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Witty's Observations of the "Not A Blowout But An Energizing Win Over a Hated Rival" 11/15/20 Thumpfest w/Poll

1) I have to admit I was not paying attention to this game. Last week's nightmarish loss to the Saints had soured me - yet again - that the Buccaneers were not as great as hoped and that a showdown with another NFC South rival would be a heartbreaker as well. I am also deep within my annual run on National Novel Writing Month - 29k words now! - and so I was busy getting my "superhero team shooting each other with phased plasma rifles" novel back up to speed after previous miscues (much like this team, alas).

So color me unsurprised when I tuned in every so often in the First Quarter to see the blahness that was another bad opening start for Tampa Bay. It wasn't until I tuned in at halftime to see the game was tied, that we seemed to have settled down into better play, and even then I went back to writing because dammit a sex scene between a psychokinetic and a shapeshifter is trickier than you think.

1a) It wasn't until I returned my attention late into the Third Quarter that I saw the Bucs were running away with the score, especially by huge game-breaking plays in the most unexpected ways, that I felt a smile on my face enjoying this pro football weekend. The end score of 46-to-23 over the Panthers may look like a blowout, but there are details to consider and concerns left to answer. So let's review the stats, kiddos.

2) Player of the Game: Three years ago by this point in his rookie season, Ronald Jones II looked like a bust, a Second Rounder who couldn't even get on the field for late-game snaps during victory formations or run-out-the-clock losses. After a serious upgrade his second year, Jones showed flashes of talent but not enough to help the team break out of its losing rut. This third year, Jones has been a consistent 100-yard rusher, on pace for a 1,000 yard season (the kind of numbers that still matter in a pass-happy league), and TODAY he had his career day of rushing 192 yards including a historic 98-yard run for a touchdown that set team records and placed him high in the league records (he's apparently one of three running backs to ever make it from 98 yards to paydirt) for all time. He more than made up for his early-game fumble, and he's solidified himself and not Leonard Fournette as the primary back. If Jones isn't league Offensive Player of the Week, it'll be one of the greatest injustices ever.

2a) Tom Brady answered for his worst career game ever from last week with a solid Pro-Bowl caliber performance today, 341 yards passing with 3 TDs, NO INTs (shaking off the 3-INT nightmare last week oy), and even a rushing TD of his own to aid in the offensive explosion.

2b) There wasn't one jaw-dropping performance by a singular wide receiver today, but each of the major targets - Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, even He Who Shall Not Be Named - performed well enough to regain their standing as the best WR corps in the league. Godwin in particular made hard catches for 92 yards while nursing a broken finger, and Evans made a game-changing TD catch at the back of the End Zone with the hands and foot awareness that makes him a All-Pro goddamned Hall of Famer.

2c) Both our TEs Cameron Brate and Rob Gronkowski made TD catches today, making sure other defenses know Brady has weapons everywhere.

2d) The offensive line still has a few issues, but the unit as a whole kept Brady safe save for one sack, and especially aided Jones in his historic jaunt for 98 yards, opening a hole up the middle that 90 percent of the time hadn't been there the last decade. I think we can live with runs-up-the-middle for now.

2e) Our defensive star today was Jason Pierre-Paul, playing at the Outside Linebacker spot, who pulled off a rare sack-and-INT game along with a number of QB pressures and decent tackles. He's on pace for a double-digit sack season, which is something the Bucs fandom would celebrate on par with a Jones' 1,000 rushing season.

2f) Shaquil Barrett registered a sack after a few weeks of silence, and it'd be nice to see if the defensive scheme will mix him back into the blitz packages to take advantage of his pressure skills...

2g) Ryan Succop had one of his busier days - considering how Brady prefers getting us TDs instead of settling for FGs - going 4/4 with 3-pointers and settling for now the worries we've had about our raw drafted kickers from the last five years.

3) I wasn't entirely interested in promoting any other defensive players due to the failures of our secondary in the First Half of the game. The First Quarter in particular they allowed Carolina's QB Teddy Bridgewater to go 13-for-13 on throws, letting them drive at will and score as well. I didn't watch it but I saw the thread comments screaming about the lack of coverage and allowing receivers too much room to run, which has been the common problem with this team's season so far. Granted, this is a unit made up almost entirely of still-young talent, drafted to the roster over the last three years, and their man-cover skills just aren't there.

I always think of how defenses work at two levels: the front line causing pressure and getting sacks, and the backfield relying on QBs getting pressured to throw too soon or forced to hold the ball too long due to the coverage. Somehow the loss of Vita Vea on the front line seems to have affected our team's ability to blitz and cause pressure, meaning the secondary has to rely more on covering to force opposing QBs to scramble for their lives. Without that cover threat or that front pressure, our defense won't work.

4) Statistics of the game: 30 First Downs. I dunno if it's a team record but it feels like it is. The Bucs were just able to drive at will once they got going in the Second Quarter, keeping the ball away from a Panthers squad that could only generate 13 First Downs.

4a) Combined with that are the Third Down conversions: Bucs went 10 for 16 while the Panths went 1 for 9(!!!) I can remember times with a Jameis-led offense of our team going 1-for-WTH on third downs, which usually meant OUR loss, so I can see how Carolina ended up today. Carolina couldn't keep up once Tampa Bay went up by two TDs and kept going.

4b) PENALTIES!!!! Actually the Bucs were mild today at 3 for 30 yards while the Panths were 5 for 40 yards gone.

4c) Total yards: Bucs ended with 544 yards total - thanks to RoJo's career day and Brady's usual efficiency - while Panthers had 187 yards (!). It's one of the fewest allowed for the Bucs ever, along with the biggest yard differential in Bucs' history. But how much of that was due to Carolina falling apart compared to a Bucs defense that had too much trouble early on stopping throws...?

5) One of the good things about bringing in Tom Brady to lead this Bucs team is that Brady - as a veteran, as someone with entire DECADES worth of good play under his belt - has the drive and skill to recover from a bad loss and make the following week a big win. Granted, this doesn't mean that the Bucs are guaranteed a championship year, but it means we're not going to see a season-breaking losing streak as long as Brady - and the veterans he's got backing him up - is standing on the field.

6) In other NFL News, Detroit beat the Washington No-Names today with a last-second field goal, placing them at 4-5 at this point in the season. It still puts them at 4th place in the NFC North but it would make them the division leader in Washington's NFC East. Lions ownership currently petitioning the league to let them finish this season in the East...

6a) Cleveland's Nick Chubb broke off a long run play of his own... but stopped from going into the end zone because the Browns were winning and needed to run out the clock instead of risking Houston Texans tying up if they got the ball back. This is surprising for Cleveland... they are doing well enough that they DON'T NEED TO SCORE TDs TO SECURE A WIN...

6b) Miami Dolphins are quietly having the kind of year that would normally have them winning their division and making a serious run in the postseason... except that the Buffalo Bills are loudly having that kind of year and might actually scare the usual suspects like Kansas City and Pittsburgh if they ever get to the AFC title game...

6c) The Raiders are playing better than expected. Derek Carr is not having a Pro-Bowl year but an efficient one.

6d) Did Arizona Cardinals just win on a Hail Mary pass even with defenders draped over the Cards' WR?!

7) In college football news: The number of cancelled games due to COVID-19 outbreaks among the teams and not just on-campuses. The NCAA keeps claiming the whole thing is safe but they're risking the long-term health of these kids, I swear to God...

7a) In South Florida Bulls news: If the NCAA wants parity at all, they're going to have to force the big programs to cut back on their scholarships to 4-star recruits so that struggling programs like USF can get a bleeping chance to get players who can, you know, fcking tackle and catch throws and stuff. Better yet, PAY THE PLAYERS.

7b) I'm rooting for Georgia Southern to upset Alabama some day.

8) In professional baseball news: They are seriously talking about expanding to two more teams in order to generate revenue that had been lost due to the pandemic. There are markets to where they can expand - Portland, Montreal, Nashville, San Antonio, even Las Vegas (considering baseball's stigma about gambling, probably not) - but given how they're using the Tampa Bay Rays' struggles to get a new ballpark built, they might not pursue that until the Rays confirm a decent spot between Dale Mabry or Ybor to get it done.

8a) Also, MLB needs to force a hard salary cap and do a better job sharing revenues so that the Rays can stay competitive. This World Series lineup is likely breaking up next season the moment we can trade away good players for future rebuilding...

9) In NASA news, holy sh-t they just launched a full crew on a Space-X rocket tonight. Those damned iPod-like Space Pods actually work...

9a) The sad thing is Mission Control doesn't look like a goddamned Mission Control anymore. They're operating off of computer classroom worktables. TACKY, TACKY AS HELL. BUILD A GODDAMN COMMAND ROOM, YOU CHEAPSKATE BILLIONAIRES.

10) Next up: Buccaneers have to play against the Rams, a storied rivalry resumes, and while the Rams don't have a great record they DO have one of the scariest pass rushers in Aaron Donald. I am a tad worried.

Okay, game up, Rocket X up, poll up!

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