Bucs Nation - Buccaneers vs. Saints 2015: Tampa Bay bounces back with a winA Tampa Bay Buccaneers Blog - Fire Those Cannons!https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48049/bucs-fave.png2015-09-23T07:25:50-04:00http://www.bucsnation.com/rss/stream/91040922015-09-23T07:25:50-04:002015-09-23T07:25:50-04:00Lovie Smith's conservative playcalling was correct
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<p>The <a href="https://www.bucsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</a> beat the <a href="https://www.canalstreetchronicles.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">New Orleans Saints</a> in a nailbiter on Sunday. It was their first win since November of last year and it was deservedly celebrated, but the win was unreasonably close given the team's dominance through three quarters: they led 23-7 at the end of the third quarter, but <span>Drew Brees</span> came awfully close to tying or even winning the game in the final seconds.</p>
<p>That didn't happen -- the Bucs left with a 26-19 win -- but they made it much more difficult on themselves than needed. Obviously, two unnecessary fumbles contributed -- but the team's conservative playcalling has been blamed as well. In essence, the Bucs started milking the clock at the start of the fourth quarter when they could have been trying to at least add a few more points to the board -- and if it wasn't for a few lucky bounces, they could have easily lost this game.</p>
<p>In the fourth quarter, the Bucs had 11 first- and second-down place, and ran the ball on all but two of them. Those runs into nine-man fronts resulted in a predictably low total of nine yards, no first downs and a lost fumble. That's an abysmal result, and the only positive to come out of those plays was that they kept the clock moving. In the mean time, they gave the Saints a whopping four opportunities to score -- that New Orleans only managed to come out of that with six points was as much a result of their own ineptitude as it was the consequences of the Bucs' defensive performance.</p>
<p>To make matters worse, the Bucs didn't even try to let their offense win the game when they had a third-down immediately after the two-minute warning: <span>Doug Martin</span> was given the ball on third-and-11, the Bucs preferring to take four seconds and a timeout off the clock, rather than allowing <span>Jameis Winston</span> to do what he was drafted to do.</p>
<p>I thought Lovie Smith had made a clear mistake in playing so conservatively, but after checking the data, my gut reaction was probably wrong.</p>
<h3>Lovie Smith is very conservative at the end of games</h3>
<p>Lovie Smith has a history of throwing away games with conservative playcalling -- which is odd, because Lovie Smith really isn't all that conservative <a href="http://www.bucsnation.com/2015/5/16/8615861/lovie-smith-isnt-as-passive-as-hes-reputed-to-be" style="background-color: #ffffff;">when it comes to fourth down decisions</a>.</p>
<p>Last year, Lovie Smith ran the ball on 12 of 17 fourth-quarter first- and second down plays when the Bucs were leading by two scores or less, excluding kneels. In his career with the <a href="https://www.windycitygridiron.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Chicago Bears</a>, he did so on 367 of 505 plays, or 72.7% of the time. Over that same time period, the NFL as a whole ran the ball 70.2% of the time in those situations. And that percentage has been declining steadily: since 2013, it's dropped to just 67.9%.</p>
<p>Compare Lovie Smith to the most successful coaches out there, and it looks even worse. Bill Belichick has run the ball 60.6% of the time in that situation since 2010, Mike McCarthy 62.7% of the time over that period, Tom Coughlin 69.3% of the time, John Harbaugh 71.8% of the time, Sean Payton (and temporary replacements Aaron Kromer and Joe Vitt) 56.1% of the time, Pete Carroll 70.7% of the time (2011-now) Bruce Arians 71.7% of the time (2013-now) and Jim Harbaugh 74.8% of the time (2011-14). Only Jim Harbaugh is more conservative than Lovie Smith's record, and he had dominant defenses to fall back on as well as a quarterback with a tendency to run successfully -- neither of which the Bucs have right now.</p>
<p>Simply put: Lovie Smith is far more conservative than both the average and the most successful coaches in the NFL.</p>
<h3>But evidence says being conservative is not a bad thing</h3>
<p>Does this really correlate with losses? A quick survey says not really: teams rushed the ball on first or second down while leading by a single score in the final five minutes of the game over the past three years (excluding kneels) in 215 games. They won 183 of those games, or 85% of the time. That's pretty good -- and teams won 94 of the 114 times that they passed the ball in the same situation or 82% of the time. That's probably too small of a sample to conclude that passes are worse than runs, but it is enough to say that running probably isn't worse than passing there -- taking time off the clock in the final stages of the game is definitely valuable in and of itself. If we look at total plays instead of games, we come to similar numbers: 88% wins when rushing, 82% when passing.</p>
<p>Similarly, the decision to run Doug Martin into a pile on third down may not have been wrong. Teams won 91 of 118 games where they gave their quarterback the opportunity to win the ball game on third-and-three or more in the final five minutes while holding a one-score lead, or 77%of the time. Compared to the 88% of the time teams won when they ran the ball in that situation (89 of 102 games). Oncee again, there's no real evidence that running is better than passing, and there's even a small bit of evidence that the reverse may be true. In this case, the old-school, conservative playcalling may actually have been right.</p>
<p>There's one argument left: that the Bucs were right to be so conservative over the last few minutes, but that they should have been more aggressive early in the fourth quarter. But even there the evidence is mixed. Certainly, they ran the ball on three of their four plays prior to regaining the ball at 7:15, when they milked four minutes off the clock. But they were only four plays -- and the one time they dropped back to pass, Winston made the rookie mistake of scrambling into defenders and losing the ball.</p>
<p>And looking at the NFL history of wins when running the ball in the fourth quarter, the evidence in favor of running the ball is fairly strong, too. On 1478 first- or second down runs while leading by two scores or less with more than five minutes remaining in the game, teams won 1678 times or 88% of the time (356 of 429 games or 83%). When passing, they won 912 of 1087 plays or 84% (317 of 388 games or 82%). Once again, it seems that rushing is correlated with winning more than passing is.</p>
<p>Now it should be said that none of this is definitive proof of anything. There are several biases here, including play selection (teams with weak defenses are probably more likely to try to win the game on offense than eat clock) and these are perhaps not the very best measures to be answering this question. But they do give us a clear indication that the general distaste for running out the clock isn't really supported by data.</p>
<h3>Lovie Smith probably did the right thing</h3>
<p>This data tells us that in general, there's nothing wrong with playing conservatively when leading at the end of a game -- but that doesn't mean it's the right call in every specific situation. In football, statistics can give us general guidelines but can't tell us exactly what to do -- every situation is unique and individual variables can alter the correct path to take.</p>
<p>That said, while I didn't like the conservative playcalling -- perhaps as a result of seeing the Bucs give away game after game doing so -- upon reflection, there's actually very little reason to believe it was the wrong way to go about winning this game. The fact that the Bucs' defense had been playing well, that they had a rookie quarterback known for taking a few too many risks, that that rookie quarterback had fumbled the ball thanks to a decision to run unnecessarily -- all of those factors only point in the direction of being more conservative, not less so.</p>
<p>In other words: Lovie Smith's conservative playcalling probably didn't cost the Bucs the game.</p>
https://www.bucsnation.com/2015/9/23/9371723/buccaneers-saints-playcalling-lovie-smith-conservativeSander Philipse2015-09-22T16:05:28-04:002015-09-22T16:05:28-04:00Bucs gave up just four pressures
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bucsnation.com/">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</a> played much better football against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.canalstreetchronicles.com/">New Orleans Saints</a> than they did against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.musiccitymiracles.com/">Tennessee Titans</a>, and one place where that showed up was the offensive line, specifically the pass protection. According to Pro Football Focus, the Bucs gave up just four pressures all game long -- a significant improvement over last week, when Winston seemed to be under duress every other play.</p>
<p>There are several reasons for this. For one, <span>Jameis Winston</span> was a lot more comfortable and composed -- his footwork and mechanics were cleaner, he did a better job of stepping up in the pocket to help out his offensive, and he got rid of the ball more quickly. Plus, the Saints just don't have that many good pass rushers -- Cameron Jordan's really the only capable one. Finally, the team only asked Winston to drop back 30 times, compared to 41 against the Titans.</p>
<p>But the offensive line played better, too. Specifically, they were much better in picking up movement and the blitz. Either <span>Jameis Winston</span> was more on point with his recognition and protection calls, or the linemen got better at communicating among themselves -- likely, it was a bit of both. In addition, the Saints didn't blitz as much as expected, perhaps hoping that Winston would throw some balls into coverage. That didn't happen.</p>
<p>This improved performance doesn't mean the team's offensive line problems are fixed. <span>Ali Marpet</span> got beat too quickly on a couple of plays, including the touchdown throw to Vincent Jackson. Joe Hawley also struggled when he got in the game, and <span>Logan Mankins</span> is lowly continuing his decline -- but all of those can be compensated for with quality communication and some help.</p>
<p>One player the Bucs can't compensate for adequately is <span>Donovan Smith</span>, who has looked out of sorts in his first two games after a solid preseason. He showed some improvement in game two, especially as the game wore on, but he has somewhat slow feet and worse, a tendency to stop them and turn his hips far too quickly when players threaten the edge -- that has led to him being beat easily on subsequent inside moves. He's going to have to fix those issues or sooner or later, <span>Kevin Pamphile</span> will be the better option at left tackle. He's just a rookie, though, so some patience is certainly warrant.</p>
<p>Still, the offensive line's second game was relatively encouraging. This week, the real test: <span>J.J. Watt</span> and company come to town.</p>
https://www.bucsnation.com/2015/9/22/9374171/buccaneers-offensive-line-gave-up-just-four-pressures-against-theSander Philipse2015-09-22T14:25:28-04:002015-09-22T14:25:28-04:00Seferian-Jenkins to miss four to six weeks
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<figcaption>Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Time for the <a href="https://www.bucsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</a> to panic and lament their decision to trade <span>Tim Wright</span> for the second straight year: tight end <span>Austin Seferian-Jenkins</span> will be out four to six weeks with a strained shoulder, <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/646383427214819328">according to ESPN's Adam Schefter</a> -- pending a doctor's second opinion. He injured his shoulder on a goal-line play in the third quarter where <span>Jameis Winston</span> badly overthrew him and he landed awkwardly after a big hit.</p>
<p>Seferian-Jenkins is currently the team's leading receiver and emerged as a reliable and versatile weapon for Winston, catching seven of ten passes in two games for 139 yards and two touchdowns. The tight end does still have to work on his blocking, but was making strides there, too. He has the talent to be one of the top tight ends in the league and he could even be that rare player who is proficient as both a receiver and a blocker.</p>
<p>The Bucs signed <span>Cameron Brate</span> today to compensate for Seferian-Jenkins' absence, but we're more likely to see the pedestrian <span>Brandon Myers</span> take his place as a receiver and <span>Luke Stocker</span> step in as an early-down blocker. Brate is more of a receiving tight end who joined the Bucs in 2014, playing five games and catching one pass last year before being released during final cuts this season.</p>
https://www.bucsnation.com/2015/9/22/9373573/austin-seferian-jenkins-shoulder-injury-will-sideline-him-four-to-sixSander Philipse2015-09-21T19:10:52-04:002015-09-21T19:10:52-04:00ASJ and Evan Smith nursing injuries
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<figcaption>Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bucsnation.com/">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</a> are relatively healthy, but they came out of Sunday's game against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.canalstreetchronicles.com/">New Orleans Saints</a> with two injuries to starters. Center <span>Evan Smith</span> suffered an ankle injury and missed half the game, while Lovie Smith said today that <span>Austin Seferian-Jenkins</span> suffered a shoulder injury during the game.</p>
<p>That injury mostly went unnoticed in the heat of the game, but it seemed he suffered it late in the third quarter on a goal-line play where <span>Jameis Winston</span> overthrew him, and he got hit hard landing awkwardly on his shoulder. Quickly scanning through the rest of the game, I didn't see him get back on the field. He was listed as questionable to return at the time.</p>
<p>If Seferian-Jenkins can't go, that'll be a pretty big blow to the Bucs' passing game. While his performance as a run-blocker has been up-and-down at best, he's been <span>Jameis Winston's</span> primary receiving target this season, catching seven of ten targets for 139 yards and two touchdowns. Though he had a high-profile miscue yesterday when he failed to secure a deep ball while being tackled, he's been a constant threat as a receiver over the middle of the field. The Bucs have no one on the roster who could approximate his impact on the passing game -- not after they traded <span>Tim Wright</span> to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.prideofdetroit.com/">Detroit Lions</a>.</p>
<p>The Bucs had a few other players leave the game with injuries, including <span>D.J. Swearinger</span> and <span>Gerald McCoy</span>, but they're fine and should be good to go for Sunday's game against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.battleredblog.com/">Houston Texans</a>.</p>
<p>We should hear more about the severity of both Smith and Seferian-Jenkins' injuries on Wednesday, when the Bucs practice and will have to turn in an official injury report.</p>
https://www.bucsnation.com/2015/9/21/9367421/austin-seferian-jenkins-and-evan-smith-nursing-injuries-after-saintsSander Philipse2015-09-21T09:11:57-04:002015-09-21T09:11:57-04:00DLT's Diatribes - VICTORY!
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<figcaption>Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Bucs won't be waiting around for their first victory of the season after stunning the heavily favored Saints.</p> <p>What a difference a week makes, eh Buc fans? The <a href="https://www.bucsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Buccaneers</a> finally found a way to slay the dragon that was <span>Drew Brees</span> and the <a href="https://www.canalstreetchronicles.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">New Orleans Saints</a>. In typically Buc fashion, they tried to make it interesting at the end, but somehow they held on for a very big win in the Big Easy.</p>
<h3>The Gift That Keeps on Giving</h3>
<p>Admit it. After the Bucs fumbled on consecutive possessions you thought the Saints were going to storm back, take the lead and break our hearts again. How many times have we seen it? It's more common than the Daleks showing up in Doctor Who. The Bucs find a way to hand the game over to the Saints.</p>
<p>Instead this time the Saints decided not to take it. Losing that game after playing solid football for three quarters would have been very discouraging. Thankfully, for once, its the Saints fans muttering to themselves of what might have been.</p>
<h3>Saints Go From Marquee Team to "That 0-2 Team"</h3>
<p>You'd be hard pressed to find a single prognosticator (this guy included) who gave the Bucs a shot at winning in the Superdome on Sunday. Who could blame them after last week's shibacle? In fact, according to <a href="http://nflpickwatch.com">NFL Pick Watch</a> only one person pick the Bucs to win. And that was the robot that picks all road teams every week. 99% of other pickers had the Saints winning that game.</p>
<p>It really wasn't going to be about how the Saints won...it was by how much. Several predicted blowouts. If you had a suicide pool, many of you went down with the Saints.</p>
<p>Fox's Curt Menefee listed the Saints among the marquee teams to watch on the early slate of games, along with the <a href="https://www.bigblueview.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Giants</a> and <a href="https://www.windycitygridiron.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Bears</a> (all now 0-2, btw).</p>
<p>Even Vegas had the Saints favored by 10 1/2.</p>
<p>Now what are we hearing? Oh the Saints aren't very good. Drew Brees is obviously washed up. The offense doesn't have its parts anymore.</p>
<p>It turned out the dragon was the Geico lizard. Amazing what a loss to Tampa Bay will do to you. Head over to <a href="http://www.canalstreetchronicles.com/">Canal Street Chronicles</a> and they're asking the same questions we were last week. You can replace Tennessee with Tampa Bay in that "If you can't beat THEM at home with a rookie QB who can you beat?"</p>
<h3>Bucs go Streaking</h3>
<p>A suprising number of streaks ended Sunday.</p>
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<li><span>7 game losing streak to New Orleans</span></li>
<li><span>8 game losing streak vs. the NFC South</span></li>
<li><span>7 game losing streak overall</span></li>
<li><span>3 game losing streak in New Orleans</span></li>
<li><span>3 game road losing streak</span></li>
<li><span>5 game losing streak vs. NFC opponents</span></li>
<li><span>7 game losing streak in one score games</span></li>
</ul>
<h3>Good Game, Rook</h3>
<p><span>Jameis Winston</span> bounced back from a very shaky week one performance and turned in a solid day against the depleted Saints. The Bucs obviously wanted to take a bit of the pressure off Jameis, running the ball 35 times but when Jameis got his opportunities he was usually accurate, made good decisions and on some plays was simply phenomenal.</p>
<p>He didn't get much help from his supporting cast. <span>Louis Murphy</span> stole two touchdowns from Jameis - first, getting knocked down far too easily in the end zone on a bomb (he did draw a penalty that set up Jameis' TD run) and after Jameis hit him in stride he inexplicably tripped on the Superdome turf and went down instead of walking in for an easy score (BTW, if you haven't seen t<a href="https://twitter.com/SBNationGIF/status/645711697362026497/photo/1">he vine of poor Saints DB Delvin Breaux</a> completely lost as the ball hits Murphy, its a hoot).</p>
<p><span>Vincent Jackson</span> could have given a slightly better effort on his route on a touch pass by Jameis that should have been a touchdown.</p>
<p>Austin Sefarian-Jenkins, who was terrific week one dropped a long pass completion that would have set up the Bucs deep in Saints territory. <span>Mike Evans</span>, who was used sparingly in his return this week, failed to get both feet in on a beautiful touch pass by Jameis.</p>
<p>Still, Winston was 14 of 21 for 207 yds, 1 TD passing and 1 TD rushing. His only big mistake of the day was trying to fight for yardage and fumbling (although an argument could be made that his forward progress was stopped - it was very reminicent to the Mariota "non-fumble" last week).</p>
<p>Winston was much better with his footwork this week but he's still a little reckless with his body. He needs to learn to protect himself a little better.</p>
<p>What was really encouraging is Winston starting to make plays on 3rd down. In the two minute drill at the end of the first half, the Bucs faced 3rd and 16 and Winston lasered a pass for a conversion. On another important third down in the fourth quarter, with the Bucs desperately trying to kill the clock, he scrambled and used the D-button on his control pad to spin and get the first down.</p>
<p>Tampa Bay would have been better on third down conversions if the offense could find a way to stop getting themselves penalized.</p>
<p>All in all, a very positive step forward for the rookie. I guess the Winston-haters will have to be silent for a week after he played well this week. Of course, now he'll be facing a much formidable defense in the <a href="https://www.battleredblog.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Houston Texans</a> next week so we'll see what happens.</p>
<h3>There's the Defense we were expecting</h3>
<p>Welcome to the 2015 NFL season, Bucs defense. After getting absolutely embarrased by <span>Marcus Mariota</span> and the <a href="https://www.musiccitymiracles.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Tennessee Titans</a>, the Bucs had a players-only defensive team meeting to clear the air (no matter what Lovie says, it was an important meeting). The result was a much better performance by the Bucs defense, who sacked Drew Brees 4 times (three by Jacquise Smith), forced 5 fumbles (recovering 2) and intercepted Brees once.</p>
<p>They limited the Saints to just 323 yds of total offense and 19 points. Drew Brees was expected to reach the 400 touchdown pass milestone this week but was held to just one touchdown pass on the day.</p>
<p>The discovery of Jac Smith by Bucs GM Jason Licht and his scouting staff continues to bring benefits. Smith was unblockable, looking like the edge rusher the Bucs desperately were needing. <span>Gerald McCoy</span> was distruptive on multiple plays during the game (thankfully it doesn't appear his shoulder injury is serious) and the Bucs linebackers were buzzing around like angry hornets.</p>
<p>Even Chris Conte looked good. Tampa Bay, believe it or not, is now 8th in total defense.</p>
<h3>Red Zone is Dead Zone for the Bucs</h3>
<p>One area the Bucs continued to struggle from last week's game is the Red Zone. For the second consecutive week, Tampa Bay's defense gave up touchdowns in the redzone. Teams are now a perfect 7-for-7 on red zone opportunities. That has got to be fixed.</p>
<p>Offensively, the Bucs also struggled in the red zone, going just 2-for-5. Had the Bucs been able to finish a couple more of those drives in the end zone and not settle for <span>Kyle Brindza</span> field goals, the game wouldn't have ever been in doubt.</p>
<h3>Penalties Continue to Kill the Bucs</h3>
<p>A week after getting drive killing penalty after drive killing penalty against Tennessee, the Bucs managed to do it again, amassing nearly 100 yds in penalties for the second consecutive week (this week they were 12 for 90 yds). That has got to be fixed if Tampa Bay hopes to be competitive in the NFC South.</p>
<p>I will say though, this week's game was way over officiated. Some of the holding calls were weak sauce and Joe Hawley's tripping call was a bit ticky tack.</p>
<p>It went both ways, too. The Saints were called for a crucial defensive holding call at the line of scrimmage and I've watched it three times and still haven't seen it. The roughing the QB call on Saints safety <span>Kenny Vaccaro</span> was pretty weak as well.</p>
<p>The refs went flag happy in the fourth quarter when you'd think they'd just let the guys play.</p>
<h3>Evans will be Okay</h3>
<p>I know there's many Buc fans getting a bit concerned about Mike Evans following in a long line of receivers named Mike who sizzled their first season and flamed out in the rest of their careers. Let's tap the breaks on that. No, Evans wasn't a factor on Sunday but he also was limited in his opportunities. The Bucs gave him a bit of a pitch count, easing him back into the lineup.</p>
<p>Evans showed some of the rust not getting two feet in after a nice touch pass from Jameis but he did get open and get behind the defensive back. Once Lovie feels comfortable in letting him go full bore, I think we'll see the usual Mike Evans we're used to seeing.</p>
<p>I just hate seeing him beg for pass intereference calls though. Even if he has a gripe, he looks like a whiner when he does it. He should cut that out.</p>
<h3>Could the Bucs win Two in a Row?</h3>
<p>Perish the thought, but the Bucs might have a shot at winning two games in a row. Yes, its a tall task to go into Houston against the best defensive player in the league in <span>J.J. Watt</span> and get a victory, but the Texans are reeling a bit right now with an unsteady QB situation and two disappointing losses.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.catscratchreader.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Panthers</a> ran for 176 yards against the tough Texans defense, which is exactly what the Bucs will want to do next week to keep J.J. Watt from killing Jameis.</p>
<p><i>Doctor Who References in This Post: 1</i></p>
<p><i>Season Tally: 3</i></p>
https://www.bucsnation.com/2015/9/21/9364003/dlts-diatribes-victoryJCDeLaTorre2015-09-21T06:00:03-04:002015-09-21T06:00:03-04:00Winston shows glimpses of stardom
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bucsnation.com/">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</a> have to be pleased with the way <span>Jameis Winston</span> bounced back against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.canalstreetchronicles.com/">New Orleans Saints</a> today. After a terrible outing in week one to which a lot of people overreacted, Winston looked a lot closer to the quarterback the Bucs thought they were getting when they drafted him with the first overall pick this year: calm, collected, poised under pressure and creating a lot of big plays at the right moments.</p>
<p>Winston's statistics alone were relatively impressive. He completed 14 of 21 passes for 207 yards for one touchdown and no interceptions, with three sacks and one fumble. Those statistics don't include the 40-yard defensive pass interference drawn on a deep throw to <span>Louis Murphy</span>, and he added a couple of key runs, including a two-yard touchdown and a nine-yard third-down conversion near the end of the game.</p>
<p>It wasn't just the statistics, either. Helped by a much-improved offensive line with far fewer communication breakdowns, he looked comfortable in the pocket, his footwork steady and his mechanics much more compact and efficient than they were last week. He looked like that quarterback who showed up during week two of the preseason, and the guy who'd worked on his mechanics and footwork all offseason long -- where last week, his footwork and mechanics were a complete disaster.</p>
<p>He also made far better decisions. There were few bad decisions, and no balls thrown straight to defenders whatsoever -- while <span>Drew Brees</span> had a handful of those kinds of throws. He was even let down by some drops by his receivers, including an ugly one by <span>Austin Seferian-Jenkins</span> on what would have put the Bucs in the red zone early in the game. And then there was <span>Mike Evans</span> being questionably ruled out of bounds on a deep throw down the sideline -- Evans had no catches on the game, oddly enough, continuing the preseason refrain.</p>
<p>In short: Winston gave us glimpses of the star quarterback he has the potential to be.</p>
<p>At the same time, it's important not to overreact to this game, either. Winston looked good, but he was not flawless -- he still looked to run a little too often and early one of those leading to what could have been a game-killing fumble, and he had a couple of misfires at the goal-line that could have put the game away instead of forcing them to settle for a field goal. He also faced a pretty bad defense, which obviously helps his comfort level. Those flaws will continue to show up throughout the year, and there will undoubtedly be some games where they lead to a loss. Such is the life of a rookie quarterback.</p>
<p>See all of those other young quarterbacks who played today. <span>Marcus Mariota</span> struggled against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.dawgsbynature.com/">Cleveland Browns</a> being sacked seven times and fumbling three times, while playing against <span>Johnny Manziel</span> who looked more like his college self rather than the turnover machine he was last week. All of which to say that young quarterbacks, and especially rookies are inconsistent. They will struggle one week while looking like stars the next. There's no need to panic when Winston looks terrible for a week -- and similarly, a good week doesn't mean he's definitively arrived, either.</p>
<p>Winston looked like a much better quarterback this week. He'll likely have some ups and downs for the rest of the season, but this was a really encouraging performance and a good example of what the rookie can be if he keeps developing.</p>
https://www.bucsnation.com/2015/9/21/9361643/jameis-winston-shows-glimpses-of-stardom-in-first-winSander Philipse2015-09-20T18:43:13-04:002015-09-20T18:43:13-04:00The Bucs have an edge rusher now
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<figcaption>Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Tampa Bay Buccaneers know who their best edge rusher. After putting up three sacks on Drew Brees today, Jacquies Smith now has 10.5 sacks in the last 11 games -- nearly an impressive one-on-one pace. Smith has four sacks on the season, and looks as explosive as any edge rusher the Bucs have had since Simeon Rice. Luke Easterling was the first to point out Smith's surprising pace today.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bucs?src=hash">#Bucs</a> DE <span>Jacquies Smith</span> now has 9.5 sacks in his last 10 games.</p>
— Luke Easterling (@LukeEasterling) <a href="https://twitter.com/LukeEasterling/status/645698317750439936">September 20, 2015</a>
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<p>That's some good sacking, Smith. At this year's pace, he'll hit 32 sacks by the end of the season. That's obviously not realistic, but Smith has a very good chance of becoming the first Buccaneer to put up double-digit sacks since <span>Simeon Rice</span> way back in 2005. The Bucs were looking desperately for a disruptive edge rusher this offseason but couldn't find one -- it seems they had him in town all along.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, one other Buccaneer is on pace for a double-digit sack season too: <span>Gerald McCoy</span> has two sacks in two games this year. It's a lot harder to get sacks from the defensive tackle position than it is as a defensive end, of course, and McCoy's been on a double-digit pace before while falling just short.</p>
<p>Still, we shouldn't forget about McCoy's contribution to Smith's success either. <a href="http://www.joebucsfan.com/2015/09/we-just-came-out-today-as-a-unit/#more-144416">As he told JoeBucsFan</a>, McCoy planned with Smith for the latter to stick with outside speed rushes when McCoy went for the B-gap -- that way, they avoided running into each other's rushing lanes and making it easy for the offensive line, an issue you saw show up repeatedly last week. It worked: Smith got a whole lot of one-on-ones, while the <a href="https://www.canalstreetchronicles.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Saints</a> tried to send help to the guard lining up against McCoy all game long. And Smith speed rushing outside the right tackle is exactly how he's gotten each of his four sacks this year.</p>
<p>That's what a disruptive pass rusher does for your team: he makes it just a little easier on everyone else. And when you make an effort to scheme around that, you'll have a lot more success.</p>
https://www.bucsnation.com/2015/9/20/9362213/buccaneers-have-their-edge-rusher-in-jacquies-smithSander Philipse2015-09-20T17:56:27-04:002015-09-20T17:56:27-04:00Bucs celebrate a team win
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<figcaption>Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bucsnation.com/">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</a> won their first game since November 16 last year today, beating the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.canalstreetchronicles.com/">New Orleans Saints</a> in a 26-19 nailbiter. The Bucs' players were pretty happy about that, as you can see below -- they took to Twitter to brag about that win. Interesting: almost all of them emphasized that this was a team win -- no individual gloating, everyone knew how they got this win: with all three phases playing some quality football.</p>
<p>It's just good to see the Bucs finally celebrating a win again. Those have been far too few and very far between over the past few years, so here's to hoping this is the start of many more wins rather than another blip on the radar.</p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Great team win over division opponent !!!</p>
— Akeem spence (@AkeemSpence) <a href="https://twitter.com/AkeemSpence/status/645697303936831488">September 20, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Always fun getting a division win on the road in someone else’s house! Hell of a team win!! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TwoSix?src=hash">#TwoSix</a></p>
— <span>Sterling Moore</span> (@SterlingMoore) <a href="https://twitter.com/SterlingMoore/status/645703983013625856">September 20, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">We treated it as a business trip and got the job done. Great division road victory. Now on to Houston. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bucs?src=hash">#Bucs</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SiegeTheDay?src=hash">#SiegeTheDay</a></p>
— <span>Kyle Brindza</span> (@kylebrindza) <a href="https://twitter.com/kylebrindza/status/645706792727539712">September 20, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Great team win today for us !! I love my squad first of many <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SiegeTheDay?src=hash">#SiegeTheDay</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FireTheCannons?src=hash">#FireTheCannons</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TBBuccaneers">@TBBuccaneers</a></p>
— <span>Donovan Smith</span> (@DSmith_76) <a href="https://twitter.com/DSmith_76/status/645708977964126208">September 20, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Yep lol we won </p>
— Kourtnei brown (@Brown_2_TheBone) <a href="https://twitter.com/Brown_2_TheBone/status/645712092037648385">September 20, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Great TEAM win on the road, against a conference opponent! Now that's a Sunday for you!! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SiegeTheDay?src=hash">#SiegeTheDay</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BM30?src=hash">#BM30</a></p>
— <span>Bradley McDougald</span> (@BabyLead) <a href="https://twitter.com/BabyLead/status/645712511795249153">September 20, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Great TEAM win on the road!!</p>
— <span>Johnthan Banks</span> (@JBanks_27) <a href="https://twitter.com/JBanks_27/status/645713015594074112">September 20, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Great win boys... Next week .. I'm coming home.</p>
— <span>Jorvorskie Lane</span> (@JorvorskieLane) <a href="https://twitter.com/JorvorskieLane/status/645715004210020353">September 20, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Great team win on all 3 phases. Good Job fellas, now continue. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SiegeTheDay?src=hash">#SiegeTheDay</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoBucs?src=hash">#GoBucs</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TampaBayBuccaneers?src=hash">#TampaBayBuccaneers</a></p>
— <span>Bobby Rainey</span> (@BobbyRainey) <a href="https://twitter.com/BobbyRainey/status/645715298243375104">September 20, 2015</a>
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<p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a target="_top" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" href="https://instagram.com/p/73iKLhgRN2/">Meanwhile...... #TwoSix</a></p>
<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A video posted by Sterling Moore (@sterlingmoore) on <time datetime="2015-09-20T21:35:59+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;">Sep 20, 2015 at 2:35pm PDT</time></p>
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<p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a target="_top" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" href="https://instagram.com/p/73g-sPtVvn/">Great WIN today, glad to be apart of the @tbbuccaneers .</a></p>
<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by Will Gholston (@williamgholston) on <time datetime="2015-09-20T21:25:41+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;">Sep 20, 2015 at 2:25pm PDT</time></p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Good team Win <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnToTheNextOne?src=hash">#OnToTheNextOne</a> <a href="http://t.co/k7LSe4TLBF">pic.twitter.com/k7LSe4TLBF</a></p>— Austin SJ (@Aesj88) <a href="https://twitter.com/Aesj88/status/645717576383754240">September 20, 2015</a>
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https://www.bucsnation.com/2015/9/20/9361957/buccaneers-reactions-to-their-first-win-since-last-novemberSander Philipse