Captain’s Table/Walk the Plank: Buccaneers vs Saints

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the New Orleans Saints 27-19 to clinch the division title Sunday. That can only mean it’s time for Carter Brantley’s weekly article, Captain’s Table/Walk the Plank. Enjoy!

Captain’s Table:

Mike Evans

11 years. 11 1,000 yard seasons. A whole lot of nothing to say about him off the field (in a good way) other than his charities and the fact that he’s from Texas. He’s the model of consistency and seems like a decent enough guy, this couldn’t have happened to a better dude, and he’s one of the best Buccaneers in the history of the franchise.

Baker Mayfield

You hear the word “gutsy” so much in football, the word’s almost lost all meaning. But Baker’s performance Sunday was gutsy. Everything that’s right (and some things that are wrong) with Baker was on display Sunday afternoon. Did he hit every pass or make the right read every time? Of course not, but he played with so much energy and heart it almost didn’t matter. The interception? Sure, it was ugly, and it was a good representative of the mistakes he’s made this season. But he also ran for a career-high 68 yards because guys either weren’t open or he was using his great pocket presence. He hyped the team up when things looked bleak. Mike will rightfully get all of the attention, but Baker was Sunday’s MVP.

The 2nd half defense

3 points allowed in the 2nd half, again. Masterful halftime adjustments? A defense settling in and remembering how to rush the quarterback? Luck? Maybe all of that, but the second half has been the Bucs’ calling card recently, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

Todd Bowles

A lot of people have hated on Todd Bowles, called for his job, and said some pretty harsh things about him this season, and maybe they’re right. Maybe the Bucs would be better off with another coach. But you know what, the man seems to be a well-liked leader, and there’s something to be said for that. It’s not measurable, there’s nothing you can point to in order to support this point, but his players all have glowing remarks for him, and I can’t call that a bad thing.

The Carolina Panthers

Not that it ended up mattering, but shoutout Bryce Young and the Panthers. Young has turned a corner to finish out the year, and he looks primed and ready to realize his full potential as a former 1st overall pick. He was awful this year to start, no doubt, but it’s really fun to see him bounce back and regain his confidence. The NFL is better with fewer dogshit teams.

The Seattle Seahawks

Want to know why the Buccaneers don’t have to play the Lions or Vikings? Because Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks took care of business against the Los Angeles Rams and their backups. It might not be what Bucs fans think of when they look back at this season, but it’s very underrated to think about the Bucs not having to play one of the best teams in the NFC and instead getting to play the super fun to watch Washington Commanders; even if the Bucs lose, it at least means we get to watch Jayden Daniels.

Walk the Plank:

The NFL

So many reasons to hate the NFL, but this whole Jalen McMillan thing is just another one. I’m all for trying to reduce gun violence, and I can at least sort of understand where they’re coming from in enforcing this rule; some of the celebrations can be a bit excessive. But McMillan’s was not one of them. His fingers were taped. Yes, the refs can’t see that, but for goodness’ sake, it was a 1st down celebration, he wasn’t pretending to fire a machine gun into the crowd. Let’s chill out.

Liam Coen

That was the first game this season where I felt like the Bucs were winning despite Coen. He’s been awesome this year, and they don’t get to where they are without him, but by golly to only run the ball twice over your first 2 possessions against one of the worst rush defenses in the league when you have one of the most electrifying runners in football? Really odd. They finally picked things up and got Bucky going eventually, but the rough start was absolutely on Coen.

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