Plenty Of Gas
December 9th, 2020
Joe had a simple question for Bucco Bruce Arians today.
“Coach, do you think Antoine Winfield has hit any kind of rookie wall, and if so, do think this bye week really helped him?” Joe asked at the post-practice news conference.
The head coach chuckled.
It seems he had the same thing on his mind this week.
“Yeah, I joked about it with him the other day, but no,” Arians said. “He’s been more and more prepared than most rookies for the length of the season. But yeah, I don’t see it at all in his practice habits or his gameplay.”
Joe was glad to hear that from Arians, as Winfield has cooled after his ferocious start that earned him defensive player of the month in September.
Since his game-ending (saving?) play against the Giants a month ago, Winfield has looked, well, like a rookie.
Joe’s not complaining; Winfield is a second-round pick having a strong rookie season. As Joe wrote earlier, Joe would be intrigued to see Winfield get more chances as a blitzer. He was a playmaker in that role earlier this season.
Joe can only imagine how pumped Winfield must be to face the Vikings on Sunday. His dad was a stud cornerback there for nine seasons, three of them Pro Bowl years. And Winfield himself went to the University of Minnesota.
A guy or two on this defense really needs to rise up and have a massive game Sunday. Why not the lone rookie?
December 9th, 2020 at 5:41 pm
Now lets ask if the Glazers wanna sell the team so they can focus on ManU lol
December 9th, 2020 at 6:53 pm
Would you sell something that was like printing money? Me either.
December 9th, 2020 at 6:56 pm
He’s not even the best rookie safety in the division. And Brady isn’t even the best qb in the division. It’s a Bucs life.
December 9th, 2020 at 6:59 pm
The whole narrative of the Glazer’s selling the team is a silly one. They’re clearly not the worst owners in the NFL by a long shot. Do we agree with all their decisions? Of course not. But they have absolutely zero motivation to sell the team. Many owners have other financial interests in sports teams. And the glazers haven’t been cheap since the housing crisis. Move on.
December 9th, 2020 at 7:06 pm
Steven007: Right, the long time Bucs fans had Hugh Culverhouse as the owner for several years, one of the worst in sports history, IMHO.
December 9th, 2020 at 7:27 pm
I kind of forgot about Winfield Jr. playing college at Minnesota, and his Dad playing for the Vikings. This might be his bounce back game. I’m sure Bruce Arians reads all of JBF comments, so I respectfully ask that you hire Antoine Winfield Sr. as a coach. Thank you in advance.
December 9th, 2020 at 7:58 pm
I think he has hit a rookie wall. It appears the team as a whole has also hit a wall. I think the Vikings game is a coin flip at this point. Will be interested to see if they come out prepared and hot on Sunday. If they lose I think the playoffs are in serious jeapordy.
December 9th, 2020 at 8:01 pm
+1 Joe in MI on Winfield jr playing a special game against the Vikings, as I subscribe to that theory too; Doug Martin going off for 251 and 4tds in his homecoming to Oakland is a good case in point. This game being in Tampa, maybe a pick and a sack would do?
December 9th, 2020 at 8:03 pm
For some reason changed the defense now they’ve all cooled off. Tyler Johnson owes us a return TD(s)
December 9th, 2020 at 8:04 pm
Agree with BradyBunch. Winfield is not playing up to the high bar he set for himself earlier. Would have been amazing if he could have kept playing at a high level.
But its been a really goid rookie season for Winfield. Ive always believed what you are looking for from rookie is just to see a flash. Rookies will almost always struggle but when they show some flash its usually a great sign of things to come.
I could easily see Winfield being a the key guy on defense as he ages.
December 9th, 2020 at 8:15 pm
007…..I dont see how the Glazers are not some of the worst owners in the NFL. Dont know what you judge on but I go by wins and losses. The Glazers are losing owners and theres no denying that. They gotta be a Top Five losing team since they took ownership from their Dad.
A big factor I think works against them is they arent very involved at football decisions. This put them at the mercy of whoever they hire. This had led to lots of hires and fires and no stability.
But if they start winning this year they can change all that. And I really like the fact of having a large coaching staff that could be setup to keep grooming our front office foundation. We may actually be well setup to bring that much needed stability. Of course without winning it dont mean much.
So take the playoff spot from the Vikings and start there!!
GO BUCS!!!!
December 9th, 2020 at 8:30 pm
Winfield will make more plays if they do not position him 20 yards back like the Chief game. He was so far back he really was either late to help out the CB’s or just did not respond well and so was basically not able to help on most plays. Bigtime growing pains for the rookie. So that is like 10 against 11, not a good strategy for a defense that is struggling to defend the pass. Hopefully like you said Joe that he can be used to blitz more. They need to position him better. He is an excellent young player, but it was not fun watching a great young talent be basically wasted on positioning by the coaches in the Chief game. GO BUCS!!!!!
December 9th, 2020 at 9:00 pm
According to the broadcast map, we will be shown to 70% of the country.
Hope we don’t lay yet another egg.
December 9th, 2020 at 9:29 pm
The Glazers have been great owners. Period. End of discussion. They saved the team from moving, forced the do nothing politicians to build a respectable stadium to replace that embarrassing metal bench sombrero, and won a Super Bowl.
God Bless them.
December 9th, 2020 at 9:42 pm
Our corners look really slow back there if I’m being honest it’s like they don’t fully understand the defense yet and just reacting late which is why we never had safety help over the top against chiefs. Pass rush is the only reason the defense isn’t ranked much worse
December 9th, 2020 at 10:02 pm
Pewter Power Says:
December 9th, 2020 at 9:42 pm
Our corners look really slow back there if I’m being honest it’s like they don’t fully understand the defense yet and just reacting late which is why we never had safety help over the top against chiefs
That is what Shaun King was saying, that they still do not actually understand what they are doing. That is exactly what was happening with Winfield back there. So when he is positioned 20 yards back and he is not sure what to do, you end up with 200 yards in the first quarter and 300 for the first half. It is not just Winfield, who is an excellent rookie, it is with the whole fearful secondary. When you have cornerbacks lining up and surrendering first downs simply by positioning, this is not good. They need to be getting up in the WR’s face and knocking him off his route at the line of scrimmage, messing up timing. This also gives the pass rush more time to get to the QB. They need to return to press coverage, because soft zone = getting beat badly, either slowly or in chunks but either way, at least fight, if you are going down at least fight, not laydown soft coverage and get continually flogged by the QB. GO BUCS!!! RETURN TO PRESS COVERAGE!!!!!!
December 9th, 2020 at 11:44 pm
tristan wirfs oroy, pro bowler all pro first year, winfield jr, outstanding, hit a little slump, but great pick, the running back out of vanderbilt hell i forgot his name, i was pulling for him, he got a TD and they quit using him
December 10th, 2020 at 12:34 am
JJ, Malcolm was a Gambler and made some great decisions early on. First hiring Dungy, and then gruden to take us over the top. The kids not so much. But after the financial issues in the mid aughts, they’ve at least spent money even if the decisions haven’t been great. A lot of it is happenstance and luck. Is Kraft a great owner? I wonder how he’d be perceived if not for the great luck of hiring belichick and finding Brady. our first owner would make any owner look great by comparison.
December 10th, 2020 at 2:26 am
This kid is a very good rookie, and Licht made some great leaps with this team, but as always he is a year behind the curve and figures out a year too late what most fans can plainly see. Most fans felt the secondary overall was this teams weakness, and rather than find a veteran corner or safety, we held pat and it will most likely be our undoing, a year after many of our tough older free agents contracts expire and with another year of wear and tear on them.
Foolish to have all of these talented but older vets and have it alll depend on the performance of a flashy but unproven young and inexperienced secondary.
And Arians offense sucks
You’ve got ROJO who’s proven to have developed into a quality back, but you give him 12 carries per game. Never let the guy get a rhythm.
Ago I’m like omg a lot about Brady and he’s hard to argue with, but I am missing MR. 26 year old JW. 5109 yrd league leader in passing- was MUCH more exciting.
Where’s our two 1000 yrd receivers now?
SHAMEFUL for ME13 to miss his 6 year record and possibly his GOLD JACKET
SHAMEFUL and DISGRACEFUL
and I’ve heard all the rhetoric- he’s bought into having a trash personal season in exchange for a whiff of playoff football-
Well with the way things have been looking it will be only a whif- and a brief exit- Pathetic
They better figure it out and the defense better wake up because they still look the same inconsistent losing trash team when it comes down to it- only with older players and a worse draft pick.
Hopefully it was all worth it, it is exciting to even be talking playoffs
Maybe they’ll wake up and run the table.
December 10th, 2020 at 6:09 am
When you don’t get to the QB, it exposes the deficiencies in the secondary.
Winfield is solid. BUT, he is still a rookie.
As to the offense Clean House, I agree. We have yet to see a single game where the offense plays to its’ “potential”, and we go away from the run game faster than a shrimp cocktail at the brunch buffet.
Run the effing ball. The stats don’t lie. When we run effectively, we win. It’s that simple.
“What else does a run-game do?” You ask.
Well, it keeps the opposition’s D on the field while ours gets a blow, keeping it fresh.
Simple.
December 10th, 2020 at 8:01 am
Think Bowles is the one who’s hit the wall. Should’ve had the kid stay over the top of Hill from the get go. If Winfield looked confused, it’s because Bowles didn’t put him in any position to succeed. Just like letting Davis get torched.
December 10th, 2020 at 12:43 pm
The problem with the Glazers is they listen to loser Licht to much. If they were smart they wouldn’t have signed him to a new contract. But it seems they just don’t care. Why would they with the cash cow they have.