Curbing Penalties

October 9th, 2020

Joe saw more flags last night than at a Fourth of July party.

Yellow hankies all over the place. Almost every play. Many against the Bucs.

It got so bad Joe was doing what Uncle Ira always talks about: The Bucs make a good play and you look at the corners of your TV screen for flags.

Even Joe Buck last night said on the NFL Network broadcast, “We don’t see any flags but we are conditioned to look for them.” Buck thought it was ridiculous.

Joe always leans towards the angle that players can curb penalties, not so much coaches. The basic rules of the game have not changed. And the coaches are not the guys grabbing opponents when they are not supposed to. Players clearly should know better. They’ve been playing ball for years.

But today, Bucco Bruce Arians suggested all the flags last night fall at his desk at the end of the day. And on his staff. And he and his staff must do better.

“Just have to do a better job of coaching,” Arians said. “It all falls on the staff – mistakes that we’re making in ballgames that shouldn’t be made, and they’re not every week.

“There are games where there’s a bunch of them – that was one of those games where there was a bunch of them. Penalties, technique errors [and] things that we should have coached better.”

Well, technique issues, yes. Arians is right about that. But penalties? What, offensive players don’t know they shouldn’t hold? Carlton Davis doesn’t know he shouldn’t grab wide receivers with the ball in midair? Players don’t know better than to jump a snap?

If that is the case, the issue isn’t with coaching. It’s an issue above the shoulders and that is damn hard to fix.

46 Responses to “Curbing Penalties”

  1. bojim Says:

    I don’t think I’ve ever been so pissed and frustrated in a really long time.

  2. bojim Says:

    Oh. And embarrassed.

  3. JimmyJack Says:

    You can blame lots of different things from last night. And when the game finished we had the ball with plenty of time decent field position and we only needed a field goal.

    Tom Brady lost us the game deciding drive. He deserves a huge share of the blame. We need better QB play thdn that. He missed a lot or wide open reciever out there all night too. Tom Brady looked like he had his head up his ass and played like crap.

    Tom has every right to get ticked off on the sideline like he did……And the team still gave him the ball with a chanse to win. Brady choked.

    Five games in and Brady has been inconsistent. Major dissapointment so far but he does have some time to get his game right.

  4. BucsFanForever Says:

    The Bucs lost this game; the Bears didn’t win it, except on the scoreboard. Mike Evans has a habit of visibly pushing off from defensive backs – the refs could call it on every play if they wanted to.

  5. buc fan for life Says:

    Teams should be able to use a challenge to review questionable / bogus calls. Let them spend their challenges however needed. Two calls extended drives that cost them points!

  6. AwShbucs Says:

    Buc fan for life. We saw the result of that last year with the PI challenges. In most cases no matter how obviously horrible of a call/ non call it was, they would stick with the call on the field.

    The same refs who called that bogus roughing call more than likely would have stuck with it after review.

  7. orlbucfan Says:

    The SB team was coached to outplay the refs as well as the opposing team. Go look at the video record. BAzz and Methuselah lost this game on top of the usual ref nonsense. Hopefully, those two get their heads screwed on straight before the Pack get here.

  8. Sesteprenelicus Says:

    It’s because the players are beaten on the play and all they can do to stay in it is commit a penalty.

    Perhaps less a question of discipline v. just being outplayed.

  9. AwShbucs Says:

    Heres how you curb penalties. Pay off the officiating crew like the Bears so obviously did last night.

  10. bucsince79 aka bumaneer Says:

    That 4th Qtr call on Shaq B was bogus. It cost us the game. That and Kalil Mack…

  11. Joe Says:

    The SB team was coached to outplay the refs as well as the opposing team.

    This is why Joe doesn’t get too bent about penalties. Good teams can overcome them.

  12. Pelbuc Says:

    Season is done! Can’t watch more of this crap team.

  13. Ed Says:

    Blame this lost on Winston, the ref’s, the football , everyone but Tom Brady. He is a old man playing a young man game.

  14. 813bucboi Says:

    This is why Joe doesn’t get too bent about penalties. Good teams can overcome them.

    but how many good teams lead the league in penalties?….

    and i’ll take it a step further, how many SB winning teams lead the league in penalties?….

    penalties lose games….a good team can overcome penalties when they play a bad team but thats not the case when they play a good team….

    GO BUCS!!!!

  15. ModHairKen Says:

    Relax. It was one bad game.

    They could have easily won, and, if they had, everyone would be singing a different song.

    This game will pay dividends in the long run because the warts were exposed It shows they have a lot of work to do.

    They need to peak in December, not now.

  16. 813bucboi Says:

    season aint done man c’mon…..

    chiefs were 6-4 last year before they got HOT…..

    GO BUCS!!!!!

  17. AwShbucs Says:

    813bucboi

    Hard to overcome terrible playcalling in the 4th quarter as well. Especially on that last drive.

    Everyone in the civilized world knew that Bucs were going to run the ball on first down last night. The offensive line was getting Brady named, didnt stop Leftwich from calling long developing routes all night. Several wasted drives early targeting Tanner Hudson over and over. Bad game all around for Ol Lefty, the Oline and Todd Bowles whoe left routes underneath open far too often with soft zones.

  18. NashvilleBuc Says:

    When your O line is getting their ass whipped, they have 2 choices- let the guy get through and sack the QB or hold and hope it doesn’t get noticed. Discipline has nothing to do with a penalty in this scenario. We were getting whipped. Same goes for pass interference. When the penalties start to mount you know you are just not as good as the other team on that day.

    Now personal fouls are another story. The team should hold Jensen accountable. You could argue he cost us the game.

  19. AwShbucs Says:

    Maimed* not named.

    Also, Joe can you please, please tell Todd Bowles to stop dropping Shaq Barrett and JPP into coverage. It never works.

  20. Will Says:

    I’m sorry this team is just not disciplined and it shows. Brady is going to have to continue to get in their a@@ until it clicks.

  21. BucKev Says:

    A lot of holding and PI penalties are caused by poor technique – player gets out of position then has to grab on to recover

  22. 813bucboi Says:

    awshbucs

    that play call to tanner hudson in the endzone was perfect…brady missed the throw….

    rojo had over 100yards mostly between the tackles…he ran effective on first down…

    BL shouldve stuck with the run game most for sure….but how many times did we start out 1st&25 or 1st&20 because of penalties?…

    theres no play call in the world for 3rd&34….

    GO BUCS!!!!!

  23. JustBucNwin Says:

    Mr players coach needs to get on their A$$ on the sideline. Seeing Brady scream at his O line was a breathe of fresh air. We only see what the cameras show us, but it doesn’t appear the coaching staff gets after them! Bench a player for a few snaps, if that’s what it takes! Same ole Bucs!

  24. AwShbucs Says:

    813 you’re really that dumb? Brady would have made that throw on the money if he wasnt being hit while throwing… which was a major theme of the night due to the long developing route combos with no time to throw.

    Yes, Rojo ran incredibly well. He also had several runs that were turned into positive yardage by making people miss in the backfield. If the run calls weren’t so predictable he probably could have had a 150+ yards last night.

    Still doesnt make any sense that you readily hand out blame to certain folks but not to others who are clearly deserving of it.

  25. Miketb19 Says:

    Hey screw that some of those penalties were clearly called wrong

    1. Shaq Barrett’s neutral zone infraction was a total blown call Ray Charles could seen that the RG Ifedi jumped first which cause Shaq to jump
    2. Shaq Barrett’s roughing the passer penalty was almost just as stupid he made no contact at Foles helmet he didn’t hit him low he just ran into him
    3. Carlton Davis pass interference call was the worst I think though that pass was clearly uncatchable as it was thrown at least 7 or 8 yards short and last time I checked A. Robinson’s arms aren’t the size of a giraffes neck so there was no way that ball could be completed

    So I’m not saying we didn’t have some stupid penalties we did have those but make no mistake about we had some really BS calls on us to

  26. Craig Says:

    The coaches lost control of their players. The most obvious reason is because the coaches looked incompetent. Bucs were out-coached and the players made a brawl of it.

  27. stpetebucsfan Says:

    How do you coach “technique” about jumping offsides…in an EMPTY stadium!!! Not once but twice.

    Khalil Mack is going to get his every week…we don’t need to be giving his defense five yard advantages and more every drive. Jumping offsides is NOT physical…it doesn’t require any special talent, strength, speed, size. It just requires discipline and focus!

    And…ACCOUNTABILITY….there should be a dumbarse reel of the week to entertain the entire team…kind of like ESPN’S ole “Cmon Man!” Maybe these guys would have enough professional pride to tire of being embarrassed week in and week out…at least in the case of D Smith.

  28. cmurda Says:

    @Jimmyjack. Dude, you’re better than your response about Brady. Brady has been fine. The dude is adjusting to a brand new system with no preseason. He’s doing great. Oh, by the way. Zero picks. Yes, it was ridiculous that he didn’t realize it was 4th down however I implore you to rewatch that play and look downfield to all of Brady’s options or should I say that Brady had no options. It doesn’t matter what down he thought it was. The person to blame was weak minded Byron Leftwich. When we were up 2 with the ball back and about 3 plus minutes on the clock. That’s the time to call a real play and put that away or at least approach the game with common sense. The defense gave up the game winning fg but only after our putrid offensive scheme gave them the ball at the 50. The crime was that the Bears had 10 in the box. 10 in the box! Leftwich calls a a run anyway. Brady could have checked out of it but the play call was weak. ROJO gets blasted for a 4 yard loss because Tanner Hudson is useless. The rest is history. That first down had the opportunity for at least a first down if not a game winner. That is a mentality problem with Leftwich. he does the same thing every time with a lead. Arians is ultimately responsible. the coaching was pure crap. the only thing worse was the officiating. Brady gets hit low on the fumble by Vaughn. Clearly a penalty. Not at all hard for every ref on the field to see. No call. Followed shortly by the phantom PI against Carlton Davis in which the Bears WR actually grabbed Davis was a travesty. that’s a 10 point swing and is ridiculous. The NFL is broken. That looked like a fixed game last night. There was a lot of blame to go around and I will never solely blame the refs but that was gross.

  29. 813bucboi Says:

    awshbucs

    are you really that dumb?…and the answer is YES because i clearly blamed BL for not sticking with the run….

    Brady missed several throws last night….clearly you want to blame 1 person….

    you make sense….even IF rojo ran for 150+ the penalties and undisciplined play wouldve still kept us from WINNING…

    GO BUCS!!!!!

  30. Colonel Angus Says:

    The way you coach the penalties out of them is to sit them down a game, no matter who the player is. And I would start with D. Smith. Let him ride the pine for a game, send the message out that stupid penalties will not be tolerated.

  31. Colonel Angus Says:

    The Bucs lost because of penalties, it’s as simple as that. Killed several good drives that would most likely have ended in points. Arians has to instill discipline on this team, or they will be watching playoffs from their usual place…their couches.

  32. Big Stinky Says:

    Joe

    Guess you don’t like anyone saying your name. Post my chit or don’t. Who cares? Don’t know why I want to read your articles or comment anymore since you banned me. Don’t know why I have anything to say about things that have happened since 2014. Nothing I say will change what happens. BA is done coaching, Licht drafts players that aren’t that good, and the Glazers are CLUELESS! Can’t believe I really want to stop watching football, just losing my love for this TEAM. You banning me from Twitter and now your site really adds to it but I can’t blame you. Didn’t realize what I was doing in January when I brought up the Antichrist is here. Enjoy your site while you can, nothing lasts forever Brother! I’m sure I will post again, can’t help it. Probably will give up sooner or later, like I said I’m about done. God bless

  33. Ndog Says:

    JimmyJack Says:
    October 9th, 2020 at 1:12 pm
    You can blame lots of different things from last night. And when the game finished we had the ball with plenty of time decent field position and we only needed a field goal.

    Tom Brady lost us the game deciding drive. He deserves a huge share of the blame. We need better QB play thdn that. He missed a lot or wide open reciever out there all night too. Tom Brady looked like he had his head up his ass and played like crap.

    Tom has every right to get ticked off on the sideline like he did……And the team still gave him the ball with a chanse to win. Brady choked.

    Five games in and Brady has been inconsistent. Major dissapointment so far but he does have some time to get his game right.

    Totally respect this ⬆️.

  34. AwShbucs Says:

    813… that’s funny because you were singing a very different tune last night. I’m blaming more than just Leftwich btw and Brady absolutely did miss some throws. But I also believe he did enough to win last night despite being let down by his teammates more often than not. Factor in the refs being clearly slanted against us and I’m shocked we only lost by 1.

    But Tom Brady’s life could have been made much easier last night if we went in with a better gameplan offensively. There were entirely too many long developing plays down the field despite the line showing a clear inability to give Brady enough time to throw.

    Not only that, but we showed we could be successful in the short passing game versus Chicago last night. Tyler Johnson was having a heck of a game before BL went away from him.

    Basically what I’m saying is last nights gameplan and playcalling had were questionable at best. On both sides of the ball but especially on the offense.

  35. chris L Says:

    i am in a state of misery after yesterday. packers next yuck. i am scared for the bucs implosion if we lose to green bay and have to go see chucky 3-3. ugh this isnt going to get it done in the division

  36. Bird Says:

    What a hypocrite

    Ndog with another amazing post

    It was never jameis fault. (Well except the texans game)
    Remember where he would throw 4 – 5 picks and each one would be blamed on receiver or oline.

    Now its bradys fault

    Its so creepy how much he craves dem nutz

  37. Alanbucsfan Says:

    Donovan Smith leads the NFL in penalties, including a holding call that negated a roughing the passing call that would’ve given Bucs a key 1st down on the multi-penalty drive. He also gave up sacks – including a big one in red zone to kill a promising drive in the 4th quarter.
    Brady was playing with 3rd stringers and a banged up Evans.
    Bucs lost because Bears DLine kicked Bucs’ Tackles’ ass.

  38. Ndog Says:

    I think it’s funny that people are so upset and shocked by the penalties if you notice the penalties only occur when we are playing the better teams. That’s because those teams are simply better than us at those individual positions where the penalties are being committed. When you have a better player against you you tend to stress out more and do things outside of your normal process which leads to grabbing, holding or panicking you see this all the time with Smith and Davis. Then of course you have Shaq who I by the way pointed out was number two in the NFL and offsidee penalties last year get his customary one-off slide penalty a game but again I told you guys that was coming and got laughed at remember?

  39. AwShbucs Says:

    You deserve to be laughed at Ndog because you’re pathetic.

    Also that wasnt an “offslide” against Shaq. It should have been a false start all day long.

  40. HomerSimpsonRocks Says:

    That Game last night was what Bucs fans have been watching for 18 years.

  41. unbelievable Says:

    Except Shaq didn’t jump the snap:
    – it was false start by the Bears guard.

    Just like Shaq didn’t rough the passer:
    – the ball was released less than 1 tenth of a second before he hit Foles.
    – no extra steps were taken before hitting him
    – he didn’t hit him with his helmet
    – he didn’t hit him in the head or below the knees
    – he didn’t pile all his weight on him
    – he didn’t drive him to the ground too forcefully

    Literally, none of the things required for a roughing the passer call took place.

    Now as for the penalties on our o-line, yes that was all on them. Shameful, embarrassing, sloppy, etc.

    At least Marpet and RoJo had a good game. And even Wirfs was mostly good outside that 3rd quarter

  42. Of course Says:

    Seems like all of our important players are hurt.
    D. Smith kills drives every game.

    This season is going downhill fast.

    Rodgers could throw it for 400 on this pathetic secondary.

  43. DBS Says:

    So now even after a replay not once but twice and REAL experts pointing out their man jumped. Npup claims Shaq was off sides. I think it is so sad you are so hard up for Jameis it has affected your mind and life this badly. It’s a game for Christs sake.

  44. Dapostman Says:

    20 games in with this staff and still a head butting after the play penalty. The whole team should be running sprints the next practice when one of these penalties occur. Peer pressure is what will stop the stupid mental penalties. When enough guys are tired of running they’ll handle it in-house.

  45. Buczilla Says:

    If I hadn’t been drinking a few cold ones Thursday night I probably would have ripped my hair out. Sissy rules and stupid penalties have come very close to ruining this sport for me. Just get rid of everything except for blatant holding, pass interference, roughing, etc.. Also, the rule in what is and isn’t a catch is one one the most inane things created in the history of the human race. Taking something so simple and complicating it to the extent they have is infuriating.

    Sorry for the rant, but I needed to vent after Thursdays kick in the nuts.

  46. Adam Lakers Carolla Says:

    I saw more flags than a 45 boat parade