Raise the Flags and Fire the Cannons - Tampa Bay Buccaneers CFM - Madden 19

[callmetaternuts]

Press Conference

With his team a mere hour away from taking the field for the first time, Western strode to the podium, ready to kickoff the season. He opened with a statement about the team and his vision and goals for the season and his tenure. “I’m here to put the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in the national spotlight for the right reason, for football reasons. We’ve been irrelevant for the last 10 year to the national media and we’ve got to turn this around.”

Western started by saying he is here to put the Bucs in a position to win, there will be no tanking, no playing for draft picks. He will put the best team possible on the field and in the locker room each week. When asked about his loyalty to the staff and players, Western responded that he has a loyalty to the Bucs and the Bucs only. Those who play hard, produce on the field, and handle themselves as professionals will always have a place here. But he did make a point to say that once the regular season started, he would not retain players and staff just because they were here first.

Many took this as a sign that he would go on a firing spree, but he clarified saying that he promised he would make no changes just because he was new. His philosophy would be installed in 2019 with the 2018 season being a chance to analyze the current structure, staff, and players. He hoped to make no changes, but said he would make them where needed.

He was asked to guarantee a Super Bowl victory, to which he scoffed and said, We’re coming off a 5-11 season with guys fighting for their jobs, and you want to talk Super Bowl? Give me a break. Let’s work on winning tonight first, then we can talk.”

Western was asked several questions about specific players and coaches, but he waved those off and said he had already spoken his piece about those situations.

As he signaled for the last question, he interrupted the reporter and said, “Look, the Bucs can’t be the Bucs without a great defense, and we haven’t had that in years. I’m challenging the defense right now to play up to the Bucs legacy with Brooks, Sapp, and Barber, and I’m challenging the offense to hang on to the ball, don’t turn it over and score 17-20 points a game. If we do that, we’ll win a bunch of them this year.”

As he walked off the stage, he turned around and came back and offered this one last thing. “Look guys, I’m here to win. I’ve been a Bucs fan forever and I got tired of sitting on the sidelines, watching on TV and seeing all the losing that was going on. So I ponied up every cent I could find to buy the team and get it pointed the right way. We’ll do this my way. It’s my team and I want the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to be back. This is my job and my passion, I only care that we are winning games. Let’s do this.”

And with that, he walked off the stage, and headed to his box to watch his first game as an owner.

[callmetaternuts]

Breaking News

Some late, largely irrelevant breaking new out of One Buc Place just prior to the first preseason game of the year. Two players from the Bucs were sent packing in a surprise early roster purge. Rookie running back Shaun Wilson and rookie tight end Tanner Hudson were both cut just prior to the first preseason game.

Wilson was expected to be the 4th running back and either a practice squad member or special teams contributor at best. Western did respond to a text when asked why Wilson was cut. He said “It was my decision. We expect big things from Ronald Jones II and want him getting all the extra carries. Nothing against Wilson, but we need Jones to take the bulk of the carries after Barber and Rodgers play.”

When asked about Hudson, the response was simply “We have 3 great tight ends ahead of him, why lead this kid on? He may catch on elsewhere, you never know.”

Both reasons seem plausible, but our inside sources say that these two players were cutting deals with the marketing team to become the focus of fringe marketing campaigns. While both players weren’t expected to contribute and may come back on the practice squad, Western wanted to make an example from what we’re told and show everyone that it was truly his way or the highway.

Note: These two were showing up as in the top 5 of my marketing campaigns. I was going to put them on practice squad or cut them at cut down days anyways, figured I’d do it now to try to get other players up there to generate more revenue. Figured I’d give it a story rather than just do it.

[callmetaternuts]

Bucs kick the Dolphins in preseason opener, win 20-17

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Miami Dolphins
Aug 9, 2018	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-0)	5	3	6	6	20
Miami Dolphins (0-0)	0	10	0	7	17

Team Stats Comparison
	TAM	MIA
Total Offense	340	387
Rushing Yards	156	88
Passing Yards	184	299
First Downs	20	14
Punt Return Yards	44	11
Kick Return Yards	72	0
Total Yards	456	398
Turnovers	2	1
3rd Down Conversion	4-14	2-8
4th Down Conversion	0-0	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	0/2	1/1
Penalties	6-50	10-68
Posession Time	37:42	22:18

Tampa Bay Buccaneers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Ryan Fitzpatrick 13/21 149 0 2 Jameis Winston 3/6 54 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jacquizz Rodgers 24 82 3.4 0 Ronald Jones II 9 46 5.1 0 Peyton Barber 6 23 3.8 0 Ryan Fitzpatrick 1 5 5.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Justin Watson 5 84 16.8 0 Chris Godwin 3 33 11.0 0 Ronald Jones II 2 10 5.0 0 Cameron Brate 1 9 9.0 0 Mike Evans 1 30 30.0 0 Desean Jackson 1 25 25.0 0 Peyton Barber 1 -1 -1.0 0 Bobo Wilson Jr. 1 14 14.0 0 Jacquizz Rodgers 1 -1 -1.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Ali Marpet 0 1 Evan Smith 0 1 Donovan Smith 0 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Vita Vea 6 1.0 0 0 M.J. Stewart Jr. 5 0 0 0 Andrew Adams 5 0 0 0 Noah Spence 4 1.0 0 0 Vinny Curry 4 0 0 0 Lavonte David 4 0 0 0 Jordan Whitehead 2 0 0 0 Carlton Davis III 2 0 0 0 Javien Elliot 2 0 0 0 Chris Conte 2 0 0 0 Gerald McCoy 2 0 0 0 Adarius Taylor 2 0 0 0 Kevin Minter 1 0 0 0 Carl Nassib 1 0 0 0 Vernon Hargreaves III 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Cairo Santos 6/6 0/0 18 53

Miami Dolphins PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Brock Osweiler 18/23 278 2 0 Ryan Tannehill 2/6 38 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Frank Gore 9 17 1.8 0 Kenyan Drake 9 48 5.3 0 Kalen Ballage 3 23 7.6 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Kenyan Drake 5 59 11.8 0 A.J. Derby 4 15 3.7 1 DeVante Parker 4 138 34.5 1 Nick O'Leary 2 25 12.5 0 Albert Wilson 1 18 18.0 0 Danny Amendola 1 20 20.0 0 Jakeem Grant 1 6 6.0 0 Kalen Ballage 1 8 8.0 0 Brice Butler 1 27 27.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Sam Young 1 0 Zach Sterup 0 1 Isaac Asiata 0 1 Travis Swanson 0 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Bobby McCain 12 0 0 0 Maurice Smith 10 0 0 0 Stephone Anthony 9 0 1 0 Jerome Baker 7 0 1 0 Akeem Spence 6 1.0 0 0 Cameron Wake 5 0 0 0 Walt Aikens 4 0 0 0 Robert Quinn 4 1.0 0 0 Mike Hull 4 0 0 0 Torry McTyer 4 0 0 0 Chase Allen 4 0 0 0 Davon Godchaux 3 0 0 0 William Hayes 2 0 0 0 Vincent Taylor 2 0 0 0 Charles Harris 2 1.0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Jason Sanders 1/2 2/2 5 36

[callmetaternuts]

2018 Preseason Week 1 Recap

Tampa Bay Buccaneers get first win of Western area, beat Dolphins 20-17

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers went into Week 1 of the preseason hoping to avoid injury and just get a taste of football. Not only did they accomplish that, but they managed to pick up their first win of the year (granted, its preseason) and the first win of Western’s ownership.

Hopes were high heading into the game as the Bucs knew they were under a microscope. The game set up to be a sloppy one with the rain pouring down, but ended up having very little impact on the game.

Right before kickoff, Western sent a messenger down to address the team and reminded them that he was watching and he wanted a grind it out, defensive victory. We’d later find out that this rattled the team a bit, but kick off was here, and it was time for football.

The Bucs defense started out hot and forced a three and out by the Dolphins with a near interception. On the Bucs fist offensive drive, there wasn’t much room but Jameis connected with Evans for a 30 yard gain that set up a FG to take an early lead. Both teams went three and out after that with the Bucs pinning the Dolphins deep in their own territory on their punt. Koetter and crew crowded the line and on second down, Lavonte David broke through the line and put a big hit on Gore, who stumbled backwards but regained his balance. Vinny Curry stepped in and tackled Gore in the end zone for a safety and a 5-0 Bucs lead.

That was all the action the starters would see as the first quarter came to an end and the backups took over.

With the backups on the field, you could tell that they were nervous and fighting for their jobs. The Bucs gave up a long drive that ended with a TD as they couldn’t find a way to shut down Brock Osweiler (really?). Fitzpatrick and the offense couldn’t get anything going but ended up leading the team to a FG after a few drives that went nowhere. Finally, the Dolphins moved the ball right before halftime and hit a FG to take a 10-8 lead.

Nothing noteworthy happened at halftime as neither team had turned the ball over or really hit any big chunk plays. The action was limited in the third quarter with the Bucs only hitting two field goals to go up 14-10 heading into the 4th quarter.

The defense continued to play well and didn’t give up a point halfway through the 4th quarter. The Bucs were able to struggle and hit a field goal with 6:18 left to go up 17-10. With the defense playing so well, it seemed like that would be enough to win.

But the Dolphins had other ideas. On the first play after the ensuing kickoff. Osweiler connected on a 75 yard TD pass to tie the game. It was decent coverage but the the safety, Jordan Whitehead, didn’t get over to help and after a missed tackle, it was 6 points.

To make it worse, on the next possession, Fitzpatrick threw a pick for the Bucs, seemingly putting the Dolphins in position to win. But Noah Spence had other ideas as on second down, he broke threw the line and strip sacked Osweiler and recovered the fumble. The Bucs were set up with decent field position and about 4 minutes left.

Things seemed to be headed towards a Bucs victory until disaster ensued and Fitzpatrick threw his second pick, this time on a ball tipped twice (ridiculous). The Dolphins got the ball to the 43 yard line where it was 4th down. They lined up for a field goal with 2:40ish left in the game. Sanders hit it, and missed short and left. The Bucs now had the ball at the 50 yard line with all three timeouts and time to work with.

The Bucs smartly kept the ball on the ground and gained enough yardage to get into field goal range. After a few short runs and the Dolphins calling timeouts, the Bucs had the ball on the 22 yard line with 3 seconds left. Santos lined up the kcik, and was waiting for Gase to ice him, but it never happened. The ball was snapped, the hold was good, the kick was up, and good! The Bucs hit a walk off field goal to win 20-17 in a game where they didn’t score an offensive touchdown.

While it wasn’t the prettiest game, the Bucs game out with a win that everyone, including Western, should be excited about. It was a defensive game and minus the two Fitzpatrick picks, it was textbook for what Western laid out.

[callmetaternuts]

2018 Preseason Week 2 Preview

Matchup Preview | August 18, 2018
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0, 1-0 Away)		Tennessee Titans (1-0, 0-0 Home)
Game Notes A week after a late win, the Bucs take on the Titans in Tennessee. This features two Heisman winners and the #1 and #2 draft picks from 4 years ago. The Titans won last week by running the ball and the Bucs won by playing defense.

Week 2 is here and the Bucs take to the road again to face the Tennessee Titans. The starters are slated to play just the first half, but that should be enough time to allow them to get a rhythm and let Koetter and his staff see what they have.
The new owner, Western, walked into the practice facility this week and praised the team for gutting out a tough, comeback win. He noted “Even though it’s preseason, that’s the effort I want to see. Congrats to you all.”

Practice was uneventful this week and no moves were made by the team. There have been rumblings about the pricing structure the new owner has set up, but no one seems willing to confront him on this.

In reaching out to our unnamed but well placed sources, there was no news, rumors, or gossip regarding the Bucs this week. I guess it is true, winning cures everything.

Week 2 matchup against the Titans coming up next.

[callmetaternuts]

Bucs get crushed in Tennessee, 44-19

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tennessee Titans
Aug 19, 2018	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Tampa Bay Buccaneers ()	0	3	9	7	19
Tennessee Titans ()	14	14	10	6	44

Team Stats Comparison
	TAM	TEN
Total Offense	305	491
Rushing Yards	113	109
Passing Yards	192	382
First Downs	13	20
Punt Return Yards	16	0
Kick Return Yards	121	50
Total Yards	442	541
Turnovers	4	1
3rd Down Conversion	6-13	6-10
4th Down Conversion	0-1	1-1
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	1/0	3/3
Penalties	4-28	8-57
Posession Time	30:48	29:10

Tampa Bay Buccaneers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Ryan Fitzpatrick 8/16 118 2 2 Jameis Winston 12/16 90 0 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Ronald Jones III 11 51 4.6 0 Peyton Barber 10 23 2.3 0 Jameis Winston 3 23 7.6 0 Jacquizz Rodgers 2 5 2.5 0 Ryan Fitzpatrick 1 11 11.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Justin Watson 3 86 28.6 1 Peyton Barber 3 17 5.6 0 Adam Humphries 3 25 8.3 0 Jacquizz Rodgers 3 11 3.6 0 O.J. Howard 2 17 8.5 0 Chris Godwin 1 11 11.0 1 Bobo Wilson Jr 1 -2 -2.0 0 Ronald Jones III 1 5 5.0 0 Cameron Brate 1 13 13.0 0 Mike Evans 1 16 16.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Adarius Taylor 5 0 0 0 Lavonte David 5 0 0 0 M.J. Stewart Jr. 4 0 0 0 Kwon Alexander 4 0 1 0 Chris Conte 4 0 0 0 Justin Evans 4 0 0 0 Vita Vea 3 0 0 0 Vernon Hargeaves III 3 0 0 0 Cameron Lynch 3 0 0 0 Carl Nassib 3 0 0 0 Noah Spence 3 0 0 0 Jordan Whitehead 3 0 0 0 Jason Pierre-Paul 3 0 0 0 Vinny Curry 2 1 0 0 Mitch Unrein 2 0 0 0

Tennessee Titans PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Marcus Mariota 14/20 281 3 1 Blaine Gabbert 10/11 105 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Dion Lewis 18 77 4.2 0 Derrick Henry 4 19 4.7 1 Jeremy McNichols 3 14 4.6 0 Todd Renew 1 2 2.0 0 Blaine Gabbert 1 -3 -3.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Corey Davis 5 109 21.8 2 Taywan Taylor 5 70 14.0 0 Cameron Batson 4 34 8.5 0 Dion Lewis 3 20 8.5 0 Jonnu Smith 2 19 9.5 0 Delanie Walker 2 82 41.0 1 Darius Jennings 1 20 20.0 0 MyCole Pruitt 1 26 26.0 0 Tajae Sharpe 1 6 6.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Malcolm Butler 7 0 2 0 Kendrick Lewis 6 0 0 0 Rashaan Evans 6 0 1 0 Jayon Brown 5 1 1 0 Harold Landry III 4 0 0 0 Kevin Beard 4 0 0 0 Wesley Woodyard 3 0 0 0 Jurrell Casey 3 0 0 0 Kamalei Correa 3 0 0 0 Logan Ryan 3 0 0 0 Austin Johnson 2 0 0 0 Johnathan Cyprien 2 0 0 0 Brian Orakpo 2 0 0 0 Matt Dickerson 1 1 0 0 Adoree' Jackson 1 0 0 0

[callmetaternuts]

2018 Preseason Week 2 Recap

Tampa Bay Buccaneers fail to show up, get demolished to the tune of 44-19.

Let’s just get this over with, shall we? The Bucs were present for the game against the Titans, but never really showed up. In a underwhelming first half, and one that displayed the biggest of mistakes by each side of the ball, the Bucs defense gave up 4 touchdowns, 3 on passes and could only generate a field goal on offense.

Jameis Winston threw 2 interceptions, one of which was his fault, and failed to get the offense going. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers couldn’t convert third downs, couldn’t produce on first downs, and just looked sloppy. There were a few drops, but mainly it was poor execution and poor play calling.

The defense looked terrible. Mariota threw all over them as the traditionally run heavy Titans took to the air and destroyed the Bucs defense. Mariota threw for 250+ yards in the first half and took the Titans out to a huge lead.

In the second half, things got a little bit better, but not by much. The Bucs defense did manage to get a turnover, a pick by Kwon Alexander, and slow down the Titan’s backups, but still surrendered 16 points. There was just no answer that the Bucs could find today.

The offense, though Fitzpatrick threw two picks, got going a little with a deep 53 yard catch and run to Justin Watson for the Bucs first touchdown of the preseason. Fitzpatrick would also connect with Godwin on a TD pass in which Godwin soared over 3 defenders to pull it down.

Not much to say on this recap as it was almost all Titans, all the time. Rumor has it that even though its preseason, tempers are flaring within the top levels of the Bucs organization.

[callmetaternuts]

Matchup Preview | August 24, 2018
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Detroit Lions (, Away)		Tampa Bay Buccaneers (, Home)
Game Notes 3rd preseason game, and we all know what that means; the starters will play 3 quarters and we'll get a chance to see what our lineups look like as we head into the end of the preseason and roster evaluation mode. The Bucs starting offense has to get it going and the defense has to figure out how to stop someone.

We were able to track down some information from our sources regarding the reaction to the Bucs loss last week. Western has now asked to be included in all offensive and defensive meetings due to the bad performance. None of the coaches seem to agree with the decision and the players are getting antsy. Our sources allegedly overheard Western yelling that the performance he saw was unacceptable and that if it continued, there would be changes.