Bucs explanations, excuses and happy thoughts, five at a time - Tampa Bay Times

Five topics suitable for inane debate on talk radio

1. Before we go any further: The final score does not reflect it, but the defense really should take a bow. Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw for a paltry 160 yards Sunday. It’s been seven years since Brees had at least 30 passes and threw for fewer yards. Alvin Kamara averaged 1.33 yards per carry on 12 attempts, which is the worst rate of his career. Tampa Bay’s defense may not have been spectacular, but it clearly played well enough to win.

2. On the other hand: The obvious deficiency in the defense was the lack of splash plays. By not forcing any turnovers or many sacks, the defense never set the Bucs offense up with good field position. Tampa Bay’s best field position all day was its own 25. The Saints started eight drives with better field position.

Tom Brady (12) walks off the field after being sacked in the fourth quarter. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

3. Great, now we’ll get blamed for ruining Brady: Fox Sports said overnight ratings for Sunday’s game will likely make it the most-watched program on television since the last Super Bowl.

4. Remember what happened to Vernon Hargreaves: Bruce Arians' criticism of left tackle Donovan Smith was both pointed and deserved. Smith is not a rookie and he doesn’t come cheap (his $14.5 million salary is the third-largest on the team), which means Arians is clearly expecting a better effort than Sunday’s. Considering how much the Bucs value Brady’s backside, Smith had better show improvement in a hurry.

5. Cue the laugh track: Is it possible to be inexplicable and yet fully expected at the same time? The Bucs had a placekicker competition in training camp. Again. They cut the incumbent. Again. They had the same comical results in the season opener. Again. Tampa Bay’s kicking woes predate the coaching staff, the stadium, the practice facility, maybe even the Gregorian calendar. So, no, it was not a surprise that Ryan Succop’s first field goal attempt as a Buc was blocked. It was the only blocked field goal in the NFL in Week 1.

A list of five

Five reasons Tom Brady was not himself:

5. Missed Bill Belichick’s warm embrace.

4. Wasted 10 minutes last week doing a news conference.

3. Drinking games with Gronk.

2. Referees didn’t recognize him in a Bucs uniform.

1. You have nothing to fear but Brees himself.

Five Tom Brady head scratchers

1. It’s hard to overstate just how unexpected it was to see Brady throw two interceptions in his Bucs debut. He didn’t have a single two-interception game in 2019. In fact, in his previous 27 regular-season starts, he had only one two-interception game.

2. This is obviously a different offense than what Brady was accustomed to in New England. The Bucs have more talented receivers and Arians likes to push the ball downfield. Still, it was interesting to see Brady complete only four passes to running backs. Patriot running backs had about 120 receptions last season.

Tom Brady (12) takes his helmet off after throwing an interception returned for a touchdown. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

3. Brady was 14-3 in season openers before Sunday.

Related: Highs and lows: Tom Brady by the numbers

4. It’s not easy to convert on third and 10 or more yards. Yet, that’s what Brady does. He makes the difficult seem attainable. Last season, he had a 117.8 passer rating on third and long. On Sunday, he was 1-of-4 for 3 yards and a sack on third and long. The Bucs attempted to pass nine times on third down against the Saints, moving the chains only once. And that was on third and 1.

5. There was only one interception returned for a touchdown in the NFL on Sunday. Yup, you guessed it.

Five reasons for optimism

1. The young secondary is for real. Do not be misled by the lack of interceptions. Brees has thrown an interception about one out of every 83 passes the past three years. He certainly wasn’t going to try to force any throws while sitting on a lead for most of the game.

2. The running game was not, by any means, dynamic but there is room to grow. Leonard Fournette and LeSean McCoy are still getting acclimated, and both likely will see their roles expanded in the coming weeks. They combined for 34 snaps with five rushes and two receptions.

LeSean McCoy (25), center, talks with Ke'Shawn Vaughn (30), left, and other players during warmups. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

3. Tom Brady is still Tom Brady. At least, we think he is.

4. Linebacker Lavonte David may have turned 30 this year, but he doesn’t appear to have slowed down one bit. David tied with Devin White for the team lead in tackles with 11, and had two tackles for loss.

5. Punter Bradley Pinion outkicked Thomas Morstead? C’mon, work with me here! I needed five.

Final five words

Go ahead and laugh, Jameis.

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Bucs explanations, excuses and happy thoughts, five at a time - Tampa Bay Times
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