Cover 3 is a weekly feature column written by PewterReport.com’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat writer Trevor Sikkema published every Tuesday. The column, as its name suggests, comes in three phases: a statistical observation, an in-depth film breakdown, and a “this or that” segment where the writer asks the reader to chose between two options.

SIKKEMA’S STAT OF THE WEEK

As promising as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ roster looked on paper, there was uncertainty at a handful of positions during 2016’s training camp. The safety position was one of them.

In that unit there was Chris Conte, a Lovie Smith guy who was coming off his second-most tackles in a season in his first as a Buccaneer. Conte had been re-signed a one-year deal and appeared to be a starter. There was Bradley McDougald, a four-year player and three-year starter for the Buccaneers, who saw increased production in each of his three seasons as a starter. There was Ryan Smith, the young, shiny new toy of an athlete for defensive coordinator Mike Smith to make into either a cornerback or a safety, depending on need. As training camp progressed, Smith played more and more safety, which led for people to believe he’d be the backup free safety.

Then there was Keith Tandy.

Bucs DBs Chris Conte and Ryan Smith – Photo by: Mark Cook/PR

Tandy was a converted cornerback from his West Virginia days. With McDougald solidifying the free safety spot over the past few years, that left Tandy on rotational strong safety duties to get playing time. This four-year player left over from the Schiano era had been fine in a backup role, but was never really given a chance to start due to smaller measurables and a log-jam in the depth chart.

Tampa Bay brought in Conte while Tandy was still on the roster, which meant the team probably didn’t think too highly of him as a starting-caliber safety. During one of the days of training camp, I remember watching a particular play where Smith paired up with Conte at the safety spots – Conte at strong, Smith at free. I remember watching Conte and Smith show great chemistry on a switch in coverage mid-play that resulted in confusion for the quarterback, which Conte turned into an interception. Knowing the Buccaneers also had Major Wright, Javien Elliott, Josh Robinson and Jonthan Banks as potential roster-filling defensive backs, I remember leaning over to the person next to me after that play and saying,

“Is Tandy even going to make this team?”

***

It was week 2 in Glendale, Arizona.

The game was pretty ugly so far for the boys from the Bay. The Buccaneers found themselves down 17-0 as the half was coming to a close. The Cardinals had the ball at their own 49-yard line with one timeout and were looking to add to their lead before halftime. 

The situation was second-and-1; the result was a touchdown.

On a play that was as simple as Cardinals wide receiver Jaron Brown running a 9-route as fast as he could, Tampa’s secondary looked helpless. For a team whose passing defense had been a problem for far too long, the sight looked all too familiar.

Bucs S Chris Conte – Photo by: Getty Images

Paired in man coverage against a fast receiver, Conte was the man at fault on the play. It was his job to just not let anything get behind him. Instead, he was too flat-footed as the speedy Brown just blew by him, a fundamental lapse in judgement as a safety.

As the points went up and the frustration was shown by the defense, I half-heartedly laughed and shook my head, leaned over to my dad, who was watching the game with me and said to him, “This safety group needs a playmaker, but what else is new?”

***

In a stadium that already held some very important Buccaneers memories, in Week 12 at San Diego, Tampa Bay was trying to add some new ones to that mix with a four-game winning streak, ensuring that the team would be playing for the playoffs come season’s end.

With 2:50 left in the fourth quarter and the Bucs up 28-21, the Chargers were driving down the field. Tampa Bay fans could see the writing on the wall with this one. In the past – not that the Bucs led too often – final drives like that one by opposing teams were usually met with soft coverage and prevent defense which had a tendency to back the defense into a goal line stand, which typically failed.

As the Chargers marched all the way down to Tampa 31-yard line, Bucs fans started to feel those feeling again.

But three words change the tone of that game, and perhaps the season.

“Watch this route.”

That’s what rookie cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III said to Tandy before recording his game-sealing interception in the end zone. Tandy was making his first start of the season due to Conte injuring his back and, boy, did he make the most of it.

After that play I looked at my friend, leaned over and said, “What a play, man. What a play. Tampa never gets takeaways like that.”

***

Here we are looking back on the 2016 season, and, honestly, other than linebacker Kwon Alexander having a career year, Keith Tandy was the biggest impact player on that defense. After staying in that rotational role for most of his first four seasons and the first 12 weeks of this past season, Tandy was given his chance to start, but thankfully for him, he wasn’t starting at strong safety, he was the starter at free safety.

When Tandy came to the Buccaneers in 2012, the team ran a lot of dime and nickel packages, but the roles of the defensive backs were different than they are now. The thought process behind making Tandy a strong safety right out of college (where he played corner, too) was that if the coaches could sure-up his tackling, Tandy would be given chances to also line up against slot receivers in those nickel or dime formations. This, in theory, was supposed to get the most out of his skills as a corner and safety. It did to a degree, evidenced by his three picks during the 2013 season subbing for Dashon Goldson, but it never translated into a starting gig.

Bucs DBs Vernon Hargreaves III, Brent Grimes and Keith Tandy – Photo by: Getty Images

Tandy is better suited to play free safety, and when he got the chance to start in Week 12 of this year he showed why. When Tandy was called on to make the start for the injured Conte, the team rotated McDougald (who was the better tackler) from that free safety spot to strong safety instead to make sure the team’s run defense wasn’t left vulnerable, as is often the case when teams run a base formation with just two linebackers – though Tampa’s safety have fluid roles under Mike Smith’s defense.

That left Tandy to play more of a free safety, centerfield role, which involves much more awareness, pre-snap reads and anticipation than playing strong safety does. We now know that being able to process and analyze the whole field of play is where Tandy performs best.

The result was, well, season-saving. In the first game he was given the start versus San Diego, he recorded an interception. In the second game he was given the start versus New Orleans, he recorded an interception. And with the playoffs still on the line, in the final game of the season versus the Carolina Panthers, he recorded two interceptions.

Tandy tied the team-high in interceptions in just five games. He recorded 45 tackles in games that he started and even led the Buccaneers in total tackles, as well as takeaways in that final game of the season.

But what was even more encouraging than his own numbers is how his presence on the back end elevated the rest of the team. Playing safety is often about presence. It’s about doing your job and being in the right spot so the ball never comes your way. It’s about positioning yourself correctly so that a riskier throw has to be made. That’s what we saw out of Tandy down the stretch.

Tandy’s presence gave the rest of the defense confidence in Week 17. It allowed for Brent Grimes to have the interception he did, for Conte to have a pass break up that should have been called an interception, and for McDougald to stop the Panthers’ potential game-winning two-point conversion.

Going into 2017, the Buccaneers will have some decision to make. Both McDougald and Conte are unrestricted free agents, meaning either could walk to any other team they want, if offered a contract. One thing, however, should be a for sure, and that is that Tandy should be the starting free safety come training camp. The offseason, secondary-wise, should be all about who they can pair with him to work best, which could even come through the draft.

Bucs S Keith Tandy – Photo by: Mark Lomoglio/PR

In those five games, Tandy showed a combination of awareness, intelligence and playmaking ability we haven’t seen in Tampa Bay in a long time. Tandy himself credits that to staying on the same team throughout the early part of his career, and constantly building upon what he’s been taught. Starring on special teams helped him become a better open-field tackler. Now, he knows how to take what he see in the film room and recognize it on the field. 

As the ball went up in the air and Cam Newton again tried to challenge Tandy’s side of the field, Tandy made him pay with his second interception of the day. When that happened, I leaned over to my co-worker in the press box and said, “Boy, how far has Tandy come, huh? What a player.”