That game was lame. The Bucs were only slightly less effective on offense than we were. And, for a change, the other team committed more turnovers than we did. And that's why we won.
And, I just have a feeling that we could've played eight or nine quarters of that game and Tampa still wouldn't have scored (provided, of course, that Gruden didn't pull the dick move of the century and kick a field goal). Man, that was weak.
I actually thought it made sense when I first saw it. I thought it was definitely a move perpetrated by a man with no spine and no soul, but I thought it made sense because I thought it was fourth down. I had assumed that Gruden's instincts just took over and he kicked the field goal on fourth down inside the red zone like anyone would. It wasn't fourth down. It was third down.
Really. Seriously. He wasn't going to win that game. He knew it. As a matter of fact, I thought he was being even more of a stand-up guy when the drive started. The Bucs ran on three or four consecutive downs and didn't really hustle up to the line of scrimmage. I thought they were trying to run the clock out.
Then, they start throwing the ball, they screw it up (like they had been doing all game), and it's third down with four seconds left. I thought I was crocked out of my mind and was hallucinating the fact that Matt Bryant was lined up for the field goal. I just kind of stood there in shock for about 45 seconds after the kick went through.
Who kicks a field goal in that situation? I guarantee Cowher would've gone for the touchdown. He may even have just run the ball to get everyone off the field without an injury. But he DEFINITELY would not have kicked a field goal. Didn't kick one in Jacksonville, didn't kick one in Baltimore. And we got shut out in both those games.
Maybe Gruden's a genius, but he's a pussy, too.
The rest of the game was pretty blah. I really think they struggled on offense because they have a shitty offense, not because we played particularly well on defense. Nice of Joey Porter to show up. I think he has all his stats for the season in Sunday's game, the opener, and the Cleveland game. At the end of the season, everyone will say, "Wow, 10 sacks, three interceptions, another stellar year for Porter." They'll forget that he got all of those stats in four games (still have a game against Cleveland Thursday - and their QB used to play basketball for the Portland Trailblazers). Watch for him to take advantage of a match-up that is heavily stilted in his favor and disappear for the rest of the season, just like he has thus far this season.
I'll be very upset if he goes to the Pro Bowl. I mean, I won't write my Congressman, but I'll be upset.
A win's a win. It would've been more gratifying if it made us 7-5, as opposed to 5-7.
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