Written by: Michael Sedoris
Opinion Editorial
What Saturday’s game proved is that this team is close! Yes in typical Jameis Winston fashion he started early forcing things and trying to do to much, instead of relying on the 10 players beside him.
Without Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, Winston was trying to overcompensate. Throwing balls into windows so tight even the Dynamic Duo would have trouble coming down with the pigskin. On his first pass, Winston was late with the out due to poor chemistry and timing. He claims his thumb wasn’t an issue yet his passes lack the velocity and spiral we’re used to seeing. But there were many encouraging things to take away from that game and this season.
Oh That Young Secondary
Yes they are ranked near the bottom of the barrel in passing yards allowed. Yes they struggled early in the season and yes they were picked apart and left for dead. Either they are to dumb or to young to realize they weren’t supposed to turn it around so quickly. After moving pieces back and forth, in and out like a life size game of chess Todd Bowels finally found his combination.
The Chess Master, as I like to refer to the Bucs’ Defensive Coordinator, actually looks likes he has the pieces in place to echo the tenacity of the .feared Tampa 2 defense from the Bucs heyday! Carlton Davis, Jamel Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting have proven their worth and look to be a sound corner stone in the rejuvenation of pewter and red.
Rush Hour Traffic
Like traffic coming across the Howard Franklin Bridge at 5pm, the Buccaneers run defense has left the opposition in total gridlock. Jason Pierre-Paul, Ndamukong Suh, Vita Vea, Beau Allen, Carl Nassib, Shaq Barrett, Devin White and Lavonte David. Need I say more?
The Buccaneers have cemented themselves as one of the best run defenses in the league. The growth and dominance of the “Samoan Sensation” is in large part due to the mentoring from the infamous Ndamukong Suh. Yes Suh is “The Bad Guy” but his tenacity and attitude has set the standard for this stout front seven.
Cloning 54
With the most reliable and consistent linebacker in the NFL the Buccaneers will lean on Lavonte David to develop Devin White into his clone. This linebacker duo rivals any in the league. The future is bright for Tampa Bay at that position. White and David are possibly the fast linebacking tandem in the league which allows Todd Bowels to get creative in blitz and coverage packages. White speed is breath-taking at times. How can a man so big accelerate so well. White is the human version of a 1966 Pontiac GTO!
Back To The Dynamic Duo
The only thing that could slow down Evans and Godwin was injury. Name a better duo of receiver. Go ahead I’ll wait… Mike Evans just does what Mike Evans does. He’s not flashy but he just stockpiles catches and touchdowns. Godwin on the other hand, the man does all the little things well.
Will he block? Yep! Will he go over the middle? Yep! Will he fight for extra yards? Yep! Can he take the top of the defense? Yep! With such versatility Godwin is the ying to Evans yang. If Breshad Perriman is here next season and plays like he did closing out 2019 we may be looking at a record breaking trio!
Excited?
Yes. You could say that I. as well as many other Buc fans, am excited. NFL 2020 you have officially been put on notice!
Photo credit: Tampa Bay Times
