Beat Atlanta
May 16th, 2025
Sacks are always the answer.
Joe wants to see an entrepreneur start printing T-shirts with this slogan emblazed across the front and have Bucs fans from Wesley Chapel to Sarasota wearing them:
“BEAT ATLANTA”
It’s like when Celtics fans used to chant to an opponent in the Eastern Conference finals when it was apparent the Celtics wouldn’t be advancing to play the Lakers in the finals:
‘BEAT L.A.”
Or, whenever old Eagles teams or the Joe Gibbs-era Redsk!ns were riding high, RFK Stadium quaked because he chants were so loud.
“WE WANT DALLAS”
The Bucs need to get payback on the Dixie Chicks from last year to make sure the Bucs wrap up the NFC South for a five-peat this season.
Last year the Bucs choked the first game away in Atlanta and then in the rematch, a horrendous gaffe was made worse by either FOX or the NFL (or both?). Penny-pinching, multi-billion-dollar entities didn’t have a replay camera on the goal line and gave the Dixie Chicks a touchdown on what should have been an Antoine Winfield forced fumble.
Both games were one-score games. The contest in Atlanta was an overtime loss where the Bucs gave the game away.
BEAT ATLANTA.
For the Bucs to get the upper hand in the race for the division, Jenna Laine of ESPN said the easiest way for the Bucs to do this is simple:
BEAT ATLANTA
Circle this date
Week 1 at the Falcons, and Week 15 hosting the Falcons. The Bucs lost a 36-30 in a “Thursday Night Football” matchup that went to overtime in Atlanta in Week 5 last season and then suffered a 31-26 home loss to the Falcons in Week 8, but none of those games were against quarterback Michael Penix Jr. It should be noted that as head coach of the Bucs, Todd Bowles has never lost a season opener.
BEAT ATLANTA
The Bucs cannot let a young, though very talented, Michael Penix get off to a hot start and build confidence in Week 1. The best way to do that is to make him eat the turf of the Dixie Chicks’ bird cage.
You do that with sacks. Are you reading this, Bucs?
Atlanta’s defense, which was awful last year, will only get better as the season transpires. But the first week of the season, banking on rookie edge rushers going up against Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke? HA!
The mission is simple.
BEAT ATLANTA.
The entire Tampa Bay region needs to begin speaking this now. It has to happen. It must happen.
When you walk into bars this weekend or hit the beach, you don’t say hi to people. You don’t ask them how they are doing. You simply green them with a two-word phrase.
BEAT ATLANTA.
May 16th, 2025 at 4:23 am
Todd Bowles wins opening days each season because he’s working with healthy teams. Bucs’ starters, on offense & defense, can play with anyone. Once those starters suffer injuries however, we seem to struggle UNTIL our backups improve OR our starters return.
If fans take a look back at how we lost each game to Atlanta last year, they’ll see that our defense REALLY sucked in both. In the first 36-30 loss Kirk Cousins went 42-for-59 for 509 yards and 4 TDs. Look at who was targeted … McCollum was targeted 12 times, allowed 8 completions, 2 TDs & 131 yds; Dean was targeted 10 times, allowed 7 completions, 0 TDs & 70 yds; Tykee Smith was targeted 10 times, allowed 8 completions, 2 TDs & 90 yds. That’s 32 targets with 23 completions, 4 TDs & 291 yds against just those 3 CBs. Those were (and still are) our starters. And BTW, 4th down conversions killed us; Falcons converted 2-of-3 attempts, ultimately scoring a FG on one & a TD on the other. Difference in the game right there. Not our defense’s finest game.
In the Falcons 2nd game overtime win, game plan was much different but result was the same. Cousins again threw for 4 TDs, but threw a lot less (23-for-29 for 276 yds & 4 TDs). Izien got picked on the most this time (9 targets allowing 6 completions but only 25 yds & 0 TDs). Britt got roasted (6 targets, 6 completions, 1 TD & 95 yds) as well as Thunderburk filling in for Dean (4 targets, 3 completions allowed, 1 TD & 79 yds). Atlanta converted 2-of-2 of 4th down conversions, for a TD on 1 drive but a missed FG on the other (that TD was the points difference in the ballgame).
Point being: it wasn’t so much that the Falcons beat us. It was much more that we beat ourselves (to include turning the ball over 3 times in that 2nd game). Bucs can be a Super Bowl team if we just stop beating ourselves.
May 16th, 2025 at 5:10 am
So who are they supposed to beat again?
May 16th, 2025 at 5:31 am
Agreed, they cannot allow Penix to look like a superstar. The Bucs have to come out bold. It’s a 1:00 game on their turf along with refs that could give us some bad calls. The Bucs have to be steady, focused, stronger than ever, and win!
May 16th, 2025 at 5:53 am
Lets slap em in the mouth and set the tone for the season! Also to let Richie know he sucks!
Go Bucs!
May 16th, 2025 at 6:02 am
Great post Joe. Yesterday there was a thread on each teams “revenge” game.
That HAS to be Atlanta for the Bucs!!! The power is swinging in the South. N.O. is in a bad place right now, Carolina is a young team, with a young coach, and with TALENT so can’t write them off. But right now the rivalry is ATL-TAMPA or should I have typed that TAMPA-ATL?
D.R. As usual some spot on analysis.
” Bucs can be a Super Bowl team if we just stop beating ourselves.”
Agree with that for sure. But I think your post illustrates something else. The Bucs desperately need to stay healthy. I realize that’s probably true for the vast majority of teams but in the SB rebuild the Bucs were lucky to send out decent starters much less have competent backups and decent depth.
Now escaping cap hell, and having some excellent drafts, the Bucs appeared poised to FINALLY return to the top of the heap…IF they stay healthy and do not beat themselves.
May 16th, 2025 at 6:04 am
Defense, defense, defense …
~~Let’s hope the post first round defensive draft picks can stop the likes of the great Kirk Cousins~~ er Michael Penix, and overcome the gaffe of selecting a superfluous, but apparently good, wide receiver.
Giving up 509 passing yards to a guy who was eventually benched due to lack of production is totally unacceptable. In order to beat anybody this year this defense will have to do far better than its 2024 version.
We’ll see …
May 16th, 2025 at 6:19 am
Well Joe you like to quote Al Davis, “the Quarterback must go down, and go down hard”
I totally agree.
The front 7 looks like they might have a better pass rush, time will tell.
Thankfully I am hearing more about press coverage, thanks to the DB’s drafted. That is a key ingredient that Dean and other DB’s on the Bucs just have not given.
When you line up against a WR, and have given up a first down already because you are so far from the Line of scrimmage, it sure is a lot harder to get a consistent pass rush.
If press coverage equals .5 to 1.5 delay in the QB throwing the ball, that can huge in getting a sack versus giving up first downs and TD’s
GO BUCS!!!!!
May 16th, 2025 at 6:56 am
If press coverage equals .5 to 1.5 delay in the QB throwing the ball, that can huge in getting a sack versus giving up first downs and TD’s
——————————-
Not if the QB has 4 seconds to throw the ball, which was the issue in both of the Atlanta games. I don’t think we had a sack in either game.
May 16th, 2025 at 7:31 am
Hoping the defense will be materially better than last year’s mess personified by the 2 ATL games. Really not sure it will be. Have serious doubts about Reddick and some of the draft picks. I do think Walker at LB is an upgrade and he will surprise many. Just trying to be realistic. There isn’t any GM in the NFL who says “we had a horrible draft and failed to improve the team.” Know that Todd Bowles has made comments about scoring more points than opponents to win games. That assumes offense gets the ball back once in awhile. For those who saw Philly manhandle Chiefs and Mahomes in 1st half of SB it was defense that totally dominated Chiefs. Mahomes looked pretty ordinary.
May 16th, 2025 at 7:33 am
While I agree with you Joe, beating Atlanta sends a message, I would not make it a focal point. They are not that good and do not deserve that kind “beat Atlanta” of respect.
May 16th, 2025 at 7:35 am
The Bucs should be able to sweep the weakest division in the NFL but have lost 2 games the last two years. Sweeping the division, the Bucs should be at 11 or 12 wins. Throw in some wins against the very best teams on the schedule and the Bucs could make a deep run. It all depends on health though….
May 16th, 2025 at 7:54 am
If I’m looking at the stats correctly, we had 1 single sack out of our edge rush between both games and that was Nelson.
Was Cousins too comfy in the pocket?
I expect that to change in 2025.
May 16th, 2025 at 8:02 am
JImBob: Absolutely sweep division and the Bucs should be in. Once in Grizzard will have his sea legs under him and this team can go all the way!
May 16th, 2025 at 8:11 am
Anyway you figure it the Bucs play 8 games against teams that won 6 or less games in 2024, 5 Playoff Teams, one team that had the same record and missed the playoff, and some against average teams like Atlanta.
Every year a few teams make the playoff that didn’t make it the year before.
Bucs managed to beat the Commanders and Chargers but lost to the Broncos. Bucs will be facing 5 teams that fit that category plus all of their Division in 2025.
Atlanta has improved through the draft, have a top 10 Edge guy from the 2024 draft healthy and two QB’s that can run the offense.
Just hope that the Bucs are not caught watching Atlanta coming around the outside and get passed on the rail by the Panthers.
May 16th, 2025 at 8:19 am
I think they are still thinking about lasts years losses. We are elite this year.
May 16th, 2025 at 8:25 am
@JimBobBuc…on paper, I agree, we are the better football team, but divisional games are always tricky. Even with roster/coach turnover, there’s just something about those games that both teams manage to play down and/or up with each other. I mean in Brady’s last season with us, how do we get blown out by a bad Carolina team that not only had a coaching change, but they traded off McCaffrey the week prior, and they had a third string QB, PJ Walker under center. These are things that will drive you mad with this franchise.
May 16th, 2025 at 8:55 am
I agree w Joe! BEAT ATLANTA! A huge opener. Look at Atlanta’s schedule… if we beat them, they could easily start the year 1-5 and have all kinds of questions, possibly riots. We lose the opener, they may get some confidence and make a case for South champs.
May 16th, 2025 at 9:37 am
How about a T shirt that says “Remember Cousins”?
May 16th, 2025 at 9:42 am
A renewed Reddick and a healthy Kancey? Vea in the dome? Diaby worried about the guys behind him? Winfield mad about a lost season? Rookie CBs making their way? Tykee Smith in his college state?
And David directing the symphony?
Will any of that matter? We about to see.
May 16th, 2025 at 9:52 am
Kancey being available week 1 would go a long way towards to helping this goal. I predict a Penix INT maybe 2 and the Bucs running away with it, if we are healthy.
May 16th, 2025 at 9:57 am
Getting swept by Atlanta nearly cost us the division. A win in the opener is like two wins.
May 16th, 2025 at 10:11 am
Despite the fact that Atlanta was able to take advantage of the putrid Swiss Cheese pass defense that Bowles continues to trot out year after year, and beat us with a mediocre QB not once but twice, they still couldn’t win the worst division in the NFL.
By that standard they should have shirts made up that say Beat Tampa.
I mean, if the NFC South crown is so coveted, then they are in fact looking up at us.
And the fact they went for broke in the draft tells you that they are trying to win now. A truly novel concept indeed.
Penix was looked upon as a reach last year in the draft but now looks like a solid investment. He will give us fits for sure.
If they’re defense does improve then we could be in a lot of trouble.
Then you can’t cover up the stink that is Todd Bowles any longer.
May 16th, 2025 at 10:19 am
Joe’s favorite football quote. 🙂
May 16th, 2025 at 10:21 am
🙂
Joe got a twitter this week after the schedule came out and somehow Atlanta got five primetime games. Seems like someone’s pushing the Michael Penix hype train — coughBSPNcough.
Anyway, the twitter was about how BSPN and to a lesser degree, the other networks have furiously tried to hype the Dixie Chicks seemingly for no other reason than they don’t want to talk Bucs.
Made a lot of sense to Joe.
May 16th, 2025 at 10:42 am
As a dodgers fan i hate those beat LA chants its cool when the giants fans do it because they are our only rivals in that division no one else will ever be. Bucs don’t need no slogan or extra motivation in beating teams its about heart does this team has it? We will see
May 16th, 2025 at 11:27 am
Until Bowles demonstrates the ability to scheme up a good pass defense my optimism for the season will be very little.
Beating ATL will be good but Bowles and his inept pass defensive schemes have GOT TO IMPROVE
May 16th, 2025 at 11:33 am
DR with the truth. Cousins did his 509 yard happy dance against our starters. Those who want to use the lame “injuries” excuse need to eat a reality pill. Play some physical press man coverage to start the game get a lead and keep the throttle on full.
OK, Coach?
May 16th, 2025 at 11:47 am
Talent-wise, we should beat Atlanta, especially with our upgraded D.
But I honestly think Raheem is a better coach than Bowles, scheme-wise for sure and in the passionately getting your players amped up dept.
Also, Penix has some magic in left arm as we witnessed last year and as he proved during his college career.
So, Atl will be tough games and we better play our best or we’ll lose again like last year.
May 16th, 2025 at 12:20 pm
Normally week one games are not must win, but this is as close as it gets. That stadium can be pretty empty during the middle of the year when the team has fallen off, but it won’t be in week one. You add in the embarrassing losses last year and we go on the road for a Monday night game in Houston the very next week.
It’s an opportunity to set the tone up front with that team. It’s our division and it’s not 2024.
May 16th, 2025 at 12:31 pm
Pluck the Falcons
May 16th, 2025 at 12:56 pm
whatever you do, just win one of the first two no matter what…
preferably atlanta…
i think we have the potential to come flying out he gate at 5-1…
a big home win vs the eagles and we could possibly get on a heater…go out to seattle for a W…then pop back home and finally pull a W against those damn niners…
then we go to detroit to get knocked off our high pedestal in a detroit rock city blow out – and then have to start from scratch again – yes i’m vibing we have a heck of a start, only to get then iced in detroit badly – as we then enter the middle of the season
May 16th, 2025 at 1:07 pm
@Defense:
raheem might be smart to open the season with cousins vs us…then switch to penix after week one…lol
cousins had the knack of making our entire unit look like college kids…509 yards was just nuts…that’s enough to make a HC wear an adult diaper for the game 🙂
May 16th, 2025 at 1:45 pm
adam from ny Says:
“cousins had the knack of making our entire unit look like college kids…509 yards was just nuts…that’s enough to make a HC wear an adult diaper for the game 🙂”
Bowles is under zero pressure to win now.
That was confirmed with the draft.
Mentally preparing myself for the contract extension after the 2026 season.
Which will then seal our fate of not getting back to the SB any time under his regime.
May 16th, 2025 at 1:56 pm
BEAT ATLANTA!!!! I’m inJOE , As a former Georgian BEAT ATLANTA just feels right!!!!
May 16th, 2025 at 2:02 pm
We need to make a statement right out of the gate in Atlanta come 1st game. When a team beats you twice during a season, they own you. Its time for some bigtime payback.
May 16th, 2025 at 2:04 pm
Game 1 is HUGE!!!!
May 16th, 2025 at 2:40 pm
Don’t worry about ATL. Or NO. Aints are in perpetual cap hell and The Birds are dancing on the edge (how’s Captain Kirk pickup looking?” Worry about Carolina. They’re going to be competitive despite their ridiculous owner.