Tampa Bay Bucs vs. New Orleans Saints: Full Report-Card Grades for Tampa Bay
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers nearly pulled off their second straight road victory of the season, but penalties and poor fundamentals ultimately led to a 37-31 loss for the Pewter Pirates at the hands of their NFC South rivals, the New Orleans Saints.
New Orleans controlled the game early on, getting out to a 13-0 lead and dominating total yardage on offense. The Tampa Bay defense bent early but didn't break, holding the Saints to multiple field goals to keep them in the game early.
A Johnthan Banks interception set up the Bucs for their first touchdown of the day, bringing the Bucs within three just before the half.
The third quarter was all Tampa Bay for the most part, as a Bobby Rainey nine-yard touchdown run gave the Bucs the lead, followed by the second pick-six of the season for linebacker Danny Lansanah. The Saints would find the end zone themselves before the end of the period, sending the game to the fourth quarter with the Bucs up 24-20.
Tampa Bay quarterback Mike Glennon threw Robert Herron his first career touchdown reception, giving the Bucs an 11-point lead.
But penalties and poor execution down the stretch allowed Drew Brees to mount his 35th career comeback victory, helped by a safety that made up for a missed two-point conversion attempt by New Orleans.
The Saints won the toss in overtime and never let the Bucs offense touch the ball, as Khiry Robinson broke multiple tackles on his way to a game-winning touchdown run from 18 yards out.
Quarterback
1 of 10
He didn't come through with another comeback victory this week, but Mike Glennon continues to cement his case to be the Bucs' starting quarterback going forward, regardless of Josh McCown's health.
The second-year pro completed 19 of his 32 pass attempts for 249 yards, with an interception sandwiched between a pair of touchdown tosses.
Glennon started the game a mere 2-of-8, but his receivers had dropped three very catchable throws at that point.
Glennon showed the same poise and quality decision-making that Bucs fans saw last week against Pittsburgh, just without the winning ending. It's still too early to tell if Glennon will be the long-term solution for the Bucs at quarterback, but they should stick with him for the rest of 2014.
Grade: B
Running Back
2 of 10
Tampa Bay fans finally saw a glimpse of the same Doug Martin they saw in 2012, but some of his biggest plays were brought back by costly penalties.
Martin had 17 touches for 74 total yards and showed significant improvement in pass protection, which has been an area he's struggled in this season. Bobby Rainey gave the Bucs their only rushing touchdown on the game on a nine-yard run in the third quarter, and he ended the day with 42 total yards on nine touches.
Tampa Bay's runners found a little more room to work with this week, but they were still unable to control the clock on the ground. However, more of the blame for that falls on the offensive line, and Bucs fans should be encouraged with the progression their backs are making.
Grade: B-
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
This unit struggled mightily in the first quarter, dropping multiple passes that should have been easy completions.
Vincent Jackson has struggled with drops all season, but he rebounded to give a season-high performance this week. The veteran led Tampa Bay with eight receptions for 144 yards, making plenty of big catches throughout the game after yet another drop early in the game.
Louis Murphy came up big for the Bucs for the second straight week, making an acrobatic touchdown catch from 20 yards out. The former Oakland Raider had another big catch wiped out by a penalty, finishing the game with three catches for 35 yards.
Without first-rounder Mike Evans in the lineup, Bucs fans were hoping for big things from the team's second-round pick, Austin Seferian-Jenkins. Instead, the rookie tight end caught just one pass for 11 yards, had a bad drop on the Bucs' first possession. He also committed a costly penalty that nullified a long completion that would have resulted in a key first down.
Rookie sixth-round pick Robert Herron dropped a deep pass near the goal line early in the game, but he responded by hauling in his first career touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.
The Bucs receiving corps bounced back from the early drops to deliver a fairly strong performance across the board. They'll need these kinds of performances from veterans like Jackson and Murphy with Evans out and the rookies continuing to struggle.
Grade: B-
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
This was a hit-or-miss performance from the Bucs offensive line.
The group continued to come up big on third downs and against pressure in key situations, but they're still struggling to give their running backs consistent running room, and mental lapses late in the game put the offense in some bad situations.
A miscommunication on the snap nearly led to a turnover deep in their own territory in the fourth quarter, and a poorly missed assignment by Logan Mankins on the same drive led to a safety that helped the Saints stay in the game.
Penalties also continued to pop up at inopportune times, from holding and false-start calls to simple alignment issues.
The pass protection is improving, but the mental errors and weak run blocking have to improve if this offense wants to get to the next level.
Grade: C+
Defensive Line
5 of 10
Tampa Bay's defensive line put plenty of pressure on Drew Brees, but the Saints quarterback wasn't sacked once the entire game. Still, the pressure had a significant impact, leading to two of Brees' three interceptions on the day.
Of all the lineman, second-year pro William Gholston stood out the most this week, providing multiple pressures and using his size and wingspan to knock down a pass.
Still, the Saints were able to rush for 140 yards, and even just one sack down the stretch could have put the game away for the Bucs. Gerald McCoy wasn't as disruptive as he's been up to this point, and Michael Johnson didn't find the stat sheet after notching his first two sacks of the year last week.
This was a close-but-no-cigar performance from Tampa Bay's front four, but Gholston's emergence is something for Bucs fans to be encouraged about.
Grade: C
Linebacker
6 of 10
Tampa Bay's linebackers provided a few big plays, but poor tackling overall and a continued lack of comfort in their new defensive scheme led to a disappointing showing overall.
The good? Lavonte David made plays all over the field, tallying 14 total tackles, including 10 solo stops. Reserve Danny Lansanah—one of the stars of Bucs training camp—continues to impress, finishing second on the team with 10 total tackles and scoring his second pick-six of the season.
The bad? Dane Fletcher continues to look completely lost playing middle linebacker in the Tampa 2, and poor tackling in key situations helped hand New Orleans the victory late in the game.
The splash plays are nice, but this group has to play more consistently against the pass and improve their tackling overall. Until that happens, the occasional big plays aren't going to matter.
Grade: C-
Secondary
7 of 10
Much like the linebackers, Tampa Bay's secondary provided some key takeaways, but poor tackling and penalties rendered their big plays obsolete in the end.
Johnthan Banks' interception of Drew Brees helped put the Bucs back in the game just before the half, and Alterraun Verner had his hands on three different interceptions before finally coming down with one to force overtime.
Much like Dane Fletcher at middle linebacker, nickel corner Leonard Johnson continues to look uncomfortable at a key position in the Tampa 2 defense.
Despite the absence of Dashon Goldson at safety, Brees wasn't able to take the top off the Bucs defense. However, he was able to exploit the middle of the field enough to be effective, and the poor tackling of both Wright and Mark Barron—especially on the 18-yard touchdown run that sealed the loss for the Bucs—did the team in down the stretch.
At the end of the day, Brees was able to rack up 371 yards passing and make the necessary plays down the field to snatch this game from the Bucs.
Grade: C-
Special Teams
8 of 10
For the most part, Tampa Bay's special teams units turned in a solid performance.
Both coverage units played well, containing the electrifying Brandin Cooks and not allowing any big plays on either punt or kickoff returns.
Rookie Solomon Patton continues to struggle with hesitation when bringing out kickoffs from deep in the end zone, but he seemed to make better decisions as the game progressed. He also added a respectable 11-yard gain on his only punt return.
Michael Koenen showed a slight improvement over last week, averaging just over 40 yards on his four punts. Still, he continues to underachieve for a punter who gets paid as much as he does.
The brightest spot for the Bucs special teams was rookie Patrick Murray, who smashed a 55-yard field goal through the uprights on his only attempt of the game.
Grade: B+
Coaching
9 of 10
The Bucs continue to be defined by penalties and mental errors, which falls squarely on the shoulders of Lovie Smith and his coaching staff.
Tampa Bay was penalized a ridiculous 15 times for 113 yards, and most of those penalties came at the worst possible times, negating big plays on offense and undoing some big stops on defense. Some of the calls were questionable, but even if you take away five of those penalties, no team should be penalized 10 times and expect to win.
The play-calling looked similar to last week, and it was much improved from the Bucs' first three games. Quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo looks to be much more comfortable as a play-caller since Jeff Tedford took his official leave of absence from the team.
Nobody should expect perfection overnight from a new coaching staff, but the penalties and lack of discipline simply have to improve if the Bucs want to be competitive moving forward.
Grade: D+
Final Grades
10 of 10
There were plenty of positives for the Bucs today, but the theme of the day was that it just wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to win on the road, it wasn't enough to beat one of the best quarterbacks in the league and it wasn't enough to beat a bitter division rival.
The improved pressure and multiple takeaways on defense are encouraging, but the tackling and mental sharpness in the new defensive scheme have to improve if the big plays are to matter in the grand scheme of things.
On offense, the penalties and mental errors held back an otherwise winnable performance.
If the Bucs want to take the next step toward being a playoff contender, they simply have to get better between the ears. That starts with head coach Lovie Smith, who needs to improve the overall discipline of his squad, and their understanding of his defense.
Overall, the team played a game worthy of a "C", but no loss should be given a passing grade.
Grade: C-
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