Stop The Travel Excuse
November 5th, 2019
Chucky’s Raiders opened the season at home against the Broncos and Chiefs — and they didn’t return home until seven weeks later against the Lions on Sunday.
Sound familiar?
Joe doesn’t hear travel excuses coming from Raiders camp. Why are they coming from Bruce Arians?
Joe has punched several walls and thrown a few keyboards hearing Arians say multiple times this week that Carlton Davis’ pulled muscle before Sunday’s loss in Seattle, and Carl Nassib’s in-game groin issue, among other team problems, likely have something to do with all the Bucs’ travel catching up with them.
Joe might have had a shred of empathy, even though Joe’s not buying the travel excuse. But the Raiders had a very similar brutal travel schedule this season. So stop the excuses.
In Week 3, the Raiders hit the road for Minnesota and then Indianapolis. Week 5 sent them to London to face the Bears. After a bye week, Oakland was off to Green Bay and Houston, before hosting the Lions two days ago. That mirrors the Bucs’ grueling stretch away from home.
The Raiders sit at 4-4, and they shook off the Antonio Brown debacle, and now they have to tax their bodies even more with this week’s Thursday night game against Los Angeles.
Chucky is getting chatter as a Coach of the Year candidate and Joe suspects Chucky won’t blame travel for anything. He’s actually talked recently about how being road warriors has benefited the Raiders and he’s joked that every team in his division should get a chance to fly all over the place for seven weeks straight.
November 5th, 2019 at 10:01 am
you can’t take excuses away from bucfan that is all they have Joe….
November 5th, 2019 at 10:14 am
The problems with this team have little to do with the schedule…but that doesn’t mean the schedule was fair.
November 5th, 2019 at 10:15 am
Thank you. Meant to post this but forgot. Funny what happens when you have a good run game and a avg def but wtfdik
November 5th, 2019 at 10:16 am
Year two GRU/Raiders
Can we let Arians build up and establish something here before we run everyone off?
November 5th, 2019 at 10:17 am
Arians is the only guy who hasn’t been losing the last decade.
A proven winner.
Losey Tampa folk no better though.
November 5th, 2019 at 10:17 am
Know
November 5th, 2019 at 10:23 am
The significant difference is the Raiders have:
A slightly better backs
Defense
And most importantly better QB
Losers by nature revert to excuses… It stems from selfish pride..
November 5th, 2019 at 10:27 am
DB55 Says:
November 4th, 2019 at 10:26 pm
Oh by the way nfl touchdown leaders:
Wilson 22
Stafford 19
Watson 18
Rodgers 17
Winston 16
Yup top 5 scoring/TD QB and he’s number 7 in yards.
November 5th, 2019 at 10:28 am
The Raiders have a HC who went and studied and stayed involved and keeps his finger on the offense and doesnt have a golf cart. Chucky has a competent very knowledgeable GM who knows what a winning team is built like. Glazers and bucs fans could have had gruden but its the bucs why do something smart
November 5th, 2019 at 10:35 am
We missed the boat on Gruden. He wanted to flush JW and the organization refused to do so. Just think about it; we could have picked up a couple draft picks for JW along with getting something for McCoy before letting him walk for FREE. Look where Oakland is today and where they are headed. Look where we are and no light at the end of the tunnel.
November 5th, 2019 at 10:36 am
How the glazers did Not hire chucky over Arians is beyond me. Chucky was ready to take over the team when he visited for hard knocks. And chucky absolutely LOVES him some JayMiss ATM Winsnot.
But chucky is hard nosed old school football coach you don’t see him riding no golf carts at practice. Actually you see him in the face of and challenging young alpha male with jailhouse bodies. No fear no excuses!!!!
Glazers should have hired him the night of the ROH ceremony
November 5th, 2019 at 10:44 am
sharthappens Says:
” He wanted to flush JW and the organization refused to do so.”
Did you just make that up?
November 5th, 2019 at 10:44 am
We never had a chance to get Gruden back. No way he was going to work for the clueless Glazers, and a turnover machine at QB. The travel excuse sounds fine until you realize we lost our first two home games. One to a 2-7 Giants team starting a rookie QB for the first time, and blowing an 18 pt half time lead. We have five more home games, will be lucky to win two of them. No more excuses, winning is all that matters, something the Bucs have never been good at no matter where they play.
November 5th, 2019 at 10:46 am
Chucky doesn’t complain because he is 4-4, if not….Jesus H christ he would be a crying baby…..I hate chucky!!!!
November 5th, 2019 at 10:47 am
4-4!! Is that what a 10 yr/100 mil contract will get you?
November 5th, 2019 at 10:50 am
sharthappens..how do you know all this….got something for McCoy and Winston?
I think folks need to settle down on Gruden and wait for everything to play out in Oakland…..Vegas.
I’m forever grateful for Gruden winning that SB for us…..but I don’t think he’ll pan out in Oakland. We’ll see. Still early.
November 5th, 2019 at 10:53 am
Are we praising a 4-4 team lol.
If Bucs were 4-4 we will be pissed
November 5th, 2019 at 10:56 am
zzbuc Says:
November 5th, 2019 at 10:46 am
Chucky doesn’t complain because he is 4-4, if not….Jesus H christ he would be a crying baby…..I hate chucky!!!!
must be dungy nuthugger lose quietly and confuse mediocrity with greatness…
November 5th, 2019 at 10:57 am
Antonio Brown…gone under Gruden….JW would not stand a chance.
JG would have him crying in his oatmeal before pulling him
November 5th, 2019 at 11:07 am
Again Joe is missing the major point. The Raiders are in year two of their offense and defense. Bucs are in y3ar one and have missed a day of practice for several weeks due to travel. Starting six rookies and several first-year players on defense does not help either. Not making excuses but something to at least be aware of if you’re going to write an article like this it should be brought up.
Greg, the Bucs and Arians sold everyone a reload, not a rebuild. They raised expectations as high as they could go. Either they lied, were horrible personnel evaluators, or the coaching staff doesn’t have it, or a combination of all three. That’s the underlying deal here. Very different tone everywhere if Arians called this a rebuild when he arrived. –Joe
November 5th, 2019 at 11:07 am
Horrible take Bob
November 5th, 2019 at 11:08 am
The Raiders are surprising. I wonder what their record would have been in Antonio Brown was just a football player.
November 5th, 2019 at 11:13 am
We’re 2-6 because we won two games and lost six. Where we do it is irrelevant, every team has to play on the road, good ones win….bad ones blame something.
We are bad…..somehow worse then the previous regime that we were so convinced was incapable. If we blame anything….blame our GM.
November 5th, 2019 at 11:14 am
I know for a fact that he did not want to coach JW. He is very aware of what he did in college and more so what he has been doing in Tampa since his arrival….and there is a lot more than the Uber incident in Arizona. Also more than the Blue Martini Incident. There are several issues in Tampa that was swept under the rug. Mr Dugan can probably share this info way before me.
November 5th, 2019 at 11:21 am
I don’t recall many coach of the year candidates with .500 records but that’s cool.
November 5th, 2019 at 11:23 am
Shart
Where did you get that from? That he wanted to flush JW?
November 5th, 2019 at 11:24 am
I’m with you Joe. Although the NFL does hose their teams. The Lightning arrived in Sweden on Sunday and don’t play until Friday. They at least get a chance to get their biorhythms adjusted.
IF these guys were flying commercial I would truly feel sorry for them. For those of us mere mortals who cannot afford first class flying has become truly UNCOMFORTABLE. The greedy airlines have squeezed the cattle car seats.
I haven’t seen the Buc’s charters…but I gotta believe the players get the equivalent of first class seat room. If they really wanted to help the guys they would put in those sleeping seats used on int’l flights.
November 5th, 2019 at 11:30 am
Gruden was never coming back to Tampa. Tampa was leverage for his 100 million dollar deal and it was his chance at a final single finger salute to The Bros. Glazer.
November 5th, 2019 at 11:34 am
Raiders have an easier schedule, and way less travel time and there away game stretch was shorter than ours.
And they’re barely .500, gimme a break.
November 5th, 2019 at 12:29 pm
Doesn’t matter if it’s year two for Gruden, that’s only cause he completely dismantled the team and built it to his liking, while Arians said it’s not a rebuild and claimed the secondary was fixed
November 5th, 2019 at 12:38 pm
I’m glad Gruden is gone but I’d take him as a play caller any day over “on the job training” Byron Leftwich. I can also add that the Raiders 1st round pick, Clelin Ferrell was an even worse choice than taking a gosh damn middle linebacker at 5 overall. Neither Carr nor Winston are worth big money, so that’s a wash there. As much as I hate to admit it, I think that the Raiders are better coached.
November 5th, 2019 at 12:59 pm
anyone one who keeps making excuses for this bad team must not pay for season tkts or went to the same university as Winston!
November 5th, 2019 at 1:11 pm
@DB55,
Kirk Cousins is ahead of Jameis on TDs. And out of the Top 6 in TDs, Jameis has the most attempts.
You know where Jameis is tied for first though? Oh, you didn’t check? INTERCEPTIONS!! 12
Sacks? He’s first with 30!
If you want to bring up stats, then give the whole picture instead of cherry picking.
November 5th, 2019 at 1:20 pm
Excuses excuses…BA is full of them!
November 5th, 2019 at 1:26 pm
@DB55,
Jameis is 6th in TDs with the most attempts out of the top 6
He’s tied for 1st in Interceptions.
#1 in Sacks at 30.
3rd in Fumbles at 9 as 2 QBs are tied 2nd.
There, that should give a better holistic picture of your MESSiah at QB.
November 5th, 2019 at 2:44 pm
Meh the 4-4 Raiders.
A PAT FG and a quick whistle away from 4-4 in Tampa. Same team as the Raiders.
November 5th, 2019 at 2:46 pm
Sharthappens is full of SHART. Chucky wasn’t going to coach here again because they showed him the door. It had nothing to do with JW. His team is different and he’d agree our QB is better than his. Just ask him.
November 5th, 2019 at 3:45 pm
Chucky is awesome and has the lambardi and his own statue here in OBP, so say what you will but I will always be grateful, maybe because coming from detroit where they never won a superbowl, I really liked him on game day..
November 5th, 2019 at 3:48 pm
lombardi
November 5th, 2019 at 5:12 pm
zzbuc Says:
November 5th, 2019 at 10:46 am
Chucky doesn’t complain because he is 4-4, if not….Jesus H christ he would be a crying baby…..I hate chucky!!!!
_____________________________
F outta here, both you and Cornelius. The job he has done with Derek Carr has been remarkable, the way they navigated around the AB fiasco, the lack of talent (nobody thought the raiders would even be competitive), the blowback he received for the Khalil Mack Trade, you can go on and on and on. Well guess what, the Raiders arrow is pointing up while the Bears are a mess, they’re sitting on a ton of draft picks with cap room, and he is well on his way to having the last laugh. He is building a solid program out there. I’ve never even been the biggest Gruden backer, but has done an excellent job and the coach of the year talk is warranted
November 5th, 2019 at 5:29 pm
Loving the first comment by Tmaxcon. Let’s face it, Sucking = Content
Question: What could Patriot fan writers possibly write about?
“Won another one”
“No longer in the hunt for another undefeated year”
“More GOAT Stats”
“Found another Probowler with the 32nd Pick in the Draft”
It would get pretty boring when all you do is have success.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:29 pm
Chuckie never looked that happy as Bucs coach even when he won the whole enchilada in San Diego. Perhaps he has access to legal dispensaries in NoCal. Anyhow his team fared better on the road than BA’s team and he will likely end up 8 and 8 which is much better than the Bucs 4 and 12 but the Glazers fired him for averaging 9 wins so perhaps the Bucs are suffering the curse of Chuckie…(or the Glazer lads are a tad inept, pick your poison but the Bucs are a bad team…).
November 5th, 2019 at 10:21 pm
@lamchop@db
Some other stats:
Bridgewater did remind us that he is a decidedly cautious passer — his average pass traveled 5.7 yards past the line of scrimmage, second-lowest in the NFL during that time — but he no doubt put himself in position to be a viable starting option in free agency. He turns 27 later this month and, to the delight of fans around the league who have been inspired by his story, appears to have a long career ahead of him.
Turnover Machine Award: Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Marcus Mariota’s 2015 draft classmate has done his best to get benched, but Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians hasn’t given up on him yet. Winston has committed an NFL-high 16 turnovers in eight games, throwing 12 interceptions and losing four fumbles. But the story is worse than that.
ESPN Stats & Information charters have credited defenders with dropping another six interceptions, most in the NFL, and Winston has fumbled a total of nine times. So in reality, Winston has given opponents 31 legitimate opportunities to create a turnover. They have just taken him up on it a little more than half the time.
Not surprisingly, the Buccaneers are 2-6 and headed into an offseason where they almost certainly will need to find a new starter.
November 5th, 2019 at 11:25 pm
Maybe $100 mm wasn’t that steep a price?
November 5th, 2019 at 11:27 pm
Joe you just written a article complaining about the schedule … don’t try to make it seem that is not an excuse for the Bucs when you know you used that excuse lol
November 6th, 2019 at 2:21 pm
Not advocating for Winston but geez y’all wen the good Jamis shows up we still lose can’t blame him for the defense being a sieve. Not even Tom Brady could win with this defense. PEOPLE OFFENSE DOESNT WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS. DEFENSE DOES. until we get a secondary we are not winning bring in Dalton, draft the next russel Wilson sorry still not winning with this defense.