Bucs fall in overtime in a very winnable game
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin (14) is tackled after making a catch during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. (AP Photo/David Richard)
This team is again suspect in the defensive backfield.
It seems like we have come full circle regarding the defensive backfield. After all the draft picks and effort put into bringing that unit up to respectability, It seems like we have regressed to that unit being a handicap again. Yes, I know Nick Chubb busted the century mark, but it was Nick Chubb. Don’t know too many defenses that are able to keep that guy in check. Had the Bucs’ defense been able to keep it at that and force the Browns into being one-dimensional, they would have won. No matter what the opinions are. It is our defensive backfield that is to blame, at least in part, for a good number of the losses. Certainly, the offense has had its struggles, but the defense has now switched places with the offense in becoming the side of the ball that must control games. They are apparently not able to step up and lead the way. At times, they look as good as they ever have. Devin White has raised his game to another level, as many of the defenders have done. As a combined group, they just don’t seem able to overcome their mistakes and take over games like they once could. The defensive backs are a big part of that failure. Carlton Davis III has been suspect in many of the losses, he doesn’t seem to be the same player he was in 2020. Falling to the ground on the play that got the Browns and Chubb into a position to win the game was very upsetting. It may have been unavoidable; it’s hard to tell the video angle on the play wasn’t the best. Regardless, Davis has to find a way to avoid that happening in overtime, in a must-stop situation. These players make millions, so they must play better, or the losses will continue.
Just win the division, baby!
I’ve been propped up all season with the knowledge that if the Bucs win a very easy South Division, they are in the post-season. At 5-6, the Bucs are still in first place in the South. The old saying that once into the post-season, it’s a new day still holds true. If you play the same as you did in the regular season, that statement is null and void. The Bucs have to find a way to get better to prep for the post-season. If they go into the playoffs playing the way they have so far this season, expecting different results is the definition of insanity. If I had the answers to the Bucs’ woes, I’d probably be coaching. All I know is that consistency has been unobtainable this season on both sides of the ball and continues to send us to more Ls than Ws. So far, this has been a tough season to stomach. From the feeling that most of us had when Brady announced he was coming back to the feeling that most of us have today has been a long fall. Maybe not as bad of a fall as Carlton Davis had today against the Browns, but a fall all the same. Still a long way to go until the playoffs; I hope the Bucs can return to winning more games than they lose. Nobody wants to see an asterisk by our name for winning the division with a losing record. Go Bucs!
