Just under a month ago the Buccaneers were 6-2 and taking on the New Orleans Saints for NFC South supremacy. Losing that Monday night game to the Saints 38-3. That completed the season sweep of the Buccaneers by the Saints. Giving the big sleazy the tie breaker in the division, should it have become necessary.
The Buccaneers lost three of the next four games. The lone win being against Carolina. Losing two games to a couple of the strongest teams in the league, the Los Angeles Rams, and the Kansas City Chiefs. Adding insult to injury is that both losses were by the score of 27-24. Though some would make the argument that these games weren’t as close as they sound. Where do the Buccaneers go from here?
I Yam What I Yam
Always strong to the finish because he ate his spinach. Popeye was never out of a fight. Brutus would beat on him. Olive Oil would scream and holler. Wimpy would be constantly hitting the guy up for a hamburger. But the tattooed sailor always took care of business in the end.
It is past time for these pirate sailors to start taking care of their own business. No matter how the season was to shake out. Sitting at 7-5, seven wins matching the total wins from last season, was a good start. With four games left on the slate, there is still much room for 2020 magic. The time is now to start that “RUN”.
Don’t Take It Personal
With a bye week, this team will have some time to lick their wounds. Do some soul searching. Formulate a game plan. Please lord please let that game plan include more running plays. The issue facing this team is that of the four remaining games (Minnesota, Detroit, and Atlanta, twice), there is some serious jockeying going on here for the 2020 post season.
Thanks to a pandemic, some weird game results, and of course, the NFC Least, there are a boat load of teams still in the hunt. Minnesota, Atlanta, and even Detroit, who recently fired their coach and GM, are entertaining mathematical possibilities. This season just got very hot, and were not just talking about COVID-19.
Could Of, Should Of, Would Of
If the Buccaneers had lost just one of those games earlier in the season, they would currently be sitting at 6-6. But they aren’t. They are 7-5, and although not in the drivers seat. They are still in control of their own destiny. That is if they can remember to consistently run the ball, setting up the play action passing game, and remember that they still have one of the best defenses in the league.
Yes. Just one more loss up to now and the outlook could have been bleak. Losing the last two weeks has been flat out torture. Let the Buccaneers take this bye week. Do some looking inward. Get everybody on the same page. And please, let that same page be about winning these next four games. It is time to get hot for a playoff run.
