My thoughts of the Game

[buckit]

In the whole effort to totally bash the defense, which some have been doing, they forget that, during the first half, the defense forced three 3 and outs, one 4 and out, and two 2 and out's via Ronde Barber for a TD and Bolden's pick. Then they stopped the Eagles first drive stopped by a force fumble. During the first half, the Eagles had only two drives, which got most of their yardage, and both failed to get any points. The real problem for the defense was a lack of offense by the Bucs. Letting Mahan start was a huge mistake as it took away the running game early.

While the defense was playing much better in the first half, they still allowed 4 plays of 20 yards or more

To a team that leads the league in plays of 20+ yards...

[bradentonian]

In the whole effort to totally bash the defense, which some have been doing, they forget that, during the first half, the defense forced three 3 and outs, one 4 and out, and two 2 and out's via Ronde Barber for a TD and Bolden's pick. Then they stopped the Eagles first drive stopped by a force fumble. During the first half, the Eagles had only two drives, which got most of their yardage, and both failed to get any points. The real problem for the defense was a lack of offense by the Bucs. Letting Mahan start was a huge mistake as it took away the running game early.

While the defense was playing much better in the first half, they still allowed 4 plays of 20 yards or more

[buckit]

Jesus Christ!  Some of you act like you don't know a damn thing about football!  4 forced turnovers against one of the best offenses in the league IS WITHOUT A DOUBT an impressive effort.  If you can't see that, you're a moron.  All some of you wanna do is focus on the 4th quarter.  Yes, the D gave up hella yards and 3 TDs.  But if the Offense could have scored more than 9 freakin points, and maybe sustained a drive for more than 3 or 4 plays, we wouldn't have had a worn out D trying to cover the leagues best offense in the 100+ degree heat!  The D did what was expected of them.  They created opportunity after opportunity.  The O failed to deliver.  Any D would be worn out by the 4th quarter under these circumstances.  You can't fault them for it, really.

[buckit]

First, this win shows what I suspected after the N.O. game: That this Bucs team can go toe to toe with anyone.  After last week's victory over the Bungles, all I heard was how far Cincy is sliding, how they must be in real trouble, yadda, yadda, yadda because they lost to the (implied) lowely Bucs.  Now what?  That's two big wins against very good teams in a row.  I betcha anything the media spins it as a downward slide from the Eagles rather than an upward advance by the Bucs....

Gradkowski didn't play very well.  BUT--he didn't turn the ball over.  If you're gonna win ball games with a rookie QB you need the following 3 elements:  A) a solid run game B) a dominating defense C) a rookie QB that protects the football.   Grads may not have played like Joe Montana yesterday, but he did come through as expected.  At N.O he was outstanding.  At Cincy he had moments.  Yesterday, he was practically not even there.  I just hope he isn't hitting a rookie wall...But kudos to Jon Gruden and Monte Kiffen for focusing on the elements that successfully support a rookie starter at QB.  So far, so good.

The O-line: I have to say, I was very impressed with the way these boys played.  VS one of the best blitzing teams in the league, they held their own, and then some.  Helluva job recuriting and positioning by Gruden to finally bring together an offensive line that we can be proud of.

The Defense:  NOW, they deserve props.  I have been holding off because while they've played respectable, they hadn't gone above and beyond their job description.  Until yesterday that is.  That was the best defenseive effort I've seen since 2002.  They completely domininated at times.  Yes, the Eagles moved the ball.  A LOT.  Yes, they scored 3 TD's.  But the 4 turnovers generated in the game was nothing short of spectacular.  If the Bucs O could have put up more than 3 FG's that game wouldn't have even been close.

Matt Bryant:  Damn.  All I can say is Damn.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but prior to yesterday, his career long was, what, 50 yards?  When the Bucs lined up I told my wife "no way he makes it.  His career long is 50.  He's a decent kicker, but certanily not an elite one.  Why don't we just throw it into the endzone.  We have no chance of makin this f***in kick".  I watched with a cynical look on my face as the kick split the uprights...IT'S GOOD!  "HOLY S***, HE MADE IT!"  I couldn't believe it.   Guess I gotta put him in a new catagory now.  And in hindsight, I reckon it was good call after all...

Finally:  Good teams find a way to win.  The Bucs certanily appear to fit that description.  I just wish we didn't have such a huge hole to dig out of...

[DanTurksGhost]

That was the best defenseive effort I've seen since 2002.

Uh oh.

[SamoaJoeBucFan]

The way our D played in the first half against the best Offense in the NFL was outstanding.  Their collapse was an absolute embarrassment.

I agree with what you said about Grads.  Alot of people don't understand that he can have those bad games.  He doesn't need to throw for a crazy amount of yards and score points.  He needs to move the ball, use his athleticism, and most importantly, PROTECT IT.

And how 'bout this O-line!  I am very impressed with an overachieving group of young'ns.  I love what I've seen out of these guys this year and they are the biggest and most pleasant surprise out of Tampa this year.

[buckit]

That was the best defenseive effort I've seen since 2002.

Uh oh.

What many people fail to realize is that if the Bucs had scored a TD on the other two turnovers and one more in any one of the times we had great field position, the Eagles would have had to alter their game plan and throw, throw, throw, wich would have been money for this secondary.  The failure of the offense to score a touchdown combined with the constant 3 and outs in the 102 degree heat put the defense in a position to lose the game. 

[ABuccs Fan]

How did the defense put forth a good effort??

[ABuccs Fan]

That was the best defenseive effort I've seen since 2002.

Uh oh.

What many people fail to realize is that if the Bucs had scored a TD on the other two turnovers and one more in any one of the times we had great field position, the Eagles would have had to alter their game plan and throw, throw, throw, wich would have been money for this secondary.  The failure of the offense to score a touchdown combined with the constant 3 and outs in the 102 degree heat put the defense in a position to lose the game. 

Money for the secondary? Like it was in the 4th quarter?

[MrFreakinMiyagi]

That was the best defenseive effort I've seen since 2002.

Uh oh.

Buck it, this was an impressive defensive effort.........If you play in the Pac-10

[BucHarbour]

In the whole effort to totally bash the defense, which some have been doing, they forget that, during the first half, the defense forced three 3 and outs, one 4 and out, and two 2 and out's via Ronde Barber for a TD and Bolden's pick. Then they stopped the Eagles first drive stopped by a force fumble. During the first half, the Eagles had only two drives, which got most of their yardage, and both failed to get any points. The real problem for the defense was a lack of offense by the Bucs. Letting Mahan start was a huge mistake as it took away the running game early.

The defense then came out and scored another TD on a 2 and out, for Barber's second. Then, on the next 3 drives, the Eagles racked up 232 yards and 3 TD's. Keep in mind that Bolden nearly picked off his second pass but just barely misjudged, which, unfortunately, gave them their first score. To shut the Eagles' number one offense out for nearly 3 quarters was impressive. What killed the Bucs a little in the first half, but manly in the 3 late drives was missed tackles. They're in position, but they're just not tackling well. Phillips is the main culprit, but Brooks, Quarles, Allen, and Bolden all had there key misses. We've seen stretches during the past few years when this defense goes into poor tackling mode, and the result isn't pretty. They usually get out of it within a couple of games, but it's dragging on. Time for the coaches to start practicing the tackling drills constantly. Game plans are useless if your defense can't tackle.

This game is what it is. A little more offense, and the defense might have gone into total blitz mode, but they stayed back most of the game and just played coverage and you usually get burned if the guys up front miss their tackles, and that's what happened. Phillips needs to be replaced as soon as possible because is play is really sucking out there. Allen isn't doing great, but we can live with his performance for now.

[RedAlert]

The defense held an offense that was averaging 31 points a game (28 on the road) to 21 points.

Not a bad days work, the means of which is irrelevant until they start adding points to the other teams total because we didn't dominate..


W, now on to NY..

[BucHarbour]

In the whole effort to totally bash the defense, which some have been doing, they forget that, during the first half, the defense forced three 3 and outs, one 4 and out, and two 2 and out's via Ronde Barber for a TD and Bolden's pick. Then they stopped the Eagles first drive stopped by a force fumble. During the first half, the Eagles had only two drives, which got most of their yardage, and both failed to get any points. The real problem for the defense was a lack of offense by the Bucs. Letting Mahan start was a huge mistake as it took away the running game early.

While the defense was playing much better in the first half, they still allowed 4 plays of 20 yards or more

During two drives, yes. During their other 6 drives in the first half? NADA! And 2 picks.


I'm not saying this defense was doing great all game, or anything like that, but you have to give them their due for that first half performance. If the offense had moved the ball more during the first half, the Eagles may not have been able to get anything going late, but we'll never know. The tackling absolutely must be addressed and should be the focus for defensive practices the rest of the way. And Phillips needs to be benched in favor of someone...anyone!
 

[miamicanes04]

Besides Ronde... They defence sucked. Espiecally the D-ends.

[DanTurksGhost]

Westbrook is a terrific player. The worst part of the whole thing is that Gruden is still torn up that the Rich McKay so-called "braintrust" in 2002 completely disregarded his pleas to draft Westbrook in the 3rd round and instead drafted Marquis Walker.

And you wonder why Gruden wasn't happy with Rich McKay and his cronies.