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

[callmetaternuts]

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter the third week of the preseason coming off of two very different performances. While it is only preseason, the new owner has been heard wandering around One Buc Place saying things like “.500 isn’t going to cut it” or “Losing the turnover battle leads to you losing your job.” Some players have laughed it off, but others wonder if he truly believes that and are discrediting their work on the field. We tried to reach out to Western directly to get his comments, but we were told that he was attending his kid’s gymnastics and flag football events and could not be bothered. His rep did say that nothing happens with the Bucs without his input so the operations were shut down for the rest of the evening while he was out of touch. That statement makes this reporter a little curious as to how the organization will function long-term with Western basically being a choke point in the Bucs operations.

The Bucs weeks of practice went without hitch and the team remains healthy with no injuries in any of the games or practices. There have been no roster moves for the Bucs and it seems as if the cuts that will be made will be pretty straightforward.

We dug around a little bit with the coaching staff, trying to see how they viewed the change in ownership and if it was helping or hurting the team. No one would officially talk to us on the record, but we tapped our sources deep within the Bucs organization and found that several of the coaches, including head coach Dirk Koetter, did not like the changes. They did say it was nice to have a direction and that while Western was only a fan, that he at least was passionate about the Bucs.

We also found out that Western essentially spends all of his time with the team. He is in the locker room, weight room, practice field and has again asked that all decisions be run through him. Some see this as an involved owner; some see it as a dictatorship that can’t work in the NFL. Odds are, this will blow up at some point if the team ever gets on a losing streak.

While we keep our ear to the ground, it is the preseason and the team is 1-1, so we don’t expect to hear anything front page worthy until the season starts.

[callmetaternuts]

Detroit Lions at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Aug 25, 2018	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Detroit Lions ()	10	0	3	9	22
Tampa Bay Buccaneers ()	0	6	0	0	6

Team Stats Comparison
	DET	TAM
Total Offense	416	207
Rushing Yards	98	71
Passing Yards	318	136
First Downs	17	10
Punt Return Yards	0	0
Kick Return Yards	22	69
Total Yards	438	276
Turnovers	1	2
3rd Down Conversion	5-16	3-12
4th Down Conversion	0-0	1-2
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	1/3	1/0
Penalties	9-49	7-65
Posession Time	36:02	23:58

Detroit Lions PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Matthew Stafford 21/29 296 1 1 Matt Cassel 3/5 53 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Kerryon Johnson 14 13 0.9 0 Legarette Blount 11 23 2.0 0 Theo Riddick 5 38 7.6 0 Zach Zenner 2 8 4.0 0 Matthew Stafford 2 16 8.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Kenny Golladay 6 134 22.3 0 Marvin Jones Jr. 6 85 14.1 1 T.J. Jones 3 24 8.0 0 Kerryon Johnson 2 17 8.5 0 Andy Jones 2 46 23.0 0 Luke Willson 2 21 10.5 0 Levine Toilolo 1 7 7.0 0 Nick Bawden 1 13 13.0 0 Theo RIddick 1 2 2.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Shea McClellin 8 0 1 0 Da'Shawn Hand 6 2 0 0 Devon Kennard 5 2 0 0 Tavon Wilson 4 0 0 0 Glover Quin 3 0 0 0 Darius Slay Jr. 3 0 0 0 Nevin Lawson 1 0 0 0 Eli Harold 1 0 0 0 Christian Jones 1 0 0 0 Ezekiel Ansah 1 0 0 0 Quandre Diggs 6 1 0 0 Mike Ford 1 0 0 0 Damon Harrison Sr. 3 1 0 0 Jarrad Davis 2 0 0 0 Kelvin SHeppard 2 0 0 0

Tampa Bay Buccaneers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Jameis Winston 10/14 97 0 0 Ryan Fitzpatrick 4/14 75 0 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Peyton Barber 13 48 3.6 1 Jacquizz Rodgers 5 22 4.4 0 Ronald Jones II 1 1 1.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Adam Humphries 3 40 13.3 0 O.J. Howard 3 47 15.6 0 Justin Watson 2 31 15.5 0 Bobo Wilson Jr. 1 13 13.0 0 Mike Evans 1 8 8.0 0 Chris Godwin 1 31 31.0 0 Jacquizz Rodgers 1 2 2.0 0 Cameron Brate 1 2 2.0 0 Peyton Barber 1 -2 -2.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Lavonte David 11 1 1 0 Kwon Alexander 10 0 0 0 Vernon Hargreaves III 6 0 0 0 Chris Conte 6 0 0 0 Brent Grimes 6 0 0 0 Gerald McCoy 5 0 0 0 Carlton Davis III 5 0 0 0 Carl Nassib 4 1 0 0 Justin Evans 4 0 0 0 Jordan Whitehead 3 0 0 0 Jason Pierre-Paul 3 1 0 0 Kendell Beckwith 3 0 0 0 Noah Spence 2 1 0 0 Vinny CUrry 2 0 0 0 Vita Vea 2 0 0 0

[callmetaternuts]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers turn in another poor performance.

Another game in the rain and another loss. Though the score doesn’t reflect it, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost after another poor showing. They only generated 207 yards of total offense and just never got going. The Lions opened up with Stafford throwing for 130ish yards in the first quarter and going up 10-0 on a field goal and nice fade route in the corner of the endzone.

The offense continues to be slow starters, but after an interception by Lavonte David on defense and a return to the 25 yard line, the Bucs cashed in with a touchdown run by Peyton Barber. Of course, in true Bucs fashion, the extra point was missed leaving it at 10-6 in favor of he Lions.

The teams went in for half time with the Bucs somehow still in this game. Even into the third quarter, the Bucs remained close, only giving up 3 points even though they gave up a lot of passing yards. The Bucs did miss a 59 yard field goal and going into the fourth quarter, with the backups coming in, it was time to see if the Bucs could pull of the victory.

I’ll save you the suspense. The Bucs couldn’t do it. They gave up 3 field goals, the last being after the game was out of reach. Fitzpatrick threw two more picks, one on a ridiculous (i.e. cheap) deflection straight in the air and another on a deep post that the cornerback just made a nice play on.

Not surprisingly, no one wanted to talk to reporters after the game. The defense was mad at the offense as the defense played well, but got no support from the offense.

This loss drops the Bucs to 1-2 as they prepare to face the Jaguars in the preseason finale. The team has one last home game before the regular season starts and nerves are high as some await cut down day and others are just hoping to erase this awful performance from their memories.

Note: Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I suck on offense.

[callmetaternuts]

Matchup Preview | August 30, 2018
	@
Jacksonville Jaguars ( Away)		Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-2, Home)
Game Notes Game 4 of the preseason, just time to finish this up and get to the games that matter.

Week 4 Preview

One more game. Just one more preseason game and we can get to the games that count. Western spoke briefly to the team and that was his message. He kept saying he wants to win and he knows preseason games are just exhibitions, but the home crowd needs something to get fired up about. He encouraged the players to show the fans what they have to look forward to this year, to go out there and earn their spot on the team. He kept saying that after this week, nothing was guaranteed. No one’s job, playing time, contract or standing in the organization was guaranteed, it had to be earned. He wanted that mindset to start now.

The Jags come in and are ready to face off against the Bucs. This will be a quick cameo for the starters and then the backups will get the rest of the playing time.

[callmetaternuts]

Jacksonville Jaguars at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Aug 30, 2018	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Jacksonville Jaguars ()	7	6	7	10	30
Tampa Bay Buccaneers ()	0	0	3	7	10

Team Stats Comparison
	JAC	TAM
Total Offense	277	287
Rushing Yards	142	104
Passing Yards	135	183
First Downs	12	13
Punt Return Yards	1	30
Kick Return Yards	45	18
Total Yards	323	335
Turnovers	2	4
3rd Down Conversion	4-13	6-14
4th Down Conversion	0-0	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	1/2	1/1
Penalties	11-68	5-40
Posession Time	26:44	33:16

Jacksonville Jaguars PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Blake Bortles 10/11 119 1 0 Cody Kessler 4/11 28 0 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Carlos Hyde 22 78 3.5 0 Leonard Fournette 8 58 7.2 0 T.J. Yeldon 2 6 3.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Austin Seferian-Jenkins 5 71 14.2 0 James O'Shaughnessy 3 24 8.0 0 T.J. Yeldon 1 4 40.0 0 Keelan Cole 1 6 6.0 1 Dede Westbrook 1 24 24.0 0 Leonard Fournette 1 5 5.0 0 Marquise Lee 1 9 9.0 0 Carlos Hyde 1 4 4.0 0 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Malik Jackson 10 0 4.0 0 Donald Payne 10 1 1.0 0 Jarrod Wilson 8 0 0.0 0 Myles Jack 8 1 1.0 2 Lerentee McCray 4 1 0.0 0 D.J. Hayden 6 0 0.0 1 Taven Bryan 2 0 1.0 0 Breon Borders 2 0 0.0 0 Yannick Ngakoue 4 1 0.0 0 Jalen Ramsey 2 0 0.0 0 Cody Davis 4 0 0.0 0 A.J. Bouye 1 0 0.0 0 Nick DeLuca 1 1 0.0 0 Tyler Patmon 4 0 0.0 0 Blair Brown 3 0 0.0 0

Tampa Bay Buccaneers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Ryan Fitzpatrick 11/16 144 0 2 Ryan Griffin 10/13 80 1 1 Jameis Winston 0/4 0 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jacquizz Rodgers 12 39 3.2 0 Peyton Barber 4 7 1.7 0 Ryan Fitzpatrick 4 34 8.5 0 Ronald Jones II 4 24 6.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Justin Watson 6 93 15.5 0 Chris Godwin 5 49 9.8 1 Ronald Jones II 3 11 3.6 0 Bobo Wilson Jr. 3 29 9.6 0 Jacquizz Rodgers 2 25 12.5 0 Donnie Ernsberger 1 8 8.0 0 Austin Auclair 1 9 9.0 0 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Carl Nassib 6 2 0.0 0 Devante Bond 4 0 0.0 0 Lavonte David 4 0 0.0 1 Gerald McCoy 4 0 0.0 0 Brent Grimes 3 0 0.0 0 Vernon Hargreaves III 3 0 0.0 0 Jordan Whitehead 3 0 0.0 0 Justin Evans 3 0 0.0 0 Adarius Taylor 3 1 0.0 0 Cameron Lynch 3 2 0.0 0 Vinny Curry 3 1 0.0 0 Chris Conte 2 0 0.0 0 Noah Spence 2 1 0.0 0 Carlton Davis III 2 0 0.0 0 Mitch Unrein 2 1 0.0 0

[callmetaternuts]

Bucs suffer another embarrassing defeat, end preseason on 3 game losing streak.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost again tonight, behind a subpar defensive effort and an abysmal offensive effort. The starters only played the first quarter, but even with the limited playing time, they couldn’t get anything going. In fact, Jameis Winston and the starters didn’t even complete a pass.

The defense started out like they normally do, giving up a lot of passing yards and an eventual TD. The Jags went up 10-0 early and the Bucs were shut out in the first half.

Halftime wouldn’t let the Bucs get things going as in the second the Bucs could only muster a field goal in the third quarter and a garbage time TD late in the 4th.
Ryan Griffin got some playing time and let a few good drives before he threw two late picks. Fitzpatrick again threw two picks and lost a fumble and he has clearly regressed this preseason. The backups played decent on defense in the second half, but the game was just never close after the opening drive.

Luckily, we will be moving on to the regular season and can forget this three game stretch.

Notes: Not much to say. I was just trying to get through the preseason and I couldn’t stop anything, couldn’t do anything right. My game froze on me several times, but I was able to load in game saves several times, not that it mattered. I suck.

[callmetaternuts]

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have to cut 12 players prior to the start of the regular season and fill out their practice squad. The players have been scrutinized with the final decisions on cuts coming down to the wire.

We were lucky enough to secure a list of the players being cut and even got a few reactions from the coaching staff and players through our unnamed sources. Apparently, Western was the one who met with the players, not the coaches, and he had a few words for each player.

There were no surprise cuts on offense. Bobo Wilson got sent to the practice squad as the 6th receiver, and Western did say he wanted to keep the FSU connection alive. But minutes after Wilson was added to the practice squad, he was released with another WR being picked up. The tight ends that were cut were dismissed with very few words, only that they didn’t deserve to play due to their low ratings.

On defense, Western made some tough choices. He cut two defensive lineman who were rated well as backups, but he simply stated there wasn’t enough roster space to carry more than 5 defensive tackles.

The defensive backs that were cut were no surprise. The linebackers featured one surprise with Kevin Minter getting the axe. He was the 2nd best rated player at middle linebacker on the team, but with Western favorite Adarius Taylor right behind him and new draft pick Jack Cichy, there just wasn’t room.

The practice squad was built to back up the current team. Western knows Ryan Griffin isn’t the answer, so they signed Chad Kelly to the practice squad. The running back position features no long-term solutions it doesn’t appear, so the Bucs signed Joe Williams.

At receiver they added deep threat Darboh from Michigan and added a big, quick tight end to fill in for Brate and Howard if they get hurt.

On defense, the defensive line cuts were added to the practice squad along with an up an coming linebacker.

Player Cuts

QB – None
HB – None
FB – None
WR – Bobo Wilson Jr. (64)
TE – Garrison Sanborn (42), Alan Cross (60), Donnie Ernsberger (63)
LT – None
LG – None
C – None
RG – None
RT – None
LE – None
RE – Jeremiah Ledbetter (71)
DT – Rakeem Nunez-Roches (71), Stevie Tu’ikolovatu (71)
LOLB – None
MLB – Emmanuel Smith (59), Riley Bullough (64), Kevin Minter (69)
ROLB – None
CB – De’Vante Harris (69), David Rivers (64)
FS – None
SS – None
K – None
P – None

Practice Squad

QB – Chad Kelly (69)
HB – Joe Williams (70)
FB – None
WR – Amara Darboh (71)
TE – Bucky Hodges (70)
LT – None
LG – Sean Harlow (66)
C – None
RG – None
RT – None
LE – None
RE – Jeremiah Ledbetter (71)
DT – None
LOLB – None
MLB – Najee Harris (66)
ROLB – Akeem Victor (69)
CB – David Rivers (66)
FS – None
SS – Elijah Campbell (62)
K – None
P – None

[callmetaternuts]

The preseason started off so promising. With a full roster, new owner, and plenty of optimism, the Bucs opened up the preseason with a walk off win on the road. This seemed like a great sign for all involved as the offense progressed, the defense played well and the team managed to scratch out a win. New owner Western looked like a genius with his moves and his philosophies and the Bucs couldn’t wait to start playing some home games and get the regular season going.

But they should’ve stayed on the road. They got outscored and demolished in their two home games, and in their one remaining road game. The offense must have never returned from the road trip as they could not muster anything at home.

The feeling around the organization has turned to one of uncertainty. Now that the preseason is over, the players and coaches aren’t sure what to expect. Western said everyone was safe through Week 1, and after that, it would be what was best for the team and any changes were fair game. Western had been seen around the halls of the organization but hadn’t engaged anyone in conversation. This was putting everyone on edge as they attempted to prepare for the regular season.

With the four practice games behind the Bucs, it’s time to get on to the regular season.