Buccaneers Choke Away Lead Late vs Atlanta

Ok Buccaneers fans, I am going to be doing something that is very different for me and this site. I will not overreact. Why? Because so many other people will be doing that for me. I find it unnecessary.

I, at one point was part of the fire Bowles crowd. However, I don’t believe in that anymore. Fact is, sometimes things don’t break your way. There are very real things the Bucs need to fix. That cannot be ignored in the least. But to act like the season is over is ridiculous.

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For one thing, people need to stop acting like the Falcons didn’t deserve this. I will for one time only go to bat for a division rival. Kirk Cousins didn’t get 509 yards passing by sitting on his butt sipping tea. He hung in the pocket, took some hits, and made the plays. With that being said, the middle of the field for the Falcons was so wide open Desmond Ridder could’ve completed 50% of his passes. K.J. Britt may be the world’s best double agent. He was so bad in coverage it made me think Devin White couldn’t be that much worse. And he is benched on a team with subpar linebackers.

I know this may be sacrilegious, but Lavonte David has lost a step. Not much, but he has. Please don’t hurt me y’all. There have been a few splash plays from him, but he has also been missing plays that young Lavonte absolutely would’ve made. He is still good and sometimes really good, but he isn’t immortal. It sucks, but the Bucs may need to start thinking about replacing him sooner.

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But one guy I think the Bucs should be thinking a lot harder about replacing is Jamel Dean. I don’t know what has happened, but he doesn’t feel like the same guy he was in 2022. Zyon McCollum isn’t always covering the number one guy, but he looks so much better across from Dean (even though his final play gave up a TD). I will talk about this more at some point, but if Dean doesn’t get better, the Bucs will be trying to get out of that contract.

Right now, it is not reflective of his value as a corner. This one also sucks because I truly don’t think he is the worst corner despite his gaffes. It’s more to do with his contract and his inconsistency.

Before I Forget 

Before I go farther, I want to highlight some positives. The biggest one surprisingly on defense. Logan Hall was playing with his hair on fire. He and Zyon McCollum were definitely the two best players on defense. Incredible considering he hasn’t been that good since being drafted. He’s been fine mostly, but tonight he looked like a man on a mission. Which is good because Yaya Diaby did not show up. Ok, I know I said positives (there are more), but even before getting reinjured, Yaya wasn’t doing anything.

Want another positive thought? The Bucs offense might be one of the best in the league. It has been phenomenal outside the Denver game. You cannot ask for much more from Baker Mayfield. it’s incredible that a guy that the opposition threw for 500 yards and I am more impressed with Baker. That TD throw to Sterling Shepard was beautiful. And I fully believe if we got the ball first in OT, he would’ve gotten the ball into the end zone. This is some of the best offense we have had since 2021.

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At the end of the day, I think we need to take a deep breath. You cannot sustain the losses we have and expect to pull out wins against good opponents. And guess what? Despite all your mockery, the Falcons are a good opponent. They didn’t exactly play a perfect game, but they made the plays they needed to. In three weeks, I think the Bucs can take care of business.

For now, stop saying Bowles needs to be fired. I fully agree that he deserves blame for this loss. He’s the defensive coordinator. It’s his job to adjust to the losses on defense and the results have been mixed in that regard. Firing him will not solve a damn thing though. Unless you’re getting Bill Bellicheck in his prime, there isn’t anybody you can look at out there that is better. Just need to take this bye as a way to get some bodies back. The Bucs are exactly where I thought they would be regarding wins and losses. Disappointing yes, but plenty of season left. Have faith in Baker and Bowles.