Kicker Talked Missed Game-Winner
September 22nd, 2019
Fun with kickers
Joe has to give props to Matt Gay. The Bucs rookie kicker sure channeled one of his predecessors, Roberto Aguayo, in missing two extra points and a game-winning field goal in a one-point loss to the Giants.
Gay could have punted and ran out of the Bucs locker room to avoid the press and getting pressed for answers. But he didn’t.
He really didn’t have any answers other than he thinks he kicked part of the turf before his game-winning 34-yard attempt sail wide right.
“I had some good warmup kicks on the side, kicking into the net,” Gay said, setting the stage for his bad kick. ” I was super confident going onto the field. I felt really good about it. … Just didn’t hit it clean.
“I know I didn’t hit the ball clean. It felt like I got a little bit ground before I took the ball. … That’s just 100 percent on me.”
Though Gay didn’t do what he was drafted to do and is paid to do, it shouldn’t have come down to him the way it did.
Yeah, he missed two extra points on top of this field goal — the Ghost of Roberto Aguayo. But Gay was put in this situation by a coach who has a reputation for being a shark but instead, turned full-blown turtle in the final seconds.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:07 pm
And are woes continue! I am tired as hell with the excuses!
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:08 pm
The entire team lost the 2nd half. Missed tackle on Evan Engram by our safety on the first drive of the 2nd half, Daniel Jones taking a leisurely stroll into the end-zone, using a substitution when the Giants didn’t therefore having 16 players on the field leading to a wasted timeout, overly conservative play calling on both sides of the ball, and of course the last missed kick.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:08 pm
YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO COUNT ON YOUR KICKER TO MAKE KICKS INSIDE 40. PERIOD. CUT HIM.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:08 pm
F u dude glad you can be all I just missed it really don’t care mad as I am here 2 hours later still livid. And you ruined my whole week and whole nfl season. But I’m glad you felt good about the kick going in.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:08 pm
I legitimately had hope this season. Stupid me.
Send in the clowns.
“Well, maybe next year.”
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:10 pm
Release him right now. But we won’t and he will cost us another game or two before Licht finally releases him. If a person is hired to do a specific 16 times a year and he fails on one of those times do you thing in the real world he would
Still have a job.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:11 pm
Lmao 6-10 looks like a good year.
Always something.
If I ain’t one thing it’s another lol.
How does it feel to be the absolute worst franchise in the league. Even the Bills and Browns are now better lol.
Got beat at home by a ROOKIE QB.
Lmao. All you “coaching will make all the difference” lmao yea all that great coaching sure making a difference lol.
This looks just like any other year lol.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:11 pm
How about RoJo rushing for 5.7 yard average and having 121 total yards?
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:12 pm
Don’t know what the reaction should be here. I guess just give this idiot one more game. I don’t know.
Or fire him now and send Licht packing with him since he has no ability at finding a K. I don’t know.
I just wish some freaking body would have a freaking answer to the same freaking problem we have experienced over and over. This MF team is barely tolerable at this point.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:12 pm
You made it 2 games in the NFL and decide you will wear neon cleats. Not bright, dude suffers from depression and his mind is blown. He will never recover.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:12 pm
As long as his locker is empty by tomorrow morning. Don’t care about his answers.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:13 pm
Amen, Joe! Full blown TURTLE!
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:13 pm
I feel bad for JW. He should (again) get the credit for leading the team down the field and putting them in a position to win. But like 2 seasons ago when he left the field with the score tied or w/ a lead, the D and special teams blow it for him and then the uneducated window-lickers in Hillsborough county say “Get rid of him!”
This was one of those games that an Elway or a Marino polishes on his resume. But that worthless kicker blew it. Not to mention the D decided to play 49 minutes.
JW deserves better.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:13 pm
Give it a rest, Joe, with the Arians criticism. He played the finish the way it should have been played. That FG is good well over 99% of the time.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:14 pm
No risk it no biscuit.
Unless you have 13 seconds on the clock deep in their redzone, you’re down, and you have a timeout. Then take a delay of game penalty instead of taking one shot in the endzone.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:14 pm
Figures stop laughing. This spit just aren’t funny no more.
Guaranteed we play the Rams good next week and have a chanse to win so pipe down about 6-10 right now fool.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:14 pm
Fire him. Hold anyone accountable for their non performance or ineptitude. Real kickers make extra points and chip shot game winners. No one has confidence in this clown. Arians has lost his mind backing his kicker up who can’t make extra points. Take a shot in the end zone with your franchise quarterback. Oh, that’s right, you don’t trust him not to throw another brainless pick like he did in the 3rd quarter. No more risk taking and what do you get. Season ending loss
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:15 pm
The Bucs are the worst team in NFL history with a winning % of 40%.
Considering they faced a rookie QB, knocked Saquon out of the game and built a big lead, i knew it would end in a collapse.
Considering we’ve had 8 kickers in 8 seasons, maybe it’s time the ownership of this team go pay $$$ for a decent kicker. You know, like the good teams in the NFL have.
The only people who are fan of this team (I include myself)….are masochists.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:16 pm
dude,
C’mon… it’s “and our”, not “are”… or did you mean “Arrrrr”?
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:16 pm
With the Buccaneers, the second a kick is missed at any point in the game, you can’t count on that kicker anymore in the later stages of the game. I knew when Gay missed two PATs that if the game came down to him making a shot, he would miss it.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:17 pm
I told you all not to expect too much this year.
All I heard was “11-5” “playoffs” “coaching makes all the difference”
Mmmm hmmmm
I told you all you would be really disappointed if you were expecting anything more than 6 wins.
Lol hahahahaha hahahaha I’m not mad at all.
Why? Because I’ve watched this stuff since 1987 lmao.
I’m right more than I’m wrong lol. Jokes on you lol
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:17 pm
Make him walk the plank!
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:17 pm
Start seeing if the Punter can do drop kicks within the 20 yard line.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:17 pm
And I’m back to sitting here typing on the internet rather then watch the football game on TV. Watching this team fold once again makes the NFL totally unenjoyable to me.
This Buc team literally suck the life out of me.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:18 pm
meanwhile, the Saints win with a backup against the Seahawks IN Seattle;
the Panthers win with a backup albeit the Cardinals;
The Falcons played well but can’t keep people off of their qb… (to be fair, Jacoby Brissett isn’t a qb to take lightly)..
If only the Bucs could win meaningful games…. well, even the ones they should win!
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:18 pm
Hey Joe. Tell Abes that a Hillborough location wouls be great….thanks.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:18 pm
Taking a delay of game penalty to move the ball back 5 yards because you think your kicker is more accurate from deep is asinine.
Arians admittedly does no game planning during the week yet finds the balls to interject himself on game days is laughable. You want to be responsible for decisions when it matters most, but run a preschool for wannabe future head coaches during the week.
Either coach this team for real or get the hell out of the profession. You dont get to pick and choose whenever you want. Shut the headset off and let the guys that put in the work during the week make the calls on game day too.
I’m so sick of this damn joke of an organization.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:19 pm
Up next guys..The LA Rams. They will have..NO MERCY. And neither will my consumption of spirits..during the game.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:20 pm
@jimmyjack
Oh it’s hilarious lol.
Yea yea you taking the over on 6 wins?
Lmao ok. I love the Bucs as much as the next person. Haven’t missed a game since 1987. Not one single game.
But they ain’t good and they ain’t playoff good lol.
6 maybe
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:21 pm
GAY GOES. HE FAILED TO DO HIS BARE-MINIMUM JOB 3 TIMES.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:22 pm
Is it’s not the kicker it’s the OL or the DL….we suck there will always be some one to Blame….please everyone…dont waste ur time with this team over spending time with family or friends….our GM will will be living very well for the rest of his life
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:24 pm
Arians was a bad hire who was hired by a bad GM which was a bad hire by clueless owners. Koetter was a bad hire by a bad GM who was hired by clueless owners. Lovie Smith was a bad hire who was hired by a bad GM who was hired by clueless owners.
Anyone see a trend here?
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:24 pm
It’s inexcusable, he cost us the game that we should have won.What made it worse is that our stadium got taken over by giants fans.Is he gone yet?
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:25 pm
We just sucked all around in the second half. The players thought they had a cakewalk after halftime and it showed on the Giants first play. They forgot that this is the NFL. This loss is more on the coaches not keeping the players heads in the game than anything else. When Edward dropped that pick, I told my son that the good teams make that play. We’re not a good team.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:25 pm
*Edwards
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:25 pm
Yeah figures keep laughing buddy. The fact that you are enjoying yourself shows that you don’t care. You may keep calling yourself a fan but enjoying a loss like you are showing a complete lack of loyality.
You are not a true fan.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:27 pm
Santos is 8 for 8 on extra points and 3 for 4 field goals with Tennessee.
Another waste of a high draft pick.
What was with the neon yellow shoes?
Cocky kicker in Game 3? I can hear Arians screaming from here.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:32 pm
Maybe it was those stupid yellow shoes. You choked. Period.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:33 pm
No more g-dam excuses!!!
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:33 pm
Richard, Gay wasn’t a high draft pick.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:34 pm
Bowles went turtle against a rookie qb in the 4th quarter. Our kicker lost the gane though …..thisnis half split between D and kicker. NOT Winston…..
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:34 pm
We blew a 28-10 lead. We have bigger problems than a Kicker.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:39 pm
Turn the page. Move on to next game. I’ll be at the rams game with Winston jersey ! Go Bucs. We are close to go on a 4-6 game wining streak !
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:41 pm
Could have signed Matt Bryant this offseason and spent the draft pick on an offensive lineman. I thought that was the idea when they signed that awful punter from San Fran, his best feature was kicking off the ball, which was Bryant’s weak point.
Made no sense at the time to not sign Bryant and I have zero doubt he makes that kick, and makes the two XPs as well.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:41 pm
No Eric. Comebacks are common in the NFL.
Good teams find ways to win. Our team found a way to win today until our weakest link missed a routine play.
Your weakest link is always your biggest problem.
The routine play we missed could have been a missed tackle a blown block assignment or a fumbled snap. It was a missed kick. It was the difference between winning & losing today.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:43 pm
@Adrnagy, please share whatever you are smoking.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:43 pm
Done! May as well trade or sign for another kicker….he already has head issues so can we please get one who doesnt and try again?
Great leg for the long ones but we need you to make the short ones too….i dont know, id just rather move on….
It seems our kicking woes have cost us a lot of close games…is there someone worth trading a 3rd for? We need this kicking fixed immediately!!!!!!!!!
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:43 pm
The Bucs are a waste of time
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:44 pm
This is also why you don’t play for a FG, which Leftwich started doing with 9 minutes left in the game. He did the same thing last week and got away with it by a few inches. Yes, the offense shouldn’t need to do more than it did today, but when your defense isn’t making stops, then you can’t just try to run out the clock with a 3 point lead and 9 mins left. That’s what Leftwich did this week, it’s what he did last week with 8 mins left. In both cases the other team got the ball back and marched right down the field.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:46 pm
Finally now we have to listen to all the idiots talk about how this rookie QB marched his team down for a last second win…
The story should be Winston marching the team down for the last second win.
Ugh, just annoying typical Bucs football.
Let’s hope Arians does let this play turn into 5 loses in a row.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:47 pm
You freaking make that kick and walk off. It is freaking simple.
NFL football teams win games like this all the dang time.
You have to be a good team to give your kicker that chance and we were. If you can’t make the easy plays it will cost you losses. Our weakest link was exposed and it lost us the game on the last play
We beat ourselfs twice now.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:52 pm
Rod Munch there is very little to analyze here. You make that kick and walk off the field. It is literally that simple.
if you cannot make that play you are going to lose a game(s) during the season because of it. At some point it is guaranteed to happen if you cannot make that play.
The BS part about it is we have a GM that has not been able to fix that position for 5 years. Not sure what the reaction should be here but if/when they fire Gay Lucht should go with him. He deserves no more chances. The facts are in and he is incapable of finding us a kicker. It can take as soon as one week to find one. He has had 5 years.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:53 pm
Rookie kicker, GM to blame and Kicker. They Suck It
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:54 pm
The Bucs now need to go win one they shouldn’t win, either next week against the Rams or the following week against the Saints. If they don’t win either, they then go to London and will blow that game, and we’re talking about the draft…
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:54 pm
JimmyJack, I get it. We all want to blame the loss on one player or one phase of the game. Just fix that one spot and we’ll win. Gay is easy cause it was the last play. All three phases and coaching contributed to this loss. Our problems are bigger than a kicker. I get the hate for the Kicker, but it shouldn’t have come down to him. We’re just not a good team and it showed for almost the entire second half. The players thought they had it won and the coaches can’t allow that. Total team loss.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:54 pm
Enlightening stuff there from Matt. Yeah we know its a 100% on you and just because we are used to this B.S., doesn’t mean Bruce should tolerate it.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:56 pm
Jimmy JAck nailed it.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:57 pm
JimmyJack – I don’t disagree with you, however playing for a FG when your defense isn’t doing anything – when there’s 9 mins left and you go into a shell – who didn’t see this coming?
Yes, the kicker HAS to make that. It’s the reason I said up until the draft the Bucs need to go sign Matt Bryant, he was the obvious choice and available.
But just who didn’t see this coming when they are just running the ball on 3rd down in the red zone?
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:59 pm
Maybe had he made the two extra points, that he missed, he would not of been in the position of having to kick the game winning field goal. Kickers are expected to make 100% of kicks in 30-40 range. He missed an easy one in the Panther game too. If there is someone better out there we should get him, if not then start going for 2 point conversions and fock going for field goals.
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:00 pm
I think we might want to bring Carli Lloyd in here before someone else signs her! Kicker that has suffered with depression…Will be very surprised if he can recover from this.
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:04 pm
Donald Igwebuike never missed a kick inside of 39 yards for the Bucs – it’s why he’s the greatest kicker in the history of the Bucs.
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:05 pm
Munch, I agree with you. Plenty of blame to go around
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:07 pm
Eric we will just disagree. I do actually think it is that simple that if we had good kicking today we win.
Sure the 2nd half wasn’t pretty. Rarely do you play 4 perfect quarters in this league and look good the whole way. Adjustments get made and gameplans change……unless you play Mike Smith.
In the NFL you have to be able to win on final drives if you want to compete. Good teams have the ability to do it. We did so last week. We did so again this week and our weakest link missed a routine play. It was the difference between winning and losing IMO.
But I see a good team out there that just might be a kicker away. We made plays all day in both sides of the ball.
Well proove it again next week against the Rams. We will give ourselfs a chance to win that game again.
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:08 pm
This L is NOT on Gay…not entirely. Sure he choked. Choked big time with the PATs and the last kick. But this L sits squarely on the bafflingly incompetent coaching from the head honcho. He coached ‘em scared and absolutely put Jameis on lockdown after the INT. Strangely, he also allowed RoJo to be put on ice after he was tearing it up. But really, how in the name of god can the local pen and mic club not skewer Bruce over his mismanagement of sequence immediately following Evans’ catch? He nearly blew it for us last week too.
Don’t believe for one second those 5 yds don’t make a difference! That penalty cost us dearly. If you don’t have faith in the K to hit a chip-shot, then why the hell is he on the roster? If you really have faith in the D, then why not go for it on 4th and 2 deep insider their red zone?
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:11 pm
Exactly Munch. The Bucs backed themselves into a corner having to beat the Rams and/or Aints. The Aints still have tons of weapons but the Rams in their house is going to be tough. If this team is hoping to take than next step, we need that win. There is a lot that shouldn’t have happened in this game. Byron going a little too conservative in the 2nd half. The defense letting them back into it in a matter of minutes. At the end of the day, I don;t want to hear anything from Matt Gay. It’s inexcusable. He really should be gone but he won’t be.
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:14 pm
And Rod I could debate some of them decisions with you and it’s probably be a good convo.
But I’m just too flipping mad right now that we still have a kicking problem on this team.
All’s I can tell you is that if you have a team that cannot make that last play if the game it will cost you a loss some point during the season.
You must be able to make the easy and routine plays in this league if you wanna have a chance to compete………so again, for the ? year in a row kicking is a major problem here and has cost us another victory
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:20 pm
All the nitpicking about this call and that call does not interest me right now.
Those things do not matter as much as fundamentals. Chip shot FGs are very fundamental.
When you cannot perform fundamentals it’s a major problem. Just like last year when we could not make tackles.
If the kicking does not get fixed we should expect more losses because of it.
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:26 pm
Sorry Joe – it’s on the kicker. He missed 3 kicks today. Look around the NFL, kickers decide games across the league each and every week. If it’s under 40 it HAS to be a gimme. He missed 3 of those today.
If Arians had gone for the TD and a turnover happened, Arians would have been roasted 1000x more. Period.
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:28 pm
@JimmyJack. The kicking game has cost us more than 1 game pretty much every year. It’s ridiculous. I’m not even asking for a booming leg or consistent 50+ yarders. Just hit from 40 and especially a chip shot 34 yarder for the win.
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:28 pm
JW: Oh, Giants you think you won the game.. Hold my beer let me throw it to Mike Evans to set up a chip shot.
Matt Gay: Hold my beer.
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:28 pm
JimmyJack – Again, I don’t disagree with you at all on the kicking – but there isn’t much to say there, he needs to make the kick, everyone knows that, it’s expected of every single kicker in the NFL to make that kick.
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:29 pm
As I write, the Browns are beating a Super Bowl team from last year. We can no longer ourselves Cleveland South. It is unfair to the Browns.
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:32 pm
Roberto never missed a kick that mattered.
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:33 pm
Dude choked in the clutch. This is a bad team which finds ways to lose. Gay should get cut but he will not. Bucco Bruce owes the fans an apology for this garbage. The team is almost as bad as the tanking Fins.
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:35 pm
1. He scored more points than any other kicker today
2. 13 seconds , 10 yard line , 1 time out. Could of easily taken 2 shots at a tad for the win before going to the kicker after 2 missed xp. Run a bootleg and if it’s not there you are out the tackle box and throw it away.
3. Almost historic first half on offense. Totally packed it in and kept the defense on the field the entire second half. Embarrassing coaching second half and amazing first
Also what’s up with those goofy yellow shoes today though
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:35 pm
Also giants gained more points off turnovers off Winston’s goofy int than they lost to missed fg pints
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:35 pm
JimmyJack, I do agree with you that he should have made the kick. IMO the loss is a lot more on what led up to that kick than the kick itself. On our 2nd to last possession Winston wasn’t allowed to throw the ball? Not one throw in the end zone on the last 3 plays of that drive to put the game away? Did Leftwich get spooked by the INT on the drive before?
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:36 pm
Get a clue <– Gay's burner account…
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:38 pm
This loss was about not finishing drives settling for the and playing scared the second half . Keeping the defense on the field they were gassed cause you packed in the offense after the first half
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:40 pm
Rod Munch <- a simpleton with learning disabilities that couldn’t figure out what actually happened after I spoon fed him
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:42 pm
Settling for fgs*
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:45 pm
Get a clue – Hey dummy, how many points did the Giants get of the Winston INT?Oh right, zero, because the defense got the ball back in the same field position 2 plays later.
Anywho stupid go read above, I already talked about the awful play calling by Leftwich. Meanwhile your dumb ass is talking about things that didn’t even happen.
Try to be less boring in the future.
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:47 pm
The curse of Matt Bryant.
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:52 pm
It’s actually the curse of Nigerian Nightmare Donald Igwebuike…
The Bucs cut him after he was falsely accused of drug trafficking and he put a voodoo hex on the kicking position…
Matt Bryant doesn’t know voodoo so it certainly wasn’t him.
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:53 pm
To me the frustrating part is we are playing good football. Good physical football. Several Giants hobbled off the field today cause we whooped their ass physically. Our down field running and run stopping is a force to be reckoned with.
Our tackling is crisp and perimeter coverage is tight.
We have a few weaknesses like our defense over the middle(Devin White needs to come back and help this) & some Shakey pass pro. With good coaching we can expect to see these weaknesses improve and peak at the end of the year.
All in all we are a solid football team in .any phases.We can win some games this this team. And we very easily could have won today because this team was good enough win that last drive……………and we got a freaking kicker that cannot do his job.
Quite frankly I don’t know how I would feel if this was the first time we ever had this problem. I can’t know how I would feel because it has been so long since it weren’t a problem.
But this year is different cause we got a team that can win games. And we still got this one freaking consistent problem flushing wins down the toilet. It was all fine and dandy when we were watching a Dirk coached team that couldn’t compete with half the league but this team can compete and we are sitting on a GM who has bee given 5 full years and hasn’t fixed it.
This aren’t a 5 win team no more and we have a chance to compete this year. If Gay is not our kicker he and the GM gotta git. Licht deserves no more chances.
Now set back and watch this team compete with a solid Rams team next week.This is not the same ol Bucs team. The only thing that’s the same is our kicking game is the worst in the league.
September 22nd, 2019 at 11:00 pm
No it’s defientally the curse of Matt Bryant. Performance is the proof.
Our kicking was near flawless through the preseason. Barely a hitch. Because Bryant was out of the league.
Then as soon as Bryant resigns Gay starts looking Shakey in game one. The longer Bryant stays in the league the worse our kicking g has gotten. The fatal error was not giving Bryant a job here…….Even if not to be the kicker then to keep him from re-entering the league.
September 22nd, 2019 at 11:05 pm
JimmyJack – These are still almost all the same players that were one of the worst defenses in NFL history the last two seasons, I don’t see a scheme change a couple of pieces completely turning it around in one game. Today the Bucs were mostly solid except for covering the TE.
Also we saw what you get with Bowles, while they’ll make big plays and get sacks, they will also be in situations where if the QB can move and make time, guys are one on one and will get big plays. I don’t have a real problem with that, but I don’t get how you don’t have someone shadowing Jones on that last play and just leave the middle of the field wide open.
For the defense I thought this is more what it would look like until the second half of the year – I thought we’d hear about “communication problems” and have big busted plays early. So far they’ve been really good in 66% of the games – and hopefully this game isn’t the downfall for them like it would be in every other year.
BUT this is a very young defense and as they rookies get some experience, hopefully they can produce, then we won’t have to see MJ Stewart out there any more giving up big plays. Also with as good as Minter is in the running game, he’s a huge liability in the passing game, so getting White back should hopefully help with the TE coverage.
September 22nd, 2019 at 11:16 pm
Munch, igwebuike was with the Vikings dude at the time.
September 22nd, 2019 at 11:18 pm
Rod Munch I think you are leaving out one crucial element of this defense is that it will create many more turnover and big game changing plays then we are used to. We are seeing them in every game now and it has been consistent even going back to preseason. It’s not just luck.
But if we didn’t expect some growing pains learning Bowles defense we were probably being niave.
Giving up some big passing plays I can handle if we can keep making big game changers. Eventually we will need to see coverage improve or that will get exposed badly. But I’m fine with letting that improve in time considering our youth in the secondary.
All in all I’m super stoked with the play of the defense.
A d we do need Devin White to get back and play as advertised…….at least grow into his role and start to be a game changer. If that happens we don’t see that wide open lane for the last TD and some of those cheap passes over the middle get limited.
Ill admitt to being guilty thinking this defense was fully ready to stop every team on the schedule. Harsh reminder today. Still a lot of good to take away from our D and as they get more comfortable in this system(and limit some blown assignments we are seeing) there is a lot to be excited for.
September 22nd, 2019 at 11:19 pm
JimmyJack – I disagree, it’s on Igwebuike. He was falsely accused of a crime he didn’t commit, and it cost him his job. He put a voodoo hex on the field where the Bucs play, that includes the Super Bowl…
Where did the most famous missed kick of all time happen? In Tampa AFTER Igwebuike was cut. That would be SCUD Norwood missing in the SB…
Who did the Bills sign to replace SCUD? That would be BUCS kicker Steve Christie who had a handshake deal with the Bucs to resign, the Bucs had to make some roster move and he made a deal with Ray Perkins that if exposed to FA he wouldn’t sign anywhere. But what did he do? He knew what would happen in Tampa after replacing the legend that was Igwebuike and he took flight up north.
Then who did the Bucs get?
1992 – Lions legend Eddie Murray who only hit 50% of his kicks with the team…
Then in 1993 the reign of Michael Husted begins… a 71% kicker for his career who managed to miss 5 XPs in his Bucs career – that’s 5 when no one ever missed an XP ever.
Then that’s followed by Martin Gramatica, a career 76% kicker, who missed the biggest FG in Bucs history at Green Bay.
Then Matt Bryant shows up, hits 82.5% of his kicks – but is replaced by Barth who is even better at 84.3%.
So the kicking actually improved once Bryant was left… So if anything, if we’re going to ignore history, it’s the curse of Barth that has screwed the team.
September 22nd, 2019 at 11:21 pm
And when I mention the turnovers I count all the opportunities. Not just recorded stats.
Talking the Edwards drop today and the Minter callback last week. We were also very close to another FF on Jones and nearly stole a ball from one of the WRs.
September 22nd, 2019 at 11:25 pm
T REX – Yes, Igwebuike was with the Vikings when the news broke, but all the stuff that happened was at Tampa International, about 5 feet away from One Buc Place, you don’t think they knew about it well ahead of time? Ray Perkins didn’t like Igwebuike because he couldn’t pronounce his name – and so he had to go. Then you get the drug running rumors popping up…
The guy never missed inside of 39 yards for the Bucs, ever.
Then we insult him, cut him, and he goes to the Vikings, where in the first match-up he misses the game winner against the Bucs for the Vikings… At that point he put an unbreakable voodoo curse on the kicker for the Bucs… It’s never going to end if we won’t even admit to the cause…
September 22nd, 2019 at 11:27 pm
Sorry Rod Munch you are wrong. Martin Gramatica had a nickname for a reason. And Matt Bryant had the most iconic kick in Buccaneers history.
You’ve never been wronger.
September 22nd, 2019 at 11:34 pm
Barth got hurt bro. He was a good kicker that tryed to do his job in a cursed city. The Matt Bryant curse would not allow him to make a career in Tampa and that’s why he got injured.
As the legend goes they say his injury was not that severe for our medical staff to give him the thumbs down but that thumbs down was based on the XRays showing scary abnormalities. Little did they realize the mysterious abnormailties a direct result of the curse they were unaware of.
September 22nd, 2019 at 11:48 pm
JimmyJack – If Gramatica didn’t miss the biggest kick in Bucs history, the one that gives us a 1st round bye in the playoffs, who takes us from that to a road game at Philadelphia – if that’s not the biggest miss in team history, what is?
But I’m not hating on Bryant, as I said early in the offseason, go sign him – he should have been kicking for us today while we spent a 5th rounder on a developmental offensive lineman.
But stats are stats:
Bryant: 2/10 from 50+ yards, 83.1% FG success rate.
Barth: 15/23 from 50+ yards, 84.3% FG success rate.
What is interesting is I would have swore that Bryant made more than two 50+ yard FGs, but that’s what the stats say. So outside of that Eagles game, he only made one other 50+ yarder in his entire time here. I never would have thought that.
Those stats for Barth are pre-injury since that’s what I consider his real career with the Bucs, but even when he came back on his second run he was 3/5 from 50+, and hit 82% of his kicks, so basically the same. Also, here’s a fun fact – he was the 10th best of ALL TIME IN NFL HISTORY when the Bucs drafted Roberto and cut him.
September 22nd, 2019 at 11:54 pm
I take that back slightly above, Barth was 12/18 on 50+ yarders in his first run, and 15/23 in his entire Bucs career. But if you include Barth’s second run with the Bucs, then he’s basically tied with Bryant for kicking %, but made a lot more long kicks.
I stand by that Barth was the better kicker for the Bucs, but if you’re talking about career kicking, then the best kicker to ever play for the Bucs isn’t either one of those guys, it’s John Carney who was a kicker for us in the replacement games of 1987. He got his start with the Bucs and was 2-5 on FGs before going on to be the 5th leading scorer of all time.
September 23rd, 2019 at 12:11 am
Ok Munch you win. Normally don’t play the curse game and now I remember why.
I will now go back to blaming Licht. Can’t get over 5 years of not getting us a kicker. He cannot be trusted at this point to be the guy that can find us a K and fix this problem and it needs to get fixed at any costs. We got a decent team for a change and can’t have a kicker wasting more games for us.
September 23rd, 2019 at 12:24 am
JimmyJack – He’s spent resources trying to get us a kicker, but I don’t know why you don’t just buy the best kicker available. The Jets kickers were not the best guys available, and he spent a 2nd and 5th, that could be another starter on the o-line and another dev guy.
The Bucs aren’t cutting Gay this week, pretty sure of that, so we’ll see how he responds, but man, he cost us a win. Yeah there’s other stuff to talk about, but the kicker has to make that kick 100% of the time.
September 23rd, 2019 at 12:59 am
There’s a special place on the Bucs “wall of shame” for Mark Dominik.
He released Matt Bryant, our greatest kicker, before the 2009 season. He’s still in the NFL and been starting for the Falcons since then! While we’ve missed the playoffs every year since, and been through how many kickers?
Matt Bryant is still playing well!
Dominik was and always will be a disgrace
September 23rd, 2019 at 4:03 am
Haven’t read comments from the players. Wonder what they’re thinking this Monday morning…
September 23rd, 2019 at 6:15 am
I just listened to his post game interview. He sure is a smug little gut for a kicker. Case in point: what’s up with the neon yellow shoes?
Gay ain’t straight.
September 23rd, 2019 at 8:58 am
This analysis is muttled to say the least Joes. Game was lost by 1 point but the kicker missing two extra points and one FG isn’t entirely to blame? That makes little sense. Should the coach have been more daring, possibly. But the fact remains that if the kicker does hit 2 of those extra points, game over. He hits that FG game over. I don’t see how a coach can coach around bad kicking. Now the GM’s proclivity to miss on kickers is another story entirely. This one is ON GAY, period.
September 23rd, 2019 at 10:03 am
Maybe Licht will learn from his mistake(s) and draft a kicker in the 1st round this time…