A look back at the first half of the Bucs’ season

by Gary Shelton on November 21, 2022

in general

5 Thoughts

  1. Of course, Tom Brady has been the MVP of these Bucs. But who's second? Anyone?

2. If anyone is going to overtake Tampa Bay in the NFC South tortoise race, I still think it will be New Orleans, whether Jameis Winston plays another down or not.

3. I know it's fashionable to blame the head coach for a team's troubles, but think of it this way: Could you win games with no running game, a bad offensive line, dropped passes, a spotty pass rush and a weak secondary? Me, neither.



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4. If you do the math, Leonard Fournette is on pace to have a 784-yard season. That's awful, but it would rank ahead of the leading rusher of 23 Bucs' seasons. And now I'm depressed.

5. Here's a fun fact. In his first game with the Eagles, Ndamukong Suh was in on three tackles. In 10 games with the Bucs, rookie Logan Hall, also a defensive tackle, has been in on eight.

5 Best Bucs

  1. Tom Brady.

2. Lavonte David.

3. Mike Evans.

4. Jake Camarda

5. Ryan Succop

5 Disappointing Bucs

  1. Cole Beasley

2. Russell Gage

3. Logan Hall

4. Jaelen Darden

5. Kyle Rudolph

Ranking the 5 Wins

  1. New Orleans

2. L.A. Rams

3. Dallas Cowboys

4. Seattle Seahawks

5. Atlanta Falcons

Ranking the 5 Losses

  1. Carolina

2. Pittsburgh

3. Green Bay

4. Baltimore

5. Kansas City

5 Best Rookies

  1. Jake Camarda

2. Rachaad White

3. Cade Otten

4. Luke Goedeke

5. Ko Kieft

Toughest 5 Games Remaining

  1. Cincinnati

2. San Francisco

3. New Orleans

4. Atlanta

5. Arizona

Power Rankings

  1. Philadelphia

2. Kansas City

3. Dallas

4. Minnesota

5. Tennessee


`14. Tampa Bay

Bottom 5

32. Houston

31. Carolina

30. Pittsburgh

29. Denver

28. Chicago

This Way Before

(Bucs' Teams That were 5-5)

2022 5-5 TBD

2016 5-5 9-7

2015 5-5. 6-10

2001 5-5 9-7 (playoffs)

1995 5-5 7-9

1982 5-5 5-5 (with playoff loss)

1981 5-5 9-7

5 More Thoughts

  1. Yeah, you can think of Tom Brady running around with this generation’s version of the Golden Girls in his new movie. Or, you can think of him hanging around with Gidget, Barbarella, Anita from West Side Story and Edith Ann. That's a hubba-hubba down at the Retirement Home.

2. I don't care what you say. USF deserves a better coach than Byron Leftwich.

3. I think that I think Devin White is better than you think. But I could be wrong.

4. Don't worry. The next Bucs' quarterback is getting ready for the job. The way I understand it, he's in the sixth grade now.

5. When Akiem Hicks was wearing a microphone last game, did he ever ask "So why did the Bucs sign me instead of Suh?"

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