Tuesday, 3 a.m.
5 Thoughts
- I feel I can sum up all the Bucs' thoughts about Leonard Fournette's alleged weight problems: What the heck, let's buy the guy a doughnut.
2. Does anyone ever wonder just how much of training camp Tom Brady could miss and still be a pretty good quarterback?
3. If Rob Gronkowski was watching, there is still room for you, big guy.
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4. Does Jerry Jones ever look in the mirror and wonder: "What in the world am I doing in the Hall of Fame?" Or is just the rest of us?
5. The Tampa Bay Rays could use someone who hits like Devin White.
5 Comments
(From Todd Bowles' day-after press conference)
(On Chris Godwin's hamstring injury): "I don't think it's as serious as we thought it was, but it all depends on how his treatment goes and how he heels. Hopefully we'll have him back sooner than later."
(On Donovan Smith's elbow injury): "He's got a hyperextended elbow. It's a pain tolerance thing, so he's pretty sore right now. We'll monitor him during the week."
On rookie Jake Camarda's long punts): "I thought he did a great job booming [the punts] down the field. I thought we covered them very well. Again, they've got a dangerous return man. I thought the gunners and the interior men did a great job, kickoff team as well. He can put it out there and he can boom it, but when he does that we need to make sure we cover it and they did that this week."
(On how rare WR Mike Evans' talents are in the end zone)z; "It's rare. I mean, he's got great hands. He does one-handed catches all the time, you can look at it all the time. He practices those things. He's got great height, he's got a great feel for the game, he's got great chemistry with Tom [Brady] and they make those type of plays happen."
On if the Buccaneers will continue to use their cornerbacks the way they did on Sunday): "No, it's game-to-game. They had things that we didn't have to pull out some things that we wanted to do. So, we kind of kept the status quo with where we were at because it was working."
Game Balls
Offense: As he ripped up the Cowboys, you couldn't help but remember when Bruce Arians gave him an ultimatum to get good or get gone his first year here. Fournette's 127 yards was his most as a Bus.
Defense: Devin White had two sacks and eight tackles in a strong defensive effort.
Special teams: Yes, rookie Jake Carmada was impressive, but Ryan Succop scored 13 of his team's 19 points.
Grades
Quarterback: By his own admission, Tom Brady needs to play better. But isn't it nice to win when he isn't amazing? Grade: B.
Running back: All those smart guys who cut him in Jacksonville? They're earning unemployment. Grade: A.
Offensive line: There were some running plays that went nowhere, but for the most part, a line with three newcomers was pretty darned good. Grade: A-.
Receivers: Mike Evans, Godwin and Julio Jones combined for 11 catches. Grade: B+/
Defensive line: The Cowboys had a few runs that are certain to have the fans yelling for Ndamukong Suh. But not many. Shaq Barrett was close several times. Grade: B.
Linebackers: White and Lavonte David combined for 14 tackles. Grade: A-.
Secondary: The Cowboys were smothered for the most part. Grade: B+.
Special teams: The coverage was excellent. So was the kicking. Grade: A.
Power Rankings
- Buffalo.
2. Tampa Bay.
3. Kansas City.
4. Minnesota
5. Miami
Bottom Five
- New York Jets
2. Jacksonville Jaguars
3. Detroit Lions
4.Atlanta Falcons
5. Green Bay Packers
5 More Thoughts
- Leonard Fournette's devastating block on Micah Parsons was good enough to leave them whining in Buffalo. Von Miller immediately said such blocks should be illegal because, I guess, Fournette knocked Parsons on his butt. "We are just letting the offense tee off on the marquee pass rushers," whined Miller. No. He was preventing Parsons from teeing off on Tom Brady.
2. I think that, eventually, Sean Payton will be missed in New Orleans. Still, there are Saints fans who point out that you can count the titles Payton won on your nose.
3. In the next three weeks, the Bucs' secondary have to face Jameis Winston, Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers. We'll see how good they are.
4. Still, if you're wondering how good the secondary was Sunday night, consider this. Last year, regular season and playoffs, the Bucs held only one quarterback to a lower passer rating (Chicago's Justin Fields).
5. If they got the reception of this game on the planet Neptune, I wonder if Antonio Brown enjoyed it.
Best Bucs' Coaches' Starts
- Todd Bowles, 2022: Bowles team smothered a Dallas team on the road after the Cowboys had led the NFL in offense the year before.
2. Dirk Koetter, 2016: Koetter started a 9-7 season off with a 31-24 victory over Altanta.
3. Ray Perkins, 1987: Perkins team walloped the Falcons 4810. Still, his team was just 4-11 that season.
4. Sam Wyche, 1992: Wyche's Bucs beat the Phoenix Cardinals 23.7/
5. Richard Wiliamson, 1990: Williamson's opener came late in the 1990 season after Perkins was fired. He came in and beat Minnesota 26-13. Williamson would lose his next two games, but somehow was retained. His team went 3-13 the next season.