Sports discussions come
in many shapes and sizes. When talking about sports you run into some of the
strangest fans. I don’t mean strange for rooting for their team, but how and
why they began liking their team. Case in point, the rise of New England
Patriot fans, Golden State Warriors fans, and Clemson Tiger fans have greatly expanded these teams fan bases. When people say they like one of these teams, you think to yourself, "how long have you liked this team?" I was driving
Uber the other day, wearing my Dallas Cowboys hat, and got into a discussion
with a Tampa Bay Buccaneer’s fan. At first, I couldn’t believe I was talking
about the Buccaneers because they aren’t a team that jumps out at you. They had
a quiet off-season, a solid draft, and not many super star players. After
talking to him, I may have to keep an eye on the Buccaneers this season. While, I don’t share the same enthusiasm as my Uber rider for the Bucs. They
are doing some good things in Tampa and building a good team around their talented
quarterback Jameis Winston.
The Buccaneer’s aren’t a flashy team, loaded with great
individual talent. They are a well-coached group that goes out and plays hard. Dirk
Koetter was promoted when Lovie Smith was fired, in part to help Winston
progress as a quarterback. The Bucs felt that Koetter’s offensive mind would be more creative with the personnel they had, thus giving Winston the chance to
make more plays. The numbers don’t indicate a spike in offensive production.
The Bucs won more games in 2016 under Koetter, then in 2015 with Smith. One may
conclude replacing Smith was a good move.
Last season the Bucs finished with a 9-7 record and were one game away from making the playoffs. They put together an
amazing five game stretch that included wins over the Seattle Seahawks and
Kansas City Chiefs, two teams that made the playoffs. The Bucs also had a tough
game against the Dallas Cowboys that came down to the wire. In 2015, the Bucs
had a top five offense in yards per game, with a -5 turnover differential. They
were able to cut the turnovers down (+2) in 2016 but didn’t have the same level
of offensive production. In 2015 Doug Martin was the focal point in the Buccaneer’s
offense, rushing for over 1400 yards. They will need this balance in order to
contend for this division in 2017.
Doug Martin is a good running back; he has struggled with
injuries since entering the league. He has played a full 16 game season twice
in his 5-year career. Missing games due to small nagging injuries isn’t unusual
for the running back position but Martin has missed 33 games over his career.
Every season he has played 16 games he has gone over 1400 yards rushing. To say
that he is a key piece to the Buccaneer’s success is an understatement. I find
it strange, giving Martin’s injury issues; the Bucs haven’t found a suitable
backup running back. They need Martin to give this offense balance and make
things easier for the young quarterback Jameis Winston.
While I agree that the Buccaneer’s success hinges on the
play of Doug Martin, I also think that Winston is poised for a big year this
season. The Bucs brought in Desean Jackson via free agency this offseason.
Jackson is still a legit big play threat. He appeared to have lost a step with the
Redskins last season, but he still had a reception for 80 yards, and posted 17.9
yards per reception. That means Jackson is still a threat to take the top off
the defense and will bring a speed element that this team really needs. Some JAG
(Just A Guy) named Freddie Martino had the highest yards per reception for the
Bucs last season with 14.8 (receivers with at least 20 catches). Mike Evans had
their longest reception, for 45 yards. This offense needs a big
play wide receiver and Jackson will be that guy.
Speaking of Mike Evans that guy is a beast! Mike Evans is
becoming one of the best wide receivers in the league. He is a legit #1
receiver and with some help this season should have another great season. Evan
stands 6’5” 230 lbs and has the speed to get deep on most cornerbacks in the
league. He also goes up and gets the ball! His ability to use his body, leaping
ability, and long catch radius are what makes him so difficult to defend. Jackson
will keep the safeties honest with his threat to go deep. Evans will make the
most of his opportunities across the middle and on the outside. Both of these players will open up the field
for rookie tight end OJ Howard.
OJ Howard is a wide receiver in a tight ends body. He stands at 6’6” 250 lbs! At the combine, Howard ran a 4.51-second forty-yard dash,
benched 225lbs twenty-two times, and had a 121" broad jump. He has all the physical tools
to be a superstar tight end in the NFL. Coming out of Alabama some people worry
about his production. With all his physical attributes, he should have had
better stats in college, but he played in a power run offense, and his
quarterbacks weren’t great. He played
with that JAG Blake Sims his junior year and freshmen Jalen Hurts in his senior
season. His lack of stat sheet jumping production
in college doesn’t concern me at all. He and Cameron Brate will see a lot of
time on the field together. They both create mismatches for defenses. Howard
won’t have to be a focal point for this offense, Mike Evans and Doug Martin can
handle that. Howard just has to become a weapon for Winston in this passing
game.
Defensively the Buccaneers have to get better in order to
make a playoff push. In 2015 the Bucs ranked 23rd in yards allowed
and 26th in points per game allowed. They were able to improve to 16th in points per game allowed but stayed put in yards
allowed per game in 2017. Mike Smith will have his work cut out again this season.
Gerald McCoy is an all pro defensive tackle and easily
top five at his position. When healthy is a beast in the interior. Lavonte
David is an awesome outside linebacker and is one of the better linebackers in the
league. McCoy and David are the Bucs best defenders and they haven’t done much
to change that. Vernon Hargraves, Kwon Alexander, and Noah Spence are all young
players the Bucs hope develop into quality starters. They all showed flashes
last season but this defense has to get more production from the other
defensive linemen. They hope that second round pick Justin Evans and JJ Wilcox
can hold down the safety spots and help this secondary. On paper, this defense
is expecting great improvements for these young guys. We will have to wait
and see what they do this season.
If you’re reading this blog post you’re probably thinking
to yourself where’s the Jameis Winston coverage. It’s hard for me to highlight
a quarterback that threw 18 interceptions in a season. That’s entirely to many
interceptions. I understand the struggles this offense had in the running game
and along the offensive line. Even with that Winston has to do a better job of
protecting the ball. He is in third season and his team improved from a 6-10
record to a 9-7 record in his second season. Winston doesn’t deserve all the credit
for the success just as I feel he shouldn’t get all the blame for their
shortcomings. In year three Winston is going to have to cut those interceptions
down in order for this offense to effective. This defense isn’t expected to
improve much so the burden will fall on the offense to carry this team. I expect
the Bucs to be in contention for a playoff sport. They may sneak in but on
paper they don’t appear to be much better than last season.
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