BUCS OFFENSIVE GAME GRADES VS. PHILLY

[TBayXXXVII]

It was the Eagles that were so bad that they couldn't put more points on the board. 

What a crock. The Eagles are starting a rookie 3rd rounder at QB, a rookie RB, have a mediocre O-Line, and are down their best WR. That is what put up nearly 400 yards passing and two TD's with just over 3 minutes left in the game on us. And let's not forget the two missed FG's. They could have just as easily put up nearly 30 points on our defense. Get your heads out of your butts people...

Ummm... that "crock" you are refering to, is exactly my point.  They were able to move the ball, just not put points on the board.

[CBWx2]

Too harsh I think. He laid an egg in the first half but I thought he was solid the second half. C+

9/18 for 128 yards is a solid half of football?

And 2 tds and 0 ints

Is that a yes?  That's a solid half of football?

How many TD's would you like our QB to throw in the 2nd half?

Too harsh I think. He laid an egg in the first half but I thought he was solid the second half. C+

9/18 for 128 yards is a solid half of football?

And 2 tds and 0 ints

TD's Shmeedies. We all know completing first half passes is what stops a rookie 3rd rounder from tossing for nearly 400 yards and two TD's in the last 3 minutes of the game on you.

Are you really trying to make the argument Freeman didn't play like crap for three quarters?  Why is that so difficult for you admit?

It's not. He played like crap for three quarters, and then threw 2 4th quarter TD's that put us up 21-10 with 5 minutes to go in the game. That's not putting us in a position to win?

As crappy as the defense played in the last 5 minutes of the game, they held the Eagles to 10 points the previous 55 minutes.  If Freeman was worth a flip the first three quarters of the football game, the score wouldn't have been close.  That's the reality of the situation.  No b/s, no excuses.

If the Eagles would have converted on the two FG's they missed, the Bucs D would have given up 16 points in 55 minutes and 29 in 60 to a team starting a rookie 3rd round draft pick at QB. You're right, no b/s excuses.

[Biggs3535]

If the Eagles would have converted on the two FG's they missed, the Bucs D would have given up 16 points in 55 minutes and 29 in 60 to a team starting a rookie 3rd round draft pick at QB. You're right, no b/s excuses.

But they didn't.  That's a credit to the defense for (1) holding them to a FG attempt and (2) forcing the misses.  And the rookie 3rd round draft pick at QB you keep referencing outplayed Freeman all day on Sunday with a helluva lot more pressure in his face and worse supporting cast.  That really doesn't help your defense of him all that much.

For the record, I'm not making any excuses for the defensive collapse at the end of the game.  But I'm also not forgetting how badly the QB played the first three quarters prior to that.

[chace1986]

Excuses for Freeman continue to mount. SMH.

[CBWx2]

If the Eagles would have converted on the two FG's they missed, the Bucs D would have given up 16 points in 55 minutes and 29 in 60 to a team starting a rookie 3rd round draft pick at QB. You're right, no b/s excuses.

But they didn't.  That's a credit to the defense for (1) holding them to a FG attempt and (2) forcing the misses.  And the rookie 3rd round draft pick at QB you keep referencing outplayed Freeman all day on Sunday with a helluva lot more pressure in his face and worse supporting cast.  That really doesn't help your defense of him all that much.

You seem to think I'm defending Freeman's play. I'm not. I also happen to like Nick Foles a lot, and thought he deserved to go higher in the draft than a lot of the QB's that went ahead of him did, but I digress.

What I'm defending is the notion that Freeman is the reason we lost the game. He played poorly. It happens to the best of them. But even playing poorly, Freeman was still able to put us up by 2 scores with 7 minutes left to go in the game. In that 7 minutes, Nick Foles threw for 135 yards and 2 TD's. The Eagles had the ball for 6 of the last 7 minutes of the game. The defense was unable to get the Eagles off of the field, or to stop Foles from completing bomb after bomb on them. That's why we lost. Period.

[chace1986]

I'm not sure anyone is putting all of the blame on Freeman. Of course the defense is a fault, but Freeman has a fair share of the blame for that debacle yesterday. This is a thread about the grade of the offense yesterday..so of course we will be talking about his crappy play and not the defenses crappy play.

[Biggs3535]

If the Eagles would have converted on the two FG's they missed, the Bucs D would have given up 16 points in 55 minutes and 29 in 60 to a team starting a rookie 3rd round draft pick at QB. You're right, no b/s excuses.

But they didn't.  That's a credit to the defense for (1) holding them to a FG attempt and (2) forcing the misses.  And the rookie 3rd round draft pick at QB you keep referencing outplayed Freeman all day on Sunday with a helluva lot more pressure in his face and worse supporting cast.  That really doesn't help your defense of him all that much.

You seem to think I'm defending Freeman's play. I'm not. I also happen to like Nick Foles a lot, and thought he deserved to go higher in the draft than a lot of the QB's that went ahead of him did, but I digress.

What I'm defending is the notion that Freeman is the reason we lost the game. He played poorly. It happens to the best of them. But even playing poorly, Freeman was still able to put us up by 2 scores with 7 minutes left to go in the game. In that 7 minutes, Nick Foles threw for 135 yards and 2 TD's. The Eagles had the ball for 6 of the last 7 minutes of the game. The defense was unable to get the Eagles off of the field, or to stop Foles from completing bomb after bomb on them. That's why we lost. Period.

Freeman (and let's not forget Doug Martin) was able to put the team up two scores because the defense held the Eagles to 10 points for the other 55 minutes of the game.  This is the point that isn't registering for some reason.

Quite simply - if Freeman plays like we all know he can for the first three quarters, is that game close?  I don't believe so.  We all know the pass defense sucks, so I have low expectations for them.  Freeman has shown he can play better, so I expect a helluva lot more than he showed yesterday.  Do you disagree?

[JavaRay]

I also happen to like Nick Foles a lot, and thought he deserved to go higher in the draft than a lot of the QB's that went ahead of him did

Really?    Here are the guys picked ahead of him.  Which QB's should he have been selected ahead of?

Andrew Luck
RG3
Ryan Tannehill
Brandon Weeden
Russell Wilson


All those guys are better than Foles from what I've seen this year.

[Bschucher]

My contention since yesterday and continues to be that the game should not have even been close. We all know the D sucks but they were ballin early and had Josh played worth a **CENSORED** the first three quarters it would have been a blowout. Josh has been crap the majority of his last three games and his 41% completion percentage yesterday says so. MANY of his garbage throws came when he had time to throw the ball. 

[dbucfan]

He (Freeman) played poorly.

agree Freeman played poorly - and the dbackfield was awful.  between those positions the game was lost, with a smaller contribution from the Oline.

[CBWx2]

Freeman (and let's not forget Doug Martin) was able to put the team up two scores because the defense held the Eagles to 10 points for the other 55 minutes of the game.  This is the point that isn't registering for some reason.

It's registering fine. But going into the last 7 minutes of the game being up 2 scores and losing the game doesn't fall on the offense. That's what doesn't seem to be registering with you. Freeman threw 4 passes in the 4th quarter. Nick Foles threw 19.

Quite simply - if Freeman plays like we all know he can for the first three quarters, is that game close?  I don't believe so.  We all know the pass defense sucks, so I have low expectations for them.  Freeman has shown he can play better, so I expect a helluva lot more than he showed yesterday.  Do you disagree?

I can't say with any degree of certainty that this game is still not close even if Freeman played well, because our pass defense was non existent all game. Who's to say that if Freeman had put up 300 yards that the Eagles don't put up 450 passing on us? The game played out how it played out, and even though Freeman was sub-par, he still did enough to put us in position to win, and we still didn't. That much is fact.

[CBWx2]

I also happen to like Nick Foles a lot, and thought he deserved to go higher in the draft than a lot of the QB's that went ahead of him did

Really?    Here are the guys picked ahead of him.  Which QB's should he have been selected ahead of?

Andrew Luck
RG3
Ryan Tannehill
Brandon Weeden
Russell Wilson


All those guys are better than Foles from what I've seen this year.

Both Wilson and Foles should have gone higher than Weeden and Tannehill, IMO.

[BaghdadJoe54]

I haven't seen the point made about our starting field position in the first half but I honestly haven't looked deep.

If you consider our starting field position, and the fact we got zero points I'm not sure a D is too HIGH of a grade.

One of the late TDs was a gimme, that we had to rely on a jump ball.

He also failed to put the game away when needed.

F from my seats in the stadium. I think there were a couple thousand boo-birds that would agree with a D or less.

[JavaRay]

I also happen to like Nick Foles a lot, and thought he deserved to go higher in the draft than a lot of the QB's that went ahead of him did

Really?    Here are the guys picked ahead of him.  Which QB's should he have been selected ahead of?

Andrew Luck
RG3
Ryan Tannehill
Brandon Weeden
Russell Wilson


All those guys are better than Foles from what I've seen this year.

Both Wilson and Foles should have gone higher than Weeden and Tannehill, IMO.

Wilson, yes.   But I think Foles went right where he should have.   I don't think Foles is anything special.   Then again, I don't think Freeman is special either.

[fanofkit]

EastEnd (in the story comments) disagreed with my D grade for Freeman. I think it is pretty much right on. What do y'all think?

Not hrsh at all.. He had at least three passes that were very nearly interceptions,