Week 6 Best Buc Fans Could Ask For

by Douglas O'Connor
follow on Twitter @Ren_Daxt

     The Buccaneers are playing couch potato's this Sunday but their time off couldn't of gone better. Atlanta lived on the west for a week to play the Seahawks while the Saints and Panthers faced off to see who could stay out of the cellar in the division.

     Here is what happened in both games and what it means for the Bucs going into week 7.

Atlanta Falcons fell just short of their comeback bid on the west coast. Dropping them to 4-2 but still in control of the division. Atlanta feels like they were robbed of a chance to win the game with a late field goal due to a 4th down pass interference no call. They need to shake off the loss quickly with the San Diego Chargers coming into town. Whom have been one of the best teams in football through 1st   3 1/2 quarters of every game.


New Orleans Saints won with a last second field goal and have climbed out of the cellar. You can sum up the Saints by reading the back of a shampoo bottle. Score a lot of points, give up a lot of points, repeat. Tough road game vs Kansas City will be a great gauge to see if New Orleans can compete against good teams.


Carolina Panthers are looking around in the locker room and wondering what in the hell happened. Gone are the on field team selfies, and the 10 second long handshakes that took all week to learn. Replacing them with a rancid secondary and a leaky offensive line. A 1-5 start and 0-3 in the division has the Panthers season an eyelash from being essentially over. The bye week couldn't come at a better time. The Panthers need to circle the wagons and start over. Unfortunately for them they don't have the players to run the defensive scheme they want to. It's bad, real bad.

     So lets recap. The division leading Atlanta Falcons were robbed out of chance to win a game. The 3 time reigning division champs Carolina Panthers have lost 3 straight division games and appear to have no answers. The Saints won but without a defensive turnaround they aren't a threat to win the division.

      All in all not a bad week.

Buccaneers Right Where Most Fans Thought They Would Be

 
by Douglas O'Connor
follow @Ren_Daxt

  When the Buccaneers NFL season schedule was released to the public some fans initial reactions was one of dread. The divisional rotation had the Bucs playing NFC West this year. No small hill to climb with the Seahawks and Cardinals being recent annual playoff contenders and the newly moved LA Rams owning a 4 year 4 game winning streak against us. Toss in back to back games against the 2 teams that played in the most recent Super Bowl and Buc fans were left scratching their heads wondering where the 9th easiest schedule was.

    When you breakdown an NFL schedule most of us look at in quarters, 4 mini seasons. Since the Bucs bye week is scheduled for week 6 it was natural to include the 5th game when predicting how the home team would come out of the gate. Below is a look at what the majority of  fans thought would happen and what actually did happen.

Atlanta Falcons Neither fan base could feel confident that their team would get a W in this week one match up. The Buccaneers finished last season losing their last 4 games. Totally overhauled their coaching staff and brought in 4 free agents and drafted 3 rookies that were inserted as starters. Atlanta also finished last year in a tailspin, after starting 6-1, the Falcons ended with a 8-8 record, including 2 losses to the Bucs.
Fan Expectations: Fingers crossed
Fans Reaction: We've turned the corner. Playoffs here we come.
Record: 1-0

Arizona Cardinals The Cardinals are a popular pick to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, but had a bad week 1 loss. The Buccaneers are riding high off of their big road win.
Fan Expectations: We'll probably lose but we could sneak out with a victory.
Fans Reaction: That was ugly! No offense! No Defense! Koetter's an Idiot!
Record: 1-1

LA Rams Home opener for the Bucs. Rams haven't scored a touchdown yet but somehow they have a win.
Fan Expectations: This one's in the bag. We need this one with Denver then Carolina on the horizon.
Fans Reaction: Same ole Bucs. Lovie's defense wasn't this bad! Call an ef'en TIMEOUT!!!!
Record: 1-2

Denver Broncos Time to circle the wagons for the Bucs. Leagues best defense coming to town. Denver hasn't missed a beat undefeated and flying high.
Fan Expectations: This could get ugly. We need to run and protect the ball. C'mon D get some pressure.
Fans Reaction: Once again we made a inexperienced QB look like a Hall of Famer. Jameis is regressing! Why don't you go eat some crab legs!
Record: 1-3

Carolina Panthers Head Coach Dirk Koetter tells the media that he is very worried about Jameis turnover problems. Injuries have decimated the Bucs defensive line and running back positions. Carolina is shelled shocked about how the season has went. Just gave up 300 receiving yards to Julio Jones, also league MVP Cam Newton is on the bench in with a concussion.
Fan Expectations: I'd love to beat the Panthers at home on Monday night, but we always let no name quarterbacks beat us. Defense is in shambles. Season my already be over.
Fans Reaction: He made the kick! He made the KICK! He make the FRICKING KICK!
Record: 2-3

     So we swap out the Rams loss with the Panthers win and here the Bucs are at 2-3 just as you thought it would be and that's okay with me.

     The Buccaneers have a very winnable 4 game stretch coming up after this weeks bye. What do you think the Bucs record will be? Biggest surprise in the next 4 weeks? Please feel free to put your thoughts and comments in the space provided below. Also if  you like what you read give the blog a follow, makes it easier to find when we put up new content.

     As always thank you for reading and Go Bucs!



   

Start Fast

The Bucs have been known for getting off to slow starts during games as well as during the season, especially the last few seasons. It's time to change that and get off to a fast start today against the Falcons and kick this season off right with a victory. The Bucs need to come out today aggressive and set the tone right away. Look for the Bucs offense to show some no-huddle to pick up the tempo and play fast as an unit.

The Bucs will try to establish the ground game with Doug Martin and Charles Sims who were the best running back duo in the league last year. If the Bucs can do that, expect to see play action with multiple shots downfield to get big plays. The Bucs have mismatches they can take advantage of against the Falcons defense. Look for them to attack their linebackers and cornerback Robert Alford who will be going against 6'5 receivers as he is only 5'10. Look for the offense to attack these mismatches especially in the redzone.

As for the defense, they just need to do one thing and that is bring the heat on Falcons Qb Matt Ryan. It starts with Gerald McCoy, Robert Ayers, Noah Spence, and Jacquies Smith as they need to put consistent pressure throughout the game. The defense will be more aggressive and that means bringing blitzes which should be often today as they want Ryan to be rushing his throws. Again this team needs to start fast and a good way to do that is play aggressive and stay aggressive.

Bucs Will Use Misdirection And Counters vs Falcons

The Bucs have some weapons on offense starting with Jameis Winston, Doug Martin, and Mike Evans and those three will be key if the Bucs want to win Sunday against the Falcons. I believe your best players have to be your best players on game day especially on the road. The Falcons defense plays an aggressive style and loves to mix up their coverages between man and zone.

The Falcons strength on defense is their secondary which features two good young corners in Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford. Both like to play press man and are very aggressive as they like to jump routes when they get the chance. Their linebackers are very athletic which features Vic Beasley and two rookies in Devondre Campbell and Deion Jones. The front four is led by DT Grady Jarrett who can penetrate and cause havoc in the backfield.

So how should the Bucs attack this defense? It's simple as they should come out in two and three tight end sets and pound the rock with Doug Martin. Look for the Bucs to use misdirection and counters as the Falcons tend to overrun their gaps which leaves the cutback lanes open.

Have to think with D.Martin's cut back ability...#Bucs will take advantage of Atlanta's aggressive nature pic.twitter.com/mVEdA8hm7L

— realbucstalk (@realbucstalk) September 6, 2016

Look how far the Falcons front seven gets sucked up to the right side which opens up the cutback for Arian Foster which leads to the touchdown. I think the Bucs will try to do similar things as they will try to get the Falcons moving one way and then attack the open side.

 This play is a perfect example as the Bucs get the Falcons to over pursue on the right side which opens up Martin to attack the left side for a nice gain. The strength of this offense is running the ball and I expect Martin to have 20 carries in this game. Now the Falcons know the Bucs want to run the ball which should open up the play action pass early which could lead to big plays for Evans and Jackson. So when it comes to passing the ball, look for some PA rollouts for Jameis which should give him time to make some big plays downfield. It's all about creating mismatches so look for the Bucs to attack the Falcons front seven come Sunday afternoon.

Bucs Sign Former Falcon to Future Contract

The Bucs signed wide receiver Bernard Reedy today to a futures contract, per Greg Augman-Tampa Bay Times. Reedy, 24 was with the Falcons for the 2015 offseason before getting cut right before the season opener. Reedy was a standout at Lakeland high school, and was a star player at Toledo. Measuring at 5'9 175lbs, he displays good quickness and shiftiness to create separation, but consistency with his hands and route running is his downfall. Reedy is a capable returner providing position flexibility which is good if he wants to make the 53 man roster.

Ideally, Reedy provides good depth for the off season, and will create competition for the other receivers on the team. The good news is coach Koetter is familar with Reedy since they worked together in Atlanta in 2014, so Koetter knows what Reedy is capable of. It would be nice to finally have a returner that has breakaway speed and is consistant unlike last years returner Bobby Rainey. These type of moves are good for the Bucs because it gives the team an early evaluation to see what they truly have, and if it doesn't work they can just release him.

Rookie Analysis: Kwon Alexander

Tampa's 4th round pick Kwon Alexander may have been the steal of the century! Coming out of LSU he was an athletic freak running a 4.5 forty at 6'1 227. Of course the knock on him was "undersized", sounds like a Buc linebacker to me.

When drafted he was supposed to fight for special teams and be backup to newly signed Bruce Carter. That wasn't in his cards though, Kwon outplayed everyone at his position and was the opening day starter at middle linebacker and never looked back. Every game Kwon kept getting better and better as a rookie should and started to gain respect from opposing offenses as they couldn't attack the middle of the field because of the ground he can cover.

Possibly his best game came against the Atlanta Falcons came no more than 2 days after finding out of the death his younger brother. He ended up with 11 tackles, 1 forced fumble and one pass defensed. He was all over the field and without question willed the bucs defense to a win. He ended his season 4 games early due to a 4 game suspension, which was from a failed drug test for PEDs.... (red bull). Those 4 games the middle of the defense crumbled and the bucs ended up losing all 4 games. No Kwon's absence wasn't the only reason the bucs lost those games but losing such a talent like him didn't help. 

He totaled 93 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions and 9 pass defensed in 12 games. A formidable stat line for an entire season and he missed 4 games. Lets see what he can do with another year under his belt and even more talent around him. Kwon has the makings and the talent to become a staple in the middle of this bucs defense for years to come. He and Pro Bowler (finally) Lavonte David form quite a one-two punch.

Play on the Edge Not Over the Edge

It seemed while watching the Bucs, you were just waiting for a yellow flag to be thrown on every other play. Unfortunately this is what happened as the Bucs were the most penalized team in the NFL this past season.  The Bucs had 143 infractions which is just unacceptable, and it cost the team some more wins this year.

Enter Mike Smith, who when with the Falcons did an outstanding job of limiting penalties and his teams were usually at the top with fewest flags. Smith is all about playing smart but physical at the same time, he does a great job of putting an heavy emphasis on reducing flags because it takes a toll on the team if occurs too many times.

“The defensive pass interferences are probably the toughest ones to deal with, then the egregious late hits and things like that. You want guys to play tough, you want them to play smart, though. We want to be tough, we want to be aggressive, but we’ve got to play smart. We always talked about taking it right up to the edge, but let’s not go over.”

Mike Smith added that its extremely important to play penalty free football, especially on defense.

“One of the things that I think is very important is that you strive to play penalty-free football. On defense you have to play penalty-free football because if you don’t you’re getting a lot of opportunities to have the spot fouls. The things that really hurt you are the defensive pass interferences or the silly, dumb penalties. As a defense we’re going to strive to play on the edge, not over the edge. That’s a fine line and when teams play on the edge they’re ready to play and they’re ready to play the way the game is supposed to be played.”

I completely agree, the Bucs got to stop the flags if it wants to make the playoffs in 2016, with Koetter and Smith here I think there's a great chance of that happening.

Coach Analysis: Who is Dirk Koetter?

Who is your new Tampa Bay Buccaneer head coach. We all know he did an amazing job handling Jameis Winston and put together a top 10 offense, but what is his back ground?

Dirk Koetter is a former quarterback and son of a head coach. He has worked his way up from being offensive coordinators for college teams, to even being a head coach for Boise State and Arizona State. Koetter is known for his vertical passing game which will be on full display this year in Tampa.

The most important thing I believe about Koetter is who is he as a man? One of the best ways to tell what type of person someone is, is by seeing what other people say about them. Mike Smith our new defensive coordinator had a few nice things to say:

Dirk has great people skills and a great leader.

He is organized and is understanding of his players

Great relationships, thats what strengthens an organization, thats what strengthens a team

High praise from a high profile coach. Dirk has succeeded in every destination he has been. He produced top 10 offenses with the Jaguars, Falcons and your Buccaneers with a rookie quarterback. I see the Bucs moving in the right direction with Dirk at the helm. He already has his offense installed from last year and will continue to open it up, given that he has total control of his players. Dirk seems to be well liked among coaches and players alike. Its time the Bucs be pushed in a new direction as Lovie's soft spoken nature wasn't getting the job done.

Win the Locker Room First!

After hiring Dirk Koetter as head coach, the big question is who would be the defensive coordinator, would it be former Falcons head coach Mike Smith, who has coached with Koetter in the past, or would it be someone else. Well the next day we found out from Koetter that it would be Mike Smith, which I feel was the best hire for this team because Smith has a winning mindset and not to mention he is one hell of a defensive coordinator. While Smith was taking the year off in 2015, he wrote a book called "You Win in the Locker Room First", and guess what the first chapter is about?

Its about creating a winning culture, this is why I said the Bucs have already listen to Jameis Winston in that a winning culture needs to be established. Mike Smith is a leader of men and he is going to bring accountability and some nastiness to this defense that it sorely needs. That winning mindset is coming Tampa! Its about time.