Last Keenum Pass Was With 18 1/2 Minutes Left

December 18th, 2015

NFL: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at St. Louis RamsJoe is a little befuddled this morning by so many Bucs fans thinking they watched a competitive football game in St. Louis.

Perhaps it was all the alcohol being consumed during last night’s action.

Rams journeyman quarterback Case Keenum threw his last pass with 3:32 remaining in the third quarter. That’s how bad it was. Think about that for a minute.

The Bucs were trailing 28-6 after three quarters. The Rams closed the third by running up the middle on 3rd-and-9, despite their QB completing at a 14-for-17 clip.

Yes, folks, this game was over early. The Rams went in turtle mode and combined it with a prevent defense. Hooray for America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston, carving up that prevent D, but it should be kept in perspective.

In a must-win game, the Bucs should not have been steamrolled like they were, coming out “flat” in their lone shot on national television, on the heels of coming out flat at home with a 6-6 record.

Lovie Smith has talked about past beatings leaving “a scar.” This should be one of those scar games. This shouldn’t be shrugged off as a one-score loss during a quick-turnaround week.

51 Responses to “Last Keenum Pass Was With 18 1/2 Minutes Left”

  1. Bucco Brice Says:

    wright and adjei-barimah were horrible last night. Secondary overhaul is issue #1 for offseason….and a pass rusher…

  2. Dusthty Rhothdes Says:

    Stevie Wonder could have seen this bucs dud coming….its Lovie short week, national tv, and crappy qb all of the components of a bucs embarassment in front of the entire NFL fanbase and again the bucs are a joke to the nation and although I am 100% behind jameis im not sure his outburst on national tv would do much for his image nationwide, the bucs are who we thought they were 5-11/6-10 team. PERIOD

  3. Scott Says:

    Fire Lovie

  4. Jeremy Says:

    I agree with Bucco Brice, the secondary of former Chicago Bears and rookies needs to be upgraded. It’s so frustrating watching these backup and journey men QB’s have so much success against us.

  5. OneLove Says:

    I’m sure every team that lacks “TALENT” says that they came out “flat” after a loss as an EXCUSE for “WE JUST AREN’T GOOD ENOUGH!!!”!!! These guys are “PROFESSIONAL” football players in the NFL!!! This ain’t pop warner or high school(although, talent wise it might be!!)

    I’m not buying this “flat” excuse!! I’d rather see these players call each other out for the BUMS that they are!!!(Like what Jameis was doing on the sidelines)

    “It’s as simple as that” – Lovie Smith aka (Head Coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to INFINITY AND BEYOND!)

  6. bucrightoff Says:

    We’ve lost to Derek Anderson (x2), Austin Davis, Kirk Cousins, Mariota, Ryan Mallett, Bridgewater as a rookie, Brian Hoyer, a 40 year old, and now Case Keenum

    9 of Lovie’s 22 losses to QBs who were rookies or backups. I just cannot comprehend that there are fans who think he’s 100% the guy long term, and that he deserves almost no fault for where we are right now, that it’s Schiano/Dominik/Raheems fault. What a bunch of crap.

  7. LargoBuc Says:

    No one on our defense could do anything. Gurley and Austin were running right past our lb’s and Safeties. And Lovie never should have Jude one on one with Britt. That was foolish. But really no one on this defense could tackle in space, and that has nothing to do with scheme. If you cant tackle, you cant tackle. That and some early inaccurate throws from Jameis put us in a hole in the first half. This team has improved but we still lack enough players with talent and attitude.

  8. DoNUTS Says:

    I agree that I do believe it is time for new mgmt at 1BUC. Lovie needs to go…I like Licht and think he is doing a good job. Lovie’s players coach mentality no longer works in the NFL.

    The BIG question is who do you replace him with?

    I think we may have to take a flyer on someone who has only been an NFL coordinator. Koetter last few weeks have been …average in play calling dept…so I am not sure if that is where we should go. Josh McDaniels/NE? Tom Clements/GB? I think we need an offensive minded coach for Winston.

  9. Howard Cosell Says:

    The Bucs were getting ZERO pressure on Keenum.
    He was sitting behind his line yawning and cleaning his fingernails.
    Then when he was well rested he would throw a bomb to a basically uncovered receiver.
    It happened like that over and over and over and over last night.

    No pressure at all from the terrible d-line.

    On the other side: Winston was getting mauled on every play and our sorry arse sh*tty oline was getting trampled on every single play.

    Absolutely disgusting game to watch.

  10. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    We need three great Defensive draft picks…..use rounds 4-7 & Glennon’s pick to trade up for a DE, CB & S….(order would depend on player available)

    We don’t need late round picks….we need starters…

    Use FA for a top tier WR….and depth at DE, CB….perhaps a KR/PR/WR combo…

  11. mike Says:

    watching the game last night, i was think aaron donald is everything i thought gmc was going to be.

  12. CC Says:

    You have guys on the radio complaining about Jameis’ passion. Realy? Give me 52 guys with that passion. If only we had more guys with that passion we wouldnt come out “flat” again.

  13. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    Lets face it….we didn’t have much talent on the defensive side of the ball….

    Wright, Conte, McDougal, Hey Jude, Lemon, Jones…..bunch of backups and UDFA

    On offense….Dye, Humphries

    And…..Jameis was off target in the first half…..

  14. bucsfan70 Says:

    This team needs to hire Tom Coughlin the minute right after the Giants fire him.

  15. Howard Cosell Says:

    The best part of the game was watching Winston screaming at his fellow offensive players. That was truly the only positive of the entire game.

  16. Howard Cosell Says:

    @Tampabaybucfan

    I agree completely. That’s why I never single-out Lovie.
    That’s also why I blame the Glazers: This team has had a dearth of talent since the 2002 SB team was disbanded. Our roster (since 2002) has been a few star players surrounded by 3rd string backups. When the stars get injured the team goes to complete sh*t, which is exactly what we saw last night. We have absolutely zero depth on this team. We have starters that would be 3rd string backups on any real team with a solid roster. There really is no one to logically blame EXCEPT the Glazers.

  17. bucrightoff Says:

    Tampabaybucfan Says:
    December 18th, 2015 at 11:21 am
    We don’t need late round picks….we need starters…
    _____________________________________________________________

    This comment is pretty baffling. You realize all the very best teams in the league (Seattle, NE, GB, DEN) consistently find starters in the late rounds of the draft right? You’re essentially saying our management team sucks are drafting unless they have top picks. What a ringing endorsement….

  18. AceofAerospace Says:

    I made a vow to not call for Lovies firing again this season. Two more games and the seasons over. I’ll just leave it at that.

  19. Waterboy Says:

    mike Says:
    December 18th, 2015 at 11:22 am

    watching the game last night, i was think aaron donald is everything i thought gmc was going to be.

    ——————–
    I second that, those were my exact thoughts as well.

  20. Waterboy Says:

    Howard Cosell Says:
    December 18th, 2015 at 11:32 am

    The best part of the game was watching Winston screaming at his fellow offensive players. That was truly the only positive of the entire game.
    ——————–
    It was the special teams players that he was yelling at after poor tackling and a poor effort just after they scored a TD and pulled within 14 in the 4th quarter.

  21. The Buc Realist Says:

    We as the “real” Buc fans need to start to ask, Is this a well coached ball club??? take the wins and losses out of it. You can have 4 wins and still look like its well coached!!!

    Second question we all need to ask, If Lovie is here next year, How many Hall of Famer players and pro-bowlers does he need to run his defense???

  22. Waterboy Says:

    Tampa needs defensive players with that bully mentality that I saw in Donald last night with Alexander out they just don’t have anyone with that.

  23. Couch Fan Says:

    You can have 4 wins and still look like its well coached!!!
    ————————————-
    Exactly!!!!

    This is what I keep trying to tell people. Even with a lack of talent you can still look at least competent. We just got blown out AGAIN by a bad team. We were down by 2 scores by the end of their 3rd possession to a team that lacks every bit of the talent we do! Yes we lack some talent but we also lack good coaching. It’s almost embarrissing how people want to just give Great Ole Nice Guy Lovie a pass on everything.

  24. bucrightoff Says:

    It’s because for whatever reason Couch, people think firing Lovie is some kind of sign that “we’re blowing it up and starting over”….which begs the question…starting what over? A below average team? Whether we keep Lovie or fire him, this team is still a good 2 seasons away from being a truly good team.

    So the notion that firing Lovie is some massive reset implies that we have the pieces in place to win right now, we just need to be patient with the coach. We have maybe 3 of the 12 pieces needed to solve the contender puzzle. Thing is, pretty much every team in the NFL has at least 3 of the 12 pieces.

    Lovie hasn’t coached up a single player above his talent level so far, yet they think a draft full of defense next year is the answer to everything. Look at Mark Barron..that’s all you need to know about Lovie’s ability to get the most out of guys. He may now be a glorified LB, but he’s making plays unlike when he was here.

  25. Couch Fan Says:

    Can’t disagree with any of that. Im sure it wont be to hard to find someone who can help this team get more than 2 and 6 wins in a season. Even the guy Lovie replaced did better than that….

  26. 813bucboi Says:

    @realist and @couch…so when schiano went 4-12 we looked better than this year? HELL NO…you are what your record says you are…there no way a 4win team can look like they are well coached…have you watch the browns? have you watched the titans? what about san fran or san diego…those teams look like they aren’t well coached and I think those teams are more talented than the bucs…they make the bucs look like a playoff team…GO BUCS!!!!

  27. Tampa Tony Says:

    I wish a division rival hired Lovie so our offense would have career days against his d

  28. 813bucboi Says:

    @couch..how did schiano do better? he was 68-67 at Rutgers…he was 7-9 his first season and 4-12 the next season…and got canned before we went 1-15….that’s regression…that’s a sign of players tuning him out…that’s a sign of players not buying into his system…that’s a sign of an incompetent coach…schiano had revis barron and golston in the secondary and went 4-12…please explain how he did better…GO BUCS!!!

  29. bucrightoff Says:

    813bucboi Says:
    December 18th, 2015 at 1:12 pm
    @realist and @couch…so when schiano went 4-12 we looked better than this year? HELL NO…you are what your record says you are…there no way a 4win team can look like they are well coached…have you watch the browns? have you watched the titans? what about san fran or san diego…those teams look like they aren’t well coached and I think those teams are more talented than the bucs…they make the bucs look like a playoff team…GO BUCS!!!!
    ______________________________________________________________

    I mean this isn’t true though. Remember in that 4-12 season where we almost beat one of the 3 best teams in the NFL in the most difficult place to play in the league? That still ranks as one of the very best Bucs performances in recent memory, even in defeat.

    This team playing that Seahawks team would lose by 5 TDs. At least. “You are what your record is” is sort of true, but ignores context. If the 2013 had the easy as pie schedule this team has, it would have won 6 games, at least.

  30. Couch Fan Says:

    The only thing good about this years team is the offense that has nothing to do with Lovie. Without Jameis this would be another 2 win team. In 2 years Lovie has not got the defense any better, in fact I would say Schiano’s defense was better than Lovie ball.

    Most of your post is basically opinion and not fact. Such as “he got fired before going 1-15”. Not to mention Schiano’s worst year he had to deal with distractions that you dont typically see. MRSA, FreeWee trying to ruin the whole season just so he could leave Tampa cuz we finally got a better QB than him.

    You think this team could deal with those kinds of distractions? LMAO.

  31. StPeteBucsFan Says:

    And so just to be clear Couch fan it’s lovie’s fault that his ENTIRE starting DL is now gone…that his star rookie MLB is not playing…those absences are indicative of bad coaching? I can tell you for sure when you lose a Kwon Alexander…a Clinton McDonald…a Jack Smith who was leading the league in sacks early…you are going to lose a lot of games! Coaching or not!!!

  32. bucrightoff Says:

    StPete, the Chiefs have been without two of their 3 best players for the majority of the season. They are going to the playoffs. Good coaching can overcome injuries. Christ Bruce Arians got the Cardinals to the playoffs last year with Drew Stanton and Ryan Lindley for more than half the season. We’d be probably 1-13 if we only had 6 games of Jameis.

    The excuse making for Lovie is really getting sad. When you read the excuses, it basically sounds like people are giving him a 100% pass and want him here for at least 2 more drafts, regardless of how this team looks. Really sad that so many fans willingly accept a bad team.

  33. Couch Fan Says:

    Again every team has to deal with injuries. It’s not a Bucs only problem.

    Does it hurt the team? Yes. Good teams deal with it not because they have all pros backing up all pros but because good coaches can coach up players with minimal talent to play at least average.

    I know, I know. Lovie deserves more time so he can fill the roster with great players so everyone can be blinded to all his faults as a HC.

  34. This Guy Right Here Says:

    OneLove Says:
    December 18th, 2015 at 11:09 am

    I’m sure every team that lacks “TALENT” says that they came out “flat” after a loss as an EXCUSE for “WE JUST AREN’T GOOD ENOUGH!!!

    _____________________________

    And why dont we have TALENT???? Cause Lovie TRADES AWAY TALENTED PLAYERS like Barron, Revis, Clayborn… He BENCHES TALENTED PLAYERS like Banks & Verner… Why???

    Because he’s too stubborn/incompetent to find a way to work TALENTED players into his OUTDATED SCHEME.

    Fcuk You Lovie.

  35. The Buc Realist Says:

    I seriously do not know what is more embarrassing. Watching a Lovie team get blown in primetime again, or having so called buc fans wanting to see 2-3 more years of this!!!!!

  36. 813bucboi Says:

    @bucright…LOLOLOLOLOL….”Remember in that 4-12 season where we almost beat one of the 3 best teams in the NFL in the most difficult place to play in the league?”….sorry, but almost doesn’t count…I can think of wins and loses this year that looked better than that game…and if you remember we would’ve won that game had schiano not gone turtle and played not to lose….the chiefs are in the position they’re in because of TALENT…when their star running back goes down they have a guy that is capable of carrying the load…de goes down and they have last years first round pick dee ford step up…last year they had Dwayne bowe as a #1 wr…this year they Jeremy maclin…huge upgrade…they were without there heart and soul eric berry for a while…now that he’s back the d is playing a lot better…the also have a first round pick CB marcus peters playing like a pro bowler….see..thats called talent…something lovie doesn’t have but will get soon enough…GO BUCS!!!

  37. DoNUTS Says:

    Guys…

    This is all part of the plan get BOSA!!!!! Keep on losing fellas…right back to that #1 spot again.

    GMC go ahead and hang up the cleats…you did about 4 weeks ago anyway when you were seen pouting pregame over JW firing up the men.

  38. 813bucboi Says:

    @realist..how was that a blow out? we lost by 8 and had a chance to score had asj not had a selfish moment and jameis int with 4minutes left….GO BUCS!!!!

  39. bucrightoff Says:

    Just stop 813bucboi. It’s just pathetic how much you’re on your knees for Lovie Smith. Last night wasn’t a blowout? The Rams didn’t even play the 4th quarter and still won fairly comfortably. If they kept their foot on the gas, probably a 42-13 loss.

    Andy Reid is literally twice as good a coach as Lovie. Twice as good. And even he is deeply flawed as a coach. Just stop the defending of mediocrity, you basically want to be stuck in perpetual “There’s always next year mode”. Must suck having such low expectations in life.

  40. Defense Rules Says:

    Fact is that the Bucs have virtually no depth, and haven’t had any for years. L&L made a conscious decision to go all offense for their first 2 years of the draft, and do what they could to bring in FAs to fill the defensive holes.

    On the offense side, it’s starting to pay off. Guys like Winston and Marpet and Smith and Evans and yes, even ASJ need some live NFL games under their belts to really gel. It’s coming along, but it’s still a work in progress. And will be for another year or two.

    On the defense side, Bucs have serious problems, but we all knew that. Drafting 1 guy … Kwon … this year is hardly a fix. Bringing in FAs like Jenkins, Jennings, Wright, Conte, plus some unknown DEs, is hardly what I’d call a fix. Neither is bringing in … and starting … some undrafted rookies like Hey Jude and McDougald. We’ve got some major problems on that side of the ball, and one draft won’t fix them, even if it’s a good one. Rookie CBs and Safeties don’t just come onboard and start playing like Richard Sherman or Darryl Revis.

  41. Couch Fan Says:

    So then why are you not using the excuse “Schiano” didnt have any talent either? Or are you suggesting Schiano had a lot more talent and Lovie got rid of all that awesome talent?

    Can’t have it both ways. Good coaches coach what they have. Lovie brought these guys in here and you want to give him a free pass cuz they didnt work out. LoL. Unbelieveable.

  42. bucrightoff Says:

    Defense Rules Says:
    December 18th, 2015 at 2:58 pm
    Rookie CBs and Safeties don’t just come onboard and start playing like Richard Sherman or Darryl Revis.
    ________________________________________________________________

    It’s not like we had Revis on this team or anything when Lovie got here right? Oh crap….

  43. The Buc Realist Says:

    According to some, Lovie must run the most complex ( takes over 1 year to learn) Requires the most talent in the NFL to work the league has ever seen!!!!

    None of the sheep want to answer, If Lovie is here next year, How many Hall of Famer players and pro-bowlers does he need to run his defense???

  44. The Buc Realist Says:

    With a 10 million payout there is an easy solution!!!!!!

  45. 813bucboi Says:

    I only deal with facts…31-23 is not a blow out…andy reid is a pretty good coach…imo he’s in the same class as lovie…reid got to the super bowl and lost…he also got canned for not getting his team over the hump…but unlike lovie he regressed in his second season where lovie has progressed…this year he had his team in the hunt for the playoffs just like lovie…they still must win out and need teams to lose(pitts. jet. Oakland)…what made andy look so good was he drafted a franchise qb in mcnabb… lovie now has his franchise qb…I thought its all about rings…so your little andy comparison doesn’t look so hot after all….now dust off your stomach, pull up your pants and tell realist and couch to give you a break because your a$$ is a little tired…GO BUCS!!!

  46. bucrightoff Says:

    813bucboi Says:
    December 18th, 2015 at 5:00 pm
    I only deal with facts…31-23 is not a blow out
    _______________________________________________________________

    Incorrect. You deal in absolutes without considering context. You are in the extreme minority who thought that was a close game. Basically, its like the Warriors being up 40 going into the 4th, but only winning by 12. The Rams played 100% conservative the whole quarter. I mean they did throw 0 passes even though Keenum had a borderline perfect QB rating.

    For context, according to win probability, the Rams were 95%+ likely to win that game for the entire 4th quarter. Not once in the 4th were they anything but 95% likely to win the game. Sorry, that is the definition of a game that was not close.

  47. Aaron Says:

    We need corners and pass rushers…not many teams in the NFL don’t have those needs…We also need more receivers – this O doesn’t work pumping Evans with 17+ targets. I’m not sure we can trust that ASJ can play more than 8 to 10 games and his maturity is in question.

    I think we need more talent – but I still think when we finally get to where we want to be, being optimistic, are competing against the top teams in the NFL…believe we will get out coached.

    I just don’t know who would want to come here…would we really get someone better than Lovie?

  48. 813bucboi Says:

    lol…losing a game by one possession is a blow these days huh…I guest we blow dallas out this year as well…a blow is beating a team by 21 points or more…if you ever played sports then you would know that …GO BUCS!!!

  49. 813bucboi Says:

    when a blow out happens teams normally take the starters out…I saw starters in the entire game…nuff said…GO BUCS!!!

  50. bucrightoff Says:

    Thanks for confirming yourself as a Lovie troll 813bucboi. We always appreciate the feeble minded outing themselves. A blowout apparently can only be based on score. So a game that for instance was 24-17 with 2 minutes left that sees a TD and then say a pick 6 is all of a sudden a laugher because it ended 38-17. Oh you Lovie dolts, you are so in the minority but don’t even know it. You’re like Jeb Bush supporters.

  51. Buccfan37 Says:

    The Bucs came out flat indeed. The game was a mismatch. The Bucs got late points when the game was already decided. The Bucs played up to football fans perception that they would flat out be noncompetitive when it mattered.