Bucs Nation - Buccaneers vs. Browns 2014: Tampa Bay goes to ClevelandA Tampa Bay Buccaneers Blog - Fire Those Cannons!https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48049/bucs-fave.png2014-11-04T10:02:21-05:00http://www.bucsnation.com/rss/stream/69034802014-11-04T10:02:21-05:002014-11-04T10:02:21-05:0010 Things We Think We Learned: Bucs vs. Browns
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cAGsRT16FigOrGOtzOzmVg3gvDg=/0x99:4000x2766/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/43398932/20141102_tcb_ss4_154.JPG.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>DLT is back from his cruise and sees nothing has changed with the Bucs.</p> <p>Hey there folks. I'm back, refreshed from a short vacation and I've watched my recording of the Bucs blowing another one in Cleveland.</p>
<p>Being on a boat headed to the Bahamas, you're pretty much cut off from what's going on in the outside world (I wasn't going to take those international charges on my phone and the wi-fi charges on boat were ridiculous), when we pulled into port yesterday, I purposely avoided all email and internet connectivity because I wanted to experience and react to the Bucs game as I would if I was watching it live.</p>
<p>What's funny is even though I didn't know the result, after watching a bit of the first half, I knew exactly how it was going to end.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, it lived up to my expectations.</p>
<p>Let's see what we learned this week.</p>
<p>1. Lovie said at the beginning of the season, give me a good defense and special teams, you'll will 8 games. Give me a decent offense and we'll win a lot more. Well, the offense was decent (except at quarterback, more on that in a minute), the defense was good and the special teams...well, to put it bluntly, they sucked. Once again, Tampa Bay invented new ways to lose a ballgame, having a field goal blocked by a guy who literally hurdled the offensive line, a punt blocked that gave the ball point blank range for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.dawgsbynature.com/">Browns</a> offense to set up the go ahead touchdown and in general bad punting all day by Michael Koenen. You could add the 55 yard field goal that ended up short but that's not an easy kick, even though <span>Patrick Murray</span> has made those in the past.</p>
<p>All in all, you could place a lot of the blame for Sunday's loss on the special teams unit, who have been below average all season.</p>
<p>2. On the bright side, the defense again showed signs of coming to life. In back-to-back weeks, Tampa Bay held their opponent to an average of 331 yards, 17.5 pts, have forced 2 turnovers (both against Cleveland), 4 sacks, 17 tackles for loss, 14 QB hits, 12 passes defended and only 73.5 yards rushing per game. If the Bucs had been putting these type of numbers up all season, they would be in the top ten in defense in the league. Of course, they were abysmal the first six games and deserve their 31st in the league ranking.</p>
<p>With that said, there are signs that this defense may finally be coming around. Sure they still need to produce more turnovers and pressure (especially from the edge). 22 points is still too much to surrender to be called a good defense. You want to be around the 14-17 point range.</p>
<p>But its getting better. That's a positive.</p>
<p>3. Another positive from this week was the play of the offensive line. I was shocked that Oneil Cousins was starting at left tackle for the injured <span>Anthony Collins</span>. I was even more shocked that <span>Mike Glennon</span> didn't get killed because of it. In fact, for the most part, Cousins played pretty well. He was charged with one sack but Glennon typically had plenty of time to throw and Cousins opened up holes in the run game for <span>Bobby Rainey</span> to squirt through.</p>
<p>The rest of the offensive line followed suit, playing one of their better games of the season. It does make you wonder if the Anthony Collins experiment is about to come to a disappointing close.</p>
<p>4. Speaking of experiments coming to a close, folks I hate to say it but on this election day, the results are in and the Bucs need a quarterback. We've had every excuse for Glennon the last few weeks haven't we? Oh, give him protection, give him a decent running game, give him receivers who didn't drop balls...well, he had all of that this week and Glennon stunk up the joint.</p>
<p>Yes, he threw two touchdown passes to <span>Mike Evans</span>, but he could have had four if he had any touch on the deep ball. His two interceptions were inexcusable. The first, a badly underthrown ball with Evans behind the coverage that enabled <span>Joe Haden</span> to catch up to Evans, push him with one hand and play volleyball with the other. The second interception he missed a wide open receiver air mailing the ball to Cleveland safety <span>Tashaun Gipson</span>.</p>
<p>Glennon's accuracy was just as bad on short to intermediate routes as well, with his receivers having to make insane acrobatic catches or stop their routes and dive behind them to secure catches. Several times during the game, had Glennon hit the receiver in stride with accuracy it could have been a big explosive play.</p>
<p>Glennon is what he is, a decent back up quarterback. The old saying goes, if you have two quarterbacks then you have none. Lovie speaks of the Bucs' QB situation as a position of strength. He has two QBs he can go to. The truth is, neither quarterback should be starting games in this league.</p>
<p>It could be said that if Glennon played a little bit better the last two ball games, the Bucs could be 3-5 right now. The same could be said of McCown early in the season.</p>
<p>Truth is, even with all of their faults and issues, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bucsnation.com/">Buccaneers</a> could be a lot better than they are today if they had a decent starting quarterback. I'm not talking <span>Andrew Luck</span>...I'm talking <span>Ryan Tannehill</span>, <span>Austin Davis</span>, hell <span>Derek Carr</span> average QB play.</p>
<p>5. Okay, I'm pleased to admit I was completely wrong about Mike Evans. I hated his pick in last May's draft, thinking he would be a <span>Michael Clayton</span> type bust but the kid has proved me wrong. He's phenomenal. He is what <span>Vincent Jackson</span> used to be in his prime and its clear to me (and perhaps the Buccaneers) that he's passed Jackson as the number one wide receiver on this roster. The Browns with their much ballyhooed secondary couldn't cover Evans and only made plays when Glennon botched up the throw. When the pass was on target, Evans would snare it. Had the Bucs had a QB with accuracy, Tampa Bay's rookie wideout may have had four, even five touchdowns. Instead, he had to settle for two.</p>
<p>Jackson played well, too, showing signs of coming out of his funk and becoming the old Vincent Jackson again. Perhaps knowing he'll be here the rest of the season will allow him to relax a bit.</p>
<p>6. It was strange, around 2pm on Sunday we were pulling in to Castaway Cay in the Bahamas and the wind was roaring. Gayle force winds coming in from the north west. I had no idea it was the collective gasp of every Buccaneer fan in the Tampa Bay area when they saw <span>Lavonte David</span> injured, on the ground, grabbing for his knee. Upon reviewing the game, I gave out an "Oh no" myself (with perhaps a few expletives and prayers to God added in).</p>
<p>David escaped serious injury and appears to be okay but that would have made a very bad season for the Buccaneers all the more unbearable.</p>
<p>7. Until Charles Sims proves otherwise, Bobby Rainey is the best running back on the Bucs roster. Rainey's vision, ability to make something out of nothing and being able to squirt through the tiniest of holes gives him the edge right now. I know the Bucs are high on Sims and want him to assume the mantle as Tampa Bay's version of <span>Matt Forte</span> and if he can, that's just great. But right now, if I'm Marcus Arroyo, the offense runs through Bobby Rainey.</p>
<p>8. Speaking of Arroyo, I've laid off of him because lets face it, we all know and understand he's overmatched here. He was brought in to coach quarterbacks, not coordinate an NFL offense. I thought in the first half, he was coaching a great game plan against the Browns. The Bucs offense was moving the ball, churning up 228 yards and owning nearly 19 minutes of possession time despite Glennon only completing 44% of his passes.</p>
<p>Then, after the Bucs dominated on the ground for 96 first half yards, Arroyo decided to hand the game over to his inaccurate and erratic QB. Bobby Rainey, who had 80 yards on the ground in the first half, touched it 4 times in the second half. Suddenly an offense that could only be stopped by their QB and special teams miscues began to sputter, managing just 137 yards and a single scoring drive in the second half.</p>
<p>I don't understand it. Cleveland is one of the worst teams in the league at stopping the run and the Bucs were dominating in the run game. The strength of Cleveland's defense is their pass defense and ability to force turnovers in the passing game. Yet you decide to throw the ball 18 of your final 24 plays (including Glennon's three scrambles)?</p>
<p>I don't get it. I just don't. Apparently neither did Lovie, who to his credit decided that he doesn't know enough about offense to tell Arroyo what to do an allowed the young coordinator to sink or swim on his own. Even the head coach believed they should have run the ball more in the second half.</p>
<p>9. I'm not really sure what's going on with Austin Sefarian-Jenkins. I don't know if last week sapped the rookie's confidence, if he's injured or if he's just not into it anymore, but ASJ doesn't look like the player he was in the pre-season and minicamps. He looks like he's lumbering when he goes into motion, his blocking continues to be suspect, he looks confused with play calls and his route running has left a lot to be desired. I think he's just lost right now and it's going to be up to tight ends coach Jon Embree to get him back on track or we may lose this one. I don't want to bring up the "B" word. Its way too early for that. Still, ASJ is at a crucial point in his career where he's lost as a rookie and he can go either way. Let's hope he can shake himself out of it. Tampa Bay needs him to become a weapon.</p>
<p>10. At 1-7, the Bucs are again out of the playoff hunt at the start of November. It's the 3rd time in the last five years that Buc fans had nothing to do but watch draft positioning for the final 8 games of the season. I know as a collective fanbase, the Bucs fans are fed up with the losing. Many have jumped ship already. Most fans and pundits like our folks here at BucsNation believed that Lovie Smith finally gave the Bucs a shot to be relevant again. It still may happen, although not this year. Smith, better than anyone, knows he doesn't have a lot of time to get this right. It's not his fault the Bucs haven't made the playoffs since 2007 or have had just one winning season in their last six. He wasn't here for any of that.</p>
<p>Yet, he and his coaching staff are feeling the brunt of it. They gutted this roster, turning over more than 50% of it from the previous regime. He can't point to Schiano and Dominik when most of those guys were dumped in favor of free agents and their own draft picks in one off-season. There's only one player starting on the offensive line that started last season. Only two of the four defensive linemen on the starting defensive line were Buccaneers last season and one of them didn't even start. Most of the secondary is new, the receiving core was remade.</p>
<p>No, this is Lovie and Licht's baby right here and it's failed miserably. A five year contract is Lovie's only security blanket right now. Still, he didn't have to look any further than across the sideline to see that even a long contract doesn't guarantee anything. Rod Chudzinski had a four year deal but after a 4-12 campaign, the Browns fired him after one season and went another direction. Cleveland was lambasted in the press for giving up on Chud after one season but today, under Mike Pettine, they've surged to 5-3 and relevancy...with perhaps one of the most exciting backups in the league Johnny Football picking bench splitters out of his backside.</p>
<p>The Glazers have to take a look at that and wonder. They were hoping for an Andy Reid styled resurgence under Lovie. Perhaps they would consider looking for the next Mike Pettine.</p>
<p>This is what happens when your fanbase is fed up with losing, your owners have spent a ton of cash and received empty seats and a lot of losses to show for it.</p>
<p>It's an important time in this franchise's history folks, make no bones about it. Lovie needs to keep his team dialed in, improving and believing. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see him call the Glennon ride over and go back to the QB he believes in, <span>Josh McCown</span>, for the remainder of the season. Its a matter of comfort level for Lovie. Glennon got one coach fired already (yes, it was more Freeman than Glennon but let's face it, it was Schiano's love affair with Napoleon Quarterback that was partially responsible for unsettling the troubled mind of Freeman and sent him spiraling out of the league), I'd be surprised if Lovie decided to bet his own coaching life on Glennon this year.</p>
<p>Let's face it, if the Bucs finish 3-13 or worse and doesn't show any sort of improvement, what is the case for him to stay? A five year contract? A plan? The offensive coordinator situation torpedo'd the season? They wanted to see what they had in Glennon (and the answer was not much)?</p>
<p>I don't believe Smith's job is in jeopardy right now but if the team checks out in the second half of the season like they did to Raheem and Schiano, then the seat will progressively grow warmer as the season stumbles to a close.</p>
<p> </p>
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<p>Squirrel! Representing <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ItsABucsLife?src=hash">#ItsABucsLife</a> in the Bahamas! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bucs?src=hash">#Bucs</a> <a href="http://t.co/ljwmCATDhy">pic.twitter.com/ljwmCATDhy</a></p>
— JC De La Torre (@jcdelatorre) <a href="https://twitter.com/jcdelatorre/status/529646104280047617">November 4, 2014</a>
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https://www.bucsnation.com/2014/11/4/7154033/10-things-we-think-we-learned-bucs-vs-brownsJCDeLaTorre2014-11-03T13:00:42-05:002014-11-03T13:00:42-05:00Snap counts: Goldson is losing his job
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/7HnJ75UEq_h_N-5YOvBrnjmZdDw=/0x0:4000x2667/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/43341538/20141102_tcb_ss4_130.JPG.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Looking at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' snap counts against the Cleveland Browns, the Bucs are starting to move on from their under-performing players.</p> <p><span>Dashon Goldson</span> is losing his starting job. The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bucsnation.com/">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</a> gave backup safety <span>Bradley McDougald</span> nearly 50% of the defensive snaps, while Goldson played just 70% -- the difference being the packages where the Bucs had three safeties on the field. And McDougald held up reasonably well -- I certainly didn't see him repeatedly exploited in coverage the way <span>Mason Foster</span> was.</p>
<p>Similarly, <span>Michael Johnson</span> continues to lose ground to the likes of <span>Jacquies Smith</span>, <span>Larry English</span> and <span>T.J. Fatinikun</span>. The Bucs are basically punishing under-performers by giving their backups more playing time.</p>
<p>For the first time since week four, <span>Garrett Gilkey</span> didn't get any snaps. Perhaps the Bucs finally came to the obvious conclusions that rotating your right guard is not a good way to build an offensive line that can actually function and communicate comfortably.</p>
<p>Of course, the Bucs now switched to rotating <span>Kevin Pamphile</span> and <span>Oniel Cousins</span> at left tackle. At least that should disappear once <span>Anthony Collins</span> returns from his injury, although it should be said that Cousins and Pamphile seemed to handle themselves reasonably well.</p>
<table width="512" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0">
<colgroup>
<col span="8" width="64"> </colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr height="20">
<td width="64" height="20"><b>Player</b></td>
<td width="64"><b>Position</b></td>
<td width="64"><b>Offense</b></td>
<td width="64"><b>%</b></td>
<td width="64"><b>Defense</b></td>
<td width="64"><b>%</b></td>
<td width="64"><b>Special Teams</b></td>
<td width="64"><b>%</b></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20"></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right"><b>64</b></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right"><b>67</b></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right"><b>27</b></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">D Dotson</td>
<td>T</td>
<td align="right">64</td>
<td align="right">100%</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">9</td>
<td align="right">33%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">L Mankins</td>
<td>G</td>
<td align="right">64</td>
<td align="right">100%</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">5</td>
<td align="right">19%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">P Omameh</td>
<td>G</td>
<td align="right">64</td>
<td align="right">100%</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">5</td>
<td align="right">19%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">E Dietrich-Smith</td>
<td>C</td>
<td align="right">64</td>
<td align="right">100%</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">M Glennon</td>
<td>QB</td>
<td align="right">64</td>
<td align="right">100%</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">V Jackson</td>
<td>WR</td>
<td align="right">63</td>
<td align="right">98%</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">A Seferian-Jenkins</td>
<td>TE</td>
<td align="right">62</td>
<td align="right">97%</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">O Cousins</td>
<td>T</td>
<td align="right">57</td>
<td align="right">89%</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">5</td>
<td align="right">19%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">B Rainey</td>
<td>RB</td>
<td align="right">56</td>
<td align="right">88%</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">M Evans</td>
<td>WR</td>
<td align="right">51</td>
<td align="right">80%</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">L Murphy</td>
<td>WR</td>
<td align="right">37</td>
<td align="right">58%</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">B Myers</td>
<td>TE</td>
<td align="right">29</td>
<td align="right">45%</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">11</td>
<td align="right">41%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">M James</td>
<td>RB</td>
<td align="right">9</td>
<td align="right">14%</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">7</td>
<td align="right">26%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">L Stocker</td>
<td>TE</td>
<td align="right">7</td>
<td align="right">11%</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">6</td>
<td align="right">22%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">K Pamphile</td>
<td>T</td>
<td align="right">7</td>
<td align="right">11%</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">5</td>
<td align="right">19%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">R Shepard</td>
<td>WR</td>
<td align="right">4</td>
<td align="right">6%</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">17</td>
<td align="right">63%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">R Herron</td>
<td>WR</td>
<td align="right">2</td>
<td align="right">3%</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">M Foster</td>
<td>LB</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">67</td>
<td align="right">100%</td>
<td align="right">1</td>
<td align="right">4%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">L David</td>
<td>LB</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">66</td>
<td align="right">99%</td>
<td align="right">4</td>
<td align="right">15%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">M Wright</td>
<td>SS</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">64</td>
<td align="right">96%</td>
<td align="right">1</td>
<td align="right">4%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">A Verner</td>
<td>CB</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">61</td>
<td align="right">91%</td>
<td align="right">5</td>
<td align="right">19%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">G McCoy</td>
<td>DT</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">61</td>
<td align="right">91%</td>
<td align="right">5</td>
<td align="right">19%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">J Banks</td>
<td>CB</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">57</td>
<td align="right">85%</td>
<td align="right">1</td>
<td align="right">4%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">W Gholston</td>
<td>DE</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">51</td>
<td align="right">76%</td>
<td align="right">3</td>
<td align="right">11%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">D Goldson</td>
<td>FS</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">47</td>
<td align="right">70%</td>
<td align="right">4</td>
<td align="right">15%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">M Johnson</td>
<td>DE</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">46</td>
<td align="right">69%</td>
<td align="right">5</td>
<td align="right">19%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">D Lansanah</td>
<td>LB</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">45</td>
<td align="right">67%</td>
<td align="right">11</td>
<td align="right">41%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">C McDonald</td>
<td>DT</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">44</td>
<td align="right">66%</td>
<td align="right">5</td>
<td align="right">19%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">B McDougald</td>
<td>SS</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">31</td>
<td align="right">46%</td>
<td align="right">18</td>
<td align="right">67%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">J Smith</td>
<td>DE</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">22</td>
<td align="right">33%</td>
<td align="right">5</td>
<td align="right">19%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">A Spence</td>
<td>DT</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">20</td>
<td align="right">30%</td>
<td align="right">2</td>
<td align="right">7%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">L English</td>
<td>DE</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">18</td>
<td align="right">27%</td>
<td align="right">5</td>
<td align="right">19%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">I Frey</td>
<td>CB</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">14</td>
<td align="right">21%</td>
<td align="right">8</td>
<td align="right">30%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">L Johnson</td>
<td>CB</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">8</td>
<td align="right">12%</td>
<td align="right">17</td>
<td align="right">63%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">T Fatinikun</td>
<td>DE</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">7</td>
<td align="right">10%</td>
<td align="right">13</td>
<td align="right">48%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">C Butler</td>
<td>CB</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">7</td>
<td align="right">10%</td>
<td align="right">12</td>
<td align="right">44%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">O Lemon</td>
<td>LB</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">1</td>
<td align="right">1%</td>
<td align="right">17</td>
<td align="right">63%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">D Fletcher</td>
<td>LB</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">21</td>
<td align="right">78%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">K Tandy</td>
<td>FS</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">17</td>
<td align="right">63%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">M Koenen</td>
<td>P</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">13</td>
<td align="right">48%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">M Thigpen</td>
<td>WR</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">10</td>
<td align="right">37%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">A DePaola</td>
<td>LS</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">9</td>
<td align="right">33%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">G Gilkey</td>
<td>C</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">5</td>
<td align="right">19%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">P Murray</td>
<td>K</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">5</td>
<td align="right">19%</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20">
<td height="20">M Masifilo</td>
<td>DT</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td align="right">4</td>
<td align="right">15%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
https://www.bucsnation.com/2014/11/3/7150307/dashon-goldson-is-losing-his-starting-job-and-more-from-the-snapSander Philipse2014-11-03T07:00:02-05:002014-11-03T07:00:02-05:00Evans breaks out
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3MnhudeI6_R-7bE4MsvAIPgQ4Rk=/0x0:4000x2667/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/43307240/458294156.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Jason Miller</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a new offensive star: Mike Evans.</p> <p>When the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bucsnation.com/">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</a> selected <span>Mike Evans</span> with the seventh overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft, they didn't expect an immediate impact -- it was obvious he was a bit of a raw prospect who didn't yet have a good grasp of all the intricacies of playing receiver at the NFL level. But seven games into his NFL career, Evans had a breakout game.</p>
<p>Against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.dawgsbynature.com/">Cleveland Browns</a>, Mike Evans went off. He caught seven passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 targets. He did that against <span>Joe Haden</span>, against <span>Justin Gilbert</span> and against <span>Buster Skrine</span> -- no one in Cleveland's secondary could stop the 6'5" receiver.</p>
<p>And those stats don't even do his full performance justice. Evans should have had another 23-yard catch in the fourth quarter, but the refs jobbed him and Lovie Smith for some reason didn't throw the challenge flag. And on at least two occasions Evans had nothing but green grass between him and the endzone when <span>Mike Glennon</span> underthrew him. A 200-yard game would not have been unjustified, here.</p>
<p><iframe frameborder="0" height="600" width="600" src="https://vine.co/v/OOHlQYvzrHe/embed/simple" class="vine-embed"></iframe>
<script charset="utf-8" src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js"></script>
</p>
<p>Mike Evans is going to be a star in this league -- he's playing better every week, and his combination of size, speed and excellent hands definitely translate to the NFL. It's just a shame that he's playing on such a terrible team.</p>
<p><i>To buy tickets, visit the <a rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" href="http://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=4292&awinaffid=173843&clickref=PreRec&p=http://www.ticketexchangebyticketmaster.com/NFL/" target="_blank">NFL Ticket Exchange</a>.</i></p>
<p>To buy tickets, visit the <a rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" href="http://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=4292&awinaffid=173843&clickref=PreRec&p=http://www.ticketexchangebyticketmaster.com/NFL/" target="_blank">NFL Ticket Exchange</a>.</p>
https://www.bucsnation.com/2014/11/3/7148567/mike-evans-has-breakout-game-against-brownsSander Philipse2014-11-02T16:11:44-05:002014-11-02T16:11:44-05:00Bucs lose, again
<figure>
<img alt="The better Aggie" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/G80YD-yYvVaJJx4R5fEXkoulj-E=/0x180:2660x1953/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/43287014/20141102_tcb_bk4_043.JPG.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>The better Aggie | Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With a failed late push, Cleveland walks away with the victory.</p> <p>In a day where the offense showed up for a while, <span>Bobby Rainey</span> had a great game while Mike Glenon was hit and miss.</p>
<p><span>Oniel Cousins</span> let his presence be known on the first play by allowing the defensive end to blow past him. He did not play terribly in the run, fortunately, yet if <span>Anthony Collins</span> doesn't return soon then Mike Glennon is going to be roughed up more than he has been.</p>
<p><span>Gerald McCoy</span> looked fantastic. He had his hand in three sacks, and the first of the game came after exploding over Cleveland's center, knocking him down, while laying the wood on Hoyer.</p>
<p><span>Mike Glennon's</span> turnovers were awful. On the first, <span>Mike Evans</span> beat <span>Joe Haden</span> on a deep post. Glennon under threw the ball, and Haden tipped it to <span>Donte Whitner</span> who returned it half of the field. Evans was behind the defense and could have gone for six, which made the pick even more upsetting. The worst was yet to come, though, as Glennon threw a pass about six feet over Evan's head into Tashaun Gibson's hands. <span>Vincent Jackson</span> took him down at about the ten with a diving swat at his legs, saving what could have been a big return.</p>
<p>Glennon had a few nice sideline throws to Evans. I thought Vincent Jackson was conspicuously absent for the most part and was struck with disbelief as he had almost ninety yards toward the end of the contest. Evans jumped out of the screen by playing extremely well with two touchdown grabs and over a hundred yards.</p>
<p>The special teams was miserable in several ways as it has been the entirety of the season. Tampa's first kick was blocked, and their second fell heartbreakingly short at 55 yards. When it was Cleveland's turn to kick from about the 8 yardline they used a hard count to get Tampa offsides for an easily converted 4th and short. This led to a <span>Terrance West</span> touchdown on a swing pass. On top of it all the <a href="https://www.dawgsbynature.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Browns</a> blocked a punt after a Tampa interception midway through the fourth, which led to another touchdown for Cleveland.</p>
<p><span>Alterraun Verner</span> disappointed this afternoon. After driving on a route and dropping an interception in the first quarter, he got burned a few times. On a 3rd and 16 in the fourth quarter even the announcers were discussing the advantages of a slant when you're backed up to your own endzone. Immediately, <span>Miles Austin</span> gets inside of Verner on a slant and runs about twenty yards for the first. Verner swiped for the ball instead of going for the tackle, which would have set up a fourth down. Finally, he gave up the go ahead score by chasing <span>Taylor Gabriel</span> upfield, just to let Gabriel get by him downfied for a touchdown.</p>
<p>It might be unfair to pick on Verner, because Tampa's passing defense as a whole has played poorly all season. When the pass rush doesn't move the quarterback it seems like first down is frequently the result. The draft come May should involve a safety and pass rusher.</p>
<p>On the bright side, Bobby Rainey payed very well. While unable to get into the endzone he eclipsed the century mark and caught a few passes for additional yardage. He also had an outstanding pickup in pass protection early on. <span>Charles Sims</span> is going to have to outplay Rainey to get a large portion of the carries.</p>
<p>With Tampa trailing by five Glennon hit Evans on an out route on a 4th and 1. The play was called back due to offensive pass interference, which looked an awful lot like Evans engaging in a five yard bump. The subsequent 4th and 11 went nowhere and the Browns ran out the clock.</p>
<p>Next week the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/atlanta-falcons" class="sbn-auto-link">Falcons</a> come to Tampa in what we can only hope is a better showing than their last meeting. We might get our first look at Charles Sims, and maybe even a division win.</p>
https://www.bucsnation.com/2014/11/2/7146813/buccaneers-vs-browns-final-score-17-22jarldg2014-11-02T14:25:01-05:002014-11-02T14:25:01-05:00Open Thread III
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/D7W3hKKj2PK5ydS-UXytCCLIqPY=/0x590:2672x2371/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/43274306/457903670.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Scott Iskowitz</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Here's the third open thread for today's game. Go Bucs!</p>
https://www.bucsnation.com/2014/11/2/7146197/buccaneers-vs-browns-open-thread-iiiSander Philipse2014-11-02T13:35:02-05:002014-11-02T13:35:02-05:00Open thread II
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GTS1xfynjYoxmu8VKycWmDwMOak=/200x0:3795x2397/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/43273994/20141026_lbm_mb2_213.JPG.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>David Manning-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Here's your second open thread for today's game. Go Bucs!</p>
https://www.bucsnation.com/2014/11/2/7146179/buccaneers-vs-browns-open-thread-iiSander Philipse2014-11-02T12:45:02-05:002014-11-02T12:45:02-05:00Open thread I
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/HAvYhclzfn42PxY3lE40i1szkx4=/0x710:2672x2491/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/43273906/455455242.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Scott Iskowitz</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Here's your open thread for the first quarter. Go Bucs!</p>
https://www.bucsnation.com/2014/11/2/7146165/buccaneers-vs-browns-first-quarter-open-threadSander Philipse2014-11-02T11:34:35-05:002014-11-02T11:34:35-05:00Inactives: Martin, Collins, Sims out
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-8jzw24lvpcc4_t27zUUJhWRW_E=/0x0:3156x2104/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/43274388/456279240.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Justin K. Aller</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won't have Doug Martin, nor Charles Sims today, while the Browns are without Jordan Cameron. </p> <p>The <a href="https://www.bucsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</a> don't have a lot of injuries today, but those they do have are fairly disastrous. Left tackle <span>Anthony Collins</span> and running back <span>Doug Martin</span> won't suit up, while the Bucs have also delayed running back <span>Charles Sims</span>' debut by another week.</p>
<p>With Collins out, <span>Oniel Cousins</span> is going to start at left tackle, which will not be pretty. <span>Bobby Rainey</span> should take over for Martin, as he's done earlier this season, with <span>Mike James</span> and <span>Marcus Thigpen</span> as the backups. The Bucs only have six inactives rather than the usual seven, because they only have 52 players on the roster right now.</p>
<p>On the bright side, rookie tackle <span>Kevin Pamphile</span> is active for the first time this season and could possibly take over for Cousins, if the latter can't hold up. I'm not sure that'll be an improvement, though.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the <a href="https://www.dawgsbynature.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Cleveland Browns</a> will be without tight end <span>Jordan Cameron</span> (concussion). Jim Dray will start for him.</p>
<p><b>Buccaneers inactives</b>: RB Doug Martin, RB Charles Sims, CB Brandon Dixon, LB Brandon Magee, G <span>Kadeem Edwards</span>, T Anthony Collins.</p>
<p><b>Browns inactives </b>(<a href="https://twitter.com/Mr_KevinJones/status/528948577922715650">via Kevin Jones</a>)<b>: </b>TE <span>Jordan Cameron</span>, DT Phil Taylor, CB Pierre Desir, OL Vinston Painter, DB Robert Nelson, RB Glenn Winston, WR Rodney Smith.</p>
https://www.bucsnation.com/2014/11/2/7146183/buccaneers-vs-browns-inactives-no-charles-sims-jordan-cameronSander Philipse