HolyMoses Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 Aside from the shock of seeing a 55 year old Head Coach taking serving double duty as a punter . . . .TMQ UPDATE, 9/23/14Buck-Buck-Brawkkkkkk: Trailing 35-0 at Atlanta, the Buccaneers punted in Falcons territory. Just to prove it was no fluke, still trailing 35-0, the Bucs punted again in Falcons territory. Only when his charges trailed 56-0 did Lovie Smith roll the dice and successfully go for it on fourth down. His team eventually scored.35-0, you have to score on every possession for the remainder of the game. Are the odds really better of coming back from 35 points down by surrendering an opportunity . . . (I think the FIRST opportunities inside Falcons territory?) I know fourth and 8 or fourth and 12 is tough, but not as tough as coming back 35 points when you are giving up possessions. At that point, the Falcons were only going to stop scoring if the FALCONS decided to take their foot off the gas. So I don't think Lovey was helping prevent the Bucs from further embarrassment. In fact, is there ANYTHING more humiliating in that situation than giving up the ball on your opponents' side of the field . . . .. TWICE.How can a coach expect his players to keep fighting when a coach sends that kind of message? Is it any wonder the Bucs continued to fumble, take ridiculous penalties, and all around further humiliate themselves in the 2nd half? What does this say about the rest of their season? Is Lovey Smith just mailing it is? Does he care about his team at all?I am a big Mike Smith fan, but I would have been apoplectic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caver50 Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 All I can say is, I hope it's no different the next time we meet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperbh Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 Down by 35, all strategy goes out the window. Take your extra practice reps and get out of Dodge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidious Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 They were screwed either way.....if he goes for it & doesn't get it, then you are just setting up for another score. I think teams usually call the dogs off you if they see that you aren't fighting back when you're down by a ton. You keep trying to score & they open than can of whoop even more. Plus, they hadn't had any luck moving the ball, were more prone to doing something negative. Some games you're better off accepting defeat & work on staying healthy & looking at new guys when you're down 35-0 at halftime & certainly when you're down 56-0. The thing that will hurt the Bucs the most this game was the total lack of effort & how quickly they folded. Something tells me the mentality in that locker room is off kilter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolyMoses Posted September 19, 2014 Author Share Posted September 19, 2014 They were screwed either way.....if he goes for it & doesn't get it, then you are just setting up for another score. I think teams usually call the dogs off you if they see that you aren't fighting back when you're down by a ton. You keep trying to score & they open than can of whoop even more. Plus, they hadn't had any luck moving the ball, were more prone to doing something negative. Some games you're better off accepting defeat & work on staying healthy & looking at new guys when you're down 35-0 at halftime & certainly when you're down 56-0. The thing that will hurt the Bucs the most this game was the total lack of effort & how quickly they folded. Something tells me the mentality in that locker room is off kilter.Wow . . . Maybe in the 2nd half. But the Bucs were 0-2 and down 35 with the ball inside the Falcons territory with five minutes or so left in the half. At that moment, Lovey Smith told his team that they had no chance to be successful in 2014. How does he coach them the rest of the season?At that moment, they had a chance to convert on fourth down. Continues a drive and possibly make it 35-7. Who knows, maybe a Falcon fumble and they score again before the half? Or they have a slither of hope and get the ball to start the 2nd half and score again and then it is a realistic game. Sure, the Falcons could have taken advantage of a failure to convert and scored again to make it . . . 42-0 going into half time . . . but so WHAT? NO ONE in professional sports calls off the dogs in the first half. (Not the case in kids sports, when you can have actual mismatches that are unfair.) When you quit in the first half, you tell your team to quit on the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
since68andcounting Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 Wow . . . Maybe in the 2nd half. But the Bucs were 0-2 and down 35 with the ball inside the Falcons territory with five minutes or so left in the half. At that moment, Lovey Smith told his team that they had no chance to be successful in 2014. How does he coach them the rest of the season?At that moment, they had a chance to convert on fourth down. Continues a drive and possibly make it 35-7. Who knows, maybe a Falcon fumble and they score again before the half? Or they have a slither of hope and get the ball to start the 2nd half and score again and then it is a realistic game. Sure, the Falcons could have taken advantage of a failure to convert and scored again to make it . . . 42-0 going into half time . . . but so WHAT? NO ONE in professional sports calls off the dogs in the first half. (Not the case in kids sports, when you can have actual mismatches that are unfair.) When you quit in the first half, you tell your team to quit on the season.I agree and couldn't believe that they were punting at the game. Furthermore, I watched the replay and Phil Simms agreed with Lovie's decision. Down 35 across midfield against a weak defense and powerful offense late in the first half. Absolutely you have to give it a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolyMoses Posted September 23, 2014 Author Share Posted September 23, 2014 I agree and couldn't believe that they were punting at the game. Furthermore, I watched the replay and Phil Simms agreed with Lovie's decision.Down 35 across midfield against a weak defense and powerful offense late in the first half. Absolutely you have to give it a shot.I wonder why Lovie changed his mind later in the game?TMQ UPDATE, 9/23/14Buck-Buck-Brawkkkkkk: Trailing 35-0 at Atlanta, the Buccaneers punted in Falcons territory. Just to prove it was no fluke, still trailing 35-0, the Bucs punted again in Falcons territory. Only when his charges trailed 56-0 did Lovie Smith roll the dice and successfully go for it on fourth down. His team eventually scored. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlfanstckndenver Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 I think Lovie was raising the white flag. Boy I bet that second half for the bucs was the longest 30 minutes of their lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky_Tom Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 I wonder why Lovie changed his mind later in the game?TMQ UPDATE, 9/23/14Buck-Buck-Brawkkkkkk: Trailing 35-0 at Atlanta, the Buccaneers punted in Falcons territory. Just to prove it was no fluke, still trailing 35-0, the Bucs punted again in Falcons territory. Only when his charges trailed 56-0 did Lovie Smith roll the dice and successfully go for it on fourth down. His team eventually scored.I wouldn't say he changed his mind. The first punt was on 4th and 9, the second was on 4th and 16, and he went for it on 4th and 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tandy Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 All I can say is, I hope it's no different the next time we meet.It will be a battle next time - if they have anything left as a team.I fully expect them to be embarrassed and humiliated - and to bring it the next game. It should be a good one.If they don't - then they really need to clean house and start over from scratch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayOzOne Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 It will be a battle next time - if they have anything left as a team.I fully expect them to be embarrassed and humiliated - and to bring it the next game. It should be a good one.If they don't - then they really need to clean house and start over from scratch. ^^ This, because the NFC South is a prideful division that seldom has blowouts like Thursday night's. Especially because they'll likely have McCoy and the Muscle Hamster back, I expect them to come hard the next time, even though I don't think they will win. To be honest, that game had 'outlier' written all over it for me. I want to believe we're that good, but I saw how we played the week before. Tampa actually had a chance in the previous two games, which leads me to believe that something's going on in their locker room. Regardless, it was nice to see the Birds play with intensity for the whole game. The only thing that stirred me were the non-call offensive pass interference and the pick 6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falcons007 Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 Coz they don't have a QB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miller2Rison Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 well if i was Lovie Smith, i would have punted too, i woulda been like "it's the falcons, we deferred bc the falcons suck at protecting big leads." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOR Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 I got a NFL update yesterday saying they tried out terelle Pryor.... Lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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