Looking back at Bucs’ loss to 49ers

by Gary Shelton on November 12, 2024

in general

Tuesday, 4 a.m.

5 Thoughts

  1. Good thing the Bucs’ defense wasn’t in charge of closing out World War II. We’d all be speaking German now.

2. With Tristan Wirfs going down, you can’t help but wonder who the best player on the Bucs’ team is. Hint: It isn’t Kyle Trask.

3. Would it be wrong of Mike Evans to ask for a raise right about now?




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4. Poor Brock Purdy. Yeah, he threw for 258 yards on Sunday, but his career passing rating against the Bucs gell to 137.8. Instead of being the highest ever against any team, it's now behind Jacksonville and Philadelphia. And you thought the Bucs' secondary was awful. (Which it is).

5. Can you see a top six draft choice from here?

5 Comments

(From Todd Bowles’ day-after press conference)

(On if there is an injury update for LT Tristan Wirfs): “Yeah, he has a low-grade knee sprain and he’ll be week-to-week. We’ll see how he feels after the Bye.”

(On what he and the team can do differently to improve the defense): “We definitely have to tackle better. We have spurts where we play well. [In] the second half, I didn’t think we tackled better at all. Again, coaches and players – we have our coaches, we have our players – we have to get out of this jam. We got ourselves in it, we have to get out of it. We show good spots and then we make an error and it comes up. These guys understand that. It’s not like they’re trying, we just have to be better at it [in] the second half of the season.”

(On how he’s addressing the separation receivers are getting from the defense): “It depends on who’s the weakness and who’s the weak spot we’re trying to protect – different guys we try to protect. Sometimes it’s outside, sometimes it’s inside, you try to protect them as you go. You’re playing with [Tyrek] Funderburk, you’re playing with Josh [Hayes], you’re playing with a couple of guys that [are] getting their first taste of full-time action so you have to be careful with a lot of things, but we should still be dropping where we need to drop at and that’s not getting across for four quarters.”

(On why the receivers have been able to get separation against the zone defense): “Part of it is because the quarterback has a little bit more time to throw than he normally has and part of it is that we’re not in the right area on the play action.”

(On why the passing game hasn’t been as successful recently): 

“It’s a little bit of everything. Any time you lose two All-Pros and you have a guy that’s playing for the first time, really – ‘Shep’ (Sterling Shepard) has played in this league but it’s his first time in the system – ‘J-Mac’ (Jalen McMillan) is a rookie, Trey [Palmer] is [in his] second year, you have Ryan [Miller] coming off the practice squad, so there [are] going to be some chemistry things. There is going to be a change in the offense and it’s going to look bit different. We’ve been throwing the ball pretty [well] lately and had some success – yesterday wasn’t the case. They did a good job slanting down.”

Game Balls

Offense: Can someone find more touches for Bucky Irving?

Defense: Jordan Whitehead had 12 tackles. He needs to make plays on the ball in the air.

Special teams: Trenton Gill averaged 43 yards per punt and had two inside the 20.

Grades

Quarterback: Granted, he has no receivers left. But 116 yards? Grade: C.

Running back: Irving had 72 yards on just 13 carries. He needs 20 touches a game. Grade: B-.

Wide Receivers:  Four completions all day. Is someone playing the single wing? Grade: F.

Offensive line: Good rushing average. Held a talented pass rush to two sacks. Grade: B.

Defensive line: Not enough pressure … again. Grade: D.

Linebackers:  David was solid, but he needs help. Grade: C.

Secondary: Opposing receivers look like they’re running away from statues: Grade: F.

Power Ratings

  1. Kansas City.

2. Detroit.

3. Buffalo.

4. Philadelphia.

5. Baltimore

—-

19. Tampa Bay,

Bottom 5

32. N.Y. Giants.

31. Las Vegas.

30. Jacksonville.

29. Carolina. 

28. Cleveland.

5 Toughest Bucs’ injuries

  1. Mike Evans.

2. Chris Godwin.

3. Tristan Wirfs

4. Antoine Winfield.

5. Jemel Dean.

5 Worst Losses

  1. Atlanta (1st game).

2. Atlanta (2nd game).

3. Kansas City.

4. San Francisco.

5. Baltimore.

5 Worst Coaches

5. Todd Bowles

4. Lovie Smith

3. Ray Perkins

2. Leeman Bennett.

1. Richard Williamson.

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