Good Test For the Defense This Week

The Bucs defense has been solid so far in their two preseason games but not perfect as their redzone D needs some work as they have allowed 3 Tds in 3 attempts. This week they go against a good test in the Cleveland Browns who have athleticism across the board at their skilled positions. Starting with the Qb in Robert Griffin who has a big arm and is dangerous on the run, so it will be interesting to see if the Bucs front four can harass him and make him make mistakes. The Browns have plenty of speed with Corey Coleman, Josh Gordon, and Andrew Hawkins. Then they have versatile guys in running backs Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson along with a reliable tight end in Gary Barnidge.

With the defense playing at least the first half we should see a good preview of what this defense is going to bring this season. The Bucs are very athletic on defense and should match up well with the Browns athleticism on offense. Hopefully we can see the pass rush return and play like it did against the Eagles. The secondary was pretty good last week so hopefully they can put a complete game together in which the rush and coverage play well. The Browns will run some spread option along with some zone read with RG3 which will be good for the defense to see as the Panthers do similar things in their offense.

The key matchup I will be watching is Noah Spence against pro bowl left tackle Joe Thomas which will be good work for the rookie. Another matchup will be Hargreaves vs Corey Coleman which will be a great battle of two superior athletes. The main things to watch though is can the defense get off the field on third down and make some stops in the redzone because that will be key in the regular season. Tomorrow will provide some answers but most of all it will be a good matchup and test against the Browns.