Turning Point
March 2nd, 2021
Bye week timing was perfect.
Last year when the 2020 schedule came out, the thing that jumped out at Joe was the bye week.
Maybe because the Bucs were previously a terrible franchise, the Bucs always got stuck with an early bye. Joe thought this (very) late bye was great, as the Bucs would be much more fresh to make a playoff push than if the bye was in early October like normally during the Lost Decade.
Sure enough, the Bucs got that late bye and they haven’t lost since. The Bucs are on a franchise-record, eight-game winning streak that includes a Super Bowl win.
Bucs beastly defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh, speaking to Shannon Sharpe on his podcast “Club Shay Shay,” said the bye came at the perfect time.
“Truthfully as we got into the playoffs, just understanding, ‘Hey, we have got to do what we do as a defense and that is stop the run and making plays,'” Suh said. “And really that’s what we started to do. Started creating turnovers. Starting executing at a high level.
“That was what I think our bye week really allowed us to do. We got to review our tape and see the good bad and really the ugly of our defense, make those changes and found a way to be successful.”
As Joe typed earlier, the bye timing was perfect. Bucco Bruce Arians has since remarked that maybe the bye week came too late, as the Bucs were worn down. The Bucs did lose three of four games right before the bye, so Arians might be onto something, though two losses were by a field goal.
A late bye is always much better than an early bye. So when the NFL comes out with its 2021 schedule, likely in April, take a peek at when the bye is scheduled.
The later the better.
March 2nd, 2021 at 12:11 am
I’m guessing they’re going to give us a very early bye week next season. –Can’t get any worse than that damn week 1 bye in ’17. That was ridiculous.
March 2nd, 2021 at 12:30 am
Tennessee ready, ’79 Defense! 😆
March 2nd, 2021 at 12:32 am
Nah!!! Goodell wants Brady in the convo for playoffs in 2021. Bucs bye week will be week 10ish. Bucs are the NFL darlings…embrace and enjoy, my fellow Bucs Fans. We are breathing High Air through 2022.
March 2nd, 2021 at 12:34 am
That is, the 2015 Week 1 bye week we were so prepared for!
March 2nd, 2021 at 6:29 am
The NFL needs to.add a second bye week.
Extending the season would make them more money too.
And American fans would be happy to have a longer NFL seasons.
More weeks equals more televised games.
March 2nd, 2021 at 7:58 am
The stars aligned for the Bucs at right time-
AB and Brady got on same page, OLine overcame Cappa’s injury and executed fantastically and Godwin’s finger healed up.
On the D side, various injuries and Covid faded away at the right time- keeping Barrett, White, Dean and Vea all on the field at the same time with the rest of starters and along with Bowles’ adjustments made the D elite at end of the year.
March 2nd, 2021 at 8:14 am
If you did not watch the video interview, you should. Sharp is impressive. I have listened to him a lot and the guy is informed and does his homework vs some of these stupid talking heads.
Suh, of course is Suh. Very intelligent guy. Good interview with insight. What a great addition to our team. Hope he comes back
March 2nd, 2021 at 8:40 am
senor harry
i agree….
GO BUCS!!!!
March 2nd, 2021 at 11:06 am
Yea, Sharp is impressive as long as he doesn’t speak.
March 2nd, 2021 at 12:23 pm
bye came at perfect time but dang, it didn’t look like it at halftime of the game after the bye when we were down 17- zip at half