Buccaneers Embarrassed by Falcons 56-14 on Thursday Night Football
By Nick John
Sep 18, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) celebrates his touchdown catch with tight end Levine Toilolo (80) and center Joe Hawley (61) in the first quarter of their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
The honeymoon is over, Lovie.
The honeymoon is over and the time to get this team to play real football has begun. On Thursday night, the Buccaneers were outmatched, outcoached, and outclassed by the Atlanta Falcons on every level. You can give the injury excuse all you want. You can give the Tedford excuse all you want.
But let’s make one thing clear: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are an awful football team.
I cannot give an extensive analysis on this game without prefacing it with this: Thursday Night Football was one of the worst losses in the history of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
More turnovers than first downs for most of the game.
More headaches than celebrations.
It’s a Bucs life! And another Bucs loss.
I’m sorry if this column is going to sound like a five-year-old whining for a toy, but that’s how frustrated I am tonight as a fan of good football, and a fan of this team. The Buccaneers hired Lovie Smith so games like this wouldn’t happen. And guess what? It’s happened. And it feels like complete crap.
Devin Hester breaking returns, and records. (Remember when we failed to sign him in the offseason?)
Bobby Rainey fumbling his opportunities away.
Josh McCown holding on to the football until the tortoise beats the hare.
Evan Dietrich-Smith snapping the ball into his own butt, over the head of Glennon, and roughing up opposing linemen for no reason.
Thank the lord that Jeff Tedford wasn’t calling the plays tonight, because if he was, he very well may have needed another heart procedure. It was that bad.
Before Thursday night, the Buccaneers had never lost a game by more than 45 points. While the deficit ended at 42, it could have easly been much larger than that. The Atlanta Falcons laid the smackdown on the Bucs in every way possible. Even when the Buccaneers forced their first turnover of the game, a fumble recovered by Mark Barron, the ball was given right back to the Falcons as Hester stripped Barron of the football to give the Falcons a first down. It was that kind of night.
We whined. We complained. We put up billboards imploring the Glazer family to “Fire Schiano”. And they did.
They gave us Lovie Smith. He’s tasked with the job of returning the Buccaneers to NFL relevancy. But Thursday night set this franchise back. A game like this makes you realize what your team is really capable of this year, and the Buccaneers are not capable of much.
Three games in, and we can tell that they’re not playoff caliber. They’ve been beaten by two backup quarterbacks, and absolutely trounced by a Pro Bowl quarterback.
Going forward, the Buccaneers have a tough schedule. Their next two games are on the road in Pittsburgh and New Orleans, before returning home to take on the Baltimore Ravens. If you can find a win on the Bucs upcoming schedule, please let me know. Because if this team continues to play this poorly, there isn’t one to be had.
Burn the tape. Have a long week of practice. Get some of these players healthy.
Time’s ticking on the season already, Bucs fans. And if performances like this keep rearing their ugly heads, then Tampa Bay will be on the clock.