Bucs Monday Mailbag: LB White's Redemption

Table of Contents

About the Author: Scott Reynolds

Scott Reynolds is in his 30th year of covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the vice president, publisher and senior Bucs beat writer for PewterReport.com. Author of the popular SR's Fab 5 column on Fridays, Reynolds oversees web development and forges marketing partnerships for PewterReport.com in addition to his editorial duties. A graduate of Kansas State University in 1995, Reynolds spent six years giving back to the community as the defensive coordinator/defensive line coach for his sons' Pop Warner team, the South Pasco Predators. Reynolds can be reached at: [email protected]

Latest Bucs Headlines

Managing your family’s wealth means more to Amuni Financial than simply allocating your assets. It means legacy planning, brokerage & advisory services, retirement accounts, college savings accounts and insurance services. With 40 years of experience, let Amuni Financial help you plan ahead and stay ahead.

Call Amuni Financial at (800) 868-6864 or visit Amuni.com.

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport Twitter account each week in the Bucs Monday Mailbag. Submit your question to the Bucs Monday Mailbag each week via Twitter using the hashtag #PRMailbag. Here are the questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: Do you think Devin White redeemed himself? He looked like he was playing hard and fast all game.

Bucs ILB Devin White and Seahawks QB Geno Smith – Photo by: USA Today

ANSWER: Yes, Bucs inside linebacker Devin White bounced back from some criticism he took from Hall of Fame Bucs legend Warren Sapp, Pewter Report and others in last week’s 16-13 win over the Rams. White only made a handful of tackles, but didn’t appear to miss any assignments while playing sound, fundamental football. It was a good showing for White, who showed tremendous discipline in a much-needed win against the Rams.

White went from good to great in Sunday’s 21-16 win over the Seahawks. After not recording a sack or a takeaway since a Week 2 win at New Orleans, White had a tour de force type of game in Germany with a pair of sacks and a key forced fumble. He also led the Bucs with nine tackles.

This is the type of performance that White is capable of having on a weekly basis due to his immense athletic talent and speed. But White was not much of a playmaker from Weeks 3-8, and at times hurt the defense more than helped by being out of his gap and not playing with much discipline. To White’s credit, he took the criticism in stride and really upped his play by being more focused.

White also deserves a ton of credit of playing with a heavy heart in Sunday’s win over Seattle after the passing of his father last Thursday. It was a remarkable performance that wound up being a fitting tribute to his late father. This is the version of White that the Bucs need down the stretch – a consistent playmaker. Not an inconsistent linebacker that goes weeks without the splash plays that the defense needs from him and expects him to deliver.

QUESTION: What in the name of Doug Williams was Byron Leftwich thinking when he turned Tom Brady, who was having his best game of the season, into a receiver? Even if the trick play works, is it worth it to risk Brady being tackled?

ANSWER: That’s a great question. It’s one thing for offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich to show some creativity with a trick play like running Leonard Fournette out of a Wildcat formation taking a direct snap from center. It’s another thing to show that same look literally five plays later on the same drive and have Fournette throw an ill-advised pass to quarterback Tom Brady, who was lined up out wide as a receiver.

It was the wrong call at the wrong time, as the Bucs were near the red zone and could have easily gotten at least three points on the scoreboard during that drive. Instead, Fournette’s pass was picked off by rookie sensation Tariq Woolen, who now has five interceptions on the year. That gave the Seahawks some momentum as they outscored the Bucs, 16-7, in the second half.

The fact that Brady could have gotten hurt either trying to make the catch or getting tackled after hauling in the pass is something I didn’t even think about. At the end of the day, it’s an absolutely unnecessary risk for the 45-year old veteran to have to take. Tampa Bay had a 14-3 lead and was driving for more points. There should not have been a sense of desperation to try a trick play when both the Bucs’ running game and passing game were working at the time.

QUESTION: The play-calling had issues but definitely seemed improved overall with more play-action and stretching the field. Thoughts on what changed?

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

ANSWER: The play-calling was just okay, but what stood out to me in Sunday’s 21-16 Bucs win over the Seahawks was much better effort and execution, especially in the first quarter. The Bucs took the field highly motivated after last week’s 16-13 win over the Rams snapped a three-game losing streak. Tom Brady calling out the team’s “embarrassing” lack of effort on last Monday’s “Let’s Go!” podcast seemed to light a fire.

The players responded and played not only complementary football, but also played with great effort for all four quarters. Brady deserves some credit for showing great leadership and finding a way to get through to his teammates. Left tackle Donovan Smith, whom Pewter Report singled out for waning effort at times this year, really responded on Sunday in Germany, too.

Brady also seemed to be showing more trust in his offensive line when it came to pass protection. He was holding the ball longer than ever this season and waiting for some of the deeper, more vertical routes to develop downfield. Having improved play at left guard with Nick Leverett definitely helps. Brady’s trust in the offensive line was warranted on Sunday as he wasn’t sacked and only hit once by the Seahawks defense.

QUESTION: The Bucs O-line showed up to play and the defense did its thing. But what’s going on with YAC (yards after catch) with our receivers? It feels like every play is a curl in the middle or jailbreak screen. No crossing plays or anything to create distance. Who is to blame? Byron Leftwich or our wide receiver corps?

ANSWER: I have noticed that a good deal of the Bucs’ routes have been curls and comeback routes this year. The Bucs had a few catch-and-run scenarios in Germany, such as Julio Jones’ 31-yard touchdown, which was brilliantly schemed. But most of the routes that the Bucs have been running lately have the receivers catching the ball with their backs to the end zone. That really stymies the potential for getting yards after catch (YAC).

Offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich hasn’t done his receivers many favors with the types of routes that have been called this year. Hooks and curl routes severely limit the big-play potential of the offense. Leftwich has tried to get the ball in the hands of his receivers on perimeter screens, but those have been called too frequently and have thus become predictable and easy to stop.

I will give Leftwich credit for calling for a variant of the receiver screen on Sunday in Germany. The Bucs had bunch formation aligned to the right and Julio Jones turned and faced Tom Brady at the snap and acted like he was going to catch a screen pass. That sucked the defense up and Mike Evans went vertical and caught a pass for a first down as a result. Leftwich needs to come up with more plays like this to increase the YAC potential on offense after the bye week.

QUESTION: Would we even be able to sign OBJ if he wanted to come to Tampa?

Former Rams WR Odell Beckham Jr. – Photo by: USA Today

ANSWER: Yes, the Bucs could sign Odell Beckham Jr. if he wanted to play with Tom Brady and Co. Although the Bucs only have about $3.4 million in cap space right now according to OverTheCap.com, the team could restructure the contract of a veteran player or do an in-season contract extension to create a little bit more cap room if needed. But when Beckham recovers from his torn ACL enough to sign with a team later this month, the Bucs might not make the cut.

The Cowboys, Bills, Chiefs, Giants, Rams and Packers appear to be the front-runners for OBJ’s services right now. The 30-year old receiver wants to go to a Super Bowl contender, and at 5-5, the Bucs may not qualify as one of those teams in Beckham’s mind. Yet Tampa Bay has Brady, has won two games in a row and is entering the bye week with a two-game lead in the NFC South division.

But the fact that Russell Gage is expected back in a few weeks, and Julio Jones and Scotty Miller stepped up and contributed over the past two games, may limit the Bucs’ interest in OBJ. Keep in mind that he’s coming off a torn ACL and won’t be the dynamic playmaker he used to be when he returns to action. It’s taken nearly half a year for Chris Godwin to return from a similar injury, and there is no guarantee that Beckham can be a difference-maker in the months of December and January as he works his way back to full health.

QUESTION: You’re named NFL Commissioner for a day and you get to make three permanent changes to the league. Scheduling, playoffs, bye weeks, game rules – the sky is the limit. What do you do?

ANSWER: Wow, this is a great, fun question. The first rule change I would consider would probably not fly in today’s NFL with the NFL Players Association’s stance on player safety. But I would consider abolishing the defenseless receiver rule and going back to the days where receivers and tight ends weren’t allowed to freely roam across the middle or down the seam.

Safeties like John Lynch, Steve Atwater and Ronnie Lott would struggle to find the same level of success they enjoyed back in the 1980s and 1990s when they were allowed to be enforcers and smash receivers in the middle of the field. Football was more physical and fun back then, and it gave the defense an advantage at times. Now it seems like everything is skewed for offensive success.

That change wouldn’t happen, so I’ll give you three other changes I would make. First, I would move the NFL to an 18-game regular season with just two preseason games. There aren’t any preseason games in college football. They just play their schedule. Few people like preseason NFL games, so trim the exhibition season to just two games and add another regular season game. With that, more NFL records would be shattered, and we might see a 6,000-yard passer and a 2,000-yard receiver in an NFL season.

With 18 games, I would institute two bye weeks for each team. Each team would have an early season bye week and a late season one as well to help with injuries. And I would abolish Thursday Night Football games, as they are a detriment to the players’ health.

The league doesn’t want to interfere with high school football games on Friday nights, but I think that line of reasoning has gone out the window. College football typically has two or three games on Friday nights, and playing an NFL game on a Friday night instead of a Thursday night gives players an extra day of recovery and rest. But if the league is dead set on having another game during the week aside from Monday nights, move the Thursday night games to Friday nights.

Bucs RB White Helps Tampa Bay Dash To 5-5

Bucs Monday Mailbag: LB White’s Redemption