It’s time for PewterReport.com’s 2-Point Conversion post-game column, which features two statements, two questions and two predictions based on the latest Bucs game. Tampa Bay opened the preseason with a hard-fought, come-from-behind, 17-14 win over the Bengals in Cincinnati due to an impressive ground game. The Bucs totaled 390 yards of offense in Liam Coen’s debut as offensive coordinator, including 136 yards and two touchdowns on the ground from Tampa Bay’s running backs.

2 BIG STATEMENTS

STATEMENT 1. Big Night For Bucs’ Backs vs. Bengals

Bucs RB Ramon Jefferson – Photo by: USA Today

If you caught Bucs head coach Todd Bowles smiling a lot on Saturday night in Cincinnati, it was because the potent running game he’s been waiting for over the last two years finally arrived. Yes, it was only one game, and it’s just the preseason. But Tampa Bay’s running game looked legit in the team’s 17-14 win to give the team a 1-0 record to start the exhibition season.

The Bucs ran the ball for 136 yards on 32 carries for a healthy 4.3-yard average. Second-year back Sean Tucker led the way with 68 yards on 10 carries (6.8 avg.), including a game-long 26-yard jaunt. Tucker looked fast, explosive and decisive.

“I think the biggest thing is they’re getting downhill,” Bowles said. “Nobody is dancing back there like they were in the past. They understand where the holes are a little better and they’ve gotten a year to mature – at least Sean does, Bucky [Irving] is a natural runner like that. They’re recognizing the holes and they’re doing a good job in practice of seeing where it has to be and they’re exploding through it.”

But it was a pair of rookie rushers that produced points for Tampa Bay. Bucky Irving, a fourth-round pick who started in place of Rachaad White, scored the team’s first touchdown and ran for 28 yards on six carries (4.7 avg.). Irving, undersized at 5-foot-9, 192 pounds, looked like the slippery, tackle-breaking back he was at Oregon.

Bucs RB Ramon Jefferson – Photo by: USA Today

Undrafted free agent Ramon Jefferson, who played for offensive coordinator Liam Coen last year at Kentucky, scored the game-winning touchdown for Tampa Bay on a 3-yard run in which he kept churning his legs for the score after being stopped at the line of scrimmage initially.

Jefferson also had two receptions for 25 yards, including an 18-yard catch-and-run on Tampa Bay’s final scoring drive. It was nice to see a Buccaneer wearing No. 45 give maximum effort for a change.

We’ll see if the Bucs can sustain their success on the ground as the team heads to Jacksonville next week for a pair of joint practices and a preseason game against the Jaguars.

As the great philosopher Aristotle once said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.”

The Bucs want to make a habit out of rushing for well over 100 yards per game this year, and Saturday night was a great start.

STATEMENT 2. Tampa Bay’s New Coaches Impress In Preseason Opener

Bucs GM Jason Licht, HC Todd Bowles and OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Bucs general manager Jason Licht has been praised – and rightly so – for his big offseason.  Tampa Bay had another very good draft and Licht and assistant G.M. Mike Greenberg re-signed key free agents like quarterback Baker Mayfield, wide receiver Mike Evans, free safety Antoine Winfield Jr., linebacker Lavonte David, kicker Chase McLaughlin and left tackle Tristan Wirfs.

But the Bucs’ biggest offseason moves also include a revamped offensive coaching staff, highlighted by new offensive coordinator Liam Coen.

Tampa Bay’s offense piled up 390 yards in its preseason debut and picked up 22 first downs. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but the unit played hard, and the execution was pretty sharp for the most part. The only starters who played on offense in Cincinnati were guards Ben Bredeson and Cody Mauch as well as centers Robert Hainsey and Graham Barton, who rotated series in the first half.

New offensive line coach Kevin Carberry is one of the more underrated additions. Tampa Bay’s offensive line held up pretty well in pass protection and helped pave the way for 136 yards on the ground for the running backs. New wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon has worked wonders developing the team’s young receivers, who were getting open all night in Cincinnati.

Ryan Miller, who was on the practice squad last year, led the Bucs with three catches for 42 yards, followed by newcomer Cody Thompson’s three catches for 26 yards. Second-year receiver Rakim Jarrett added two receptions for 35 yards, undrafted free agent Tanner Knue hauled in two grabs for 29 yards and Jalen McMillan, the team’s third-round pick, caught both of his targets for 23 yards.

New tight ends coach Justin Peele saw second-year tight end Payne Durham get open and catch two passes for 27 yards, while Ko Kieft converted a key fourth down in the second half with an 8-yard catch.

A coach is only as good as how his players produce. And the Bucs’ offensive line, tight ends and wide receivers – which may be the deepest position on the team – all shined, in addition to the running backs against the Bengals.

2 PROBING QUESTIONS

QUESTION 1: How Did The Bucs Young OLBs Fare vs. The Bengals?

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs didn’t get the pass rush they were hoping for from a trio of young edge rushers in rookie Chris Braswell and a pair of second-year players in Markees Watts and Jose Ramirez. That group did not show up on the stats sheet outside of one quarterback hit in the fourth quarter from Ramirez, who played the best out of the three.

“I saw it from Jose – I think the other guys can get better at it,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said. “I saw some interior pass rush that I liked, but we’ll get better at that from the outside. They were doing some covering, as well, so we’re working on different things with them. There were things they needed to work on.”

The Bucs were pleased with how Braswell and Watts set the edge in the running game, and that was important to see. Braswell was beating up the Bengals tight ends in the first half, and the team needed to see Watts, who is undersized at 6-foot, 250 pounds, be able to set the edge and not just rush the passer. It was the same thing for Ramirez, who also played the run well. So from those coaching points, Braswell, Watts and Ramirez fared okay.

But Bowles wants to see more pressure applied from a four-man rush this year, and the head coach and play-caller didn’t dial up many pressure packages in the preseason opener. Instead, he wanted his edge rushers to show they could win one-on-one against Cincinnati’s backup offensive tackles and that just didn’t happen for many cleans wins often enough.

This was a bit disappointing considering the fact that Braswell, Watts and Ramirez seemed to take advantage of the additional practice reps last week with starters Yaya Diaby and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka out with injuries.

“I thought Braswell did fine, physically,” Bowles said. “He didn’t get a chance to rush the passer much with the fronts we had him in. He dropped once or twice. I thought Jose did a good job because he drew a couple holding penalties. He got off the ball well. Watts, he had a few chances. He got pushed by some, trying to move and trying to get up and under and they kind of pushed him down – but, he did better in the run game. All three of them had their positives and have some things to work on.”

QUESTION 2: How Did Kyle Trask Fare In Cincinnati?

Bucs QB Kyle Trask – Photo by: USA Today

Kyle Trask, the Bucs’ backup quarterback, got the start in place of Baker Mayfield and played well. Trask threw an interception to a well-covered Ryan Miller in the second quarter, and a first quarter pass to a well-covered Devin Culp should have been picked off, too.

But Trask gets credit for really pushing the ball down the field on Saturday. Sometimes in practice, Trask is too conservative, settling for check-downs instead of taking some chances for some bigger plays with some intermediate and deeper throws.

A few of those chances backfired against the Bengals, but Trask did have a nice 24-yard strike to Ryan Miller and his 28-yard toss to Rakim Jarrett was perfectly thrown and was easily Trask’s best pass of the night. And Trask got whacked as he threw the ball as Sean Tucker didn’t hold up well in pass protection on the play.

Overall, Trask shook off an early three-and-out and led the Bucs on a touchdown drive on the team’s next possession, which was important. He looked like he was in command of the offense and appeared comfortable in the pocket. Trask took a sack he probably shouldn’t have, and completed just 12-of-20 passes (60%), but did throw for 144 yards in the first half.

Third-string QB John Wolford completed 12-of-18 passes (66.7%) for 131 yards, but didn’t do enough in the preseason game to really gain ground on Trask for the backup job.

2 BOLD PREDICTIONS

PREDICTION 1: J.J. Russell, Ko Kieft Make The 53-Man Roster

Bucs ILB JJ Russell and Bengals QB Joe Burrow – Photo by: USA Today

In my 53-man roster prediction in Friday’s SR’s Fab 5, I didn’t have inside linebacker J.J. Russell or tight end Ko Kieft making the team. I had the Bucs keeping four inside linebackers with SirVocea Dennis and undrafted free agent Kalen DeLoach making the team behind starters K.J. Britt and Lavonte David.

But Russell showed that he was once again a preseason tackling machine, leading the team with seven tackles. He just finds the ball, gets there quickly, and gets the guy on the ground. Russell, like Ko Kieft, is also a quality special teams player. I think Russell makes the team over DeLoach, or Tampa Bay keeps five inside linebackers.

Kieft had two special teams tackles in Cincinnati, did a solid job blocking, and had a clutch, 8-yard catch to convert a fourth down in the fourth quarter. I said the Bucs will keep seven receivers, which is excessive in hindsight, and just three tight ends. Instead, I think Kieft makes it as TE4 – rookie Devin Culp was awfully impressive in his debut on Saturday – and Tampa Bay keeps six receivers.

PREDICTION 2: Kaevon Merriweather Will See The Field Somehow, Some Way

Bucs S Kaevon Merriweather – Photo by: USA Today

Bucs head coach and defensive mastermind Todd Bowles is known for his creative coverages and pressure packages, as well as deploying certain personnel groupings to maximize his talent on defense. Somehow, some way Bowles will find a way to get second-year safety Kaevon Merriweather on the field this year.

Bowles already has perhaps the best safety tandem in the league in All-Pro Antoine Winfield Jr. and Jordan Whitehead, but Merriweather has had a terrific camp making big hits and breaking up passes. He also has an interception, showing the progress he’s made in passing game.

Merriweather, who started alongside Christian Izien, was a one-man gang on the first drive of the game. He had a daring end zone pass breakup on Tee Higgins to save a touchdown, forced an incompletion with a timely blitz, and made a tackle for loss. Merriweather and linebacker J.J. Russell were the Bucs’ best defenders in Cincinnati.