“This Is What Champions Do”
October 17th, 2021
Closer.
For “Good Morning Football” co-host and closet Bucs fan Peter Schrager, there is one way to tell if a team has championship DNA.
And on Thursday night the Bucs demonstrated theirs.
When the Bucs took over with 5:54 left in the game just after Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts pulled Philadelphia within 28-22, there was plenty of time for the Eagles to make a stop and have a shot at an upset.
The Bucs never gave them the chance. Tampa Bay ran out the clock behind Tom Brady’s precision throwing. For Schrager, that drive was a message to the NFL that the Bucs are still the 500-pound gorilla the rest of the league has to tangle with.
“This is it to me,” Schrager said of the final drive for the Bucs. “This is what champions do. This is the difference to me, between [the Bucs] and some topsy-turvy games where you go, ‘Did you see this team came back from 17 points down late and they found a way?’
“The Bucs don’t have those games. They don’t give up these giant leads. And Brady — not his best night. It’s not going into the Louvre. It’s not going into the Hall of Fame. It will be forgotten the second they take the field against Chicago.
“But if you didn’t watch it, it was a chance for the Eagles to steal one if they just got their hands on the ball again. And they couldn’t. That’s what Tampa Bay does. … They don’t let you back in the game and they put you away when they have to.”
It was almost like Brady and the Bucs were toying with Philly the other night. They let them hang around and gain confidence. For just about any team, that is a recipe for disaster — teams that don’t have Brady.
October 17th, 2021 at 10:19 am
The old Bucs would have found a way to lose. Thanks new Bucs.
October 17th, 2021 at 10:28 am
Better coaching decisions punt on 4th down, or call a better play like a quick slant. Seems we don’t come up with good play calls on 4th downs. That needs changing.
October 17th, 2021 at 10:29 am
agree with Bojim–old Bucs would of lost that game for sure
October 17th, 2021 at 10:32 am
Hodad absolutely right!–4th down calls are awful–no reason for the low percentage shots, should of punted anyway on that lost pivotal 4th down.
October 17th, 2021 at 10:32 am
Causes me a split personality. Half of me panicking that we will blow the game (true Bucs fans know), and the other half Brady calm. The third half needed a drink. ๐
October 17th, 2021 at 10:47 am
Going for it on fourth was absolutely the right call
October 17th, 2021 at 10:58 am
I dunno.
I am ecstatic at 5-dash-1. This has happened, what, once in Bucs history…and NEVER 6-1?
But this has to be the lamest 5-1 I have witnessed. The ‘Fins aside (I was there!), I don’t think this defense is anywhere near “championship DNA.”
Even The Greatest Show on Turf needed to play occasional defense.
October 17th, 2021 at 11:29 am
Cobraboy no disrespect but thatโs dumb the lamest 5-1. This is the nfl you are what your records say. If the defense gives up 1000yds in a win itโs still a win!!!Every game is its own game they flow different but the goal is to win.
October 17th, 2021 at 11:52 am
How many times did the defense cause 3 and outs? I gotta say seeing that was a breath of fresh air along with the pass rush and some pbu and holding them to 200 yards offense. Of course they showed us what has been happening all year with them with the two long scoring drives and stupid penalties which just didn’t make sense. Offense is good with the run game finally making its mark and not missing much of a beat w/o Gronk. When your rbs are getting into the scoring act it’s a good thing.
October 17th, 2021 at 12:05 pm
@Youngbics: was the Rams debacle “what your record says?”
Is the worst pass defense and lamest pass rush in the NFL “what your record says?”
Has this team played a complete game yet outside a terrible Miami team?
I am happy for the 5-1 record. I’m just not drinking the football Kool Ade yet.
October 17th, 2021 at 12:56 pm
Cobraboy we lost to the rams youโre not making any real point. By the way it is what the record says 1 loss smh.
October 17th, 2021 at 5:12 pm
I felt like the Bucs got bored and let Philly do some catch up but Bucs knew they have the clock on their side. Also, no need to put more unnecessary points in there and risk more injuries. Objective of the game is to get a win and go home safely.
October 17th, 2021 at 9:36 pm
COBRABOY – You OBVIOUSLY have no idea what your talking about !! First of all , the Bucs are down to practice squad players in the CB position !! You know , the guys that have to play against the best WRs in the game !! Second , last time I checked , the Ram’s are a great team and we didn’t lose by much !! You can’t win them all . It’s a marathon , the Bucs lost 5 games last year , but won the games that mattered !! Go play some video games or something , Madden sounds like something you would like
October 17th, 2021 at 11:22 pm
๐๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐ต๐ณ๐๐น๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ .๐ข. ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ 40 years of buffunery we Buc Fans have scratched a winning lottery ticket to Sit atop of the Gold Stacks ala Scrooge Duck ..but it is Such unfamiliar territory i for one revert to All the comebacks thst just fell short ,the4 man missed tackles letting a team back into a game Allready thought over ..Donโt get Me wrong Iโm loving every second of being the king ..I donโt think we can or any National opinion should be The Bucs and there โElitestโ fans ..the only thing we were dominant in was underachieving ..No wet blanket just reality check ..now back to polishing Lombardiโs wondering if I need a bigger shelve???
October 18th, 2021 at 11:45 pm
Again, Brady is the master of how to win NFL games. He does what needs to be done when it has to be done, and not what the media or the fans want him to do.
This is why all season/every season we’re hearing about how this QB or that QB is “headed for the MVP” and why Brady gets ranked 7th or 8th best by the sports writers. He usually doesn’t like up the numbers, and he never cares about on-field flash. He just uses his head and his superior eye-hand coordination/processing speed to get the job done.
Just like last season, I’m kind of enjoying watching all these other teams walking all over each other while the BUCS (and the entire football world) KNOW Tampa Bay will win the Super Bowl in a repeat. It’s almost as if they’re all wasting their time.
I’m more interested in the 3-peat.