Tuesday, 4 a.m.
5 Thoughts
- I don't think missing a walkthrough made Tom Brady play badly. But between his training camp vacation, his weekly days off and turning into a wedding crasher, I do wonder this: How "all" is "all in?"
2. Just for old times' sake, could we try risking it for, say, half a biscuit?
3. Against most teams, Mitch Trubisky is a pedestrian quarterback trying to hang onto a job. Against the Bucs, he's Joe Montana. In two games, Trubisky has had grades of 154.5 and 146.4.
4. Weren't the Bucs' receivers supposed to be, like, a big deal?
5.` So, you're going up against a Pittsburgh team that's crippled in the secondary and has no pass rush. So you think "hey, let's run it 28 times." Huh?
5 Comments
(From Todd Bowles' Day-After Press Conference)
(On if he's dissatisfied with the offensive play-calling): "I'm dissatisfied with a lot of things, you know. Winning is number one. It's not about the play-calling, it's all-inclusive. Players have to execute what the coaches call and coaches have to make sure that the players are in the right position to call them. We don't throw blame anywhere; it's all-inclusive. It's offense, defense and special teams when we have a bad game. It's not even about play-calling, it's about team."
(On if he is considering changes to the offensive line: “Well, we've got the guys we've got and we're happy with them. We just have to be better play-wise. We've got to execute better. It's always a guy here and a guy there – whether it's Luke [Goedeke] or somebody else on the offensive line, or a ball outside and we miss a block here and there, or somebody swims us and gets by and makes it look worse than it is. It's a different guy every play. We've got to be more detailed as coaches. We've got to be better execution-wise as players. It's a group effort. If we've got to change some things from an offensive scheme standpoint, we'll do that. If we have to do something from a player standpoint, we'll take a look at that, as well. We're trying to find the best solution, how we can get better in those areas.":
(On G Luke Goedeke facing Pro Bowl competition every week and how he has progressed): "We look at that every week with everybody, not just Luke. He's not going to face any less competition; there's going to be Pro Bowlers every week. It's not just going to be four weeks, it's going to be 16 weeks and he understands that. The things he's getting better at, we see the improvement. Can he get a lot better? Yes, he can get a lot better. But we're happy with the things that he's doing. He's given up a few plays here and there but I wouldn't single him out to be replaced, so to speak. There are other guys that we know can play and do certain things, and we look at that every week, where we find people to put in the game plan on all sides of the ball. We'll try to keep looking at that and we'll try to monitor that and plug in where needed, but we've got to help him a little bit."
(On the team struggling in situational football like third down and red zone): "I think we take them one at a time. It's an excellent question. Red zone, we get down there – and we had the ball down there several times – and either we get a false start or we get a penalty that pushes us back, or we miss a route here and there, we miss a block here and there. Like I said, it's a different guy. It's the freakiest thing because that's all we do in practice. It doesn't matter if it doesn't carry over to Sunday. Short yardage is another topic we've got to get better at, offensively especially. We've got to find a way to get one yard. We've got to understand what we're doing to get one yard; then it becomes a toughness thing down there to get the yard. Defensively, third-and-longs have got to stop, because we know where the ball's going, we understand what's coming and we did not make a play to get off the field, to give the offense a chance to get the ball back to win the ballgame. These are things we practice every day. We'll continue to practice, we harp on them, we stress them. We actually did well during the week – we did not do well during the game. It's got to transfer over. Things we need to change as coaches we need to change and not be big-headed enough to change, defensively, offensively or special teams. And player-wise, they have to understand that and they have to get better at executing."
(On if WR Mike Evans needs to targeted more often): "We definitely talked about that. We've got to find a way to get our stars the ball. Move them around, get them off picks, double [teams] – we have to find a way to get them the ball more. Obviously teams are going to try to double him and take him away more; we have to do a better job of getting him the ball."
Game Balls
Offense: Leonard Fournette is stumped when it comes to short yardage, but he had 111 yards of total offense.
Defense: Lavonte David had 13 tackles on the day.
Special teams: Ryan Succop kicked for 12 of the Bucs' points.
Grades
Quarterback: So, how was the reception, Tom? Grade: D-.
Running back: The Bucs can't run from here to the end of your nose. Grade: D.
Offensive line: Brady seems nervous about allowing his receivers to run their routes. Grade: F.
Defensive line: Not as bad as the previous two weeks, but not great either. Grade: C.
Linebackers: David and Devin White had 18 tackles between them.
Secondary: Don't be fooled by the strong middle of the game. When it counted, the Bucs were lousy. Grade: F.
Special teams: The Bucs gave up a long kickoff return and a long punt return. Grade: F.
Power Rankings
- Buffalo 5-1
2. Philadelphia 6-0
3. Kansas City 4-2
4. Minnesota 5-1
5. New York Giants 5-1
16. Tampa Bay Bucs. 3-3
Bottom 5
Houston 1-3-1
Carolina 1-5
Las Vegas 1-4
Washington 2-4
Cleveland 2-4
Brady Comparison
2021 2022
5-1 Record 3-3
2,064 Yards 1,652
17 Touchdowns 8
3 Interceptions 1
108.0 Rating 87.8
NFL Rankings
Passing Yards Tom Brady 4
Rushing Yards Leonard Fournette 18
Receiving Yards Leonard Fournette 19
Tackles Devin White 19
Field Goals Ryan Succop 1 (tie)
5 More Thoughts
- Is it possible this team just isn't as good as everyone thought? They can't beat you running, they don’t throw long, the offensive line is weak, the defensive line is on its heels and the secondary is confused.
2. Do you think the Bucs final record will be bowl eligible?
3. The Steelers had an entire secondary on the inactive list Sunday. The Bucs' secondary didn't make the list, but it was pretty inactive, too.
4. Mike Evans is a terrific guy, but do you get the feeling he's ticked someone off?
5. Not that anyone's counting, but the the Bucs have been 3-3 12 previous time in their history. They finished with a losing season seven times.