The Buccaneers have been in Nashville all week with joint practices with the Tennessee Titans and wrapped up the week with a pre-season game against the Titans.
The Bucs game away with a 30-14 win, but after further review there is a lot to correct and improve upon in the win.
Let’s start with the defense. The DL line did a decent job applying pressure to Marriota and causing the pocket to move, but with Hargreaves and Davis not dressed for the game last night there was a lot of dink and dump completions.
One of those in the first quarter turned into a 47 yard TD pass to Taylor Lewan primarily because of poor tackling. The lack of tackling through the game was an issue with the defense and is something that will need corrected immediately.
At times it seemed like I was having a flashback from a watching a game last year when the tackling issues were a problem in the majority of the games.
Although the DL did apply some pressure to Mariota causing him to move around, the DL was re-vamped in part to get sacks. if the DL can’t get any more sacks than last years 22, this DL re-tooling will be considered a failure.
There were 10 penalties for 100 yard. Most penalties is a result of a lack of concentration and attention to detail. This is something that the Bucs will want to work on this week.
Ronald Jones the highly touted pick out of USC continues to be a non-factor in the running game with 4 carries for 2 yards. Peyton Barber has run well in his opportunities so you can’t blame it on the OL. At some point the Bucs have to figure out how to get Jones going.
Ryan Fitzpatrick was not real sharp as he was just 5/13 for 47 yards. Fitzpatrick did manage to get the Bucs in FG range, but he seemed to lack chemistry with the starters which is something that will need improvement before week 1.
On the bright side, Chandler Catanzaro was 3/3 in FG’s and 3/3 in EXP in his opportunities.
Jameis Winston was outstanding in one quarter of work completing 13/18 passes for 226 yards and 2 TD’s. Winston seemed to have good chemistry with MIke Evans and DeSean Jackson on the down field throws which was a problem last year.
To put it in perspective the Bucs are 2-0 and we have seen lots of improvement in the offense these first two pre-season games.
The defense wit’s the break but don’t bend philosophy has worked so far The DL and the DB’s will need to improve their game before the opener in New Orleans.
The Bucs will have another dress rehearsal for the regular season against the Detroit Lions this Friday night. This will be the final pre-season game for the starters to get game action before the season opener in New Orleans.
Most of the starters should play into the third quarter before giving way to the second team.
This offense has a chance to be one of the best offenses in Bucs history. The defense has the makings to be something special. Let’s see how it plays out. Hopefully the Bucs can be that special team we all thought they would be
