Official 2022 Tompa Bay Gronkaneers Thread

[Guts]

If you look at just Brady's stat line minus the TDs, it's very good. Close to 300 yards per game, no interceptions, 1 or 2 sacks a game on average, .5 fumbles per game. I've never seen any QB struggle with anything close to these kind of numbers. It's unbelievable.

It's happening game after game and you would think that the law of averages would take over and the bad luck turns to good luck. If it doesn't happen this week and the Bucs don't get at least 3 rushing/passing TDs with similar passing stats,.. the only logical explanation is the coaching.

He had a few throws that could've been intercepted yesterday. Tom needs to play better too

 

[Deus Irae]

Even still, Thursday is a relatively possible “get right” game for them. They match up well with Baltimore since David and/or White are capable of spying Lamar, and their secondary tends to collapse in coverage and give up the big play. It all comes down to the ability to give Brady some time. We’ll see.

It's not must win, but it's a huge game. Their remaining schedule is much tougher than Atlanta's.

 

[RicoG]

He had a few throws that could've been intercepted yesterday. Tom needs to play better too

He's skittish and doesn't trust his oline. He's getting the ball out quickly and taking check downs resulting in more inaccurate throws. Some throws to the dirt is probably Brady just getting rid of the ball.

Brady doesn't normally stand tall in the pocket to take the big hits unless it's playoffs. The way the oline is playing, if he did he'd be sent to early retirement.

At this point, it's probably better to quickly get rid of the ball, whether it ends up as a bad pass or not, and live to play again another day.

 

[Deus Irae]

Larry Foote said he challenged rookie corner Zyon McCollum by asking him "how are you going to respond this week?" -- that would seem to suggest Carlton Davis isn't coming back from his hip injury for Ravens game.

 

[Deus Irae]

This is probably the closest thing to good news the Bucs have today:

So five of NFC's top six teams by record last year are .500 or worse right now: Rams 3-3, Packers, Bucs, Cardinals, 49ers all 3-4. Five of AFC's top six from last year are again .500 or better.

 

[crawhammer]

Fournette's not the problem

To your point he's 40th in the NFL with 1.9 rushing yards before contact per rushing attempt. But he's also not doing anything after contact where he ranks 31st in the NFL. The o-line isn't run blocking very well but Fournette also is not creating much for himself either... bad combination. They should completely scrap the short yardage playbook at this point, that's really killing the team.

Tom could use Belichick right now. Bowles and Leftwich are incompetent. How do you lose by multiple TD to a team that just fired its coach, traded its best players and is actively trying to tank?

I assumed Bowles is a useless head coach with his lifeless personality but I didn't think it would impact the offense that much. The team's more conservative generally and that's seems to have applied to the offense as well. We're seeing really uninspired play across the board which falls on the head coach in part. Leftwich is having a horrendous season as a play-caller too. How many hopeless running plays does he need to call before he realizes they're not going to work?

Belichick is a much better coach than Bowles, I don't think anyone would dispute that, so yeah he'd be an upgrade. But the Bucs don't need Belichick to fix their offense, they already have the resources in house for that, and seemingly the improvement will inevitably come with that unit. Their defense should be at least adequate for a championship run. The offense needs to start averaging closer to 30 points per game, which is what they're capable of.

 

[Deus Irae]

Head coach Frank Reich announced that Sam Ehlinger will start for the Colts in Sunday’s home game against the Commanders. Reich also said that Matt Ryan has a a Grade 2 shoulder separation that will keep him from practicing or playing this week, but he made it clear that the decision to go to Ehlinger was not because of Ryan’s injury.

“Right now the move is for Sam to be the starter for the rest of the season,” Reich said, via the team’s website.

Colts plan to start Sam Ehlinger at QB for rest of season - ProFootballTalk



Not a good week for the older QBs

 

[Deus Irae]

3 older QBs (Brady/Rodgers/Ryan)

3 struggling OLs

3 bad/struggling receiver corps

3 disappointing records



The pattern is there. I'm not saying Ryan wasn't a part of the problem in Indy (he was). But I am saying that all 3 teams have done a poor job of helping out the QB position for this season, and that OL issues can really impact even the most veteran of QBs.

 

[rochrist]

He's skittish and doesn't trust his oline. He's getting the ball out quickly and taking check downs resulting in more inaccurate throws. Some throws to the dirt is probably Brady just getting rid of the ball.

Brady doesn't normally stand tall in the pocket to take the big hits unless it's playoffs. The way the oline is playing, if he did he'd be sent to early retirement.

At this point, it's probably better to quickly get rid of the ball, whether it ends up as a bad pass or not, and live to play again another day.

Pretty sure it wouldn't actually be an -early- retirement.

 

[crawhammer]

Not a good week for the older QBs

Has it been a good season for many quarterbacks in general?

Josh Allen is MVP of the league right now. Having a great season.

Mahomes is having an excellent season. However, he had really bad picks in his team's losses.

Burrow has really come on after a very poor start to the season. Can't ignore the 3 bad performances in the 3 losses though.

Tua's numbers are skewed with the one explosive performance against Baltimore. Overall though a very good season for him and their offense looks legit with him in there.

I suppose Geno Smith deserve some attention for what's shaping up to the comeback performance of the season.

Lamar has tailed off after a tremendous start to the season.

Who else is really worth talking about on the plus side?

Ryan and Stafford are having disastrous seasons. The Russell Wilson trade is looking like the worst trade in the history of the NFL. Kyle Murray looks like the most overpaid. Mayfield has sucked for Carolina. Winston has reverted back to being himself. Garoppolo is showing us why the 49ers don't believe in him. Fields looks like a bust. Jacoby Brissett, not an NFL starting-caliber quarterback. Brady and Rodgers are underwhelming us to put it nicely. Lots of mediocre quarterbacking otherwise.

So far it's a down season for the quarterback position.

 

[Bill Lee]

Tom could use Belichick right now. Bowles and Leftwich are incompetent.

Don't blame Leftwich, he is calling the plays Tom wants called.

How do you lose by multiple TD to a team that just fired its coach, traded its best players and is actively trying to tank?

To me the most shocking info is they were favored by 13 but lost by 18.

 

[crawhammer]

Don't blame Leftwich, he is calling the plays Tom wants called.

That drop by Evans looked bad when it happened. It looks really bad after they scored only 3 points for the entire game. That drop isn't on Leftwich or Brady. If you want to put the passing game woes on Brady, then fine, they're not scoring touchdowns and the quarterback has to bear some of the responsibility for that. But the running game, and the asinine play-calling we've seen with that, falls on Leftwich. And poor execution from the o-line and Fournette. Worst running game in the NFL, especially in short yardage situations.

 

[VectorPrime]

This is probably the closest thing to good news the Bucs have today:

This is just nuts.

 

[Deus Irae]

The team estimated that Mike Evans (ankle) and Russell Gage (hamstring) would not have practiced. Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said at a press conference earlier in the day that the team would have more information about Gage’s injury after an MRI.

Mike Evans, Russell Gage would have missed practice Monday - ProFootballTalk

 

[carmelo15]

I can see why Brady may have not wanted to come back to Tampa this season. The attitude of the coaches and front office is not the same as the prior 2 years.

Did Beasley retire because he got turned off by the coaches?

No loyalty, lost of leadership and nastiness. Suh had a good season last year and was the best player in the Rams playoff game. He asked to come back but got slapped with the signing of Hicks.
Again no loyalty, lost of leadership and nastiness. JPP fought through injuries to play when he should have been on IR for most of the season. He is head and shoulders better than JTS who is a soft finesse player not good against the run.

Godwin wasn't worth $20 million this season with that injury. He still isn't the same. They overpaid and could of used that money on an OL.

Godwin contract is fine that Lenny contract is comical dude was a decent player and he’s getting paid like a difference maker

 

[Guts]

Mike Evans, Russell Gage would have missed practice Monday - ProFootballTalk

Lol at this point

 

[Deus Irae]

This is just nuts.

Absolutely. The NFC is just bizarro world right now. And that's the biggest reason it's not time to panic yet for fans of any of those teams. The "best" teams are the Vikings and the NFCE, and I don't think anyone finds those teams to be juggernauts.

Really, Philly is the only NFC team showing any real signs of being a top level NFL team right now.

 

[carmelo15]

Mike Evans, Russell Gage would have missed practice Monday - ProFootballTalk

When was the last time gage was healthy my goodness

 

[Deus Irae]

When was the last time gage was healthy my goodness

Gage, Jones, Godwin, Perriman.... the Swarovsky bunch this year. It's part of what's killing this team.

 

[VectorPrime]

I’ve never seen injuries quite like the last two Bucs seasons. The Ravens have had similar years recently I guess but that’s all I can compare it too. Something is terribly wrong with the training staff and the strength and conditioning.