Wednesday, 3 a.m.
5 Thoughts
- What kind of reputation do you think the Bucs' defense has? Well, not good. The Giants' plane rarely landed back in New York when the team fired offensive coordinator Jason Garrett after his latest debacle.
2. I guess Garrett had it coming to him for sticking with a rotten offensive guard Will Hernandez. You know, the Daniel Jones of offensive linemen.
3. The better the Bucs play at home, the worse they look on the road. All of which makes it more impressive when you consider the road (Washington, New Orleans, Green Bay) last year. Suddenly, the Bucs seem to hate hotel rooms.
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4. Has anyone seen Shaq Barrett? The Bucs seem to have lost him.
5. Is Antonio Brown vaccinated for a bad ankle? How long does healing take?
5 Comments
(From Bruce Arians' Tuesday Press Conference)
(On Rob Gronkowski's presence helping the offense): "Oh, there’s no doubt. ‘Gronk’ is such a good blocker, but what he does in the middle of the field is huge for us. Hopefully, one of these days we’ll have ‘AB’ (Antonio Brown) back and be full strength. But what Robbie brings – the energy and the passion and play-making abilities [are] very unique.”
(On his impressions of Colts' running back Jonathan Taylor in the draft.): "I loved him. I thought he was fantastic. Big, active, speed – he has great hands, and he could do it all. It was only a matter of time playing behind that offensive line that he was going to be the force that he is. That offensive line is very, very special and he’s a special back. He’ll be a hell of a challenge for our run defense.”
(On the offensive line playing better): “I mean, that’s where we start every week is we have to protect the ball and protect the quarterback. We let him get hit early in that game, not very much after that, but it always starts up front. We ran the ball efficiently. I thought we left some out there, but our offensive line, I think, is playing at a very, very high level – especially both tackles.”
(On if he is befuddled on why the team hasn’t responded on the road): “Not really because it’s so obvious. We turn the ball over way too many times in the road games and then had critical penalties. For us right now, it’s being able to take this game, build off it and take it on the road. Hopefully, start winning on the road the rest of the way.”
On the status of G Ali Marpet, NT Vita Vea, CB Carlton Davis III and WR Antonio Brown leading into Sunday’s game against the Colts)“As far as Ali, it’s an oblique, so we’ll have to wait and see how sore he is Wednesday and Thursday and what he can do. Probably won’t be until the end of the week before we know. Vita should be ready to go. He was real, real close. With not having any practice last week, I didn’t really want to put him out there. Guys stepped up. Stevie [McLendon] stepped up. Carlton, we’ll wait and see. Hopefully, we can activate him when we start practicing this week. ‘AB’, he’s making progress. Again, we’ll wait and see Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday will pretty much be walk-through, but we’ll see Thursday for sure.”
Game Balls
Offense: Tom Brady had a good night. The receivers had a good night. But the most impressive performance was guard Aaron Stinnie. The team didn't miss a beat when he went in for Ali Marpet.
Defense: Devin White had eight tackles, a quarterback hit and a pass defensed.
Special teams: Bradley Pinson averaged 45.3 yards on three punts, including two inside the 20.
Grades
Quarterback: A solid night for Brady if somewhat short of spectacular. Grade: B.
Offensive line: A better effort than the last two games. Grade: B+.
Receivers: Good balance, but nothing spectacular. Grade: B.
Running Backs: Just pedestrian. Grade: C.
Defensive line: Played well with Vita Vea out, but the team got nothing for starting outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul or Barrett. Grade: C.
Secondary: They were better, although that might be because of who they were playing. Grade: B.
Kicking: Solid performance. Grade: B.
Bucs' Career Touchdowns
1. Mike Evans (2014-Present) 72
2. Mike Alstott (1996-2006) 71
3. James Wilder (1981-89) 46
4. Jimmie Giles (1978-86) 34
5. Kevin House (1980-86) 31
NFL Touchdowns Since 2014
1. Mike Evans (TB) 71
2. Antonio Brown (TB) 68
3. Davante Adams (GB) 67
4. DeAndre Hopkins (ARI) 65
5. Tyreek Hill (KC) 55
Most, 3,000-Yard Seasons
Rank Player Seasons
1. Tom Brady 19
2. Brett Favre 18
3t. Drew Brees 16
3t. Peyton Manning 16
5. Philip Rivers 15