The aftermath – Week 7: Tampa Bay/North Carolina

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3, North Carolina Panthers 21 (Oct. 23)

49, 52, 52, 40, 42, 34 … although I should play the lotto with these numbers, these are the pass attempts Tom Brady has thrown in the last seven weeks; the lowest was 27. I am pretty sure the defense showed up to make it manageable in those games.

I told you that during rivalry week or rivalry games you’re gonna get the “best” out of the opposing teams. The good news – the Panthers are fielding a backup NFL QB who last played in the XLF. The bad news – they’ve got star running back Christian McAffrey. But wait! McCaffrey is suddenly traded just a couple days before the game. So now the Bucs “only” have to deal with an ex-XFL QB, and no star running back. Even the coach is “interim.”

But none of that mattered as the Carolina Panthers handed the Tampa Bay Bucs the most embarrassing loss of the season. Any given Sunday! Man this is a great sport!

Now let put forth to the idea that winning games have very little to do with the Hall of Famer QB and potential Hall of Famer Mike Evans. Run the Ball!

The Bucs are 32nd in the league when it comes to rushing yards per game. There are only 32 teams, so you can understand the frustration. The Bucs are at the bottom of the league when it comes to rushing yards per game. Leonard Fournette is 9th in attempts in the league when it comes to carrying the ball, yet 24th in yards per game. So we can argue that the offensive lineman aren’t doing a great job blocking, or maybe Fournette isn’t an effective runner. It could be the combination of both. 

I watched all the games and the opposing teams don’t respect the rushing game. I don’t blame them. There are three games in which Fournette had over 20-plus carries. Two of the games the Bucs won; the Pittsburgh game they had a chance to win as they lost by two points. They have no identity and are not committed to running the ball. In my opinion, they’re more interested in lighting up the scoreboard by padding Tom Brady’s immortality as a QB in the NFL.

The game plan is trash. The creativity in the game planning is trash. And the execution is trash on both sides of the ball. I challenge you to show me – outside the first play of the game – that big plays were called and executed in the natural progression of the game. I can show plenty from the Panthers.

Being committed to the run game and running it effectively keeps your defense fresh and your QB clean. You run a play action pass then BOOM! Mike Evans was wide open, or at the very least gave Brady enough time to throw it to him.

What about some Chris Godwin and intermediate passes making plays … I can dream.

The reality is this team is heading nowhere fast, and something needs to be done. The team that played Sunday was outplayed and outcoached by the hobbled Carolina Panthers team. There are reasons why they played poorly, but no excuses. 

I know that playing in games where I was embarrassed like this, as a team or individually, I would practice my ass off and make sure to make up for it. I always practiced hard, but being embarrassed like that releases a little extra something in the brain to push us even harder. I am sure that is what the team is going to do. 

Perhaps the good news for the Bucs is that they will likely not be the favorites when they play the Ravens this Thursday. Last time they were the favorites they suffered a heartbreaking loss, and an embarrassing one.

I don’t see how the defense is going to catch a break with Pro Bowl quarterback Lamar Jackson coming to town. The defense will really have to play disciplined football. As far as the Tampa Bay offense … Run the Ball.

Former defensive end Stylez White played for the Houston Texans, Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints, Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears and Orlando Predators. He was on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defense from 2007 to 2010.