I have not covered the Bucs nearly as long as PR’s own Scott Reynolds or Mark Cook, but I’m pretty sure I can tell you that this 38-3 loss to the Saints is the worst loss that I’ve seen from the Bucs in years. With so much on the line against a rival team, the Bucs came out flat and could never find a rhythm.
Once again, I’m not going to sugarcoat the reader. You guys are smart enough to know that there were not many impressive performances from Bucs players in this game. If there was anything to put a positive on, this was it.
S Jordan Whitehead
At a time of the game where the Bucs needed a splash play, Whitehead delivered, stripping tight end Jared Cook near the goal line. The Bucs have had success with getting turnovers in timely fashion, and that was one of them. The offense wasn’t able to capitalize, but it was a big play before the game got out of hand. Whitehead was second on the team with eight tackles and led the team with two tackles for loss.
OLB Shaq Barrett
Getting pressure on Drew Brees was an issue, but early in the second half when there was a sliver of believability that the Bucs had a chance, Barrett created a huge turnover. The veteran edge defender was able to strip-sack Brees early in the third quarter, giving the Bucs offense the ball in the red zone. It could have swung the momentum a bit if the Bucs could punch the ball in, but they failed to do so. Barrett finished the game with four tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.
LB Lavonte David
You won’t find a harder worker on the field than Lavonte David. He was injured at one point and jogged off on his own power, but came back right away and didn’t miss much time. David recovered a fumble early on and was still giving it his all even when it was very late in the game and the lead was out of reach. David’s been a leader of this team for years, and he kept at it despite the lopsided score. David ended with seven tackles, a tackle-for-loss and a fumble recovery.
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About the Author: Matt Matera
I feel bad for Barrett. He played well and he has so much love and faith for Bowles. Press conference made that clear. But for the impartial observer? Bowles sucked. He was god *expletive* awful and I feel bad for the players that have so much faith in him because he let them down so badly tonight.
Barrett has been crap, he gives up easily and can’t get to the QB anymore. 1 year wonder and nothing more.
Wrong. 2nd in the league in pressures.
LVD’s career has been wasted by the Bucs..
Absolutely. It infuriates me. This team is trash.
I didn’t see any.
David played his normal game; no more, no less. He’s being paid well to play at a higher standard than others on the team. He did play his normal; that sends a message out for me that we still have a DT problem. White is a big problem when it comes to pass protection. He’s lost in trying to stop a TE. This is the reason why his side of the field is picked on. I hope Jon shows some more tape on him because he’s a problem for the DB’s. White is so fast, I would capitalize on those… Read more »
Yep Horse, I agree! The loss of Vea is bigger than I thought it would be. I thought depth would step in and up for the Bucs. No push on the inside.
Im still quite impressed with Tristan Wirfs…hes our future LT imo
Agreed. He has no competition for the position.
Agreed – their best pass rusher was largely an afterthought…compare that to D Smith who let Hendrickson (who?) get sacks on 3 consecutive plays.
Except that one play early in the game where he gave up a pressure
Bad game planning is becoming a problem. Why in the world would you play back off the receivers and only rush 4 most of the game. Brees will eat your lunch everytime with no pressure, even Shaun Payton was laughing at our game plan.This team thinks they can show and get a win. Arm tackles don’t cut it. This defense is no were near as good as the old Bucs. Kudos to Chris Godwin, Lavonte David they are gamers.
I love LVD but nobody played well enough to even be on the same field as the Saints.
I’m impressed with my wife of 51 years, myself and the others who stayed until the very end of what I would say was the worst performance in team history……and that’s saying something. The sad thing is, I used my Club account for this one and spent $1,100.00 for my two tickets. On the plus side, I wore my Bucs COVID mask so maybe no one recognized me. Perhaps if this trend continues some marketing genius can introduce a COVID (Aints/Yucs) paper bag. How embarrassing and totally unexpected. Sure miss Vita Vea and Ali Marpet.
Scubog, spot on. Question for you? It appears to me White can’t cover the TE on his side and it’s effecting the DB’s who cover the middle? Your thoughts because you were there.
Congrats on 51 years of marriage; we’re at 53.
I was just thinking since I became a fan was there a worse game I watched as a fan, I’m sure there was but this one is in top 3 for sure if not #1
Not sure when you became a fan, but I remember losing to the Raiders 45-0 in 1999 (I think). Expectations weren’t quite as high that year but still a shocking outcome based on the defensive talent we had then. That being said our offense didn’t have the same expectations then as now. Not sure it’s our “worst game” ever (lots to choose from in Bucs lore!) but definitely one of most disappointing! We just got steamrolled. Hope we look like a team with a pulse next week.
Horse: Guys always seem to be running wide open on those short crossing patterns to make it easy for Brees to see and complete. Plus Kamara tends to go out to the flat and catch swing passes for big gains as if we didn’t expect those plays. I was hoping Bowles would use White as a spy on Kamara. Not sure I watched #45 enough to evaluate his coverage of the TE’s. He’s very fast and that can sometime cause him to overshoot the mark. He’s not #55 just yet. In my view, the entire Defense was a step too… Read more »
There was something impressive in this game???
Other than handful of good plays there was zero impressive! This is not a super bowl team. I’m starting to wonder if they are even a wildcard team. O line still isn’t fixed, secondary still has issues, some aging players aren’t getting to QB anymore, etc etc. losing Vea was bigger issue than I thought too. Zero push in middle and can’t stop run now two weeks in row. Everyone said Giants game was an anomaly Bucs are fine. I had reservations for sure but stupid me believed we would rise to occasion with Saints. I do not see Bucs… Read more »
Frankly, I thought the only one on this list was going to be Succop.
Barrett was man handled most of the time. No way was he Impressive.
No player or coach deserves to be on this list, period. They need to take a long look in the mirror this morning. That was a debacle for the whole nation to see.
The very short answer is NOBODY! The only person I’d even remotely consider is Sean Payton. And that’s because he took it very easy on us. Just really glad he didn’t send Jameis out for the 2nd half to shred our defense and throw a couple TD’s. That’s the only thing that could have possibly happened to make this any worse