Bucs Nation - Titans vs. Buccaneers 2015: Marcus Mariota outplays Jameis WInstonA Tampa Bay Buccaneers Blog - Fire Those Cannons!https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48049/bucs-fave.png2015-09-17T07:12:10-04:00http://www.bucsnation.com/rss/stream/90599622015-09-17T07:12:10-04:002015-09-17T07:12:10-04:00Cosell: "Winston has a long way to go"
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<p>The Tampa Bay Buccaneers looked like a terrible team on Sunday, and Jameis Winston's debut was disappointing. While not unexpected for a rookie quarterback, Winston looked uncomfortable and not ready for the speed of the NFL. Greg Cosell of NFL Films saw the same thing, and he was concerned about the Bucs, noting that they would not be a good team this year, and Winston -- who he says has to speed up everything he does.</p>
<p>"I think their offensive line will get better," <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/fantasyguru/2015/09/17/matchup-podcast-week-2">Greg Cosell said on the FantasyGuru matchup podcast</a>. "Simply because they're starting two rookies and they're likely to improve. But at this point that's a bad mix for <span>Jameis Winston</span>, because <span>Jameis Winston</span> is not the kind of quarterback that can make an average to below-average offensive line better, because he's not a quick-footed guy. He needs to be protected well and effectively and if he's not, he's going to struggle."</p>
<p>Cosell noted that the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.musiccitymiracles.com/">Titans</a> defense moved around a lot to confuse the Bucs' offensive line, and did so successfully. Adjusting to stunts has been an issue for the Bucs for years on end and it's not exactly made better by starting two rookies, who are still adjusting to the speed and power of the NFL. That's an issue that a comfortable pocket quarterback can compensate for to an extent, but Winston's not at the point where he can do that.</p>
<p>"Jameis Winston is in a tough spot and he has a long way to go," <a href="http://stationcaster.com/stations/wgfx/media/mp3/Greg_Cosell_with_Midday_180-1442433861.mp3">Cosell said on the Midday 180 on 104.5 The Zone</a>. "He really does not have very good feet. He's got a tendency to gather at the top of his drop to get his feet under him, and that's really problematic when he's under center. He's not very comfortable or efficient moving in the pocket, he has to improve in that area. I think because the offensive line he's playing behind is not very good at all, now there's a concern as to whether he'll start to perceive pressure. He actually did that a few times in this game. He's got some issues that he needs to work on, that'll just be made worse as well by the team that he's on."</p>
<p>Winston's reaction to pressure was probably the biggest concern for the quarterback to come out of that game, especially so because that was a major strength of his in college and even in the team's second preseason game. I expect his problems in this game to mostly be an artifact of it being his first NFL regular season game, but there's a chance that this is a structural problem -- and that would make it very, very difficult for Winston to consistently succeed in the NFL.</p>
<p>The other major problem was his slow and sloppy feet. His footwork was, by and large, a mess and his mechanics continued to be sluggish. As we see so often, quarterbacks can work on their mechanics for months on end only to revert once they hit the field. It's just a really tough thing to fix, but it's something that Winston absolutely has to improve on if he wants to be a quality quarterback. Right now, he's sluggish dropping back and his transition from dropback to set up takes far too long, which hurts every other aspect of the passing game.</p>
<p>On the bright side, Winston showed some flashes of quick feet, good dropbacks and good mechanics. Only on a few plays, but the fact that he showed those flashes suggests that it's something he should be able to improve upon with time. Let's hope that improvement happens as quickly as possible.</p>
https://www.bucsnation.com/2015/9/17/9343753/greg-cosell-jameis-winston-has-a-long-way-to-goSander Philipse2015-09-15T12:34:54-04:002015-09-15T12:34:54-04:00Jameis Winston was studying film at 1:30 AM<h3 class="link-title"><a rel="nofollow" href="https://twitter.com/NFLTotalAccess/status/643554497856319490">Jameis Winston was studying film at 1:30&nbsp;AM</a></h3>
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https://www.bucsnation.com/2015/9/15/9331071/jameis-winston-was-studying-film-at-1-30-amSander Philipse2015-09-14T15:41:48-04:002015-09-14T15:41:48-04:00Tampa 2 is not the problem
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bucsnation.com/">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</a> got beat down by the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.musiccitymiracles.com/">Tennessee Titans</a>, and mostly by the defense's complete inability to stop <span>Marcus Mariota</span> from completing pass after pass after pass. Naturally, fans rushed to blame the supposedly outdated Tampa 2 -- something that's been said ever since the Bucs won their <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/super-bowl">Super Bowl</a>, even though every team has that coverage as a core concept in their playbook.</p>
<p>Yes, Lovie Smith's defense was absolutely horrendous. It wasn't horrendous because of the Tampa 2, though, because the plays on which the Bucs got beat were generally not the plays where they were running that concept, <a href="https://storify.com/sgw94/please-stfu-about-tampa-2">as Stephen White pointed out repeatedly yesterday</a>.</p>
<p>As hard as it is to believe, the problem isn't that the scheme is poorly designed. The Tampa 2 could have stopped a lot of what happened yesterday, but it requires players to execute their tasks meticulously and the front four to consistently get pressure. The Bucs couldn't do either yesterday -- and that's why they got beat. Yes, it would be so much easier if the Tampa 2 was the problem. Then they could just stop playing that coverage and be fine. Unfortunately, easy fixes are rarely the correct answer in the NFL.</p>
<p>A quick refresher on what the Tampa 2 actually is. It's not any play where the team is playing two safeties. Although Cover 2 (distinct from Tampa 2) is generally used to refer to any play with two deep safeties, that can happen with a variety of coverages: you can have man coverage underneath a two-deep shell, or a zone coverage that is not a Tampa 2. You can blitz underneath a two-deep shell, or you can rush just three players. Teams drop back two safeties all the time, and it tells you very little about the overall responsibilities in the secondary.</p>
<p>Tampa 2, on the other hand, is one specific coverage: two deep safeties, four pass rushers, four shallow zone defenders, and a middle linebacker dropping deep down the middle of the field to take away the deep third -- a soft spot in a "normal" Cover 2 zone. This is roughly what it looks like, tough you may want to check out the basic explanation <a href="http://www.bucsnation.com/2010/5/12/1466315/tampa-2-defense-explained">by our Lee Caswell</a> for more in-depth information.</p>
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<p>The Bucs didn't play that coverage on the first big pass they gave up -- on that one, they sent five pass-rushers (including <span>Kwon Alexander</span>) and had no one dropping down the deep middle. On the first touchdown they gave up they had two deep safeties, but they didn't have the middle linebacker dropping to the deep middle -- if they had, they wouldn't have given up the touchdown.</p>
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<p>That happened throughout the game. A key pass to <span>Justin Hunter</span> on the second drive came against what looks like a single-high safety with man coverage underneath. <span>Kwon Alexander's</span> near-pick came on a big blitz. The completion that got the Titans in position to score their third touchdown came against man coverage. On and on it goes: the Bucs aren't just playing Tampa 2 (or even mostly), and they're not getting beat because the Tampa 2 is outdated.</p>
<p>Of course, part of the reason for that is that no one plays Tampa 2 on every snap and no one ever did. <a href="http://www.bucsnation.com/xs-and-os/2014/7/2/5859116/breaking-down-the-lovie-smith-defense-for-the-2014-buccaneers-not">Leo Howell did a terrific story on the Tampa 2 last year</a>, interviewing former Lovie Smith player <span>Matt Bowen</span> to understand what makes it work. And the key point from that story is that it's not about just playing Tampa 2 coverage, but about a mentality: limit big plays and force quarterbacks to dink-and-dunk their way down the field. Eventually, they'll make mistakes on those dinks and dunks -- and that's where you capitalize.</p>
<p>So how did the Titans beat the Buccaneers over and over again? Well, they got the ball out quickly -- generally well before the pass rush could ever become a factor. When they did need to drop back further, they kept in extra blockers and successfully gave Mariota time to look for an open receiver. But the biggest problem for Tampa Bay's defenders was their complete inability to not bite on run-action over and over and over again -- it doesn't matter what coverage you're playing if your coverage players are stuck on the line of scrimmage. That's something Lovie Smith is going to have to fix immediately, or they're going to get beat that way every. single. week.</p>
https://www.bucsnation.com/2015/9/14/9325879/the-tampa-2-defense-is-not-the-problem-for-the-buccaneersSander Philipse2015-09-14T14:56:07-04:002015-09-14T14:56:07-04:00This is how easily the Bucs' defense got beat yesterday<h3 class="link-title"><a rel="nofollow" href="https://twitter.com/nfldraftscout/status/643441817061560320">This is how easily the Bucs' defense got beat&nbsp;yesterday</a></h3>
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https://www.bucsnation.com/2015/9/14/9325829/this-is-how-easily-the-bucs-defense-got-beat-yesterdaySander Philipse2015-09-14T08:41:29-04:002015-09-14T08:41:29-04:00DLT's Diatribes - Things Change, But its the Same
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<p>I watch the game tape so you don't have to.</p> <p>It took about 8:11 for the hope of the 2015 <a href="https://www.bucsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Buccaneers</a> season to go down the tubes. There's no way around it and few words to say about it, although you guys know me, I'll find plenty of words.</p>
<p>Disgusting was a word I used quite often during the ball game yesterday. It didn't change much in the re-watch.</p>
<h3><b>Pro Ready?</b></h3>
<p>We debated for months about Winston vs. Mariota. The Pro-Winston crowd talked about how it would take Mariota quite some time to adjust to the NFL while <span>Jameis Winston</span> was Pro-Ready. Well, we know now that this assement was complete and utter baloney.</p>
<p>Mariota looked like he was carving through the University of Colorado as the read-option befuddled the Buccaneers (more on that in a second). He was sensational, accurate, poised and did most of it from the pocket - everything Winston was supposed to be.</p>
<p>Meanwhile Winston, perhaps seeing the ghosts of the pre-season, held the ball too long, made ill advised throws, flashed a few plays of brilliance but for the most part looked confused and struggled against the <a href="https://www.musiccitymiracles.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Titans</a> defense.</p>
<p>In other words, he looked like a rookie that wasn't quite ready for prime time.</p>
<p>One game certainly doesn't make a career. <span>Andrew Luck</span> looked dreadful in his first outing with the <a href="https://www.stampedeblue.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Colts</a>. RG3 looked like a superstar in his first game. So let's not crown Mariota or put the bust label on Winston yet.</p>
<p>Teams will adjust to the read option and Mariota will have his rough days just as Jameis will get more comfortable and have his great ones.</p>
<h3>What the Hell Lovie?</h3>
<p>You knew that one of the worst coaches in the NFL, Ken Whisenhunt, wasn't stupid enough not to run elements of the Oregon offense. We knew it. The Titans fans knew it. Hell, the guy in the barber shop down the street knew it. So how is it that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach and defensive guru Lovie Smith, with 5 months to prepare his defense for this offense, looked stumped and befuddled?</p>
<p>How are his vaunted linebacking core, considered the deepest and most talented on the team getting sucked in each and every time Mariota ran the read option? The Bucs seemed so terrifed of Mariota beating them with his legs that they forgot that he's got a great accurate arm, too.</p>
<p><span>Lavonte David</span> was the worst offender, overplaying and getting out of position multiple times. He had a horrible game and it hurt the team badly.</p>
<p><span>Gerald McCoy</span> was invisible with the exception of one play the entire ballgame. <span>Bishop Sankey</span>, who never rushed for over 70 yards in his career, averaged 6.4 yards a carry on the Bucs.</p>
<p>The amazing thing? Its not like the Titans offense rolled up 500 yards. They just managed 309 total yards but everything they did seemed to end up in the Buccaneers end zone.</p>
<p>Tampa Bay had their chances to turn the game around. <span>Kwon Alexander</span> nearly picked off Mariota (and would still be running), the near fumble in the end zone, the fourth and 1 that Whisenhunt smartly challenged. Things broke bad for the Bucs in every which way.</p>
<p>Or, in other words, a typical Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.</p>
<p>The bottom line though is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense - rebuilt in Lovie's image - allowed a rookie QB to post a perfect game against them. They allowed him to set an NFL record for touchdown passes in the first half. They did their rookie QB no favors by putting him down 7-0, then 21-0, then 42-7. Jameis never had a chance to compete. He was down 7-0 before his first NFL play. He made a mistake, putting the Bucs down 14-0, but then the defense compounded by getting sliced and diced for a 21-0 score.</p>
<p>That wasn't all Winston. That's you're new and "improved" Bucs defense. Gerald McCoy talked and talked all off-season about how he was tired of losing and this season was going to be different. Then he fought Lavonte David for space on a milk carton.</p>
<p>You tell Jameis to just be a guy - don't lead - but then this is the type of leadership you're giving? Gerald, why don't you shut up and hand the keys to Jameis because you've been a leader for some of the worst years in this franchises history. That's on your watch.</p>
<p>This was a disgraceful performance in front of a sold out home crowd. All Bucs fans wanted was something to cheer about and you jabronis killed that in 8 minutes.</p>
<h3>It's Just One Game is Bullcrap</h3>
<p>Its overreaction Monday and fans freak out from Week One. Many teams recover from week one disappointments to have good seasons. Heck, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/super-bowl" class="sbn-auto-link">the Super Bowl</a> Champion <a href="https://www.patspulpit.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Patriots</a> got destroyed Week One last season 33-20 by Miami. So many are saying calm down, this is only one game.</p>
<p>Only, it isn't just one game. It's 17 under Lovie Smith. The Bucs have lost 15 of their 17 games under this coaching staff. Oh for the salad days of Raheem Morris and Greg Schiano! It will take Lovie 12 wins to match Raheem's 14 game win total after two seasons. It will take 9 wins to Match Schiano's not good enough 11 win total.</p>
<p>It the third time in 17 games the Bucs got hung with a 40 burger. And this wasn't by the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/atlanta-falcons" class="sbn-auto-link">Falcons</a> offensive juggernaut. It wasn't the <a href="https://www.canalstreetchronicles.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Saints</a> or the <a href="https://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Ravens</a> or the Patriots or the Colts. It was the freaking Tennessee Titans starting a rookie QB on the road. Oh by the way, its the Bucs 10th consecutive home loss. The NFL record (14) is within striking distance now (surprisingly not owned by the Bucs but by the <a href="https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Cowboys</a> and <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/st-louis-rams" class="sbn-auto-link">Rams</a>).</p>
<p>Lovie Smith was outcoached once again and by a coach with a career 47-65 record. They were curb stomped in their own house by a team that lost a tie-breaker from the number one overall pick. Word is that Whisenhunt was enamored by Winston as much as Lovie and Jason Licht were and had they had the number one pick, Winston would have been their guy, too.</p>
<p>Titans fans rejoice that the Bucs threw the second half against the Saints in Week 17 last year saving the Titans coaching staff from themselves.</p>
<p>5 months to prepare for this game. 5 months and this is what they gave us. So I don't want to hear today about how it's just one game. Is the season over? No, of course not. But if you get pimp slapped by the Tennessee Titans in your own crib, who are you going to beat?</p>
<h3><b>Can't Blame the O-line This Week</b></h3>
<p>Jameis said they were expecting a lot more pressure and didn't get it. Offensive Coordinator Dirk Koetter kept tight ends and backs in to block to protect their quarterback but the Titans pass rush really wasn't getting to Winston. The three sacks the o-line surrendered, one was on the o-line, one was a coverage sack and the third Jameis gifted by tripping over offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus. With only two or three receivers running routes and the Titans dropping into coverage, it forced Winston into tucking the ball and running, holding it too long and making tough throws into tight windows.</p>
<p>He did okay but unfortunately threw some passes he'd like to have back, his first NFL pass being one of them. These are the things Jameis will learn he simply cannot do and be successful in the NFL. The Pick 6 was a devastating blow to the Bucs hopes. On his second pick, he's never seen a defensive lineman get cut, then have the athletic ability to get up, sky for his lob pass and pick it off. This isn't Wake Forrest.</p>
<p>Jameis found a chemistry with ASJ we hoped would develop. He should have gotten his third touchdown pass in garbage time, but Lovie Smith didn't challenge the first Jackson TD catch in the back of the end zone (it looked like Jackson got one foot in and dotted the I with the other foot before the heel hit out) and the questionable offensive pass interference call on his second touchdown catch of the drive (we've seen that type of arm bar a million times without a call). He also had at least two more ints dropped by Titan defenders.</p>
<p>One thing the offensive line (and receivers) struggled with were penalties. Many solid gains were wiped out by holding, false starts, illegal formation and other stupid penalties that they should have gotten out of their system in the pre-season.</p>
<h3>Glimmers of Hope</h3>
<p>There wasn't much that went right on Sunday but a couple positives from the game. First, Austin Sefarian-Jenkins finally looked like the man beast the Bucs hoped they drafted in 2014. Once Jameis started finding his massive tight end, the Titans struggled to keep him in check. On the day ASJ finished with 5 receptions, 110 yards and 2 touchdowns. His 41 yard score was just pure strength of will.</p>
<p><span>Doug Martin</span> built upon his pre-season numbers, averaging 4.7 yards a carry and rushing for 52 yards. As they game got out of hand, the Bucs smartly shut Martin down, saving him for another day. <span>Charles Sims</span> followed with is typical 2.4 yards a carry day and <span>Bobby Rainey</span> did the best he could in his limited opportunities.</p>
<p>New punter <span>Jacob Schum</span> did a nice job, averaging 47.0 yards a punt.</p>
<h3>Final Thoughts</h3>
<p>It took a long time to get here. We came in hoping this would be the season the Bucs will turn it around. It still might be but right now we need to focus on hoping the team just gets a bit better. One play at time. One drive at a time. One quarter and one game at a time.</p>
<p>The Bucs will have better days and hopefully quite a few this season. Jameis will have better days. Lots of work to do and not a lot of time to do it. The Saints are pissed off and waiting for the Bucs next week.</p>
<p>Hopefully the Bucs will be more New Orleans ready than they were Tennessee Ready.</p>
https://www.bucsnation.com/2015/9/14/9322159/dlts-diatribes-more-things-change-the-more-they-stay-the-sameJCDeLaTorre2015-09-14T06:00:03-04:002015-09-14T06:00:03-04:00Lovie Smith's performance was unacceptable
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<p>The <a href="https://www.bucsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</a> were outclassed, outplayed and outcoached at every level by the <a href="https://www.musiccitymiracles.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Tennessee Titans</a> yesterday. As a reminder: the Titans went 2-14 last year. This was not some unstoppable juggernaut the Bucs faced -- just a team coming up from the same depths the Bucs are rising from. Which makes the Bucs' performance even more pitiful.</p>
<p>All of that is on Lovie Smith. Not just because as the head coach, he's ultimately responsible for what the Bucs trot out there, but because his area of expertise was where the Bucs failed the worst: on defense. The team stopped <span>Marcus Mariota</span> just twice, allowing him to drive down the field for a touchdown on five of his seven drives. Coverage breakdowns were a constant, and none of Lovie Smith's hand-picked players played up to snuff. In short: the team looked completely unprepared. For a rookie quarterback!</p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">General consensus among <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bucs?src=hash">#Bucs</a> defense: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Titans?src=hash">#Titans</a> didn't do anything surprising. Mariota gets the ball out quicker than expected. Out-executed</p>
— Matt Baker (@MBakerTBTimes) <a href="https://twitter.com/MBakerTBTimes/status/643214961574060032">September 14, 2015</a>
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<p>One big point of emphasis this offseason was to start fast. The Bucs couldn't have started more slowly if they'd tried, both in this game and for the season. The fact that that the team couldn't live up to the head coach's main goal for the season is a sign of bad coaching, but it was far from the only one. The team gave up 12 penalties for 97 yards. They forced only one takeaway. They blew coverages and couldn't get anything done on offense. They just did not look ready for the NFL season to start.</p>
<p>Ultimately, games like this are how coaches get fired. Lovie Smith can't let this happen too many more times if he wants to keep his job. But more importantly perhaps, games like this are how you lose fans. Who in the stands will feel encouraged about spending money on this team? How many more sellouts will they see this season if they put this kind of performance out there?</p>
<p>Lovie Smith failed to prepare his team last night, as he did so often last year. And that had better change quickly.</p>
https://www.bucsnation.com/2015/9/14/9320673/lovie-smiths-performance-was-unacceptableSander Philipse2015-09-13T19:52:05-04:002015-09-13T19:52:05-04:00Don't overreact to Winston's performance
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<p><span>Jameis Winston</span> had a terrible start to his NFL career against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.musiccitymiracles.com/">Tennessee Titans</a>. Not only was his first pass an interception, it was returned for an interception in probably the ugliest loss of Winston's entire football career. He completed just 16 of 33 passes for 210 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, was sacked four times and fumbled twice -- though both were recovered by the Bucs.</p>
<p>Winston also looked uncomfortable in the pocket, sometimes retreating from the rush rather than stepping up and at, sometimes holding onto the ball far too long, and sometimes taking off to run far too quickly. He just didn't look ready for the NFL or the Titans defense, and he arguably played even worse than his stats suggested.</p>
<p>And despite all of that, this is not something to panic over. Rookie quarterbacks play poorly incredibly frequently, and this is actually more common for pocket quarterbacks than it is for mobile ones. <span>Peyton Manning</span> and <span>Andrew Luck</span> both started their careers throwing one touchdown to three interceptions, for instance. Meanwhile, <span>Robert Griffin III</span> was close to perfect in his debut with not turnovers, two touchdowns and 320 yards on just 26 attempts. Also this:</p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Before Winston, the last QB to throw a pick-six on his first career pass was Brett Favre.</p>
— Joe Kania (@JoeKaniaBucs) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeKaniaBucs/status/643212627028611072">September 14, 2015</a>
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<p>The NFL is a different beast from college, and it takes time to fully adjust -- even if watching <span>Marcus Mariota</span> today, you'd think it was an easy transition. One game doesn't say all that much, and comparing quarterbacks who faced vastly different defenses really doesn't tell you anything.</p>
<p>The Bucs didn't do much to help Winston, for instance giving him few easy throws and asking him to do quite a bit throughout the game -- undoubtedly because of the Titans' defensive performance. Contrast that with <span>Marcus Mariota</span>, who was given easy throw after easy throw as the Bucs defense seemingly couldn't cover anyone.</p>
<p>That's not to say that Winston played well nor to excuse his play. He played poorly and made a lot of rookie mistakes. But that's what rookies do, especially in their first starts, and it says very little about the rest of his NFL career.</p>
https://www.bucsnation.com/2015/9/13/9320607/jameis-winstons-poor-start-is-perfectly-normal-for-a-rookieSander Philipse2015-09-13T19:31:17-04:002015-09-13T19:31:17-04:00Bucs embarrassed by Titans
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bucsnation.com/">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</a> were absolutely destroyed by the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.musiccitymiracles.com/">Tennessee Titans</a>, who won 42-14 in one of the ugliest games in recent memory for the Bucs -- which is saying something for a team that held the first overall pick this year, was coached by Greg Schiano for two years, and saw the entire team collapse under Raheem Morris in 2011.</p>
<p>Where <span>Marcus Mariota</span> looked sharp and collected against a terrible defense, <span>Jameis Winston</span> looked unprepared to handle the NFL level in his debut. The number two pick clearly outplayed the number one pick, though Mariota faced far easier circumstances than Winston did in this game. It's far too early to say anything about either player's career, but we can certainly say that Winston got outplayed in this individual game.</p>
<p>For the Bucs, this game was a total disaster on every level, and they'll hope and argue that this is an anomaly -- the result of players adjusting to their new roles, a new defense, a new league -- anything. But this may be a sign of things to come given the level of play -- a level of play we've seen before over the past years, and it led to a disastrous season every time.</p>
<p>With the Bucs traveling to New Orleans, this won't get any easier for them next week. If they thought Marcus Mariota presented a challenge for their defense, wait until Drew Brees gets a hold of them. And if they think Dick LeBeau is a blitzing coordinator, they haven't faced a Ryan defense. They'd better get it together quickly.</p>
<p>Here are the main takeaways from the game.</p>
<h3>Jameis Winston wasn't ready for this game</h3>
<p>Jameis Winston never looked comfortable in this game. He started the game with a pre-determined pick six and added a terrible overthrow and while he didn't quite sink to those depths for the rest of the game, he was clearly not ready for the Tennessee Titans. From his first throw to his last, he looked overwhelmed and uncomfortable. He didn't react well to pressure, backing up instead of stepping up to avoid the rush, but he didn't react well to a lack of pressure either, choosing to run early or just hold onto the ball forever until late in the second half.</p>
<p>Winston was sacked three times, and chose to run on a scramble six more times. He completed 16 of 33 passes for 210 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. And he played worse than that statline suggests. Sure, he didn't have Mike Evans, but his problems went way beyond missing his top receiver.</p>
<p>Winston did look better toward the end of the game, though that mostly happened with some backups on the field for Tennessee. Still, he did throw two touchdowns on the day, and actually had another two taken off the board through no fault of his own. Then again, he also threw another couple of near-interceptions on the final couple of drives as well.</p>
<p>It's important to remember that this is just one game. It's not the end of the world -- it's just a rookie who's not ready. We saw that in the first preseason game, too, and Winston was much improved in the scecond and third game. Winston often struggled early in games in college. And he turned it around plenty of times. No one game is the final word on any quarterback's career.</p>
<p>It certainly is a bad start, though.</p>
<h3>The Bucs defense is terrible</h3>
<p>Remember when we talked about how the Buccaneers defense would be good this year? They finished last year strong! They added talent! <span>Alterraun Verner</span> and <span>Johnthan Banks</span> are going to have a great season! Sure, they don't have quality edge rushers, but they've got so much talent at defensive tackle they'll get something going, right?</p>
<p>Reality bites.</p>
<p>Four touchdowns given up on five drives in the first half. Lovie Smith was embarrassed by Ken Whisenhunt and a rookie quarterback, and the Tampa Bay defense looked completely unprepared. The only defensive players to do anything in the first half were <span>Kwon Alexander</span> and Gerald McCoy. This defense almost looked as bad as it ever has since Monte Kiffin left town, and that's saying something. And most of that is on Lovie Smith, who took over play-calling and got more involved with the defense this year.</p>
<p>Here's a fun fact: <span>Marcus Mariota</span> put up a perfect passer rating in his NFL debut, completing 13 of 16 passes for 209 yards and four touchdowns. He was given rest for the entire fourth quarter for Zach Mettenberger. That's how bad this got.</p>
<h3>Tampa 2 isn't the problem, but Lovie Smith got schooled</h3>
<p>The Tennessee Titans came out and absolutely destroyed Lovie Smith's defense on the first two drives of the game, and none of it required Marcus Mariota to do anything special. He was just making easy throws to wide-open players, not being asked to do too much and getting some decent protection. That was all Ken Whisenhunt out-scheming a mostly healthy Tampa Bay defense in fifteen different ways. They just couldn't stop anything the Titans tried until the third drive, and then they got schooled all the same on the fourth and fifth drives.</p>
<p>Note that most of those easy throws didn't actually come against Cover 2 variants, though, <a href="https://twitter.com/sgw94/status/643178271807533056">as Stephen White pointed out repeatedly on Twitter</a>. The Bucs got beat playing man, playing Cover 3 and playing Cover 1. This is not a case of the Tampa 2 being outdated. It's just Lovie Smith getting completely outcoached, down after down. That's probably worse.</p>
<h3>Seferian-Jenkins is ready to break out</h3>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is the best play in Bucs history. <a href="http://t.co/vvKmSbSqzp">pic.twitter.com/vvKmSbSqzp</a></p>
— SB Nation GIF (@SBNationGIF) <a href="https://twitter.com/SBNationGIF/status/643169487584235520">September 13, 2015</a>
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<p>There weren't many silver linings in the first half, but Seferian-Jenkins' play was one. In addition to that excellent one-handed catch there, he caught <span>Jameis Winston's</span> first two NFL touchdown passes, breaking away from defenders on the second. He didn't drop a ball all game long and ended with five catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns, easily the best player on offense for Tampa Bay.</p>
<p>Seferian-Jenkins can be a very valuable tight end, as long as the Bucs give him opportunities. So far so good.</p>
<h3>Doug Martin is back to form</h3>
<p><span>Doug Martin's</span> participation on offense was limited by the massive deficit the Bucs faced, forcing them to pass over and over again, but when the game was within reach he looked like his rookie self. Martin had 48 yards on 10 carries in the first half -- the Bucs just couldn't keep giving him the ball.</p>
<h3>The offensive line wasn't horrible</h3>
<p>The Bucs' offensive line wasn't exactly good, with far too many plays where Winston faced pressure. <span>Jurrell Casey</span> in particular had his way with Tampa Bay's interior offensive line. But it wasn't the reason why the Bucs offense was terrible either. None of Winston's interceptions happened on plays where he was pressured, and Winston had some time on most dropbacks. The offensive struggles were mostly about Jameis Winston adjusting to the NFL level -- which is to be expected, really.</p>
<h3>Penalties are back</h3>
<p>There's one exception to the offensive line not being the problem: penalties. The Bucs had a whopping 12 penalties for 97 yards on the game, most of those coming on the offensive line. That's something that has to get cleaned up, and it has to get cleaned up quickly.</p>
<h3>Bucs fans are done being patient</h3>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="und">BOOO <a href="http://t.co/ahzsL7tFBS">pic.twitter.com/ahzsL7tFBS</a></p>
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) <a href="https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/643184638769410049">September 13, 2015</a>
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<p>I think this is the first time I've seen a Bucs team booed during the season opener. These fans sold out this game, have been through four miserable years, haven't seen a playoff game in almost a decade and have every right to be angry. They're done being patient. And they're done sitting through blowout losses, especially at home. The team hasn't won a regular season in Tampa since 2013.</p>
<p>If this keeps up, we might be seeing Greg Schiano levels of disgust.</p>
<h3>Bucs suffered a few injuries</h3>
<p><span>Danny Lansanah</span> left the game in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury that may turn out to be serious -- that was a little unclear. Other than him, <span>Major Wright</span> had to leave the game with a hip injury, while <span>Bruce Carter</span> left with a rib injury. Neither of those injuries looked overly serious, though it might keep them out for a few games. We'll have more details on that as soon as they're available.</p>
<h3>What's next?</h3>
<p>The Tampa Bay Buccaneers travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints next week, then head to Houston for the Texans.</p>
https://www.bucsnation.com/2015/9/13/9319963/titans-vs-buccaneers-final-score-mariota-destroys-lovie-smithsSander Philipse