LordOfEntropy

Did anyone get to see the game (pirate satellite, whatever)? I heard the Bucs whipped 'em pretty good, but I'm curious to see how the first teams on both sides looked. Particularly the Bucs, of course.

Memnoch_TP

I saw it on that Pirate network called ESPN2 about 4:00 this morning.

The Jets #1 offensive squad looked good. They had a 10 play drive for a TD. But the Bucs #1 D was a little lackluster at first. Not bad by any means, but you got the feeling that they could have stopped the Jets with just a *little* more effort.

Then the Bucs #1 offense came on and moved the ball well. A questionable call in the endzone ruled a nice TD catch uncontrolled and the bucs had to settle for a FG.

Then the #2\'s came out and and the Jet\'s bench got annihilated.

From the one series the bucs #1 Off and Def had, even though not spectacular, being the pre-season it looked by week one the Defense will be bad ass as usual and the offense improved.

In short, bad news. And they are gonna be gunning for us as hard as we will be gunning for Atlanta. In short, again, bad news.

"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so." -- Douglas Adams.

BillyCarpenter1

Bad news? Your basing a lot off of a preseason game. I think the Bucs were gunning for us as much as their guns would allow last year, after we beat them the first time !!!!!

The bad news for the Bucs this year is , of the two teams, the Saints probably improved the most. Not to take anything away for the Bucs, but they they did very little in the offseason to improve on offense. Thomas Jones did OK, but let\'s face it, for a 7th overall pick, he has been a bust. While he has a chance to turn his career around, it is not likely. The Bucs signed Jones becase with the legal problems of Pittman, Jones is all that was left.

If the Bucs did improve on offense, the improvements by the Saints defense should offset them easily.

Now that I think about it, it is bad news. For the Bucs.





[Edited on 3/8/2003 by BillyCarpenter1]

[Edited on 3/8/2003 by BillyCarpenter1]

whowatches

I kinda thought the Bucs\' first string D looked pretty average at best. The Jets (with Wayne Chrebet and Curtis Conway as wideouts and no Curtis Martin) drove to the endzone and scored.

Nice first quarter if you ask me.

LordOfEntropy

Thanx for the recaps.

Got it on the re-air. Simms looked pretty good, I think he\'is going to be on helluva football player. Jets O looked good on first string. Agreed, Tampa\'s D was a little lackluster on first string - but they still looked strong enough to do it again. Their offense is better than I hoped it would be.

This team is going to be hell this year. They\'ll definitely have a chip on their should for us after the sweep last season. I still think we have the skill and talent necessary to beat them, though - if the chips fall our way. If the refs don\'t decide the game. If we\'re less unlucky than they are.

This is going to be one helluva good season.

can anyone help me id this tune? it goes thwap thwap boom tch boom tch boom tch.

Qui a laissez sortir les chiens!

WhoDat

I\'ll tell you this - I think the Bucs are an all or nothing team this year. My concern has been for some time that their offense will begin to play consistently like it did at the end of the season last year. This 1st game confirmed for me that it probably will. Think about how much our offense carried our defense last season. That\'s almost how much the Bucs defense carried its offense. Difference being their offense helped a little.

Well, this year their offense could be good - not just not bad, but good. I think with Gruden and the players they\'ve got it is realistic to think that they can put up 20 or 25 points a game. If they do that, they will repeat as SB champs. That defense will only get better if the offense gives them the ability to rest once in a while. The offense will only get better if it gets better play out of the D that is already prone to scoring points and giving the O the ball in great field position. And obviously, it\'s a cycle.

I know everyone on this board has pride in our team and I know that we beat up on the Bucs last year, but you\'ve got to realize that this is a team that has a very real shot at being back in the big dance come January.

\"Excuses, excuses, excuses. That’s all anyone ever makes for the New Orleans Saints’ organization.\" - Eric Narcisse


\"Being a Saints fan is almost like being addicted to crack,\" he said.[i]\"You know you should stop, but you just can\'t.\"

BillyCarpenter1

With all the questions that the Bucs have on offense, for members here to say that the Bucs offense proved something in 1 preseason game, would be like me saying that the Saints defense proved itself in the Black and Gold scrimmage.

LordOfEntropy

They proved something last season with a SuperBowl ring. Until someone beats them in regular season, they don\'t have a damn thing to prove.

I\'d hoped they would stink in that preseason game. They didn\'t. They looked better than our O did the last three games, that\'s for sure.

Memnoch_TP

Their only big question mark is at running back. And lets face it, at the beginning of the season theor offense sucked. And it didn\'t matter. Even with the questions they have on offense they are still at least as good as they were at the beginning of last season.

And as I said, their #1 Defense didn\'t look like they were putting out 100%. And in a pe-season game, why would they bother to? Especially one where the goal was to foster more interest in the NFL in a foreign country.

And I DON\'T CARE if we beat them twice last year. Even if we beat them twice this year it\'s still bad news if they are looking good. Beating them twice didn\'t get us a division title last season. They are gonna pound Atlanta and Carolina. And looking at their schedule they have alot of other teams they are gonna pound.

They have a bigger edge on Houston, because Houston is still a crappy team overall and we like to lose to crappy teams. They have a bigger edge on Dallas, who I think we would take hands down... If we did\'t play them in December atleast.

"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so." -- Douglas Adams.

BillyCarpenter1

The Bucs not only have a huge question mark at the running back position, but the offensive line remains highly suspect as well.

I think even the most optimisitc Bucs fan would not say that because the Bucs won it all last year that they have nothing to prove this year, but everyone is entitled to their opinion, no matter how much of a reach it might be.

As far as the Bucs pounding the Falcons and Panthers this year, I guess that could happen, but that same statement was made last year, about the Bucs pounding the Saints.

I hope if the Saints defense dominates in the first preseason game that the same members will say that the defense has proved itself.