There is No Tomorrow!

Today is it for the Bucs as they have to win against the Saints if they want a shot at the playoffs. The team is coming off a tough loss against the Cowboys in which they didn't bring their best but still had a shot to win the game. That can't happen today as the Bucs need to bring their best and play their best game of the season. Jameis says today is do or die as the playoffs start now for them against the Saints.

“Absolutely and we start on the road. We know that we’re going to be on the road in a tough environment against the Saints, so yeah, it starts now. We’ve got to start preparing for the show.”

All three phrases as in offense, defense, and special teams need to help each other and play physical, smart Bucs football. Be aggressive and don't let off the pedal, run the football with authority and use play action as much as possible for Jameis Winston who is at his best in play action throws. The offensive line needs to man up and come to play today. Coach Koetter needs to creative but also simplistic in the redzone, use more fades and slants inside the 20.

As for the defense, the front four just needs to win their one on ones and get after Drew Brees. Attack them, dont defend them be aggressive and jump routes all day. The defense has been really good lately and needs an awesome performance today. Gerald McCoy, Noah Spence, Robert Ayers, Kwon Alexander, and Lavonte David all need to step up today and be star performers. Now for special teams just make good kicks and please have a big return as we could use one today. There is no tomorrow and let's hope the Bucs come out and play like it.

Don't Drop The Ball!

Today the Buccaneers start the final stretch of the season against their division rival the New Orleans Saints. Every game is critical as the Bucs are 7-5 and are currently in the playoffs but still tons of work is ahead. Now is not the time to let up as this team needs to keep winning as they have a chance to win the NFC South. It's imperative that this team doesn't drop the ball today like they did last season as they went on to lose the final 4 games of the season.

However, that was last year and this current team looks to have the right mindset as they are now expecting to win every game. The leadership from the coaches and players have been outstanding and this team not only has the confidence but they also truly believe in one another. Today against the Saints who were the team that killed their season last year, I expect this team to come out with fire and passion and show the fans that this is a new team. So let's start fast and defeat the Saints like this team is capable of.

The Game Within The Game: Bucs vs Saints

by Douglas O'Connor
follow me on Twitter @Ren_Daxt

     How to beat the Saints: Stop Drew Brees, don't turn the ball over, run the ball effectively, and eat up the clock.

     Well yeah.

     Here are three not so obvious keys to the game to look for on Sunday that could insure another Buccaneers victory.

Pressure Up The Middle: Let us face facts, stopping New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is tougher than herding cats and almost as impossible. For example, Brees had 34 passing yards with just over 2 minutes left in the 1st half of last weeks game against the Lions and then came roaring back and finished with a total of 319 yards. One of countless passing feats Brees as pulled of in his career.
     One of his many strengths is moving up in the pocket and delivering a strike downfield. This is why the Bucs interior defensive lineman need to keep in their rushing lanes and push the pocket into Brees lap. Effectively taking away his ability to extend the play and find receivers deeper down the field. Ideally, hindering his ability to step into throws and giving him the general feeling standing in front of a pile of tumbling luggage all afternoon long,

Open Field Tackling: Drew Brees is very decisive with the football. He progresses through his reads is as fast as any quarterback in the league. Often he settles on the check down route just before the pocket collapses around him. A back or tight end that has leaked out from the pass protection scheme and settles into space. Waiting in the wings to make a reception and pickup some positive yardage.
     Closing the yardage gap and making immediate stops can turn a possible 7-12 yard gain into a 0-5 yard gain. These extra yards nearly always make the difference between a fresh set of downs or getting the Bucs offense back on to the field. This responsibility is going to fall squarely on the shoulders of linebackers Lavonte David and Kwon Alexander. The duo, as of late, seem to of shaken of the overall slow start and have begun to replicate their play from last season. The Buccaneers ability to limit the Saints short passing game could hinge on these two players tackling ability on Sunday.

Injuries: Normally I would not use this as a factor, with the release of  Fridays injury report you know who is in and who is out. Football is the ultimate next man up sport so there is no crying about how the game would of been different if so and so would of played. I'm looking at you Seattle fan. But the the injury report out of New Orleans is so interesting, and could play a big role in the Bucs game plan on both sides of the ball.
     Early in the week it was big news that on Thursday, leading rusher Mark Ingram and leading pass catcher Michael Thomas were both held out of practice. The pair were limited on Friday but their health arrow is trending up and I expect them to start Sunday.
     However starting center and 2 time Pro Bowler Max Unger didn't practice all week and is listed as questionable, same for leading tackler, linebacker Craig Robertson. The Saints don't have an official backup center listed on their depth cart but whomever it may be if, Unger can't go, will have almost zero experience and will be lined up in front of All Pro Gerald McCoy for most of the day. Robertson who has exactly 100 tackles on the season would be replaced by newly acquired Sam Barrington who only has 56 tackles in his 3 year career, 53 of which were recorded 2 years ago while playing for the Green Bay Packers. If either of these two players can't go on Sunday it will be a huge downgrade in talent and a beacon of weakness that the Buccaneers can exploit on both sides of the ball.

you can follow us on Twitter @realbucstalk
as always thanks for reading and GO BUCS!
   
   

Week 6 Best Buc Fans Could Ask For

by Douglas O'Connor
follow on Twitter @Ren_Daxt

     The Buccaneers are playing couch potato's this Sunday but their time off couldn't of gone better. Atlanta lived on the west for a week to play the Seahawks while the Saints and Panthers faced off to see who could stay out of the cellar in the division.

     Here is what happened in both games and what it means for the Bucs going into week 7.

Atlanta Falcons fell just short of their comeback bid on the west coast. Dropping them to 4-2 but still in control of the division. Atlanta feels like they were robbed of a chance to win the game with a late field goal due to a 4th down pass interference no call. They need to shake off the loss quickly with the San Diego Chargers coming into town. Whom have been one of the best teams in football through 1st   3 1/2 quarters of every game.


New Orleans Saints won with a last second field goal and have climbed out of the cellar. You can sum up the Saints by reading the back of a shampoo bottle. Score a lot of points, give up a lot of points, repeat. Tough road game vs Kansas City will be a great gauge to see if New Orleans can compete against good teams.


Carolina Panthers are looking around in the locker room and wondering what in the hell happened. Gone are the on field team selfies, and the 10 second long handshakes that took all week to learn. Replacing them with a rancid secondary and a leaky offensive line. A 1-5 start and 0-3 in the division has the Panthers season an eyelash from being essentially over. The bye week couldn't come at a better time. The Panthers need to circle the wagons and start over. Unfortunately for them they don't have the players to run the defensive scheme they want to. It's bad, real bad.

     So lets recap. The division leading Atlanta Falcons were robbed out of chance to win a game. The 3 time reigning division champs Carolina Panthers have lost 3 straight division games and appear to have no answers. The Saints won but without a defensive turnaround they aren't a threat to win the division.

      All in all not a bad week.