Well fans, the season opened and despite the loss, I am not really upset. There were quite a few high spots out there that we, as fans of a rebuilding team, should appreciate. Now I have not watched the game again, but overall I was impressed with the energy the team played with. I thought the staff had a good gameplan on offense and the running game was as good as advertised. Sadly, the defense (the secondary and the line) were every bit as much a liability as we thought they might be.
With Tanard Jackson out on a 4 games suspension, Sabby Piscatelli was pressed into heavy duty and we got to see all of the worst today. I cannot even remember how many times he had a front row seat to the big play that killed us. Despite a game that was very much in doubt late (with the Bucs driving to go ahead late with “The Soldier” was hit in the hands with a pass that was atypically not throw too hard that he proceeded to drop), the big play was our undoing today. This is a new position for Bucs fans who have had the Tampa-2 “bend but don’t break” system for an eternity. Coach Bates was aggressive often and to be honest, his secondary was not up to the task.
I will be reviewing the tape and doing a full blog post later, but high spots I seemed to feel were:
- The Running Game (All of them)
- The Offensive line (until late when Zuttah and Faine went out)
- Leftwich – Yes, he missed some open guys. Yes, he throws the ball unnecessarily hard at times, but he played well.
- Heart – Down to a good team, the squad kept fighting.
A great tailgate AS ALWAYS was thrown by BucArino, Red75 and crew. For those of you keeping track, the Cornhole Champs ARE STILL UNDEFEATED! Pics and stories to follow.