Twitter, Facebook, local radio, Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans were very vocal over their displeasure with the team performance Sunday in the loss to the Saints. Only problem is, all the displeasure is aimed at the wrong target.
Playcalling is the no.1 shot at facet of the Bucs organization, but the offense isn’t doing that bad. It was the offense that got the Bucs BACK into the ballgame to begin with. No the effort wasnt perfect, because the Bucs shot themselves in the foot again so many times, and were losing count.
- Two TDs failed because the ball was either over thrown or not caught on wheel routes to Lorig and Lumpkin
- Blount’s Oregon Hawaiian Punch Part II
- All the other penalties, always on the offense it seems
- Taking out the best weapon on the team at one of the most critical times, then calling the same play thats always run out of it.
All of these and more were a good place to start looking if you want to find the answers to why the Bucs lost on Sunday. But the Bucs offense is ranked 15th overall, and while only 24th in rushing yardage, it’s ranked 18th in rushing avg per play with 4.2 yards per carry. Thats a healthy stat.
Passing the Bucs are the 11th most productive passing team in the NFL. They are ahead of the Ravens, Houston Texans, Atlanta Falcons and Chicago Bears, teams known for their passing prowess. Once they can get over their issues with penalties, and red zone shortcomings, the Bucs offence should be a good match against anyone.
Nope, the problem is on the defense. After Josh Freeman hits Kellen Winslow JR, the Bucs needed to stop the Saints to get the ball back. Freeman needed the ball to enact a TD drive and 2 point conversion to tie the game, all very doable with 5:33 on the clock when K2 scored.
The defense completely failed, and it wasnt just letting the Saints enact their 4 minute offense at their will. The Bucs allowed running back after running back to gash and gouge them. Darren Sproles hit his long run in the first quarter, Gerald McCoy was on the field, playing next to Price who was to the right of him. Sproles ran up the middle while McCoy was being manhandled and pushed all the way past the hash marks almost to the numbers before he was able to shed his blocker. Then the missed tackles started adding up. Check out the Video, then we’ll go over it.
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No one touched Sproles until he was 5 yards past the line of scrimmage when Mason Foster made a dive to his ankles, while Elbert Mack shed his block too late to even make an attempt. By that point Tanard Jackson’s mis-timed tackle attempt did little to slow him down, leaving Sean Jones with a head on attempt. Jones completely whiffed at his tackle attempt, only touching Sproles as he went past him leaving Ronde Barber and Aqib Talib on each side to slow him down while Mack tackled him from beind. Poor tackling was obvious leading up to this game, and its still a problem.
So think twice before you point to the offense as the culprit, and “Play Calling”. Play STOPPING is more of an issue at the midway point of 2011.
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