Five Things
December 18th, 2023
Chris Godwin with one of his 10 catches yesterday. (Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.)
Happy Victory Monday! What an absolutely kickass game that was yesterday. Finally, the Bucs offense came alive the way Joe knew it could. The team is getting hot at the right time. Fill your coffee mug up and let’s roll!
Finally, An Offense To Be Proud Of
Joe had been waiting for this since the Rams beat the Bucs in the playoffs after the 2021 season.
Finally, someone decided to take the chains off the offense.
Yes, Joe knows the Bucs and Baker Mayfield only threw 28 passes Sunday, but dang if it didn’t seem like 38 as the offense put up 34 points. Maybe that is a byproduct of being lulled into a slumber each week watching run after run go between the tackles for next to nothing.
Tell Joe you didn’t think once or twice that someone snuck Bucco Bruce Arians into Lambeau Field and he was guiding Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales on what to call.
Canales called pass plays at the right time and Mayfield torched the Packers, hitting seven different targets and every one of those targets had at least one big play in the game.
Joe cannot remember the last time the Bucs got so much production from the pass game and so many contributed. Joe will guess the Super Bowl win over the Chiefs when it seemed dang near every receiver on the roster had a big catch that night.
Joe seems to believe that the reason for the explosion yesterday was due to Canales playing Chris Godwin at slot, a position where he shined in the past for Arians.
(Pppsssttt… hey Dave, don’t fix something not broken. Leave Godwin at slot.)
Joe doesn’t know what exactly got into Canales but whatever it was, feed him the same meals again next week when the Bucs host the reeling Jags.
Joe has been banging his keyboard for months believing something or someone was holding the Bucs offense back, and it drove Joe bananas. Yesterday showed what this offense is capable of. If only the coaches would just let the players shine.
The Devin White Situation
Yeah, something feels fishy with this Devin White drama about him not playing. Bucs coach Todd Bowles didn’t specifically claim White sat out because of his injured foot, just that he couldn’t play. White told Joe a different story.
When Joe approached White in the Bucs’ locker room last night, Joe fully expected White to tell Joe to take a long hike on a short pier. Joe has been harshly critical of White this year and Joe is confident this has gotten back to White.
But when Joe asked White if he had time to talk, he said sure. So right away Joe figured White may not be hiding something because if he was, he probably wouldn’t agree to an interview. He had to know what Joe was going to ask.
As you likely read, White denied he was inactive for any reason other than his foot. He told Joe his foot is not that great. Here is Bucs coach Todd Bowles’ full comments on White from his postgame pressure.
“Well, I made him inactive based off him saying that he couldn’t go today so if he couldn’t go today, I made him inactive,” Bowles said.
The Bucs head coach seemed suspicious of how bad White’s foot might be.
“Probably a question for him but I’m sure he said his foot was sore,” Bowles said. “He told me he couldn’t go so we played the guys we had to play.”
When Joe spoke with White, he was actively engaging and joking around with a fellow Bucs defenders. He seemed slightly bummed out, however, by not being able to play.
White told Joe his foot hasn’t healed to the point where he feels like the injury will not inhibit his playing style. It appears Bowles may think differently.
If White doesn’t want to play for the Bucs again and he used his injured foot as a ruse, with the Bucs in the thick of a playoff chase, that would be very damning of White.
And trust Joe, few general managers are willing to fork out $10 million+ a year to a guy that lacks motivation to play in a playoff chase, while at the same time his teammates are busting their tails fighting for the team’s playoff life.
Spreading The Wealth
Joe was so happy to see Chris Godwin fight through an injury last week and still be able to ball out come Sunday. Godwin led the Bucs with 155 yards receiving, the third-best yardage game of his career.
Mike Evans had four catches as well. After that, a whole bunch of Bucs receivers made key contributions on limited targets.
Three Bucs pass catchers not named “Evans” or “Godwin” had two catches each and two more each had one reception. That’s spreading the ball around.
Additionally, five Bucs receivers who had two or more catches averaged double-digit yards per reception. That may be most impressive of all. These guys weren’t just making catches, they were getting YAC and moving the chains.
As a result, the Bucs shattered their scoring average while racking up 34 points, only the second time all year they’ve broken 30 points.
This was the offense Joe had been begging to see for weeks (months?) on end. The Bucs have the capability of lighting up the scoreboard. For reasons not quite clear, the Bucs until yesterday chose not to go this route. Could it be the Bucs took the chains off the offense because they knew how disastrous a loss to the Packers would have been for their race to the playoffs?
Whatever the reason, the Bucs threw their passing offense into gear yesterday, demonstrating to the NFL it can still be a lethal.
Please don’t let up now, Bucs.
Dumbest Play In Bucs History Averted
Joe couldn’t believe what Joe was seeing. Bucs receiver David Moore took a short pass from Mayfield and raced through the Packers defense for a 52-yard touchdown that gave the Bucs a two-touchdown lead.
Suddenly, it appeared that two-touchdown lead with 6:40 left would immediately shrink back to a one-touchdown lead. Moore, stupidly, decided to start showboating like he was crossing a finish line when he approached the goal line, holding the ball out with one hand.
Moore dropped the ball and on the JumboTron at Lambeau Field, it was razor close whether Moore dropped the ball at the goal line or not. Had the play been ruled a fumble, the Packers would have taken over.
Fortunately, there was no evidence to overturn the touchdown. Had the Packers won the game after that stunt, Joe typed on Twitter that Homeland Security would have had to shut down this site. That’s how much Joe would have freaked out.
Joe can’t believe a professional would be dumb enough to pull a stunt like that in such a critical game. Joe has seen a lot of dumb things on an NFL field but nothing that stupid (Leon Lett doing the same thing in a Super Bowl was beyond dumb, but at least that came in a blowout).
If the Bucs lost as a result of Moore’s knucklehead move and eventually missed out on the playoffs because Moore had to profile, OMG.
Thankfully, a crisis was dodged. Please moms and dads, teach your sons to never, ever freestyle like that until they see the zebras with their arms straight up in the air signaling touchdown.
It’s well past midnight Monday and Joe is still fully triggered by Moore’s antic.
Offensive Linemen Right At Home in Cheeseland
So Joe is starting to realize why Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht loves offensive linemen from the Midwest.
Part of it may be that Licht himself was an offensive lineman at Nebraska. But when you think of big, beefy, bully offensive linemen, most think of Big Ten linemen. Licht doesn’t only draft Big Ten linemen, but also guys from smaller schools in the upper Midwest.
The weather in Green Bay yesterday was either summer-like (for the locals) or frigid for the visitors, , depending on your perspective. Even though it was 42 at kickoff, with the on-and-off light rain and wind it felt more like 20.
As team captains gathered for the coin flip, Joe trained his binoculars on the Bucs bench. Virtually the entire team was seated on heated benches. That wasn’t a good sign. Were they already freaked out by the cold?
Well, most of the Bucs’ offensive linemen were up and about. So was Baker Mayfield. But there were Tristan Wirfs, Robert Hainsey, Luke Goedeke and Cody Mauch (and Ko Kieft, too) all standing together on the sidelines looking ready for battle.
Joe didn’t think it was a coincidence that other than Mayfield, each one of those guys played college ball in the upper Midwest. They were used to the cold. This was like going back home for them.
While teammates were shivering and bailing for the heated benches, Mayfield, Wirfs, Goedeke, Hainsey and Mauch seemed as comfortable as Joe was in the heated press box.
Joe mentioned this to Wirfs, Hainsey and Goedeke as they were leaving the locker room after the game and Wirfs yelped, “Hell yeah! We’re all cornfeds!”
Well, not all, but Joe got what Wirfs was saying. Each guy either grew up or played college ball in Iowa, Wisconsin or Indiana.
Remember when the Bucs terribly struggled for years in Green Bay because, as the belief went, Florida boys would freeze in the cold? Well, today’s Bucs offensive linemen aren’t Florida boys by birth. They grew up in weather like Green Bay offered yesterday.
Now Joe sees what Licht is doing: Building offensive lines for all seasons.
"The most complete game offensively we've played."
– Baker Mayfield telling @AJRoss_TV how the @buccaneers got it done on Sunday pic.twitter.com/AB3PL0XF19
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 17, 2023
December 18th, 2023 at 4:08 am
5 More Things …
1. Goedeke’s worst game of the year. Not sure what happened.
2. Mauch was solid. Opened some key run holes.
3. White is awesome in the open field.
4. Zone defense doesn’t work (yet again).
5. Vea is a load but he needs help.
December 18th, 2023 at 4:16 am
LFG!!! Keep building on it boys!
December 18th, 2023 at 4:21 am
Couldn’t agree more about Moore. It must be exciting as hell to make a big play, but has he not seen highlights of players doing stupid things like that?
Or don’t the coaches overly stress “Don’t ever pull the arms wide open stunt before you’re five yards into the end zone.”
December 18th, 2023 at 4:46 am
Hate to see White’s Buc career end like this but I’m excited to see guys who want to be Bucs and play with heart. The combo of Britt and Dennis will be tested to max against the Jags sideline to sideline attack. Fundamentally Britt is top notch but athleticism could be a huge against with Engram and Etinne.
December 18th, 2023 at 5:04 am
The occult of Trask still isn’t happy. Every Traskie comment ever: “Real Bucs fans blah blah blah Trask blah blah blah SEC blah blah blah I’m smart, your not and he almost beat Alabama one time.” I was annoyed with their stupidity at first but now it’s actually hilarious reading these delusional weirdos drinking the Trask cool-aid just like an obedient occult member should. It’s victory Monday but they still have wadded panties because little Kyle isn’t playing.
December 18th, 2023 at 6:17 am
Put him on the practice squad-since his depart chard we win 3 games-NO MORE LOAFING
December 18th, 2023 at 6:25 am
Good things happen when you spread the love. Keep it up, Canales.
December 18th, 2023 at 6:56 am
Nothing like them cornfeds, LOL. Especially the very athletic one like Mauch and Wirfs
December 18th, 2023 at 7:02 am
Godwin back in the slot is what opened up the offense, for sure. Godwin was not getting open out wide, but he does inside.
This defense is still terrible, but lets just be happy they finally have the offense going.
December 18th, 2023 at 7:22 am
Com on man, not Deja Vu again. First it was Brown, “ain’t going in cause ankle is messed up, now White, “ain’t going in cause foot is messed up. If that’s the case then why need team doctors n trainers. I can just sign my contract n if I don’t feel like playing I can cry wolf sit out n get paid. Diva White could never wear the jock straps of real field soldiers n leaders such as Fred Warner,Micah Parson,Demario Davis, Lavonte David n others. His behavior can create a toxic locker room.
December 18th, 2023 at 7:29 am
Moores Antics aside (which I’m sure he will not do again), he was really really good with Seattle and not sure why he was buried on the depth chart. Perhaps a classic case of justifying/validating draft picks on Palmer and Jarrett but frankly they’re both useless. Palmer in particular has a drop every game, runs the one route once a game and generally doesn’t do anything positive except piss coaches off. If (big if) Gage returns and he’s 100% healthy then that is a very VERY strong 1-4 receiving corp. Focus on center and LG in draft, LB depth, edge rush and DE
December 18th, 2023 at 7:35 am
Couple things regarding Devin White.
#1, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, he knows his body. Considering basically his entire game is based on athleticism, if he isn’t 100% he isn’t going to play well.
#2, If he plays now and puts more bad film out there and the team starts losing, it is going to potentially cost him a ton of money in the offseason.
#3, He has been told or has accepted the fate that he isn’t going to get paid by this team and isn’t going to lay it on the line anymore for them. This is the Leonard Fournette effect showing through in full force. White was close to Fournette and this is exactly how Fournette handled himself in Jacksonville when he knew he wasn’t getting a second contract from them.
December 18th, 2023 at 7:44 am
There is no cult of Trask, how rediculous. We’re all Buc fans who want solid play from our QB. Baker has delivered in December, and as much as I’ve dogged him, I’m much happier he’s having success. This is better then losing. This is better then wondering who we’ll draft, and who will be our next coach. Can Baker, and the Bucs keep it going? I sure hope so.
December 18th, 2023 at 7:48 am
The reason why White isn’t trusted with his injury is his comments earlier about his contract……but I think he is injured. He traveled with the team and looked the part during the post game locker room.
Camarda only had one punt but what a cannon……65 yards inside the 5….wow.
McLaughlin still money……..made every Xtra point this year and only 2 FGs missed were blocked.
December 18th, 2023 at 7:59 am
Bowles is finally putting his foot down and doing what BA would do w/ cancerous players. Sneak gone (remember his mysterious absence weeks back), now Devin benched (we ALL remember his off-season antics….really just his day to day antics in general).
I know it’s not Todd’s forte, but man is he pulling no punches lately and staying even-keeled himself and it’s a beautiful sight to see and has been much needed w/ this team this season. He’s coaching for his life and it’s showing the last several weeks.
Give credit where it’s due. Great job Todd 👏👏👏
December 18th, 2023 at 8:06 am
The Devin White “situation “
Go to the Buccaneers YouTube channel and find the Bowles post game locker room title… then note who is first fist up in the circle… Britt
🙂🙂🙂🙂 a picture is worth a thousand words
December 18th, 2023 at 8:16 am
The Bucs have no LB on their practice squad so if one or two go down they’re in a bad spot so cutting Devin White makes no sense. However, Bowles need to go back to our Super Bowl season when White was great and use him the same way. Therefore unless we need the roster spot I see no reason to cut White unless he becomes a distraction in the locker room. I also think that White feels his speed is very important for him to play at a high level and is o going to play until he is 100%
December 18th, 2023 at 8:18 am
I thought the Bucs ran in between the tackles better than they have all year.
December 18th, 2023 at 8:23 am
1. Hainsey is an embarrassment at Center. He got pushed around all day. What was his 225 at the Combine, 2? Goedeke and Mauch are below average.
2. Canales needs to duplicate yesterday. On all levels.
3. Baker Mayfield can be a Top 5 QB with a little time and some smart play calling.
4. White has suddenly begun to run with authority. A 4 yard gain is a big play.
5. Love is not good. Not accurate. Not Favre or Rodgers. So, don’t get excited about yesterday on the Defense. Hurts or Prescott or Goff or Purdy would have lit them up yesterday. Winfield looked awful at times. Pass rush was bad.
December 18th, 2023 at 8:26 am
As a displaced Tampa native I have received many Bucs clothing gifts over the years. Jerseys, sweatshirts, t-shirts, etc. I have worn different items during GameDay, this year, but nothing seemed to be working. Three weeks ago I wore an ancient Bucs (used to be pewter and red) hoodie that’s faded, discolored and about 2 sizes too large. I have worn that thing 3 weeks in a row and not dared to wash it. Coincidence? I think not!
December 18th, 2023 at 8:27 am
Gofortheface30
I agree, TreyPalmer seems to drop a pass each game. What happened to Preseason Trey, as he calls it…”See ball catch ball”. He hasn’t proved his worth during the regular season. He plays passive,timid, n scared. He’s another Kenny Bell/Scotty Miller. Let’s roll with David Moore n give practice squad player Ryan Miller an opportunity to see what he can do.
December 18th, 2023 at 8:39 am
Bucs have always had a high percentage of “cornfeds”… Paul Gruber and Jerry Wunsch both played college ball in Wisconsin, we’ve had quite a few others from up north… i think our biggest issues have been that our QBs, WRs, and defense have been from mostly southern schools in the past.
December 18th, 2023 at 9:03 am
Throwing on first down and then running on a few second-and-longs was pretty successful. Not sure if the OL woke up or if the GB defense is awful but it sure was nice to see White NOT just slamming into a wall of bodies at the line of scrimmage.
December 18th, 2023 at 9:09 am
Suggest the moniker of “No Mas” for Mr White.
“No Mas” White has a certain je ne sais quoi ring to it.
December 18th, 2023 at 9:48 am
“Cornfeds” hahaha
Please Joe don’t let that description start and stop on this site with one article. The imagery that pops into mind is a bunch of take-no-spit big boys grazing in a field right before they raise a building.
Love it!
Let’s not get too carried away. The Super Bowl line didn’t have too many cornfeds: Donovan Smith and Ali Marpet (New York) and Ryan Jensen (Colorado). Alex Cappa (California). Corn is not a requirement. –Joe
December 18th, 2023 at 10:42 am
LVD is from Nebraska. I’d call that cornfed, too. I’ve been a CG14 fan, calling him ‘Godzilla’ and ‘Ungodly’ before this Mariah crap got started. Can we give it a break now? I still could SMDH for falling asleep and missing the 2nd half, but I needed the rest. Still, dammit!!
December 18th, 2023 at 10:43 am
Re: Devin White-
I have been incredibly critical of his play. But I do think he’s been injured since he hurt is groin back in week 3 or 4.
Perhaps he and/or Bowles realized his play isn’t good enough while still injured, so they sat him. Actually Bowles is prob too stubborn to do something smart like that, which makes me think White didn’t play because he doesn’t want to keep putting bad tape out there for prospective teams next season.
Or else it is something much darker and he has flat out quit / been benched.
Either way, I do believe he’s been injured most of the year. The truth is he was flying around the first few weeks this season until that groin injury. Remember when he got that interception and had to hobble out of bounds rather than return it for a touchdown? That was due to injury, folks.
December 18th, 2023 at 11:05 am
Another reputable site is reporting that DW opted to not play after Bowles said he wasn’t going to start in Green Bay.
December 18th, 2023 at 11:16 am
GR8 PIECE!!!! N heh heh heh heh lol about that heated bench!! ALL OF THE GUYS PLAYED LIKE THEY WERE ON FIRE!! GLAD MOORE HELD IT ACROSS LINE N GOT THAT TD, I HAVE WATCHED KELCE DROP THE BALL AS SOON AS HE CROSSES LINE N OFTEN WONDER, WHAT IF HE DIDNT HOLD IT LONG ENO’ lol(BYE THE BYE, BOO ALWAYS 4 CHIEFS ALWAYS! MAHOMES IS BAKERS NEMISIS AND TRUST ME- BAKE IS THE GOOD GUY- Shown recently by the finally outed showing of boh hoo Mahomey) ANYWAY!!!! YES!! PLZ LET OFFENSE STAY FREE-let BAKER THROW N THROW N RECEIVERS SHINE N SHINE AND RUN GAME SMETIMES 2 MIX IT UP!!!!!! GO BUCS!!! GO BAKER!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 18th, 2023 at 11:19 am
Actually from Miami. He hates the cold. Nearly left Nebraska because of it. Besides, didn’t see him standing with the offensive lineman (there were only like eight guys not on the heated bench). Additionally, Lavonte isn’t an offensive lineman. 🙂
December 18th, 2023 at 11:23 am
Can’t wait for the day Licht is on Bussin with The Boys.
December 18th, 2023 at 11:34 am
Lotta ?????’s about White.
Told he won’t start and he said “I can’t go” even after practicing for two days.
Diva complex?
December 18th, 2023 at 11:57 am
Can they win 9 games and still fire Bowles? Please…
December 18th, 2023 at 2:02 pm
This “cult of trask” is coming from guys who literally comment about baker and baker only. Like they worship the dude every game or when he steps on the field. It’s nice to see the quarterback play do extremely well like yesterday but there’s 3 more games left.
December 18th, 2023 at 3:34 pm
That is a really good picture.
December 18th, 2023 at 4:43 pm
Packer’s “D”, lead by former Bucs’ LB coach Joe Berry, sucks! They are worse than our “D”.
“Had the play been ruled a fumble, the Packers would have taken over.”
…AFTER a safety! That could have been a 9 point swing & the type of bone-headed move that kills Bucs’ hopes, as seen 100 times before! INEXCUSABLE! UNCONSCIONABLE!
December 19th, 2023 at 3:52 am
“Tell Joe you didn’t think once or twice that someone snuck Bucco Bruce Arians into Lambeau Field and he was guiding Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales on what to call.”
Joe I admit to thinking exactly that at one point during the game. Maybe it was right after Kieft, who can’t catch (according to many JBF posters), scored. Just saying.
LOL
Go Bucs!