Dayton's Blog: A pimple on the ass of the Internet.

Well, that was just ugly.



I don't even know where to begin. Four...count 'em...four turnovers by quarterback Josh Freeman. Dude, I know you have a lot of potential and you're the QB on which Tampa is betting their future, blah blah blah, but you really have to stop throwing to the guys wearing shirts that are different from yours. Trust me on this, man; if you can stop doing that, even just a little bit, your QB rating can't help but improve. Honest.

Of course, Josh can't take all the blame. When the linebacker is in your grille before the ball is, there's a serious problem with your offensive line. Just sayin'.

It wasn't all bad, though. There were some bright spots in the run game, but it was all for naught once the turnover bug bit, and it bit a lot today.

As for the defense, well....yeah. That's all I've got to say about that.

Next week pits the Bucs against against another division rival, the Falcons, in Atlanta. While the Bucs share basement accomodations with the likes of St. Louis and Cleveland (Cripes. Even Detroit won.), the Falcons are still in the hunt for a wild card spot, at least mathematically, so you just know they'll be reviewing game film this week, looking for what by all evidence should be an easy win.

You have no idea how much it hurt to type that just now.

Ouch. I hate when that happens.



The sad part is that the Bucs had their chances to win this one, but couldn't seal the deal. They were leading with less than two minutes to go when the Fins got the ball back.

There was a time when the once-vaunted Tampa Bay defense would relish such a setup. There was a time when we as fans could leave the stands or our recliners to tend to Nature's Call, safe in the knowledge that the Pirates In Their Pewter Pants had the situation well in hand. Tasked with holding ground against an opposing offense trying to mount a game-winning drive in the game's closing moments, the Bucs D would be all but consumed with uncontrolled fits of maniacal laughter. And that was before they either pounded your running back into the turf, stripped the ball from his arms so that their own offense could take a couple of knees to run out the clock, or simply picked off your quarterback in stride before high-tailing it to pay dirt. They fed on that type of game. They welcomed the challenge, and on all but the rarest of occasions, they made you pay for your audacity.

That was then. This is now.

Now? Ugh.

BUCS
WIN
!!!!




: Ahem. :

Bucs 38 - Packers 28.

They came from behind. They found out that there just might be something to rookie quarterback Josh Freeman. And they did it all while wearing the Creamsicle Colors of Doom that only die-hard, Day 1 fans can love.

And at halftime, they honored Lee Roy Selmon, aka The. Greatest. Buc. Player. Ever. Still Tampa's only member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Selmon became the inaugural member of the Ring of Honor at Raymond James Stadium. That's only about 25 years or so overdue, but better late than never.

Oh, and they won.

Suh-weet.

Well, the Bucs won the coin toss. I guess that's something to build on.



I hope they at least have good movies on the flight to and from London.

The Bucs were in this one, to a point. That point is the decimal separating "267" from "6," which is how many yards Carolina rushed against the Bucs' run defense.

Ouch.



Don't get me wrong; there was a lot to praise today. Blocked field goal. Kickoff return for a touchdown. Interception returned for another TD.

If they could've stopped the Panthers' running game, we might have something. As it was, Tampa's defense should've just shucked their uniforms and started selling concessions. At least then, they'd have been doing something. The Bucs offense didn't have a bad day; they just didn't have a great day, either. In the end, everything came down to stopping the Carolina running attack, and for that Tampa was a total no-show.

Their next game is in London (WTF?) against New England. For those not keeping score at home, the Patriots had a pretty good day, racking up 59 points against the scoreless Tennessee Titans. I think I'll start crying on Wednesday this week, just to get it out of the way early.

The definition of "ass kicking," as listed at UrbanDictionary.com:

ass kicking:

1. To be beaten senseless because you God damn definitely deserve it.
   
   Not to be confused with kick-ass, shit-kicking,ass kissing or getting the shit kicked out of you.
   
   Example:
   "We were having a kick-ass good time shootin' the shit and kickin' the shit out of this guy who needed an ass kicking. So kiss my ass.
   
   
2. What the Eagles did to the Bucs on this day.
   

Oh my holy God, what the hell has happened to my Bucs?

I recall past Bucs-Eagles meetings. One in particular is particularly inspiring, that being the NFC Championship game in early 2003. The Bucs were victorious, their win sending them to their first (and only) Super Bowl, which they also won. In that game, as with the Super Bowl itself, the Bucs won largely on the strength of their once-feared defense.

That was then, this is now, and now SUCKS DONKEY BALLS.

There were moments of hope today - fleeting though they might have been - from the often-anemic offense, but with the defense getting faked out of their jocks or simply being outplayed on far too many plays, it was too much to hope that the Bucs could close the gap once the Eagles started scoring pretty much at will. The run game was all but nonexistent, and quarterback Josh Johnson is still struggling with the concept of Throwing The Ball Only To Guys Wearing The Same Color Jersey.

It was just plain ugly all around. A couple more of these, and they're going to pull the creamsicle uniforms from storage. I can just hear the Ghost of John McKay as he watches from the cheap seats:

"Coach, what do you think of your offense's execution?"

"I'm in favor of it."

Don't get me wrong: I still love my Pirates in Pewter, but they sure as hell don't make it easy.

The worst part? The Tampa Breeze don't play until December.

Yeah, I know. They actually were in it up until their last series with less than a minute left.

Like that's never stopped the Bucs from coughing up a win before.



The defense looked pretty good, all things considered. Definitely better than last week. They forced four Redskins turnovers. Washington QB Aqib Talib threw three picks. The Redskins damned near gave the game away by halftime, so far as their offense was concerned.

Bucs QB Josh Johnson (Yeah, I know: Who?) threw a TD on his first pass. Things were looking good early on.

And then, somewhere, a clock struck midnight, a chariot turned back into a pumpkin, and that was all that fat lady sang, wrote, or whatever the hell it was that she did.

It took little time for the Bucs offense to remember who they'd been the last couple of weeks. After his stellar initial pass, Johnson did a lot of running around the rest of the afternoon, pretty much just trying to stay alive. The offense got conservative, playing it safe down deep in Washington territory when they should have been using play action and getting the 'skins defense off their backs. Adding insult to injury was kicker Mike Nugent and his two blown field goals which, looking at the score and stats and given how the rest of the afternoon went, were all that were needed to win the game.

So, the season's a quarter of the way to being over, and the Bucs are a big O-fer. Next week is the Eagles in Philly. Yikes.

I think I'm just gonna start cheering on this team.

For a time, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looked capable of defeating the New York Giants earlier today.

Then the coin was tossed, and it was all downhill from there.



It took 40 minutes (game time) before the Bucs logged their first of five first downs (One of which was awarded via a Giants penalty) while on their way toward an underwhelming 68 yards of total offense. By comparison, the G-men tallied 397 yards. Of course, it's the score that separates the winner from the loser and in this case the distinction is made simple, as the Bucs opted not to burden any statisticians by accruing points in any fashion, or even putting forth the appearance of trying to locate anything which could've passed for a red zone, field goal range, or whatever. Rumor has it that they're planning to incorporate Google Maps into their game plan next week against the Washington Redskins, in the hopes of finding an end zone. Anybody's end zone.

What's that I hear? A voice in the darkness?

"With the first pick of the 2010 NFL draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select...."

Maybe it'll be somebody from the University of South Florida. Now there's a team that looks like it can win a game every so often. Ain't that right, Seminoles?

Ugh.p

I'm not really sure who beat the Bucs worse: The Bills, or the Bucs themselves.

Penalties. Poor decision making. Penalties. Poor pass protection. Penalties. A defense that no longer possesses the killing streak it once celebrated.

Oh, and penalties.



When Byron Leftwich wasn't on his back, enjoying unfettered views of the sky, he was picking turf out of his teeth. The Bucs offensive line, as though assembled from discarded department store mannequins, did little more than ask Bills defenders about good places to eat in Buffalo as they ran past.

When the defense wasn't making stupid penalties which nullified inconsistent efforts to stall Bills offensive drives, they were watching the backs of Bills receivers bringing in the deep balls and heading for the end zone (The TO catch in the 3rd quarter hurt, but it wasn't because the defense fell down on the job; it was TO, and the ball was perfectly thrown. There's a reason that guy makes big bucks). When the defense did step up and make key, even momentum-shifting plays, the offense found innovative methods to squander those opportunities.

Let's talk about that running game for a second. Wait. What running game? 57 yards on the ground. I run farther chasing after the Good Humor guy when he comes tooling through my neighborhood.

Passing: When Leftwich wasn't getting dropped to the grass, he managed to throw nearly 300 yards and two TDs. He also threw two picks, both of which were avoidable. I'm not going to jump on him too hard, though, because he was trying to make something happen in a game where precious little else was going in the Bucs' favor. There were several instances where he overthrew or underthrew receivers, or put the ball to an area of the field where the only person who might catch it was one of the Bills' cheerleaders. Still, there were plenty of other occasions where the ball should've been caught. It has to be said: If your quarterback puts the ball in your bread basket, there's damned few excuses to be had for dropping it. Use some of that money you're making and buy some frikkin' hands, for crying out loud.

Worst of all? Take away some of the dumbass penalties along with a handful of just boneheaded decisions made (or not made, as the case may be) by various players, and the Bucs are in both of the first two games with a fighting chance to win. Holy Ghost in a leisure suit. There were points during the game when -- despite the score, the turnovers, and other factors which allowed the Bills to roll up a nice early lead, when it looked like the Bucs might climb right back into the thick of things and make a game of it. But, they kept shooting themselves in the foot with penalty after incredibly ridiculous penalty, along with a distinct lack of hustle when going after the ball. That's a coaching issue.

Guess what? The Giants head to Tampa next week, and they're more than capable of winning, even without the Bucs' help.

Come on, Pewter Pirates. Show us something.

Well, there's two ways to look at the Bucs' season opening loss:

1) It's the first of many.

2) There were a lot of positives on which to build.



I'm not one to say stuff like, "They're picking up right where they left off last season." Too many names have changed - on both the player and coaching rosters, for such a statement to be fair. New coaching staff means new mindset, playcalling and overall approach to the game, so there's bound to be some settling-in adjustments...as much if not more so for the returning vets as anyone else. There were several things about what the Bucs did yesterday which sit firmly in the "Good" column - Cadillac Williams had a solid day. Michael Clayton had a great day. Byron Leftwich had an okay day, once you take away a few bad decisions. The offense racked up 450 total yards. That's a solid performance, in and of itself.

However, the defense got used like an issue of Hustler magazine at summer camp. I'd like to think that was more the scheme than the players on the field, but there were still several instances where the Bucs' secondary were faked right out of their jocks. The offensive line, despite the production in yardage, still didn't provide Leftwich anything resembling decent, consistent protection, and that eventually will come back to bite them in the ass. These are things which take time to fix...more time than the Bucs have before kickoff next Sunday.

But, I'll be there, cheering them on.

Finally.

The long summer drought has ended. Pre-season has completed. All that other crap is out of the way. It's time to start throwin' pigs, baby.

Just for popfiend and all the other football-luvin' friends on my list:



As for my Pirates In Pewter? I remain ever hopeful....



Here's to football!

I'm just getting this, thanks to the evening news:

ESPN.com: Gruden fired by Bucs after 7 seasons

I like Gruden; I always have, but I can't really fault this decision by the Glazers. Since winning the Super Bowl during Gruden's first season, the Bucs have repeatedly squandered opportunities which were all but handed to them on a silver platter. The utter collapse of the team this past December was as embarrassing as anything I've ever witnessed as a fan of this team from Day One, and it was made all the more infuriating by the fact that the division and a decent playoff seeding were theirs for the taking. Instead, I now live in a world where the Arizona Frikkin' Cardinals might get to play their first Super Bowl in my Bucs' stadium.

If that's not a sign of the Apocalypse, I don't know what is.

Good luck, Coach. You did do some great things for Tampa, but there's really no disagreeing with this move.

Of course, the question now is: Who will replace him? Further, who'll replace Bruce Allen, former GM, who also was shown the door today?

(Pleasedon'tsayCarlPetersonPleasedon'tsayCarlPetersonPleasedon'tsayCarlPeterson....)

Well, that was just downright embarrassing.



No team that drops four straight games deserves to be in the playoffs, particularly when your last two games are lost to what on paper are inferior teams. It's an axiom that's especially true when your last opponent of the regular season comes into the final game with fewer wins than most people have fingers on one hand.

Of course, anybody who follows pro football knows that rules, axioms, and laws of physics and nature do not apply when we're talking about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who once again find a way to lose a must-win game.

I love these guys; I really do. Always have, but being a fan of this ball club can be damned frustrating.

And so ends another playoff-less season for my boys in Scarlet and Pewter. See you guys next August.

WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT??????



In three weeks' time, the Bucs have gone from controlling the NFC South Division to looking up at Atlanta's ass. Carolina's clinched the division, and the Falcons have one of the two wildcard slots sewn up. The Bucs are still in it, but in addition to having to win against Oakland next week (and hey, if anyone can screw up a sure thing like that, my Pirates in Pewter are more than capable of rising to the challenge), I think they also need a Dallas loss. I need to sit down and look at all the scenarios, potential tie-breakers, and all that crap.

Meanwhile....DAMN!

Well, that certainly sucked.

The Bucs' fourth-rated defense gave up 300 yards rushing. For all I know, Carolina running backs are still racking up stats. The Bucs came into the game having allowed one...one...rushing touchdown all season, and coughed up four last night. Even though Jeff Garcia threw for 300+ yards and a couple of TDs, he was still sacked five times. WR Antonio Bryant...who thought this guy could play? Anyway, he had an awesome night, which ultimately was wasted.

The damage is significant, though not impossible to overcome. With the win, Carolina moves into first place in the NFC South division at 10-3, with the Bucs at 9-4 now sitting in second place and occupying the top wild card spot with three games to go. Granted, second place is just a nice name for the first loser, but there are worse places to be. If the fates are kind, the Bucs can still reclaim the division lead by season's end, though a top-seed for playoff contention is a bit more unlikely.

Next week? At Atlanta, who's nursing an 8-5 record and nipping at the Bucs' heels. Heck, things are so close, you can't even really count out New Orleans at this point.

The rest of the month should prove to be very interesting.

Not that it's an impressive win, mind you, considering the Lions entered the game with no victories on the season, and left the same way. Still, a win's a win, and from mid-to-late November onward, all wins are important.

As I write this, Carolina and Atlanta are slugging it out, and the Falcons are winning. If they hold out, that will drop the Panthers to 8-3, tied with the Bucs for the lead in the NFC South division. Atlanta will be breathing down their necks at 7-4, with 5-5 New Orleans getting ready to play Indy this evening. The Bucs currently own the tie-breakers so far as Carolina is concerned, but there's still a ways to go.

Now it's time to give the kids their baths and get them ready for bed, so I can settle in to watch 24: Redemption. Aw, yeah....

It had no business being that close. It had no business going to over-frikkin-time, but the Bucs managed to pull it together in the 4th quarter and tie up the game after a ridiculous first half.

The Bucs get a bye next week, so hopefully they'll use that time to get some crap straightened out.

....was my head exploding.

The Bucs defense just bit on that same damned reverse-throwback play that's been all the rage in recent weeks, as executed to perfection by Tyler Fucking Thigpen and the 1-6 Kansas City Chiefs.

It's currently 21-3 Chiefs, early in the 2nd quarter. Somebody needs to put a camera on Jon Gruden, because that vein over his left eye is gonna blow any time now.

Barring a few mistakes, the Bucs put on a pretty good show tonight. On the other side of town, the Rays finally put the nail in the Red Sox coffin and are now on the way to their first-evah World Series. It's an awesome night to be a sports fan in Tampa.

Meanwhile, here in Kansas City, the Chiefs and the Royals continue to provide reasons why taxpayers shouldn't keep funding stadiums.

Who's watchin'? Huh? Huh?



7:27pm - My first impressions, based on the kickoff and first series: Bucs special teams kick coverage has definitely improved this season, and the D looks like they might be stingy early on. Seahawks' first series is a bust.

7:35pm - Garcia to Bryant for the score! At first I thought Bryant might've pushed off, but the replay made it look like the Seattle defender tripped on his own. Whoops.

7:41pm - Another nice defensive series for Tampa. Man, I wish could be there on a night like tonight. The weather's awesome, the crowd is pumped, the cannons from the ship echo through my TV's speakers, and the Bucs are definitely feeling their mojo.

I may be back to update this as the evening wears on, but I'm also waiting for The Amazing Race to start.

8:31pm - Michi and I are alternating between this and The Amazing Race, so I missed the Bucs' second touchdown. I did see Ike Hilliard get his bell rung and fumble the ball, but apparently Seattle did nothing with that. Now the Bucs are driving again.

8:44pm - TAR is over, and I come back to see the Bucs put 3 more on the board, and somehow managed to get the ball back all within the space of a minute or so right before the half. Seattle's defense is having no luck getting to Garcia, though they're doing a pretty decent job keeping the offense from advancing too far on this latest drive. As I'm typing this, Matt Bryant is setting up for a field goal right before halftime.....and after a high snap, the kick falls short. 17-0 at the half!

9:00pm - Kick-off to start the second half and the kick returner drops the ball, then fumbles it again when he gets hit. Somehow, the Bucs come away with it. The Seahawks can't get a break, but I smell something about to shift as the Bucs offense starts the drive up against their own end zone.

9:03pm - First series of the 3rd quarter is 3 and out. And what the hell is up with the special teams covering that punt?

9:07pm - Bucs defense looks pissed, eh? Force Seahawks to kick a field-goal, so now it's 17-3. Now we're at the commercials and I have to reiterate my absolute loathing of the new batch of Coors' Light ads. They make the Geico caveman commercials seem hysterical by comparison.

9:09pm - Why did I decide to live blog this?

9:14pm - I love Al Michaels. That he no longer calls games on Monday Night Football is a frikkin' crime. At least, it should be.

9:17pm - Collinsworth is right; that dude was definitely channeling Barry Sanders.

9:20pm - Bucs defense holds Seattle to a field-goal attempt, and the Seahawks choke on it.

9:28pm - It's a fumble! Fumble-aya. Fumble-erooksi. Garcia gets it back, tho.

9:33pm - Okay, the stomach mentioned something about pie. Key Lime pie. I'm outa here!

10:20pm - Flipping between this, the Rays/Sox game, and The Unit. Final score 20-10. Seattle had one 1st down in the first half. Yikes. Not gonna win many ballgames doing that.

I didn't set out to "live blog" this game, but it might be something I do again down the road...maybe with some notice next time, huh?