Candid Talk From Bucco Bruce Arians
December 20th, 2020
Bucco Bruce Arians knows he has a ridiculously unique and rather strange football team that sits with a 9-5 record on the cusp of the playoffs.
Good luck figuring out the consistently inconsistent Buccaneers.
They’re the team with a freakish old quarterback, a porous but big-play defense, a massive coaching staff and a veteran roster that sputters regularly to start games and finishes like wild animals.
Very little about the Bucs’ slow starts makes sense, and that was further magnified today when they trailed 17-0 to the bumbling Falcons. Fast starts were a focus before the bye week and now two games after the bye the Bucs continue to stink up the field early in games.
On the Buccaneers Radio Network postgame show, Arians acknowledged that he’s not getting through to the team. Joe doesn’t have the exact quote, but that’s what Arians said, noting he’s been harping on fast starts for weeks and it’s just not working.
Joe will suggest that now it’s time for a radically different approach.
Arians mentioned that Jason Pierre-Paul was adamant to the team at halftime that there was nothing to say, just go out and play. Maybe Arians can work with JPP and other powerful voices on the Bucs to craft a new pregame attitude that hopefully will spark better starts. Why the Bucs defense continues to be outcoached early really troubles Joe. It just shouldn’t be happening at the rate it is.
A suggestion: Joe would love to see Bucs officials lose the egos, call Wade Phillips and offer him $150,000 to come and consult for the rest of the season. Let him study the film and the preparation and throw in his two cents.
If Team Glazer won’t pay the tab (which they would), then launch a Go Fund Me site and Joe would bet anything that Bucs fans would step up to the plate.
These days I don’t have anything to do and all day to do it!
— Wade Phillips (@sonofbum) December 10, 2020
December 20th, 2020 at 6:55 pm
You can’t just speak something into existence. The game planning needs to be re-evaluated when Brady’s first half YPA is 4.4. No smith or RoJo was a factor too, bc the run game was non-existent.
But hey good teams find ways to win, something we’re not used to seeing with this team for a long time!
December 20th, 2020 at 6:55 pm
Pretty Simple really…
Offensively Leftfoot is in over his head.. What do you have to do to get a slant called around here?
Defensively SMB is terrible and the others can barely hold down their own. And apparently Vea was a huge part of the D. Devin zehite can blitz, but not cover ( LVD not so great at it either)
BA is to busy being the “ cool” teacher instead of straightening out his coordinators.
December 20th, 2020 at 7:04 pm
For the second week in a row one bad play made the game a lot closer than it needed to be.
Last week Suh jumped offsides to keep a drive alive when we would have been off the field. We gave up six. Suh redeemed himself with one of his best games.
This week Winfield misses a tackle on 3rd down that he normally makes. Instead of getting off the field early…Matty Ice takes advantage of moving the chains and again scores six. And again the offender was able to redeem himself as Winfield made a perhaps game saving breakup in the end zone of a certain TD.
Two games where ONE mistake at the critical time made HUGE difference. We need to start taking care of DETAILS!! At least the defenders did not jump offsides repeatedly today.
December 20th, 2020 at 7:05 pm
Why would they listen to the crazy old dude that sits in his golf cart all practice?
Arians has distanced himself from most day to day game prep. He’s only a head coach in title. All he’s done all season is blame the players when things aren’t going right, but when it works it was magically a great coaching job. He’s a buffoon.
December 20th, 2020 at 7:05 pm
Give CD3 the rest of the year off and let “burn me” walk home or see if Atlanta would trade “burn me” for #22 kid can play.
December 20th, 2020 at 7:06 pm
What was even worse today? Beginning of the 3rd at the offense drove down and scored. And low and behold if the defense defense doesn’t let them come right back and score that 7 back. It’s uncalled for this is happening. Then they turn the hounds lose?
December 20th, 2020 at 7:08 pm
….and Arians would never bring in Wade Phillips to look over Todd Bowles shoulder. That would be an absolute nut kick to Bowles and send all sorts of mixed signals through the locker room.
December 20th, 2020 at 7:08 pm
There is no excuse for the poor starts on both sides of the ball.
December 20th, 2020 at 7:09 pm
We can’t get a slant called nor one defensed. They need to call more those receiver screens and toss sweeps to get Brady going on his accuracy. Our three top coaches refusal to change our adjust their mentalities and actually gameplan for teams is really detrimental to this team. Their refusal to give Brady pure snap motions is really slowing this offense down in the beginning and Bowles refusal to use White blitzing earlier games is too.
December 20th, 2020 at 7:11 pm
BA is to busy being the “ cool” teacher instead of straightening out his coordinators.
Yep.
December 20th, 2020 at 7:12 pm
Better yet just pay me $100,000 ..I could easily give my two cents and probably be just as informative as Wade.
December 20th, 2020 at 7:17 pm
BA was retired. He was done. He came back as a figure head, coaching the coaches. That experiment has been unsuccessful…. neither of his co-ordinators can cut it.
Now what?
I doubt that the Glazers will fire the coaching staff. They’ll get one more year coincinding with Brady’s final year under contract.
I guess we’ll just have to hope for the best.
December 20th, 2020 at 7:18 pm
Just stop game planning. Or game plan and then do the opposite.
December 20th, 2020 at 7:18 pm
All lives
Exactly. We’ve all broken this thing down a million times… for free.
December 20th, 2020 at 7:20 pm
If the Bucs don’t win a playoff game, make Josh McDaniels head coach and TB assistant head coach before Brady gets much older and send BA and BL packing.
December 20th, 2020 at 7:21 pm
Wasde Phillips better Stay home …..
The problem is tackling and Not rushing the passer.
They should send the cavalary on every single down and we will be fine
December 20th, 2020 at 7:27 pm
Rams losing today was a huge gift. Im pretty sure now all tampa has to do is win out and they will get the #5 spot. Seahawks play rams next week, if rams lose they will be 1 game behind tampa. If rams win, tampa and seattle will be tied and tampa will have the better division record. That was a huge gift…
December 20th, 2020 at 7:28 pm
The great (?) news is that it is doubtful Bowles is a candidate for a head coaching job after the recent hideous and inconsistent play of his defense.
December 20th, 2020 at 7:28 pm
Haha, na man…ive got it all figured out…theyre playing possum in the first half then bringing it like a fighter saving his energy for the first 3-4 rounds, letting the other wear themselves down.
all good…drives me F N Nuts though lol!
December 20th, 2020 at 7:39 pm
It’s been a fun season and I don’t want to complain overly much, but we’ll never win a playoff game by spotting a good team 17 points. Atlanta is pathetic, they were missing their best player, and our secondary made their 2nd string wideout look like the 2nd coming of Jerry Rice. I’m happy that we won and I appreciate the win, but I’m not gonna do cartwheels down my block either for beating a team that we should beat 9 out of 10 times.
December 20th, 2020 at 7:40 pm
Today’s game is definitive proof that the team’s woes are mainly coaching malpractice. BA can’t shrug it off as “Brady has to play better” anymore. Why the heck Leftwich and Bowles take so darn long to adjust their playcalling? Why is BA consistently getting outcoached in gameplanning? Sometimes I think the only thing missing in this team is a senior executive or coach to give a wake up call to BA, Leftwich and Bowles.
December 20th, 2020 at 7:40 pm
Very bad idea to bring in Wade Phillips….we already have too many cooks in the kitchen…
BA,BL,Tom Moore,Clyde & Brady……
Just give the 1st quarter to Brady…..let him call the plays…
As far as the defense…….don’t worry quite as much about the run from teams who can’t run….quit biting on the play action…..tighter coverage on WRs….
December 20th, 2020 at 7:45 pm
We don’t have the secondary to press and play man consistently like the contenders!
December 20th, 2020 at 7:45 pm
Joe doesnt believe in the word ” Leader” but here he’s kinda calling for ” Leaders” to step up and motivate the team.
December 20th, 2020 at 7:47 pm
Joe, just stop. It’s embarrassing:
“Maybe Arians can work with JPP and other powerful voices on the Bucs to craft a new pregame attitude that hopefully will spark better starts . . .call Wade Phillips and offer him $150,000 to come and consult for the rest of the season.”
Maybe they could all stand around and yell and pretend to eat Ws? Maybe they could form a committee? Let’s have a think tank. Let’s hire Barack Obama.
December 20th, 2020 at 7:49 pm
Yup, make Brady the de facto offensive coordinator, and let Leftover Sandwich call plays to himself.
December 20th, 2020 at 7:50 pm
I’m just curious. If we win out all the way to the Super Bowl will BA still be a bad coach?. Who is setting the bar and where is it set?
December 20th, 2020 at 7:53 pm
ModhairKen
We could kidnap Andy Reid… that dudes an offensive genius and a helluva coach.
December 20th, 2020 at 8:01 pm
TWO GAMES! We are not out of the Division chase with just two games to play!
If the Saints lose their two and we win ours we are the NFC South Champs.
We do not control our fate…the Saints have to lose a couple…but honestly..the fact that we are even ALIVE for the title with just two games to go is a pretty solid accomplishment for the lowly Bucs.
December 20th, 2020 at 8:03 pm
Things that make you go hmmmm: Saints: 10-4; Bucs 9-5 with still 2 games remaining…… if the Bucs can win out…..and the Saints lose out….hmmmm.
December 20th, 2020 at 8:04 pm
@St. Pete
I’d argue that back breaker play from the defense today came even earlier, when Devin White missed his tackle for a short gain on a 3rd and long. Falcons concerted and scored 7 eventually. We have had gotten off the field with a 3 and out and gotten the ball to the offense with the game still 0 – 0
Of course, the offense shat all over itself the entire first half, so who knows if it would have mattered lol.
December 20th, 2020 at 8:05 pm
*converted
December 20th, 2020 at 8:06 pm
I think the Bucs start off slow as to not expend to much energy and let the opponent blow their wad early while we sorta feel them out and then turn it on in the second half just enough to be in it at the end. Cruising through the season just enough to get into the playoffs.
December 20th, 2020 at 8:14 pm
Lose the egos lol not in professional sports. Personally how could another couple of high priced consultants hurt, seems that what Arians is too.
December 20th, 2020 at 8:18 pm
They don’t get near enough pressure on the QB early in games and Devin White is an absolute LIABILITY in coverage!! He should be blitzing 75% of the time and minter should come in for passing downs… That would stop at least 5 first downs a game and a few TDs thrown in!!
December 20th, 2020 at 8:21 pm
I am sure many saw the Saints/ c
Chiefs game, I see little comparison between the Bucs play and those two and we have played 3 games with them and it didn’t end well… Oh well just keep winning the next game…
December 20th, 2020 at 8:27 pm
Good to know we have Jmark and all lives- two armchair geniuses who are better than an all time great defensive mind
December 20th, 2020 at 8:27 pm
StPeteBucsFan, couldn’t agree more. That missed Windfield tackle on 3rd down on the Falcons first drive seemed to sap the energy out of the defense. The D looked like it was on fire on the first two downs, and then boom! A missed tackle and the Falcons began moving the ball at will. At least things tightened up in the second half.
December 20th, 2020 at 8:29 pm
Interesting Offseason Ahead
Ownership and Licht said priority #1 is to have Brady back.
What if Brady doesn’t want BA or BL back?
I wonder if Brady will be picking our next head coach?
December 20th, 2020 at 8:34 pm
Clean House
I would venture a guess that even you could see the obvious… so clearly it doesn’t take a genius…
Now aren’t you late for W eating class?
December 20th, 2020 at 8:41 pm
It’s the NFL. There aren’t any easy games. Look at today’s games. Rams lose to jets. Packers barely win. Etc etc etc. all across the league. Seahawks squeak one out. Did notice they actually called penalties on the Saints for a change. Imagine that. Wonder why. Just be happy with the win. Falcs were going all out trying to play spoiler. Go take a look back at how many of these ugly games Brady has won. Lost a few too. W is a W
December 20th, 2020 at 8:44 pm
We should just run it every play the first half. If it don’t work, who cares. What, are we gonna get less than zero points? Then we can control more time of possession and at least slow down the bleeding on defense before halftime.
December 20th, 2020 at 9:05 pm
The loss of VV has changed our defense dramatically. Our secondary isn’t WORSE than last year, they simply exposed by a lesser pass rush. Every team in the league has watched film and figured out how to pass on us. For whatever reason, in the 4th quarter our pass rush improves (thankfully)
December 20th, 2020 at 9:28 pm
Great idea Joe. I’d love to see Sapp and Brooks on the sideline too. This defense needs to be tougher! Sapp used to kick guys on the opposing team during pregame warm ups for goodness sake! I miss those guys !
December 20th, 2020 at 9:45 pm
The issue is simple. Todd Bowles can’t coach. This man every week goes full Mike Smith and plays zone. This team doesn’t have the intelligence to play zone. Im telling you they can’t play in space, no pressure against a really terrible line. Smb is one if the worst corners in the NFL. Hes slow, can’t cover and why our staff didn’t double ridley is the biggest head scratcher ever. When Mike gets doubled he disappears yet we don’t for one minute that we should do the same. Offensively Leftwich is absolutely garbage. He has no rhythm to his calls. Our screen play is a joke…..we do not have players who are committed to blocking in the screen game. Bad in space, every screen we got a player almost always tackling before we catch it….thats trash. Bruce is trash for not fixing it and until we learn how to deal with pressure we will lose to better defenses. Leftwich needs to run hurry up in the beginning drives. I.think this would get the guys going and start us alot faster. Too much talent to have 60 damn yards in the first half and zero points.
December 20th, 2020 at 11:12 pm
Brady should just start devising the gameplan as well as call the plays. I’ve never seen such unimaginative and simplistic plays. They’ve won entirely on talent
December 20th, 2020 at 11:35 pm
You’d think we were 5-9 or worse, again, reading these comments.
December 20th, 2020 at 11:42 pm
You would think some of us actually watched the game. Great to win. But there are real problems if we are going deep in the playoffs to the Super Bowl. These same problems are not being solved by these coaches against bad teams.
December 21st, 2020 at 12:07 am
Zero creativity at least in the 1st half. Leftwich calls plays for a H.School team. Dont see any combination routes, any double move routes, any slants, very few HB Screens, no pick plays, no Z ins our Z outs, no reverses, no misdirection plays, hardly ever a bootleg.
At least in the 2nd half we saw some new Patterns called for the WRs. Leftwich could take some cues from the playcalling of teams like the Chiefs, Saints, Packers, even the Dolphins this season.
December 21st, 2020 at 12:11 am
F@ck fast starts. The game is 60 minutes, which means u play 60 minutes. The falcons were winning the bowl 28-3 AND STILL LOST!!!!!. I understand we should not continously get down 17+ points every game but f@ck fast start. The dumbest fan base believes fast starts equates to gauranteed wins. They don’t. want a team that plays 60 minutes regardless of the start like ALL championships team do PERIOD!!. I’m looking for a team that looks like a bowl is a very strong possibility. This team is not that. Just give me 60 minutes
December 21st, 2020 at 7:19 am
Using the excuse that we didnt have a preseason to get on the same page got washed out the window in the fourth quarter.
Amazing!
Honestly,I dont know if I have ever trusted leftwich as a play caller.
Also,Todd Bowles defense reminds me of the jets Defense when he was there.
All know is that teams like the Rams,Green Bay, and the Seahawks will put their foot on the neck of the Bucs if they get a 17 point lead.
It won’t be pretty,and a real fast exit from the playoffs.
Fix it or flop.
Just saying
December 21st, 2020 at 7:48 am
In the 1st half, D did not pressure Ryan , Bucs only ran the ball on 1 out of 4 possessions and offense stunk.
In the 2nd half , D started pressuring Ryan and Brady showed why he’s the GOAT.
Ridley makes alot of corners look bad- you’ve got to pressure Ryan, which Bucs did in 2nd half.
December 21st, 2020 at 10:14 am
As I see it, BA is an old-fashioned retired football coach, who is now managing a talented & veteran team as if he’s an old-fashioned retired football coach. His game plans are not up to NFL quality standards. The buck stops with the head coach, not the assistants. His D seems to start games playing the ‘prevent defense’ mode. His O always runs the ball right up the middle on every 1st down (and seems to average 1.5 yards per carry).
My recommendation to BA is…work harder, work smarter, and improve your game plans!
December 21st, 2020 at 11:20 am
A Gofundme page? When Team Glazer has all kinds of Glazer loot? No, thanks. Another coach? No, thanks. #PaidFloridaVacation