Welcome to The Hook, my weekly column that hooks you into a different Tampa Bay Buccaneers topic each Thursday, as well as some of my thoughts on the Bucs and the NFL at the end in a section called Cannon Blast.

I invite you to offer me some feedback on The Hook below in the article comments section.

Can you believe we are already a quarter of the way though the 2020 NFL season? It was just a few weeks ago we were wondering if NFL camps would even open and get through an entire season.

While there have been a few hiccups over the last week with some positive COVID-19 tests elsewhere around the league, so far the NFL and the NFLPA have done a marvelous job of handling the beginning of the season and giving the country a respite from election talk, the economy and COVID-19.

Let’s take a look at Tampa Bay’s units and grade them through four games, while also selecting an MVP from each group.

QUARTERBACKS

After a roller coaster ride the last decade or so, Tampa Bay QB Tom Brady has brought stability – and credibility – to the position for the Buccaneers. It didn’t take me long to see what all the hype was all about when I first got to see Brady in action at the team’s first practice open to the media last July.

QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Having covered this team for 10 seasons full time and having watched every game since the end of the 1977 season, I was used to disappointments and let downs with big-named free agents. From Alvin Harper, to Bert Emmanuel to J.R. Sweezy, the Bucs’ track record on free agents hasn’t been particularly good.

But No. 12 has been as advertised – and then some, completing 65.2 percent of his passes for 1,122 yards with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions.

This offense oozes confidence and commands respect partly because they are a talented group of players, but also because they have a quarterback with a proven résumé that makes the other 52 players on the roster believe they can win. And not just can win, but will win. Brady has been outstanding so far this season and if he stays healthy there is no reason he can’t get even better as this offense becomes more cohesive.
GRADE: A
UNIT MVP: Tom Brady

RUNNING BACKS 

Since the end of the 2019 season, the Bucs coaching staff and front office raved about Ronald Jones II and how much they believed in him and his ability. Then starting with the draft in April, essentially did everything to replace him, first with the drafting of Ke’Shawn Vaughn in the third round out of Vanderbilt, then signing free agents LeSean McCoy and Leonard Fournette.

Bucs RB Ronald Jones II- Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Okay, saying they tried to replace him might be a bit of an exaggeration, but the team still felt they needed more talent in the group and players that could push the third-year former USC standout. But Jones has responded well to both the confidence the team showed him and also the competition that was added, leading the team with 253 rushing yards and a 4.4 per carry average. Jones has added 12 receptions as well, and notched his second career 100-yard game last Sunday against the Chargers.

McCoy has been a disappointment and won’t suit up on Thursday night against the Bears as he nurses a sore ankle. Prior to his injury last Sunday, McCoy was used as a change-of-pace back and a receiver out of the backfield primarily but may see that role reduced once healthy with the emergence of Vaughn. As Fournette gets more comfortable with the offense and recovers from his ankle injury he’ll steal some carries, too.
GRADE: B-
UNIT MVP: Ronald Jones II

WIDE RECEIVERS

Staying healthy has been the biggest issue this season and who will be available to play on any given Sunday has been the biggest question mark. Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Justin Watson and Scotty Miller have all had injury issues through four games and Brady hasn’t really had his full arsenal of talent available at any point this year – at least with those targets at 100 percent.

Bucs WR Scotty Miller – Photo by: Getty Images

With that said, Evans has been a warrior, gutting out last week after suffering an ankle injury in the first half. His two 100-yard games and five touchdowns leads the Bucs, but Scotty Miller leads the team overall with 250 receiving yards and also has a touchdown. Miller has developed considerably over last season and should only get better as the season goes on.

Godwin will miss his second straight game on Thursday against the Bears but hopefully will be back in action next week. The Bucs showed last week they could survive without Godwin, but having him in the lineup just creates another headache for defensive coordinators when trying to figure out how to stop the Bucs offense. Watson has also been dependable for the most part, but like Godwin, won’t play against the Bears as he recovers from a chest injury he suffered last Sunday.
GRADE: B
UNIT MVP: Mike Evans

TIGHT ENDS

On Sunday it finally appeared the coaching staff figured out a way to “turn the Juice loose” with O.J. Howard becoming more involved in the offensive game plan. But a ruptured Achilles has landed Howard on injured reserve and now the Bucs will rely more on free agent signing Rob Gronkowski and veteran Cameron Brate.

Bucs TE Rob Gronkowski – Photo by: Getty Images

Gronkowski hasn’t been necessarily a disappointment but maybe “just average” would be a better description so far in 2020. I think this past spring we all envisioned the Gronkowski of five or six seasons ago, the four-time 1,000-yard tight end making highlight-reel catches over linebackers and safeties on a regular basis. So far that hasn’t been the case. Can it be? Or is it just his role and what he is being asked to do completely different than his role with the Patriots? I suspect we will soon find out the answer with the injury to Howard.

Brate will also be given the opportunity to step up and take on a bigger role in this offense. As will Antony Auclair once he returns from the short term IR list, hopefully next week. Fortunately, the Bucs front office kept Brate around, and while many felt paying a third-string tight end a little north of $4 million was a luxury, it looks like a pretty smart move in hindsight now.
GRADE: C+
UNIT MVP: O.J. Howard

OFFENSIVE LINE

Coming into the season this was the biggest question mark on the team in my opinion. Not that there wasn’t talent, but could these five linemen play well enough together as a unit in protecting Brady, especially with a rookie in right tackle Tristan Wirfs getting the nod in the starting lineup? So far through four games, while not perfect by any means, they’ve held up well enough for Brady to throw for 1,122 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Bucs RT Tristan Wirfs – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Wirfs, the team’s first-round pick, has been unbelievable through the first four games of his rookie season, and left guard Ali Marpet is having his best season of his career so far. Center Ryan Jensen is following up his 2019 rebound season well, and guard Alex Cappa looks like an actual NFL guard as opposed to an inexperienced small school tackle thrown into a lineup. And lastly, left tackle Donovan Smith, while still capable of those inconsistent spurts in a game, is playing better over the last two weeks after a rough start to his sixth NFL season.

The Bucs would love to see more games like last Sunday when Brady wasn’t sacked and rarely hit and a running game that produced over 100 yards on the ground. We have seen instances of that from time to time over the last few years, now it’s time for it for that to become the norm instead of a pleasant, occasional surprise.
GRADE: B
UNIT MVP: Ali Marpet/Tristan Wirfs

DEFENSIVE LINE

Coming into this season, like the defense in general, depth concerns were a question mark for myself and the PewterReport.com staff, particularly across the defensive line. And while losing any of the starters to a significant injury would create some real problems, the line has been as steady of a group as any on that side of the ball.

Bucs DT Ndamukong Suh – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

William Gholston has been very good and the duo of Vita Vea and Ndamukong Suh have been as solid as any in the NFC during the first quarter of the season. Suh looks like he has sipped from the fountain of youth during spurts at times this season and Vea is beginning to become a better pass rusher and not just a solid run stuffer. I still don’t know if Vea knows how good he can be, but it seems like the light bulb is flickering. This trio has combined for four sacks and a forced fumble.

The play of the defensive line, while not producing flashy numbers is without question a big part of why the defense is ranked fourth overall in total yards (312 yards per game) and second against the run (64.2 yards per game).
GRADE: A-
UNIT MVP: Vita Vea

OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS

Despite Tampa Bay’s defense playing well overall, the Bucs’ edge rush hasn’t been as dominant as some would have expected. Shaq Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul are tied with three sacks apiece, but haven’t been as dominant or as consistent as they are capable of becoming.

Bucs OLB Shaquil Barrett – Photo courtesy of Tampa Bay Buccaneers

With that said, the coaching staff likely wants to see Barrett and Pierre-Paul win more of their one-on-one matchups when they get them. This will only take the NFL’s fourth best unit up another notch.
GRADE: C+
UNIT MVP: Shaq Barrett

INSIDE LINEBACKERS

If Suh is sipping from the fountain of youth as I wrote earlier, then Lavonte David is funneling it like a 19-year old college kid at a frat party. Seriously, is the 30-year old David ever going to slow down? David took home the NFC Defensive Player of the Month award for September last week, and all he did was follow it up with his best game of the young season against the Chargers with 11 tackles on Sunday.

Bucs LB Lavonte David, Bucs S Antoine Winfield, Jr. and Chargers RB Austin Ekeler – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Devin White is still a young, and sometimes overly aggressive linebacker, and his youthful inexperience is evident a few times a game. Still, he is as athletic as anyone on the defense and has a high ceiling left to reach. Add in the fact the guy lining up next to him is as good as anyone in the league and White’s future is blindingly bright.
GRADE: A-
UNIT MVP: Lavonte David

SECONDARY

All in all, the Bucs secondary has been good through four games. While the unit is ranked 19th overall is passing yards surrendered, opponents are averaging 34 pass attempts against the secondary. In games like against the Broncos and Panthers game, where Tampa Bay’s offense got out to a sizable lead, teams showed they are going to throw the ball more to try to get back in the game. Add in the fact the Bucs have one of the better run defenses in the NFL and it makes sense the team would see a lot of balls in the air.

Bucs CB Carlton Davis III – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Cornerback Carlton Davis III has been the best player in the secondary this season with only safety Antoine Winfield Jr. close. Sean Murphy-Bunting was really solid through the first three games before a big hiccup against the Chargers on Sunday, getting beat twice for touchdowns. Jamel Dean has been steady so far without any glaring mistakes outside of a blown coverage on one play in Week 1.

At safety Winfield, like Wirfs on offense, has been home run draft pick for the Bucs front office so far. Playing like like a five-year veteran instead of the second-round rookie that he is, Winfield has helped solidify a position that has been a revolving doors for years. Jordan Whitehead has been inconsistent against the pass but a sure and solid tackler who is a threat to get to the quarterback when a blitz is dialed up for him by defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. Winfield and Whitehead have combined for four sacks, a forced fumble and an interception, while Davis’ two INTs lead the team.
GRADE: B
UNIT MVP: Carlton Davis III

Cannon Blast

• Most PewterReport.com readers know I grew up a Florida State fan and was thrilled when Tampa Bay selected quarterback Jameis Winston with the overall No. 1 pick in 2015. But after five seasons it had become exhausting covering the former Heisman Trophy winner. His 88 interceptions with 50 fumbles (19 lost) were just too much for the franchise and their fans could take.

Bucs QB Jameis Winston – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Would the Bucs be 3-1 this year had Winston be re-signed? It’s possible as Tampa Bay has a better performing offensive line and a better defense in 2020 than at any point in Winston’s five years under center in Tampa Bay, but you can’t deny the Tom Brady effect that the former Patriots QB has brought to the Buccaneers.

I still believe Winston has a bright future ahead of him and making the decision to take a year to learn from Drew Brees and Sean Payton was probably the best choice Winston could have made. The talent is there. The desire is there. The will to win is there.

The biggest thing I don’t miss about covering Winston was the constant bias charge I received every week. I think I was as fair covering Winston as I was with any player in my 10 seasons of doing this full times. If I wasn’t sure over the last five years, it became more evident since the end of last year where some in Winston’s camp have stopped any communication with me, and even some within the Bucs organization have taken issue with me giving Brady a hard time because of his two pick-sixes in 2020 and think I wish Winston was still under center.

With both sides critical of me, I think that means I have been and was pretty fair in my coverage.

• News flash – Ronald Jones II doesn’t catch the ball well.

Another news flash – he probably never will.

We all would like to see Jones be a multi-purpose, versatile running back, but the fact is, not every player can be that do-it-all running back. We have to stop getting mad when Jones drops a pass. There was nothing coming out of USC to make us think he would ever be an above-average, pass-catching running back. Certainly nothing from his rookie year made us think that. And while he did make some strides in 2019, it just likely isn’t ever going to be a strength for him.

Saints DE Cameron Jordan and Bucs RB Ronald Jones II – Photo by: Getty Images

As I mentioned on a recent Pewter Nation Podcast, Mike Evans isn’t a pass rusher and Ryan Jensen isn’t a placekicker for a reason. It just not something they are good at. And for whatever reason catching passes likely won’t be something Jones excels at doing.

And that’s okay, Ronald. Just get 100 yards per game and no one will even remember the handful of drops.

Last Laugh

Every Jets fan in the country right now

Jets fans trying to get Adam Gase fired… pic.twitter.com/AK6IGumBUd

— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) October 6, 2020