Turnovers Doom Bucs 17-23

After really taking that game in and looking back at what happened, it was unfortunate to think of those turnovers occurring. Why? Because it was clear that the Bucs were really dominating the Jags on a couple of levels, and playing well enough to win on others. More than anything, this game reminds me of the regular season contest against Detroit last year. Detroit had no business winning that game, but we kept giving them the ball, and they won.

When you turn the ball over 4 times, it is a rare feat to win a ball game in the NFL. The Bucs nearly pulled it off in the end, and might have done so if Anthony Davis hadn't needlessly held on a play, and had Smith gotten out of bounds to stop the clock on his two big plays during the last drive. Heck, if Bryant makes that 20 something field goal attempt, the Bucs could have tied the game and sent it to overtime. This is one of those "stats is for losers" type games. No doubt.

The best thing I noticed, besides the ability of this team to stay in the ball game despite the 4 turnovers, is that the stats looked very similar to the other two games. The defense held another team to around 200 yards. The offense racked up around 300 yards (322). The third down conversions were in the 30's for the opponent and the 50's for the Bucs. The running game, despite a very slow start, began opening holes and getting some good runs (though they did fail to get to 100 yards rushing). Overall, the Bucs looked like the same team: dominating defense, and a strong, if not spectacular, offense, save the turnovers.

So, one more game to go. We'll see if Garcia can look better than he did this past game. He looked very rusty and his arm strength was questionable at times. Could be a lack of practice, or it could be something of concern. If something happens with him, I personally hope they go with Luke because he gives this offense a chance to make big plays on a more consistent basis. Certainly better than Captain Checkdown who nearly got picked twice in the endzone.

A little note: I'll be traveling later this week (Tues-Fri) and again the following week (same days) for my day job. I hope to be able to get my positional analysis, season predictions, and then the Talking Plank for the Saints game. So keep an eye out for them.