Now that we’re officially halfway through the 2019 NFL season, it’s time to reflect on what we’ve seen so far in the first eight games for the Bucs. You’ll notice I’m not going through every player or every position. I’m just going to pick and choose. So here we go:
OFFENSIVE MVP: Mike
Evans. This guy is a stud; there’s no
other way to say it. Remember how he started
off with no touchdowns in the first two games?
Well, now he has seven. His 842
receiving yards are second in the NFL behind only Michael Thomas of the
Saints. Evans and Chris Godwin have
become one of the best receiving tandems in the league.
DEFENSIVE MVP: Shaq Barrett. What a pickup this guy was. He leads the league in sacks with 10.5, eight of which came in the first three games. The drop-off since then is likely attributed to teams paying more attention to him now, but that opens up opportunities for others.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: the
secondary. Even with all those draft
picks spent on this group, they’re still terrible. They’re allowing 31 points a game. They are second-worst in defending the pass
(Oakland sneaked ahead of them!) And
yet, the run defense is best in the league. Knowing that, it’s no secret why teams are just
throwing the ball at will.
BIGGEST QUESTION MARK: Jameis
Winston. Believe me, I read all kinds of
comments from the lovers and haters on a weekly basis. The haters point to all the turnovers and bad
decisions. The lovers will mention the
big passing games he’s had, and how the aforementioned secondary is making him
look back. It will very interesting to
see what the Bucs do with him after this season.
BEST GAME SO FAR: The
Week 4 win over the Rams in L.A. Tampa
Bay pulled a stunner, scoring a season-high 55 points against the defending NFC
champs.
WORST GAME SO FAR: the
game right before that, against the Giants.
The Bucs blew a 28-10 lead, and made rookie QB Daniel Jones look like a
superstar, as they have with so many other rookie and backup quarterbacks. Has anyone seen what Jones has done since
that game?
So, there’s a quick summary. The Bucs finally play a home game this weekend
against the Cardinals. It’s only their
third game at Ray-Jay so far. And in just
over a month, I’ll be heading down to Tampa for the game against the Colts.
Go Bucs!
Photo courtesy: Tampa Bay Buccaneers