Bucs Week 18: Epic Collapse!
The Bucs will finish this season with at least 8 losses in their last 11 weeks, an epic collapse after a 5-1 start had them looking like contenders.
Raheem Morris’ and Greg Schiano’s spirits live on.
And because the Glazer family prematurely extended Todd Bowles this last summer….
Fans had better hope he retires.
The Bucs are not technically out of the playoffs, but boy howdy it doesn’t look great right now. Needing both a win Saturday and a Saints win against the Falcons (both of whom look red hot, by the way), it’s certainly disappointing that they couldn’t have won one or two of the last four games. They don’t look like a competent team at all.
At least in the first half of the season, we could say that the offense was injured, and for a first year playcaller like Josh Grizzard, obviously the system would not be effective. But now, every single one of their weapons are healthy, and Grizz still can’t figure out how to use them.
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And don’t get me started on the quarterback.
Baker simply hasn’t been good. In fact he’s been one of the worst starters in the league since week 7 in every major advanced statistical category from EPA/Play, to success rate, to passer rating and QBR.
Two fourth quarter turnovers ain’t gonna cut it with the season on the line, buddy.
And of course, the matchup against the Dolphins wouldn’t be complete without a massive special teams gaffe! A blocked kick is the literal difference on the score board, and poor Chase Mclaughlin has his epic 50+ yard field goal streak broken.
The defense was… fine, I guess. They gave up almost five yards per carry on the ground, and a bad read by Tykee Smith in the first quarter leads to a long touchdown pass for Quinn Ewers, but they only gave up 20 points all game, and in the NFL that’s a game you HAVE to win.
I’m over it at this point. You’ve seen one Bucs loss, you’ve seen them all. Which is funny to say, because it seems like there’s one massive flaw every week, and it’s usually a different massive flaw from week to week. Against the Eagles, it’s special teams and a late turnover. The Lions, we abandon the run game and Mayfield turns into a pumpkin. Patriots and Bills, we suddenly give up massive chunks at a time, The Rams, we are simply outmatched in every aspect up until Mayfield gets injured and the team never bounces back.
It’s that simple really.
Whether the team has given up, I personally can’t say. I doubt it. This is the NFL after all, and there are millions of dollars on the line for most of these guys. But it’s a mental game as much as it’s a physical game. They started the year injured at the premium positions (WR, OT), and got progressively more injured throughout the season up until the bye week. Yet somehow they got noticeably worse from that point forward.
They’ve just stagnated. No amount of players-only meetings and press conference platitudes gets you back from that point. Only winning games. Something they haven’t been able to do against what was expected to be one of the easiest second half schedules in the league.
The Bucs have an opportunity to make the playoffs Saturday, but it won’t matter. This team looks ready for Cancun. It’s a real shame they wasted the 50th anniversary season, which will coincide with legendary radio play-by-play announcer Gene Deckerhoff’s retirement, likely future hall of famer and franchise cornerstone Lavonte David’s retirement, and even potentially future hall of famer and franchise cornerstone Mike Evans retirement.
All that, and this roster, coaching staff, and front office gave us 8-9 at best, without even a promise of making the playoffs. Sickening.
The Bucs will play the Carolina Panthers, potentially for control of the 4th seed in the NFC side of the playoffs.
The game plan looks a lot familiar to the one covered just two weeks ago.
The defense is alright. They don’t create any pressure, and they don’t defend the run particularly well, but they don’t let teams throw over the top on them. Quick throws are their one sore spot as a passing defense.
Offensively, the game plan for the Panthers will be a heavy dose of their run game, something they’ve done very well with all year, notching near the very top of the league in handoffs and designed runs. And of course, the whole passing attack is made out of Tet McMillan. Maybe lest not leave a corner on an island against him in obvious pass situations this week, Todd.
The Bucs offense will harshly overcorrect, a habit already seen forming for Josh Grizzard. While they ought to aim for a balanced attack against this defense, they handed the ball off a billion times without a huge lead, letting the Panthers hang around too long. Run the ball, use some play action, for the love of all things holy, and please throw the ball to someone.
The Bucs defense has their work cut out for them again. Bryce Young is still not great. He’s still the worst QB in the league when blitzed, and especially when pressured. Don’t let them control the time of possession, and keep your world beating offense off the field. Lord knows Canales will want to. His quarterback just threw for 54 yards last week for crying out loud.
Naturally the Bucs will win this game and the banged-up Saints will lose to the Falcons, thereby ensuring that the Bucs get neither a good pick nor a wild card appearance.
Prediction: Bucs L, 23-10
