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Observations of the "I Can't Be The ONLY Idiot Posting Fanposts Here, Get To Work You Doofs" Bucs/Falcons 10/9/22 Stressout Game


There used to be a couple of people who were posting their observations and rants over here, but now it's just me. C'mon, I can't be the only one who does this! Join in, you insufferable Buccaneers fans of the Bay Area. It's just, don't be shilling gambling sites or OnlyFans crap. KEEP IT REAL.

1) So as I had hoped, the Bucs rebounded from a bad two-game losing streak to win this Sunday over the Atlanta Falcons, getting us back to an early division lead and doing so with enough incredible playmaking on both offense and defense to signal that - once healthy - the Bucs can be a dominant team in the NFC this year.

So why did this game feel almost as bad as a loss?

1a) Falcons may have been 2-2 themselves but were not impressing game observers, and were coping with key injuries to their own players coming in to Raymond James... and still they kept it close enough to try a late-quarter comeback before falling 21-15. It was that for the first three quarters, the Falcons struggled to move the ball, barely got into field goal range once (and whiffed), and were down 21-0 in a relatively convincing beatdown.

The Bucs had an opportunity to establish a dominating win to set the tone for the rest of the long season... and failed to do so.

1b) The early-season problem of the Bucs failing to score any early touchdowns - First Quarters to us are like deserts void of points - happened in this game, even with an early drive that stalled due to a 4th-and-short run play that didn't cross the first down marker. Granted, we could have gone for the easy field goal where we were, but the situation demanded we keep driving to the end zone so we tried. I don't fault that: I fault a poorly-called, almost half-hearted attempt that kept the Bucs off the scoreboard until the Second Quarter.

1c) And when the Bucs DID get the points, it still wasn't anything like 3-4 TDs to get to 30 points like last season, it got us as far as 21 points (two FGs, two TDs, and one 2-pointer) before the offense conked out like a car engine running on fumes. In spite of all the positive numbers on offense, the Bucs are still struggling with the number that matters most (TDs).

1d) And while the Bucs defense returned to dominant form after the brain-farts vs. Kansas City, they couldn't maintain the energy and tackling effectiveness into the Fourth Quarter to ensure a shutout. Yes, injuries to the secondary weakened the players' effectiveness, but it nearly cost us the game late. The fact that the defense had little time to rest due to the offense failing to maintain clock-eating drives does contribute to this problem.

1e) The gameday threads were filled (rather lopsidedly) with a lot of anger towards OC Byron Leftwich, whose playbook for 2022 leaves a lot to be desired compared to what we had in 2021. The run plays he's calling doesn't seem to match the blocking talent or runners we have on-field, and the pass plays oft-times not matching the need to keep drives alive. It's most noticeable in Red Zone situations where football teams ought to get the TDs they need to score the most points: The Bucs are both not reaching the RZ often enough and then underperforming when they get there. This is a serious concern that needs more urgency from the entire offensive coaching staff.

1f) In summary: Yes, the Bucs won, but dammit we're still looking like a 10-win team instead of a 14-win team. We are barely in the top ten of the league right now, and for all the genuine talent we have on this roster we need to be better than this.

2) Player of the game: Antoine Winfield Jr. had a hell of a game, leading the team in tackles and mixing it in with safety blitzes to rack up a much-needed sack.

2a) The entire defensive front brought a ton of pressure all day, and Atlanta's offensive line could barely stop it. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Logan Hall, and Vita Vea each got a sack that game. Even Deadrin Senat got a sack today. I did miss seeing Cam Gill's name called, alas.

2b) Offensively, Leonard Fournette got us all the scoring offense we needed, getting a rushing TD and a receiving TD to balance the scales. He ended up with 56 rushing yards and 58 receiving for a 100-plus day, not exactly a dominating running performance but serviceable enough to keep the offense going.

2c) For a 45-year-old, Tom Brady is still slinging the ball like a 35-year-old. He's not getting the 3-4 TDs-a-game numbers like earlier, but he's 351 yards throwing on 35/52 tries with no interceptions or sacks given up (more on that later). An efficient and productive day, even making some decent 30-yard/40-yarder throws that proves he still has power to his arm. He is showing some signs of slowing down, and doesn't he look a little TOO thin out there...? If he can get into better sync with the younger receivers, we should see more points with him...

2d) Speaking of young receivers, TE Cade Otton had his "Welcome to the NFL" game filling in for an injured Brate, and he stepped up with decent mid-field catches (6 catches for 43 yards) that kept drives alive. If he can show up as a Red Zone threat more often, he WILL fit the comparisons to Gronk in a good way.

2e) Speaking of veteran receivers, Mike Evans was Godzilla again, making unbelievable catches in traffic that kept the Falcons defense deep to cover him for most of the day. Chris Godwin caught everything thrown his way 6 times for 61 yards. We need a better Red Zone offensive scheme dammit so that Evans and Godwin can get the TDs to match their on-field value.

2f) Scotty Miller had a better game in relief, working a short field but at least making more catches this time. I'm not sure if he's good for the deep game anymore...

3) So let's get this out of the way: The sports news were all abuzz about the "roughing the passer" call made late on Atlanta tackling Brady on a pass play when the Bucs were almost forced to punt it away. Instead, the penalty kept the drive alive and burned down enough clock to seal the victory.

In replay, it was pretty clear that the attempted sack wasn't that hard-hitting: The Falcon defender may have thrown Brady down hard but there was no sign he got whiplashed by it. As a result, everyone and their mothers have been running around all day complaining that it was a bad call that unduly favored Brady (and the Bucs).

In truth, it was a bad call. Thing is: BAD CALLS ARE PART OF THE GAME, FOR BETTER AND WORSE. People seem to forget that Vea was hit with a Roughing penalty when he was a second late getting to QB Mariota and knocking him down. There are bad non-calls as well: The previous play had a blatant pass interference by the Falcs on Scotty Miller than should have put the ball inside the 5 yard line for a likely easy score.

What this is - and it's been around for a good while - is the ongoing resentment for marquee A-listers like Brady who get 'preferential treatment' from the refs even when you can't really prove it. I'm sure if Brady was still with the Pats, I'd be screaming bloody murder about this 'injustice'. But it's all part of the partisanship of sports fandom. LET IT GO, ESPN guys.

4) Statistics of the game: Offensive yards. Bucs racked up 420, Falcons 261. For the first three quarters, the Bucs had double the yards. Until...

4a) Rushing yards: Falcons ended up with 151 yards on the ground, a lot of that during the Fourth Quarter when they used the running attack to keep the Bucs defense tired. Tampa's poor tackling allowed for a lot of Yards-After-Contact and gave up 10 first downs via the run. Our defense was a lot better than this, with a lot of TFLs, and I'm wondering if it's a problem with a pass-focused blitzing scheme that's unable to flex to a run-stop focused on the RBs.

4b) Turnovers... none happened. Arguably a reason why it was a close game. Atlanta stayed focused enough to be a challenge.

4c) Red Zone Offense: Falcons only made two visits inside the 20 but BY GOD they made it work both times. Bucs made FIVE visits to the RZ... and were only 2-for-5, which is disastrous. Granted, one of those was part of the game-ending drive, and the Bucs didn't need to score at that point. But there was an early drive where we got down to the 15 yard line and on 4th-and-1 and we failed to reach first down with a weak up-the-middle run that the Falcons stuffed. This was one of the big messed-up plays that exposed to the fanbase how troubling our coaches' play-calling has gotten.

4d) I'm not gonna scream about penalties because clearly this was a bad referee unit managing the game. Oy.

5) In other NFL news: There were more shocking upsets this weekend that underscores the possibility that some teams projected to do well are not going to do all that well. In particular, Green Bay choked on a 20-10 lead over the New York Giants in the morning London game to lose 27-22 and leaving the Packers faithful reeling from the likelihood that this is STILL not Rodgers' year...

5a) Just when you think the Jaguars are getting over the hump of bad years, they collapse to a weak Houston Texans team that's arguably tanking the whole season just for kicks.

5b) Speaking of tanking, the Pittsburgh Steelers ARE GONNA GO TO THE TANK BOWL.

5c) Just when you hope the Saints are gonna tank, they come out behind 80-year-old Taysom Hill and beat a supposed-to-be-good Seahawks team to make the NFC look like the mess it is.

5d) Did anybody think Dallas was going to go on a 4-game win streak when Dak Prescott got sidelined with injury? Welp, they did. And this just isn't fair...

5e) After a terrible - but expected - 1-4 start to their season, Carolina fired their coach - um, name please? Rhule something? - and are dealing with the reality they're down to their 3rd string QB to keep playing. If they think they're going to turn it around now... it's too late. They're tanking whether they want to or not.

5f) After winning their Super Bowl, the bill's come due for the Rams as they're struggling already and showing signs of a weakened offensive line and lack of receiver threats to counter Cooper Kupp. Lacking some of the one-year all-stars they'd signed to get them to the Promised Land, Los Angeles does not look like they'll be challenging for even a wild card...

5g) The NFL is changing their concussion protocols to ensure ANY sign of CTE - even the slightest sign of it - will bench players for their own safety. But the league should now consider undoing some of their roster caps like suiting only 47 players per game: teams are going to need to have deeper depth on their rosters in case of emergency. Open it up to all 53 rostered players, and then having the practice squads on standby to fill injury gaps.

5h) Nearly every team are showing serious flaws, save for the Buffalo Bills and the surprising UNBEATEN Philadelphia Eagles. Which can mean only one thing: We're getting a Bengals - Vikings SUPER BOWL!!! What... Either of those teams have got to win their first SB sooner or later!!!

6) In professional college football news: It's nice that Alabama is no longer ranked first overall but did it have to be Georgia to replace them? The bias towards SEC teams has been disgusting for years: for the Love of God, NCAA pollsters, James Madison U is unbeaten at 5-0 right now, let THEM have the spotlight for a week!!!

6a) Even if the teams aren't as dominant as usual, finding out Texas shut out Oklahoma (!) is still too shocking to comprehend. What the hell happened?

6b) GODDAMMIT, INDIANA, YOU HAD ONE JOB, WRECK MICHIGAN.

6c) GODDAMMIT, MICHIGAN ST., YOU HAD ONE JOB, WRECK OHIO ST

6d) GODAMMIT, FLORIDA, You... wait... this was a bye week.

6e) South Florida gave Cincinnati fits this weekend, but dammit there's still not enough talent on the team to pull off the upset. We never should have let Taggart go...

7) In professional baseball news DAMMIT ST. LOUIS CARDS YOU HAD ONE JOB. And now Albert Pujols is gone.

7a) The only news I wanna hear now from baseball is that a deep-pocket owner is buying out the Tampa Bay Rays and putting their own money down on building a Ybor ballpark.

7b) If there is any justice in the world we ought to get a Mariners - Padres World Series.

But we won't, damn you.

8) In professional hockey news, The Tampa Bay Lightning start a new season this Tuesday. JUST WIN EVERY GAME AND BE DONE WITH IT, BOLTS, WE NEED A NEW BOAT PARADE.

9) In professional pickleball sports, what the hell is pickleball...?

10) Next up: Bucs hit the road to play in Pittsburgh against a reeling 1-4 Steelers team lacking defensive leadership and starting a rookie QB. So naturally, given the Bucs' horrifying history of allowing rookie QBs to play like 5-year veteran All-Pros, this may get ugly for us. For the LOVE OF GOD, BUCS, SHOW NO MERCY THIS TIME.

and for the rest of you: POST MORE COMMENTS AND FANPOSTS OF YOUR OWN! SHOW ME YOU ARE STILL ALIVE, BUCS NATION!!!

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