We are now halfway through the preseason, and training camp is officially over. The Bucs are 1-1 in the preseason, having beaten the Dolphins, 16-14, on Friday night at Ray-Jay. Here are some takeaways from that game:
The headline may be what happened at the very end of the game, when rookie kicker Matt Gay nailed a 48-yarder to win it. It’s looking more and more like Gay is going to be Tampa Bay’s kicker, even though Cairo Santos hasn’t done anything bad to justify losing his job. The rookie has opened eyes with his performance.
It was also a solid performance by Ryan Griffin, who saw the most action of any of the Bucs’ quarterbacks. Granted, he was playing against Miami’s backups, but the backup QB job is up for grabs, despite Blaine Gabbert’s familiarity with Bruce Arians’ system.
Jameis Winston only played one series for the second straight game. Let’s just skip over him for now.
My biggest concern may not be the defense, but the offensive line. Penalties are also a big problem right now. Arians needs to get this fixed.
The next game is Friday night against Cleveland. This is the so-called “dress rehearsal,” when the starters tend to play the longest. The third preseason game is always the one to watch.
Photo courtesy: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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