. Howard, one penalty, no targets.
4. Jason Pierre-Paul, one tackle, no assists.
5. Tie: Interior offensive line, which didn't block a lot.
5 Terrible Losses this Season
Jacksonville 9, Buffalo 6.
Washington 29, Tampa Bay 19.
Miami 22, Baltimore 10..
Jets 27, Titans 20
Denver 30, Dallas 16.
5 Teams Better Than the Bucs
- Green Bay Packers
2. L.A. Rams
3. Buffalo Bill
4. Arizona Cardinals
5. Tennessee Titans
5 Statistics
Category Player NFL Rank
Passing Yards Tom Brady 2
Rushing Yards Leonard Fournette 21
Receiving Yards Chris Godwin 8
Tackles Devin White 13
Sacks Shaq Barrett t-23