Week 10 Grades for Buccaneers Win Over Chicago Bears
DEFENSIVE BACKS: A-
Ladies and Gentlemen, let’s all give a round of applause to Buccaneers’ safety Chris Conte.
The former Bears’ safety came to Tampa with his two-time former head coach Lovie Smith and has taken a beating on the field, from Bucs media and from the fans on social media ever since.
Of course, he’s deserved most of it, but let’s also give credit where it’s due. With linebacker Daryl Smith bearing down on him from an outside blitz, Jay Cutler floated an attempt to Logan Paulsen which was properly read and reacted upon by Conte who grabbed an easy interception and ran it the remaining 20-yards for the first pick-six of his career.
The defensive back could be seen on the sidelines shortly afterwards with an almost relieved look to him as he certainly has been aware of the negativity surrounding his play over the course of the last two years.
His interception wasn’t the first of the game though, as Brent Grimes took another gift-wrapped throw from Cutler away from the Bears’ offense just one possession earlier when Chicago was moving into field goal range in a scoreless first quarter.
Overall, whether through good coverage or consistent pressure, Cutler was never able to get rolling with his receivers as even Alshon Jeffery couldn’t bring in even half of his targets on the day.
If there’s one play which serves to draw the grade down a bit, it’s the Hail Mary play at the end of the first half.
Even the most basic of football fans understands a Hail Mary pass needs to be batted down and away from receivers when defending it.
Down 17-3 on the last play before halftime and the Buccaneers getting the ball to start the second-half, John Fox dialed up a desperation attempt to grab some cheap points before heading into the locker room.
In an absolute reversal of conventional play, Conte not only attempted to catch the ball rather than batting it down, he also bumped fellow defender Bradley McDougald out of position to bat it down himself.
The result was a tipped pass by Conte which fell into the hands of Cameron Meredith who made his lone catch on the day for a 50-yard touchdown.
No harm no foul I suppose as the Bucs gave up zero points in the second half and ran away with the game, but still – Come On, Man!