Faster Starts (And Better Fourth Quarter Defense), Please
July 10th, 2026
Need more of these, especially in the first half.
All kinds of stats can be cited to explain why the Bucs missed the playoffs last year but at the end of the day, it comes down to the only stat that truly matters.
Points.
Opponents had too many. The Bucs didn’t have enough. That’s all you need to know.
Dirk Koetter always talked about starting fast. Sometimes the Bucs did; sometimes they didn’t. But with Liam Coen the Bucs sure did. They led the league in average points scored in the first quarter.
That’s how you win games: Put the other team’s offense on their heels.
The Bucs, as noted handicapper-turned-stathead Warren Sharp pointed out in his Warren Sharp’s 2026 Football Preview, struggled to overcome deficits last year. That’s why it was so important to score early.
Sadly, the Bucs under Josh Grizzard struggled with scoring early. The Bucs were -18 in quarter points margin and a first half margin of -24. Yes, a chunk of that can be hung on the defense.
The Bucs’ offense was strong coming out of the locker room at halftime, scoring 105 points in the third quarter with a margin of +30.
In the fourth quarter, the Bucs’ defense bent over with a -37 scoring margin. It’s really hard to close out wins when the defense assumes the position and plays ole’ defense in the fourth quarter.
Again, per Sharp, the Bucs were behind at halftime in eight games in 2025. All eight were losses. When the Bucs led at halftime their record was 7-1.
So for Joe, one answer is clear for 2026: The Bucs must score more, especially in the first half and preferably in the opening quarter.
And for crying out loud, is it too much to ask a defensive head coach to have a slightly better fourth-quarter defense than second-worst in points allowed?
July 10th, 2026 at 12:04 pm
no mention of the 4th quarter INTs by our QB lol…figures lol
GO BUCS!!!!
July 10th, 2026 at 12:12 pm
Try playing football before September. It may help.
July 10th, 2026 at 12:35 pm
7-1 when leading at halftime. Guess what game the loss was?
3rd and 28
The key predictive stat most closely correlated to losing is who the Twocoach is. For those who love cheering for a loser, Todd Bowles was retained for a 5th season as Twocoach. Which is why Mike and the other vets who could leave, did.
July 10th, 2026 at 12:38 pm
With bowles still the captian and deva evans gone, no games will be won this year
. Steve Knows!
July 10th, 2026 at 12:41 pm
Anyone referring to Evans as a “deva “ (the correct spelling is “diva,” moron) immediately self-identifies as a ripe eggplant. Great for the Pom Pom Squad.
July 10th, 2026 at 12:48 pm
That leaves out a lot of information but, I will let DR explain it. He can do it a lot better than I can.
July 10th, 2026 at 1:28 pm
“In the fourth quarter, the Bucs’ defense bent over with a -37 scoring margin. It’s really hard to close out wins when the defense assumes the position and plays ole’ defense in the fourth quarter.”
14 of our 18 giveaways happened in the 2nd half of games.
11 of those 14 were in the 4th quarter and 5 of those 11 giveaways gave opposing offenses possesion on our side of the 50 and were converted for 27 points against us. Terrible complimentary ball, but no big deal because turnovers aren’t that important, right?(lol)
Offensively, we ranked 31st in 4th quarter scoring averaging 4.8 points a game in the last 15 minutes of the game. We ranked 3rd in 3rd quarter scoring w/6.1 points per 3rd quarter. So the fall off looks like “only” 1.3 points, the fall from 3rd rank to 31st ranked says a lot more
Our defense recorded 11-2nd half takeaways which was converted to 41 of our total 187 points scored in the 2nd half of games.
11 of 17 games we went into the 4th quarter with the lead
The most points we scored in a 4th quarter of any game was 10 points.
Oh, and the 11 fourth quarter turnovers was the worst in the league. So yea, for all this talk about our defense blowing these phantom leads that you guys reference ad nauseum defense got a lot of help(sarcasm) from an offense with the worst ball security of any team in the 4th quarter.
But like ATL said, I’ll let Defense Rules come in and lay this out a little better than I did.
July 10th, 2026 at 1:37 pm
Steve V takes a belt to his a$$ yet again, buckle first. Great job 3.28.Evans!
When you make a habit of putting your team in position to lose, you are in fact a loser.
That’s why Bowles looks like a cigar store Indian on the sidelines. He’s lost.
No urgency, no adjustments, no killer instinct, no ability to overcome mistakes.
And yet he was retained to wreck another season of football. Failing upwards is Bowles superpower.
Mike knows!
July 10th, 2026 at 2:06 pm
11 of 17 games we had the 4th qtr. lead. So our defense was excellent at coughing up 4th qtr. leads. Tell us something we didn’t know, WBL.
July 10th, 2026 at 2:08 pm
“11 of 17 games we had the 4th qtr. lead. So our defense was excellent at coughing up 4th qtr. leads. Tell us something we didn’t know, WBL”
Poor attempt at snark, first and foremost.
Obviously ignoring the offense leading the league in 4th quarter turnovers and being the worst offense generating points in the same quarter.
Try again, Boomer.
July 10th, 2026 at 2:10 pm
Joe the Bucs had no talent on defense and played like it. The offense just couldn’t get going. Joe be happy the Bucs were not in the playoffs. It would have been worse than 3-28, or equally as bad, or equally as embarrassing.Be thankful Joe be thankful