With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers making noise on and off the field, Anthony Pugliese and Trevor Grout take a look at which has been louder.
Off The Field By: Anthony Pugliese
How can you not consider them to be making more noise off the field? The news has been littered with plenty besides what the Bucs did on the field to the Chicago Bears this Sunday.
In case you have been sleeping under a rock since the game on Sunday, the biggest headliner was Mike Evans. Evans play on the field this year has been impressive, but it is what he did before the game started that caused the biggest commotion. Many people were rubbed the wrong when when Mike Evans exercised his right to sit during the national anthem on the day the Buccaneers were honoring veterans. This caused huge talk post-game leading to Evans revealing he sat during the anthem to protest the President-elect Donald Trump.
Stemming from the Mike Evans protest, Dirk Koetter had a press conference of his own on Monday where he revealed he was unaware of Evan’s decision to sit during the anthem and although he wasn’t a fan of the move, recognized his right to protest as an American citizen. Koetter also noted he would have a conversation with Evans about his future plans to sit during the anthem. Evans released a statement on Tuesday apologizing for the move, which should have the issue die down, but it was louder than the win itself for the two days following the win.
If the Mike Evans incident was the only Buccaneers news being heard off the field, the arrow might lean towards the play trumping the off-field noise. However. that was not the case as the Buccaneers fans got their first true taste of Miko Grimes, wife of cornerback Brent Grimes, and her ability to rain on any cities parade.
That was the cleanest of her tweets, and this may the beginning of an outside distraction being formed like she was in Miami.
Last (and probably least) was Chris Conte. He made a huge play in the game on Sunday, getting the scoring started for the Bucs with a 20 yard pick-six. This what he had to say following the Bucs win.
“I hate to make it personal, but for me it is personal,” he said. “It feels great. I don’t want to say, ‘(Expletive) you, Chicago.’ But, I want to say, ‘(Expletive) you, Chicago.”
Too many ‘bad looks’ this week overshadow an impressive victory over the Chicago Bears to kick off the second half of the season. Hopefully this is fad news and not the beginning of outside distractions gone wild.
On The Field By: Trevor Grout
While record may not show it this Tampa Bay Buccaneers team is quietly making noise on the field. Mike Evans has eight touchdowns to go with 811 yards. Jameis Winston could throw for 4,000 yards again this season. The running game has been good enough at time to help this team stay close to the top of the NFC South. The one aspect of the team game that has been a bit rough has been their defense.
Mike Smith has a very good defensive mind which is why once upon a time Atlanta snatched him away from the Jacksonville Jaguars to be their head coach. The problem has been adapting to a new system that Smith implemented in the off season. Early on it looked rough, heck even as recent as last week against the Falcons. In the Bucs previous two game they allowed The Raiders and Falcons to gain 1,087 total yards! While the offensive play has been bleak at times the defense wasn’t able to stop anyone from scoring. Even when the Raiders set an NFL record for penalties in a game!
This past week against a very beatable Bears team it seemed everything finally clicked. The defense was able to force four total turnovers (one was an INT returned for a TD by Chris Conte). Jameis and the offense were able to take advantage of short fields and make the plays they needed to make.
This is a team that seems to still hold out hope for the ever elusive playoff spot, but I for one think they are still at least a year away from that. For now I will say that Bucs are making the most noise on the field than they are off it.
