Author: briwillwerth

I am a diehard Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan living in New England. See - not everyone around here is a Patriots' fan. Eventually the Bucs will be good again. Eventually.

Suh is the Newest Buccaneer

The Bucs hope they’ve found Gerald McCoy’s replacement.

 

On Thursday, they officially signed Ndamukong Suh. This had been reported by various outlets a couple of days ago, but I like to wait until things like this are confirmed (must be my TV news background.)

 

Suh has been around the league for a while. Last year, he was on a Rams team that went to the Super Bowl. He spent the early part of his career in Detroit.

 

This guy is solid; there’s no doubt about that. But he also comes with baggage – i.e. doing things like stepping on a player during a game. If he can get rid of that stuff, then okay. At the very list, he needs to put numbers similar those put up by McCoy did.

 

Photo courtesy: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

 

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The End of an Era in Tampa Bay

The Gerald McCoy era in Tampa is over.

 

On Monday night, the Buccaneers released Gerald McCoy, the third overall pick in the 2010 draft, a six-time Pro-Bowler, a leader on the defensive line, and a guy who’s done so much for the local community.

 

Why did this happen? The same reason a lot of moves like this happen: money.

 

I love how the team officially tells us fans about the news. They say they have “mutually parted ways” with the player in question. Oh, please. And then there’s Twitter – when McCoy was trending, saying his release was a “surprise.” Clearly, the Twitter universe is not a Bucs fan. We diehards have known for a long time that this move was probably coming.

 

Thanks for the memories, #93.  I’m sure you’ll taste the playoffs with another team, like so many other former Bucs have.

 

Photo courtesy: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bad News About Jason Pierre-Paul

Well, this changed in a hurry.

 

Last week, Bucs defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul was involved in a car accident in Florida, and suffered a neck injury.

 

Now, we get word from BSPN that his injury may be so bad that J.P.P. may miss most, if not all, of the entire 2019 season. NFL Network is reporting that he will get a second opinion on his injury, and there is hope that it may heal on its own.

 

But if the former is indeed true, Tampa Bay would be losing a guy who led the team with 12.5 sacks last year. And then, there’s the drama surrounding the future of Gerald McCoy (which I’ve been following but waiting to write about until we find out the ‘end result’ if you know what I mean.)

 

Bottom line: fixing the Buccaneers’ awful defense could be a lot more challenging than it already is. Stay tuned.

 

Photo courtesy: USA Today

Wrapping Up The Bucs 2019 Draft

There is an obvious theme to the Buccaneers’ 2019 draft class. The Bucs had eight picks this year. They used six of them on defensive players.

 

 

Well, fixing the defense is a good place to start. After all, the defense has been one of the worst in the league in recent years. Two years ago. They were dead last. In 2018, they were sixth-worst in terms of yards per game, and only the Raiders gave up more points.

 

Things will at least look different. Tampa Bay has a new defensive coordinator in Todd Bowles, and it appears the Bucs will play a 3-4 scheme. We’ll see how that plays out.

 

One area that didn’t get addressed, at least in the draft, is the offensive line. The Bucs haven’t had much of a running game lately, and pass protection has been an issue. I hope they can pick up some players via free agency or whatever.

 

Did you notice the Bucs drafted a kicker? OK, so it was in the fifth round instead of the second, but I’m sure a lot of fans are having flashbacks to Roberto Aguayo.

 

If you read some of the message boards, more fans are ready to jump ship because of the concerns mentioned in the previous two paragraphs. I say, relax. We really won’t know for 2-3 years how good the 2019 draft class is.

 

Photo courtesy: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bucs Take LB White in NFL Draft

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The Buccaneers used the No. 5 overall pick in Thursday night’s NFL draft on someone they hope will become the leader of their defense.

 

His name is Devin White. He played linebacker at LSU. He’s fast. And if you believe the so-called know-it-alls, he’s a stud.

 

White and Josh Allen were the two names I kept hearing floating around as Tampa’s most likely picks. I’m happy the Bucs took one of them.

 

White can immediately fill the void left behind when Kwon Alexander went to San Francisco. Defense has been the Bucs’ biggest problem over the past several years, so Lord knows they needed some help. This unit is going to look a lot different next season under new defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. Hopefully the results will be different as well.

 

Photo courtesy: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

 

The 2019 Buccaneers Schedule

The day the NFL schedule comes out is sort of like Christmas in April for us football fans. It’s time to look over the schedule, think which games are winnable/not winnable, only to be proven wrong in five months, etc. And for own-of-town fans like me, it’s time to start thinking about when to take a road trip to Ray-Jay to see the Bucs.

 

Here’s the schedule:

 

Sept. 8 – SAN FRANCISCO

Sept. 12 – at Carolina (Thursday night)

Sept. 22 – NEW YORK GIANTS

Sept. 29 – at L.A. Rams

Oct. 6 – at New Orleans

Oct. 13 – CAROLINA (in London)

—-BYE WEEK—–

Oct. 27 – at Tennessee

Nov. 3 – at Seattle

Nov. 10 – ARIZONA

Nov. 17 – NEW ORLEANS

Nov. 24 – at Atlanta

Dec. 1 – at Jacksonville

Dec. 8 – INDIANAPOLIS

Dec. 15 – at Detroit

Dec. 22 – HOUSTON

Dec. 29 – ATLANTA

 

Tampa Bay has historically gotten rough stretches, and this year is no different. After hosting the Giants in Week 3, the Bucs don’t play another home game until… Week TEN?! The Bucs will be the “home” team for the game in London, but it’s ridiculous that they have to go nearly two months between “real” home games.

Bucs Fans: Stop Panicking (For Now)

Relax, everyone. Just relax.

 

What happened to the Buccaneers on Monday happens to every team in every sport at some point: players jumping ship for more money to play elsewhere.

 

For those who haven’t heard the news, here are the big headlines: Kwon Alexander struck gold in San Francisco. DeSean Jackson is going back to Philadelphia. And Adam Humphries is trading in red and pewter for Titan Blue.

 

Judging by my social media feeds, you’d think the world is about to end. Well, D-Jax turned back into a crybaby when he stopped getting the ball thrown to him. People loved Kwon’s passion but I read today that he missed a lot of tackles – a big problem for this defense over the past couple of years. Humphries is the loss that hurts me the most. Here’s a guy coming off a career year. But hey – money talks, and Tennessee offered more than Tampa. End of story.

 

Everyone is replaceable, ladies and gentlemen. Let’s see who the Bucs get in the draft, and more importantly, what Bruce Arians does with the players they acquire.

 

Photo courtesy: USA Today