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Observations of the "Regrets I've Had a Few" Bucs/49ers 09/08/19 Debacle w/Poll


1) This was to be charitable a sloppy game on all three sides of the field: with the 49ers, with the Buccaneers, with the referees. Way too many penalties affecting the game. Way too many blown assignments on offense and defense. Special teams miscues. Bad country music (bring back death metal you fiends). And yet a lot of moments pointed to the chance for Tampa Bay to win this home opener.

Alas.

1a) While the Niners gradually improved themselves on defense, the Bucs offense degraded in the Second Half, coughing up 14 points in less than a minute to give San Francisco a big 20-7 lead that the Bucs couldn't overcome. Oh, we got it up to 20-17... but then pretty much shot ourselves in the foot with YET ANOTHER ILL-ADVISED INTERCEPTION FROM Jameis Winston that nuked the ending.

2) This was a game that could have had heroes for the Bucs but instead all we have are the goats, starting with the Franchise Quarterback who never earned the franchise tag. After four years of erratic play, at points where his turnover-happy ways killed far too many chances to win, Winston opened up his MUST-WIN YEAR with... almost no passing yards in the First Quarter, fumbled snaps, a Pick-Six in the Third Quarter that put the Bucs in a 20-7 hole, an intentional grounding that kept us out of the end zone when we could have retaken the lead, and another Pick-Six late in the Fourth that pretty much ended the game.

This was the 10th time in 57 games where Winston threw for at least three INTs, far too many times for a QB who's supposed to be throwing more TDs than Pick-Sixes. This is it. This is intolerable. The Bucs simply can't win with this guy. There hasn't been a single year where he actually looked like he was gaining improvement in his TD-to-INT ratios, we've had only one winning season so far with him at QB, this is a joke now, another busted First Round draft pick for a Bucs team whose history of bad picks already would cause NFL historians to burst into tears.

3) And yet I cringe at the possibility of the Bucs trying to draft YET again for a First Round QB. It's NEVER WORKED OUT. We've never kept a single drafted QB after their contracts ran out. Doug Williams, owner ran him off. Jack Thompson, what the hell. Steve Young, traded. Vinny, let go to greener pastures. DeBerg saw more draftees replace him than any man in the NFL and still kept coming back for more punishment. Erickson barely lasted a season, got replaced by DILFER! who got cut and actually won a Super Bowl with Baltimore, Shaun King lost his starting job to a veteran signing in Brad Johnson and he aged out real quick, Chris Simms was a bad choice and we almost killed him. We made playoffs with FAs like Griese and Garcia but they didn't last, fired Chucky because he never drafted a QB that could honestly start for the team, forced a draft pick for Freeman who overthrew everybody and got canned by a bad head coach who betrayed him for a goddamned Mike Glennon which led us to Jameis.

And yet the urge to draft a QB first overall has to be tempered by the reality that our offensive line is more rickety and in need of better talent at the OT spot than ever before. Donovan Smith just isn't cutting it as a Left Tackle. Demar Dotson caused bad penalties at the worst times. Our whole OL has question marks even for the good players we know we have (Ali Marpet, save us). Drafting a QB seems like a bad idea until we can get better pass protection up front in the first place. This is an insane situation...

What the hell can the Bucs do? Our Quarterback situation doesn't look like it can EVER be resolved, not until the OL gets fixed which won't be until next season (already!).

4) Once the anger subsides, we can at least note the Bucs defense showed up for most of the game. Switching to the 3-4 seems to have helped a bit. Defenders swarmed to the runners more often than not, QB pressure was decent, the Niners did not have a lot of passing yards or offense overall. Bucs gained the lead with a key Pick-Six of our own out of Vernon Hargreaves III in the Second Quarter. It's just... still not as many sacks as needed, still a few blown coverages, not enough turnover recoveries, still bad defensive penalties at the worst times... If anything, the Bucs look like they can keep the team in all the games we'll play this year. It's just we're not going to have a reliable offense to win those games.

5) Statistics of the game: Red Zone offense for the Bucs was One-for-Four today, with multiple missed opportunities for touchdowns that could have changed the dynamics of the game. Most painful of all was a 4th-and-goal at the 2-yard-line we got with an offsides Niners team on a field goal try, and the Bucs gambled - smartly - on going for the TD. It's just we went spread-out with no RBs telling the Niners we were all-in on a pass play and they defended it perfectly. While the Niners were perfectly ZERO in their Red Zone offense, they had the Pick-Sixes to make up for it. This had been a problem the past three years with the Bucs: we get inside the 20 yard line and all of a sudden we can't run the ball or throw it past the goal line. It's like if we're at the 25-yard line the Bucs might as well air it out for the end zone no matter what.

5a) I mentioned earlier that penalties on both sides of the field were rampant, but here's how bad it was. There were FOUR touchdowns - two for the Niners, two for the Bucs - called back due to penalties. There's a report we may have tied a league record for that in a game. That's how bad this day was.

5b) Bucs outrushed the 49ers 121 yards to 81 yards. Ronald Jones II showed up big in the Second Half, bursting free for long gains and ending up with 75 yards on 11 carries. If only the Bucs had a better Red Zone scheme...

6) In other NFL news: If the Bucs are thinking about tanking the whole season, forget it. Miami Dolphins are way ahead of Tampa on this. Good GOD did they suck today...

6a) So yeah, Cleveland was the hot choice to root for this year coming off a 6-9-1 "Miracle" season... and they promptly sucked opening day. Factory of Sadness, America.

6b) Detroit was winning it, man, and then Arizona behind rookie QB Kyle Murray tied it up at the last minute for OT, and they ended it tied. Already Week One and we're seeing tie games again...

6c) I don't think they've played yet today but Oakland got screwed by getting Antonio Brown to wreck the Raiders off-season only to get signed up by a Patriots team that moved a little too quickly in getting him signed, just saying. I swear, there is EVIL in the world and they play for the Hooded One...

7) In college football news: GODDAMMIT South Florida Bulls, you're killing us here. We need at least ONE team in Tampa Bay to win at football, and the Arena League ain't coming back... :( This is Charlie Strong's third year coaching and the Bulls have gotten WORSE with players he's clearly recruited. Dammit, will USF ever get a goddamn break and compete again with the big boys?! That near-miracle 2007 season is now fading into myth, man...

7b) Florida State had to win in overtime against WHO again?

7c) I recall seeing a lot of "upset" predictions for Cincinnati pulling off a win against Ohio State. Buckeyes skunked them 42-0. So much for the American Conference competing with Big Ten squads. /depressed sigh

7d) Are we forced to root for UTAH to upset everyone in the college playoffs this year...?

8) In pro baseball news DAMMIT RAYS WILL YOU... wait, holy sh-t, I think they're winning this year, they might get a wild card spot if they keep winning like this, my GOD THERE IS A REASON TO HOPE AGAIN TAMPA BAY...

8a) Except that the Astros, Yankees, and Dodgers are too packed with talent to give the Rays a decent chance to win it all this year. I hate the lack of a strong revenue sharing system in MLB, folks.

9) Is it hockey season yet...?

10) Final observation of the day: I have no more comic cons to go to this year.

THE POLL AWAITS!!!

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