A Big, Heaping Pile Of Suck

Let's make this clear: The Bucs did not lose because Jon Gruden rested his starters for a couple weeks. It wasn't rust. They dominated the first quarter which is when you would expect rust to be a factor. Everything I read today in one way or another asks the question, "NOW do you think he should have rested his players?" Yes, I still think so.

Pass protection was not good yesterday, but damn, Jeff Garcia is a jumpy motherfucker. He was scrambling before the pocket even had a chance to be formed in some cases. Garcia has the reputation of being a good passer on the run, but it wouldn't kill him to stand in the pocket for an extra second or so and see what develops. A couple times he ran right into defenders when staying still would have served him better. The stats sheet says 11 QB hurries, but that's overstated. Garcia hurried himself.

I think the last paragraph makes it sound like I'm letting the offensive line off for the crappy protection. No, they sucked nine kinds of balls. Donald Penn was the only exception. The Giants got constant pressure up the middle and no one was up to the task of stopping them. Arron Sears looked weak, Davin Joseph looked slow and John Wade should go into the Witness Protection Program before Garcia figures out where he lives. If Wade makes it to training camp with the Bucs next year, I will be shocked.

Despite being an undrafted backup who almost didn't make the team, Penn has performed pretty well. It wasn't anything he did that made Garcia run around like that and he kept Osi Umenyiora from getting too far in the backfield.

Jon Gruden called one of his worst games of the season and AGAIN it's against the Giants. What is it about this team that turns Gruden retarded for a week? The touchdown drive in the first quarter had seven runs and three passes. Remember, the Giants defensive line was still fresh then and they had some excellent success. Then for the rest of the first half, he forgot Earnest Graham was there. In the second half, the first Bucs drive was all Graham for 43 yards. The one time Garcia launches it... intercepted. Of course, down 24-7 in the fourth he has to abandon the run, but why didn't Gruden call more runs in the second quarter?

I guess Joey Galloway was hurt because he only touched the ball twice and his route running was miserable. The Giants surely knew that and wound up not really respecting him as the game went on. Seems like it would have been a good idea to just take him out of the game and put someone in there who has good hands and runs good routes. Jerramy Stevens, maybe?

Speaking of Galloway, how about trying to break up that pass that was so obviously coming to the wrong side? That interception didn't have to happen.

To be fair, New York's defensive line is pretty damn great. Even their backups come in and perform right away. Dave Tollefson made an immediate impression when Michael Strahan had to leave the game.

Let's not forget about the defense who should definitely be shouldering a bunch of the blame here. The Giants got into the Bucs' red zone four times and walked away with three touchdowns and a field goal. Three touchdowns on the #2 defense in the league shouldn't happen. If just one of those touchdowns is a field goal, all of a sudden the Bucs are one score away from a win with 3:16 to play and three time outs.

Oh, and giving up a 92 yard touchdown drive is just awful. The Bucs were all poised to stop the running game in the first half, but here comes Ahmad Bradshaw who seemed to gain six yards every time he touched the ball on that drive. Who the fuck is Ahmad Bradshaw?

Reebok needs to contact the Army and share with them the formula behind their uniform camouflage. Absolutely no Buccaneer could see Amani Toomer on the field. He was right there! Cover him!

Ok, is that enough bitching? I don't want to sound like a sore loser... the Giants won fair and square. And I want nothing more than for the Cowboys to crush their souls next week. I want Eli Manning to have a permanent imprint of DeMarcus Ware's facemask on his sternum. I want Roy Williams to horse-collar Plaxico Burress with impunity. I want Tony Romo to pass for 1,200 yards and 19 touchdowns. And I don't even like the Cowboys. It's not that I dislike them, I just really don't care one way or the other. Except next week.