2021 Week 1 Gameday Chatter Thread | Cowboys @ Bucs | 09/09/21

[Cowboysrock55]

Vea is a monster no doubt, but that was poor technique from Biadasz that caused that.

It was a bad play for him. But for the majority of the game I though Biadasz played good. Not embarrassing to get pushed back by that dude. He is literally like a sumo wrestler.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Biadasz is no Frederick. He's a decent player but he may be worse than Connor Williams actually.

I actually think McGovern and Biadasz look better than Williams. Williams was pushed around plenty and got that holding penalty while being knocked backwards even worse.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I can say, our OL played so much better than I thought they would. That DL is one of the best, if not the best, in the NFL, and we kept Dakys mostly clean. Only 1 sack all game against that front 7 is unbelievably good.

And without Martin. Was pleasantly surprised by McGovern. He's not super powerful but he must be a very good technician. Sure looked from the TV like he was better than Williams, as the tweet you posted says.

 

[Tony D]

Honestly we need to see how the season plays out. We may need to make a trade for an end or corner. Our Safety problem seems to be fixed but Brown sucks and Gregory is doing zero over on his side.

So you're done with Gregory? Stop

 

[Tony D]

I can say, our OL played so much better than I thought they would. That DL is one of the best, if not the best, in the NFL, and we kept Dak mostly clean. Only 1 sack all game against that front 7 is unbelievably good.

They did good. Still a lot of pressure on him. And those 3 guys in the middle last night are better pass protectors than run blockers.

 

[boozeman]

‘Far from perfect’: Buccaneers escape shootout with Cowboys on Tom Brady’s drive

By Greg Auman 7h ago

TAMPA, Fla. — Season openers come around just once a year, and what would be the fun in an easy, zero-drama win to start things off?
The defending champion Buccaneers, returning to the site of their Super Bowl win, went toe to toe with Dak Prescott and the pesky Cowboys before eking out a wild 31-29 victory on Thursday night.

But it was far from a comprehensive win for the home side. In fact, it required a game-winning drive from Tampa Bay and its fearless leader after Dallas took the lead on a field goal with 1:24 left.

Tom Brady got the ball at his 25 with only one timeout, only to have coach Bruce Arians burn that timeout to avoid a 10-second runoff when they were still at their own 32. But a 20-yard pass to Rob Gronkowski — who had his best game with the Bucs — set up a 24-yard sideline throw to Chris Godwin, who got to redeem himself after a huge fumble at the Cowboys’ 2-yard line set up their go-ahead kick.
And kicker Ryan Succop, who had struggled for much of training camp and just spent a week on the reserve/COVID-19 list, calmly stepped in and nailed a 36-yard field goal with two seconds left for the winning margin.

This year’s Buccaneers have already accomplished something last year’s never did. The latest lead change in a Bucs win last season was with 6:19 left, an eternity compared to Thursday’s finish.

“I learned a long time ago that you don’t learn anything more from losing than you do from almost losing,” Arians said following the win. “We have a lot to learn.”


Consider this trifecta of self-inflicted adversity: The Bucs were minus-3 in turnover margin, committed more than 100 yards in penalties and had a time of possession under 26 minutes. In 50 years since the NFL-AFL merger, only three other teams have won while doing all three of those things.

No team before Thursday had ever won when finishing minus-3 in turnover margin, committing more than 100 yards in penalties and allowing 450-plus yards of total offense.

But none had Brady, who in his first start at age 44 threw for four touchdowns, earned his 40th career fourth-quarter comeback and notched his 49th career game-winning drive. He threw two scores to Gronkowski — much like the Super Bowl — and one each to Godwin and Antonio Brown, helping the Bucs hold off a pass-happy Prescott, who threw for 403 yards and three touchdowns in returning from last year’s season-ending ankle injury.

“I think it will allow us to know that we’ve got to get better,” said Brown, who had a team-best 121 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown. “We don’t want to be in a lot of situations like that, but any time your quarterback is (Brady), you know you’ve got an opportunity to come back.”

The night started with two huge Lombardi Trophy replicas on the field as the team celebrated its Super Bowl LV championship, putting one season to bed and starting anew. At no point was it easy Thursday, the Bucs leading 21-16 at the half but only after Cowboys kicker Greg Zuerlein missed two field goals and an extra point.

Midway through the fourth quarter, it looked like the Bucs were ready to put away a hard-fought victory. Clinging to a two-point lead, they had burned six minutes of clock, and at the Dallas 13, Brady threw to Godwin, who twisted through Cowboys defenders to get to the 2-yard line, then fumbled. Instead of a two-score lead, the Bucs saw the Cowboys with the ball, needing just a field goal to take the lead.
Prescott — who would match his career high with 58 pass attempts — found receiver CeeDee Lamb for a 31-yard gain to the Bucs’ 34-yard line with 1:51 left. But the Bucs defense held them there, used two timeouts to stop the clock and saw Zuerlein connect on a 48-yard field goal for a 29-28 lead with 1:24 to play.

The Cowboys had helped the Bucs just a little — an incompletion had stopped the clock with 1:48 left, and Ezekiel Elliott ran out of bounds two plays later to stop the clock again with 1:37 left.


Brady had three fourth-quarter comebacks last season with Tampa Bay, but they were fairly early in the final quarter, nothing close to the dramatic finish Thursday night. Tampa Bay was a touchdown favorite at home against the Cowboys, so this could have been a much simpler victory, but it arguably would not have been as rewarding in its end-game execution.

“It was not a perfect game,” said Brady, who threw for 379 yards, his 50 pass attempts his most in a game since 2016. “There is obviously a lot to kind of unpack from this one, but (that’s) a good football team … We obviously have a lot to clean up.”

Tampa Bay’s defense, which lost corner Sean Murphy-Bunting early to a dislocated elbow, struggled to contain Prescott’s quick, short passes all night. But the Bucs had some level of bend-but-don’t-break, allowing just one touchdown in four Dallas trips into the red zone.
In addition to Godwin’s fumble, running back Ronald Jones lost one in the second quarter, setting the Cowboys up at Tampa Bay’s 27-yard line for a short field and a touchdown. Jones would not touch the ball the rest of the night. On the Bucs’ next offensive play, a Brady pass went off the hands of Leonard Fournette for another turnover, setting up a field goal and the Cowboys’ first lead.

Brady threw another interception on a Hail Mary on the final play before halftime, after the Cowboys had tried and missed a 60-yard field goal. A year ago, Brady had two interceptions in the opener, and it stung much more, with one being returned for an interception as the Saints handed him a 34-23 loss in his Bucs debut.

“Last year sucked after the first game, let me say that,” Brady said. “We’ve come a long way from 365 days ago. That was a pretty lonely feeling after the game there in the Superdome. But again, we won. It’s great. We know it was far from perfect and we’ve got to get back to work and clean a lot of stuff up.”

The Bucs also have three extra days to prepare for their next game, at home against the Falcons. Players get a mini-bye, with basically four days off before they return to practice Tuesday.

Succop, whose family lives in Nashville, had asked Arians early this week if it would be OK if he flew back after the game Friday so he could be home for his son Cooper’s sixth birthday party. Arians, always wanting his players and coaches to prioritize their families, said Succop was welcome to go, even if it meant missing a team meeting Friday.

“He was great about it: ‘Go to the birthday party, have fun,'” Succop said. “It was kind of neat because tonight, I kind of honestly thought he forgot about it. As soon as we made the kick, I came off the field and he gave me a big hug and said, ‘It’s going to be a heck of a birthday party tomorrow.’ That was pretty cool for me.”

Cooper is having a Buccaneers-themed birthday party, and Succop will be able to see him play a flag football game Saturday as well. If there was one regret in the Succop household after Thursday’s win, it’s that it was a school night, so they’d put Cooper to bed at halftime, and he missed out on seeing his father’s game-winner.

“He was petitioning my wife all week, and he’s got school at 7:30 tomorrow, so we let him stay up until halftime,” Succop said. “Literally the first text I got after the game, I saw my wife had texted me: ‘I’m so bummed I made him go to bed at halftime. He’s going to be so mad when he wakes up.'”

For these Bucs, a victory, however sloppy, is like a birthday: something you have to celebrate any time you can get one.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

So you're done with Gregory? Stop

Yeah talk about overreaction. The Bucs are excellent in pass protection and Brady gets the ball off faster than any QB (Especially when you consider his depth of target).

 

[Clff15701]

So you're done with Gregory? Stop

I keep waiting for him to do something. He is always hyped up but never gets any sacks.

 

[p1_]

Run D was impressive.

 

[mcnuttz]

Jordan Lewis. Not convinced of his coverage skills, but dude always seems to be around turnovers.

He's a gamer, no way around it.

 

[Genghis Khan]

The people who have been clamoring for Cooper's release since the onset of his new contract are either blind or dumb.

The second he got to this team it elevated the offense tremendously and even to elite levels. Outside of when the QB1 was hurt it hasn't fallen.

I don't care what he's being paid, you ride that out to the bitter end.

 

[Genghis Khan]

I'll say this, we've seen Brown play better than this. I think he's miscast right now. He's not a top 2 CB on a team but if he's the slot guy, 3rd/4th CB he's ok.

He can't match up with Evans or Antonio Brown but most teams don't have that.

 

[ravidubey]

The people who have been clamoring for Cooper's release since the onset of his new contract are either blind or dumb.

The second he got to this team it elevated the offense tremendously and even to elite levels. Outside of when the QB1 was hurt it hasn't fallen.

I don't care what he's being paid, you ride that out to the bitter end.

100 fucking percent true. Can't imagine why anyone even thinks of cutting this guy. He signed that huge contract because he f'ing deserves it.

Unlike Zeke, who's being paid for past achievements.

 

[Genghis Khan]

Yeah, Brown should never again start for us. Canady has shown he is better. Play him.

I'm not sure Canady has shown he's better. I wouldn't mind seeing him start and see what he can do. But we haven't seen him try to defend Antonio Brown as a Cowboy.

 

[Genghis Khan]

Jordan Lewis. Not convinced of his coverage skills, but dude always seems to be around turnovers.

He'd be a real good corner if he could cover.

 

[Genghis Khan]

Come on, Antonio Brown would have Giraffe Wright on the ground with his quickness. Literally falling down.

I've actually always liked Anthony Brown more than most -- he was a good later pick and a pretty good depth CB. He just isn't good enough to be starting outside, especially against AB. And he's been around a few years so I'm sure he's not as fast as he used to be.

I guess you could try Canady but I think Bossman is our only real hope. He at least has the ability. Sucks that with the groin I doubt he can do much all this time he's out.

Exactly.

 

[boozeman]

Part of this was Vea, but not good.

 

[Smitty]

100% this.

This is the complete opposite of everything I was told for years.

I agree by the way, get what the getting is good.

 

[boozeman]

Someday someone running the Cowboys will figure out they need a monster DE and a DT that can disrupt everything in front of them. Someday.

The 3-T is just as valuable as a good edge.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Part of this was Vea, but not good.

I think there was a reason they were looking so hard at McG-Williams as LG-C in preseason, and it wasn't all for backup reasons like they claimed.