ESPN: YaYa Diaby Will Have A Big Game Against New England

November 8th, 2025

Prediction.

Joe isn’t a huge stat guy but there are a couple of numberscrunchers whose insight Joe respects and values.

One of these men is Aaron Schatz, the former chieftain of Football Outsiders (RIP) and the creator of DVOA.

Why does Joe respect Schatz so much? Even though he’s a stats guy, he is not a slave to stats. And he’s not pushing some dumbarse grades as the end-all, be-all to football analysis.

Joe has heard/read Schatz refer to a stat and then add something along the lines of, Well, this doesn’t make sense. Open-minded Schatz always relies on a his eyes in the final analysis.

So whenever Schatz types something, Joe pays attention.

In an ESPN preview of tomorrow’s Patriots-Bucs game, Schatz doesn’t like the way New England rookie left tackle Will Campbell is blocking. Combined with Patriots quarterback Drake Maye’s habit of giving up sacks and YaYa Diaby heating up in the past two games, Schatz predicts a big day for YaYa tomorrow.

Bold prediction: Bucs linebacker Yaya Diaby will have multiple sacks. Patriots left tackle Will Campbell is currently 56th among qualifying tackles with a pass block win rate of 83.8%, while taking sacks is Maye’s biggest weakness (34 in 2025). Only the Titans’ Cam Ward (38) has more.

In the past three games, YaYa has three sacks.

If YaYa gets a sack or two early, Joe is confident the Patriots will adjust to get Campbell help, and that ought to loosen things up for other Bucs to get after Maye.

18 Responses to “ESPN: YaYa Diaby Will Have A Big Game Against New England”

  1. #99 the big fella Says:

    I Will believe it when I see it. He gets a lot of pressure ,just can’t finish.

  2. Down Under Says:

    Ms Coot and I will be at the game tomorrow, Club 212, we will be closing monitoring the situation, we are not expecting a victory, Pats 34 Bucs 2

  3. jcscycles Says:

    The Cooters haven’t been around during the Bucs win streak. Can’t say they have been missed.

  4. Jim in AR Says:

    Cooter, it is going to be in the 30s Monday night so you might get cold in your grandma’s basement. Space heaters are on sale at Lowe’s.

  5. Crickett Baker Says:

    There is a video of Yaya working with Simeon Rice. It is fantastic, and it seems like he is learning a lot. Look it up if you haven’t seen it.

  6. Oxycondomns Says:

    bspn

  7. Pmike Says:

    Yaya has had a presence all year. He looks 10 fold better than last year. Faster and deliberate. Hope when he starts breaking out, it allows Braswell (if he gets snaps) to get less attention on the other side and breakthrough.

    His sacks are coming!

    Go Bucs, make a statement this next month.

  8. Joe Says:

    might get cold in your grandma’s basement

    No basements in Florida.

  9. Bradinator Says:

    Nationally Televised game!! I get to actually watch from my comfy living room here in Denver! Of course we gotta win or I catch a lot of flack from my office buddies.

  10. Jim in AR Says:

    Joe, obviously you are correct about the lack of basements in Florida homes. Perhaps I should have said grandma’s gardening shed.

  11. FootBall1 Says:

    Hey I am in section 212 club!. Hopefully Ya Ya has a big day!!. The defense needs to have a big day to win. The offense is lacking so many weapons!!. If we get Godeke and Haggard back, hopefully the O line plays well gonna need to keep Baker upright!! Joe is right no basements in FL unless you are in a submarine

  12. DBS Says:

    No basements in Florida? 1. Google is your friend. 2. I live in Florida 33 miles West of Tallahassee. I have one.

  13. FortMyersDave Says:

    Basements are rare in FL but there are a few, mostly up in the panhandle like DBS says or in places far inland and in the sandhills along the Lake Wales ridge. Google “Mount Dora Catacombs” and you will read a crazy story about 25 rich families in that town who built the largest private nuclear shelter in the US back in the early ’60s after reading “Alas Babylon”. It is essentially the biggest basement in FL. Also, Tampa Theater downtown on Franklin Street has a basement, some claim it is haunted and I have heard stories of tunnels running under some of the old buildings in Ybor, probably for hiding things in prohibition or so that wise-guys could make a quick escape from the coppers which implies that some of those old building could have basements too.

  14. ballwasher61 Says:

    The Woodshed

  15. Jeff Says:

    I’ve got him down for three whole tackles! Let’s go!

  16. MelvinJunior Says:

    HE BETTER have ‘multiple’ SACKS. Not a bunch of ‘almost’ sacks. Same goes for the rest of the team… They’ve GOT TO get home. HE ‘LOVES-IT’ when you blitz him… He. Will. Carve. You. UPPPPP. The Bucs better show up in a big way, cause this “Maye kid” is the reeeeallll DEAL. He’s soooo smooth and on the money. It all looks really good. SUPER Talented. He’s lookin’ to be well on his way to being a Top-5 QB in the league now, VERY SOON. He is definitely, way ahead of schedule. Kraft was so smart not to mess around, by getting him the ‘right’ coach in there FAST, and not to screw him up!!!! I can see what everyone was talking about pre-draft, concerning the amount of raw talent that is there… Looks-like, it has now been UNLEASHED.

  17. MelvinJunior Says:

    Now, let’s get to watching some college football for about the next 12+HOURS. USF crushed-it Thursday night, and Tulane had a HUGE WIN in Memphis last night, setting up another MONSTER Showdown for USF. That game coverage on FOX for the Northwestern at USC game last night, was absolutely HORRIBLE. I mean, everything about it. You seriously, could not even HEAR the USC Band and the game was AT USC. It was SO BAD that I even questioned IF the USC Band was even AT the game!? Seriously, I was just running-it through my mind… Is it BECAUSE it’s on a Friday Night, or what!? I mean, THAT is the greatest etching about watching a USC game to begin with (and of course the USC cheerleaders in those sweaters)… Is hearing THAT BAND as they are driving down the field. And, FOX doesn’t have microphones ON IT!? Absurd. And, for the announcers (this will be everywhere today, I’m sure)… They just went ‘onnnn andddd onnnn’ FOREVER, about this punter throwing a pass on a fake punt, BUT it wasn’t the actual punter at all. It was the backup QB. Another one of those Huard’s, which the lead announcer, happened to work with his Dad up in the booth, forrrr YEARS. Embarrassing. And, it just showed how unprepared they were to begin with, for this game… A pretty damn ‘big-one’ too!!!! There was just sooo many other ‘little-things’ too. It was awful. But, I don’t know HOW you don’t at least have ONE microphone on the USC BAND tho!? It was all ridiculous.

  18. MelvinJunior Says:

    It seriously, took them at least another 20-30 MINUTES, before finally figuring out that it was NOT the actual Punter. Through multiple commercial breaks and everything. I mean, they (RGIII) literally broke-down his fundamentals and throwing motion, in SLOW MOTION… Saying that someone should look at recruiting him to be their QB for another team LoL. Embarrassing. They went on and one about forever, showing at least 4-5 replays, AND 4-5 ‘zoom-ins’ of him on the sidelines. It was unbelievable.

 

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