Sixty Minutes
Hopefully the Bucs got a load of Forever stamps a few months back, as they’ve been mailing it in for a month. And it showed Sunday afternoon. The Bucs looked like a team that shouldn’t be in the playoffs. And maybe they shouldn’t have. But rules are rules, and they got to self-destruct in front of the entirety of the NFL-watching public. Well done lads.
Defeat from the Jaws of Victory
For twenty minutes Sunday the Bucs actually looked like they could beat anybody. They looked like the last two-and-a-half game layoff wasn’t going to affect them one bit. Then the team that had been playing to the final whistle in each and every game adjusted. They started picking up the rush. They started to counter the opponent’s running game. They protected their quarterback. And the Giants ran away with the game. By the end of the 3rd quarter it was over. The touchdown mid-way through the fourth punched the Giants’ ticket to Dallas.
Garcia looked confused. As if he hadn’t been on the field in a while. He missed open receivers. That interception in the end zone was Gradkowski-esque. And I have to question the coaching decision to abandon the running game in the second quarter. I can only imagine what was going through Gruden’s mind at that point. Maybe he thought we were dominating to such an extent that he wanted to drive a stake through the Giant’s hearts. Instead, the rusty QB and the suddenly porous offensive line started laying eggs. And logic would say, go back to Graham. Get him the ball again. But he didn’t see significant action again until the outcome had already been decided. Even short runs would have stunted the Giants’ pass rush. I mean, I see the reason for going deep on occasion. You have to in order to keep the defense from putting eight in the box. But you have to mix that in with the running game. Long time TALB readers are probably sick of hearing this stolen line: “Sometimes all you have to do is run into the line for no-gain, and everything will be okay.”
Is there anyone who tries to give Gruden any perspective during the game? Any trusted assistant up in the booth who calls down to say “Jon, the deep ball isn’t working right now. Let’s work in the run a bit.” In the second quarter, the Bucs ran the ball just twice compared to 13 called passes (and that’s giving them credit for the last play of the 1st quarter [a run] that started a drive).
As good as the coaching for the Bucs had been through the first part of the season, I really must question it during the stretch run and this playoff debacle. That includes the decision to rest nearly every starter for most of the last two games. More to come in the 2007 Bucs Post-Season Post-Mortem, which should hit news-stands in a couple weeks.
There Is No Champion
Tonight the Ohio State Buckeyes and the LSU Tigers will take the field at the Super Dome in a game that, according to its title, will crown a champion. The Football Gods like an upset just as much as the next sports-related deity, but 2007 was crazy. And the Football Gods decided to punish us by not allowing a champion to be selected. Granted, rarely is a “true” FBS champion crowned. But this year, they have saddled us with what has to be the least compelling “championship” game in decades. I would not be surprised if the Football Gods decree that the game ends 2-0 in triple overtime. Thus pushing the game so late (and making the outcome so uninspiring) that only the local papers in Baton Rouge and Columbus bother publishing the result in their Tuesday editions.
That being said, I have no real idea who is going to win. If you forced me to pick, I’d probably go with LSU by a figgie.
BJFL Championship
I neglected to tell you that the underdog “Harold The Greek” team won the BJFL championship. The Rusty Trombones ended up “winning” the seventh-place game. Ensuring a terrible draft spot. The BJFL Winter Owners’ Meetings will be held in two weeks, at which time we will all pay homage (and $75) to the first new champion since TALB joined the league.
Running Items
Reverse Watch
We actually have two items this week; one of which should have been in this space last week.
1) During the Gators’ dismantling at the hands of Michigan, the Wolverines ran a simple end-around to the near side. During the play, the play-by-play man correctly identified the action as an end around. But during the replay, the over-excited color analyst cried “look at this reverse!!!111!”
2) And finally, as the Bucs were falling to the Giants, the G-Men ran an actual reverse. And Joe Buck, contrary to his historical tendencies, didn’t shout. He didn’t leap half-way out of the booth to exclaim the play. Nor did he call t a “double reverse”. He simply said something along the lines of “there’s a reverse”. Kudos Mr. Buck.
Super Bowl XLII
Patriots vs. Seahawks
The Cowboys aren’t the same team now that they were when they essentially wrapped up the NFC’s top spot six weeks ago. And the Packers, like the Bucs, faded down the stretch. And the ‘Hawks beat the hottest team in the NFC, by a pretty good margin. I’ll go further into the tournament later in the week.
Next Week: Championships for EVERYONE!
