Scoring First Critical
November 23rd, 2024
“Bake, you know what scoring first means.”
This was just sad two weeks ago.
When Ricky Pearsall sliced through the Bucs secondary two Sundays ago scoring on a 46-yard pass from Brock Purdy, Joe leaned back in his chair in the press box of The Licht House and sighed.
Joe softly mumbled to the Sage of Tampa Bay sports, Ira Kaufman, seated to Joe’s immediate left, ‘the Bucs just lost.’
Ira was aghast. “You mean they should just pack up and go home already?” Ira said in shock. Joe replied, “All Joe knows, Ira, is the Bucs have lost every game this year when the opponent scored first.”
That sad streak (0-5) continued when San Francisco marched down the field in the final seconds with the ease of an underwear football practice — not one of Purdy’s four pass attempts on the drive hit the ground — and Jake Moody booted a 44-yard field goal at the gun for the win.
(The NFL really needs to bring back the honored tradition of a ref firing off a .38 to mark the end of the game.)
So Joe was reading Rich Hribar’s worksheet on Sharp Football Analysis for the Bucs-Giants game and noticed this nugget:
The Giants have led for 9.9% of their offensive snaps, the lowest rate in the league.
So basically the Giants — with their just-released starting quarterback Danny Dimes — have led for the fewest amount of snaps this season.
If the Bucs defense allows Chief Illiniwek himself, Tommy Cutlets, a third-string quarterback, to score first, not only could a loss ruin the Bucs’ season and keep them out of the playoffs, but someone in authority at One Buc Palace has to take a good, long and thorough look under the hood why a defensive-minded head coach has such a trash defense.
And yeah, if the Bucs allow Big Blue to score first and then lose to a sad sack team like the Giants, then Joe thinks it is fair to call the Bucs’ defense “trash.”
November 23rd, 2024 at 12:38 am
Tommy Cutlets will look like John Elway on Sunday. Book it
November 23rd, 2024 at 1:19 am
Aight Derek, but if he does in fact look like a 3rd string QB, you never post here again….
November 23rd, 2024 at 1:31 am
Derek, I remember when John Elway was a kid and played for Stanford and came to Oklahoma and dominated a good OU football team. DeVito is a good player. But he won’t ever look like John Elway. Book that.
November 23rd, 2024 at 1:44 am
It was 1980 in Norman Oklahoma. Elways 4th career start. They were unranked playing the best team of the 1970’s and jumped to a 31-0 lead. Switzer said it was the best game he had ever seen a QB play at Owen Field. A star was born that day. Big News back in the day. Worth a read if you have the time- it’s on the internet.
November 23rd, 2024 at 1:53 am
Sounds fun. Who was the Oklahoma quarterback that day, Thomas Lott?
November 23rd, 2024 at 2:34 am
Joe, it was J.C. Watts.Had to look that one up.
November 23rd, 2024 at 2:52 am
Joe Lucious Selmon was on that team(Bucs fans know Leroy’s brother) had another brother Dewey. Sterling’s dad Derek Shepard was a receiver there but not til 1983. But in 1980 it was Sterlings uncle I believe was the backup QB to Watts.
November 23rd, 2024 at 3:18 am
sign danny dimes…lol…
and have him stand in a bucs uni on our sideline…
it will mess everyone on the giants sideline up in the head – as he cheers for the bucs when we score…
and if we just so happen to blow them out, let danny dimes come in and take the final knee of the game…
how wacky would that be
November 23rd, 2024 at 3:34 am
tommy cutlets is the 3rd stringer, auditioning for the back up qb job for next year…
he caught lightning in a bottle for a moment last year…
hopefully he doesn’t do it again in the crispy cool sunday new york weather
November 23rd, 2024 at 3:54 am
This is Bowels running the D and coming off a bye…we know those records….not to mention a 3rd string QB we’re up against….um, yeah, WE KNOW THAT HISTORY WITH TODD!!!!
November 23rd, 2024 at 4:19 am
Thinking about some of these sad streaks. Since the Giants let Jones go, I am worried about Tommy being a superstar, since he is vying for a better spot. The defense must bring the pressure on him.
November 23rd, 2024 at 4:34 am
It sets up like a classic trap in Vegas. Beware if the line suddenly drops from -6 Bucs to -3.5 or 4 which will indicate the wise guys figure Bowels will find a way to lose. On paper Bucs should win big but Todd Bowels plays down to the level of an inferior opponent and plays not to lose. This is a big equalizer. Bucs may win but take the Giants and the points. Bucs 33 Giants 31, decided by a Bucs winning FG or the Giants shanking the game winner.
November 23rd, 2024 at 6:05 am
The Bucs should have already been looking under the hood of this defense. Bowles is mediocre at best. But
November 23rd, 2024 at 6:43 am
Well the good thing about our remaining games is we should win at least 6 of them. The Giants, Carolina twice, the Saints, who already fired their coach, all wins. If we lose to one, or some of them the season is over. It should also be over for Bowles if that happens. I think losing to Atlanta twice should be enough, but losing some of these remaining games should leave no doubt in the Glazer’s minds that Todd needs to be replaced. It’s out of our hands, it’s up to the Players, and coaches to save the season. If they can’t, it’s up the the Glazers to decide. I’m going to sit back, and find joy in either running the table, or preparing for what will be a new era of Buc football. Good luck guys, you get to determine your own fate.
November 23rd, 2024 at 7:49 am
it’s a tall order to sweep any divisional opponent in any year, no matter how good or bad they are…
they blew it with letting atlanta sweep…
but if they in turn sweep both carolina and the saints, i think you can’t really ask for more…going 4-2 in division is good in any season…
and yes, ideally 5-1 with a split with the dirty birds would have been nearly perfect…
i had us going 5-2 down the stretch, and i’m sticking to that…
we still haven’t lost to a really bad team yet…and every team has that one bad loss to a scrubby team – i think it still happens, while we drop one other to the chargers or cowboys – as i predicted before the season – but obviously now the chargers game is the glaringly tough one…
if we could have only gone 5-5 in the first 10…
we were doing so well, and playing above that bar…looking like a potential 6-4 team at the bye…but it all just slipped away…
so yeah i can’t see 6-1…but i’ll certainly take it down the home stretch…and if it happens i’m sure it’ll be fun times…
we’ve never played that good football…just prorate it…
6-1 becomes 12-2 football…then it bumps up to 13.5 or 14 wins to 2-3 losses…does anyone realize how good playing 6-1 football really is…our best season was 13-4…we would have to be playing a little bit better that 13-4 football…that’s reality…just digest that for a moment…
it’s gonna be tough…even with the soft azz schedule…
i’m still saying 5-2
November 23rd, 2024 at 8:10 am
3rd string and “nobody” QBs traditionally look decent/good against Bowles. I understand where the cynicism is coming from. Dabol is fighting for his job, even though he’s likely the true dead-man-walking in this coaching matchup. Still, I am cautiously optimistic this team doesn’t let a bottom-5 team best them tomorrow.
Bowles job is safe people. I don’t like that fact personally, but he has the injuries to lean against as excuse and the schedule gets easy from here on out. You’re frustrated, I’m frustrated, everyone’s had enough judging by the flash polls the Joes put out. But the Glazers are not about to blow up the coaching position, especially if they go on a run to close out the year.
We’re in football purgatory here in Tampa, similar to the 90’s Vikings. Always mediocre enough to sniff the playoffs and get in, but never good enough to go on a run for it all.
November 23rd, 2024 at 8:44 am
So if this schedule of awful teams scores first, the Bucs are one of the awful teams? This is statistical anomaly.
November 23rd, 2024 at 9:03 am
Like many of you have said, if we lose this game, the season is over and like I’ve said many times we need a coach that’s going to instill discipline, Todd Bowles is not that coach. This Bucs team has to much talent to be mediocre every season.
November 23rd, 2024 at 9:13 am
Sounds like the boyz in Vegas are talking to the refs, the second team the Bucs have to beat. Go get ’em, Bucs. Slaughter the G-men and a few refs too.
November 23rd, 2024 at 10:25 am
The Guy can lose scoring first too. Just watch.
November 23rd, 2024 at 10:32 am
Cool!
November 23rd, 2024 at 10:35 am
Todd Bowles is 1-5 in first game after the bye. He’s on a 0-5 streak in first games after the bye.
November 23rd, 2024 at 11:03 am
All I know is ifThe Bucs can make Kirt Cousins into a 500 yard qb 2 x in a season,yes Divito for this game may look like Montanna!!!. lol. With this defense all is possible. I can see the head lines now Divito kills Bucs D and left the door open to start next season!!!. Te Giants knew he had it in him all along and is why they started him. Sound impossible?, So did Counsins throwing for over 500 hundred yards twice against the Bucs. PLease, anything is possible with this defense, not in a good way. Itis well documented now, a communtator for the NFL Network said, Counsins only looks incredible againnt the Bucs, other teams not so much.
we will see tomorrow, but I know while not being happy about it, I can see Divitto have a hugh game!!!, absolutely!!!!