It’s time for Scott Reynolds’ post-game column, which features to big statements, two probing questions and two bold predictions. The Bucs finished the preseason 0-3 after losing to the Colts in Indianapolis, 27-10. Tom Brady and the starters played part of the first quarter and looked sharp. But many of the Bucs’ backups failed to show up and state their case to make the 53-man roster.

2 BIG STATEMENTS

STATEMENT 1: Bucs Will Need Brady To Be Better Than Ever

As the Bucs kicked off their 2022 training camp I thought this might be the most talented team general manager Jason Licht has ever assembled. The loss of Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen to a knee injury that will keep him out most of 2022 has slightly changed that opinion.

Yes, Jensen is that important to the team.

I know the Bucs have a lot of confidence in second-year center Robert Hainsey, who exited the 27-10 loss at Indianapolis after getting his ankle rolled up on. But as good of a center as Jensen is from an intelligence and physicality standpoint, he’s also been mighty durable. Jensen hasn’t missed a game since signing with the Bucs in 2018.

Bucs C Robert Hainsey – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Hainsey had to leave a joint practice against Miami earlier this summer due to cramps. His twisted ankle gave the Bucs a real scare on Saturday night. After Hainsey, the team would turn to Nick Leverett at center. Leverett did not have a good game against the Colts. After that it would be practice squader John Molchon.

“I know he got nicked up,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said of Hainsey Saturday night. “There’s no other way around playing offensive line. You can play your whole career and not get hit in the back of the leg. Or you can get hit in the back of the leg every week. We’ll see what the X-rays say and go from there.”

Brady will have to hope Hainsey can return – and play the whole game – at Dallas on Sunday Night Football in the 2022 season opener. And Brady and the Bucs will have to hope that there aren’t any more injuries to the offensive line.

“A tough position. That’s a big position for an offense – the center position,” Brady said. “Obviously, we all hated to lose Ryan. The extent of that we are still trying to figure out, but it’s going to be a while you know. Hainsey has stepped in and done a good job – worked really hard to gain the confidence of his teammates last year, trust of the whole organization. He is going to have to do a great job. Hopefully he can get over what happened tonight and be ready to go, but that remains to be seen.

“It’s the amazing thing about football. It’s a big challenge. You think you are really set and then all of a sudden that third guard position isn’t that important until one of the first two get hurt and then there it is. That’s just the way football is. You’ve got to learn to adjust. You’ve got to have a great scheme. It’s a 17-game season now. There are a lot of things over the course of the year that you have to adjust to and we’re adjusting early which is typically the case and probably every team is doing it, but for us on the offensive side of the ball that’s a big position for us to be able to have to figure out.”

Brady’s preseason debut was done after the Bucs’ first series. He completed 6-of-8 passes for 44 yards with one drop and one incompletion.

Brady’s best pass of the night went to Julio Jones. His pass showed tremendous zip on a 20-yard out to Jones. Tampa Bay went up-tempo with short, rhythmic passes to start the game with Brady having four new blockers up front.

Josh Wells filled in for Tristan Wirfs at right tackle with new right guard Shaq Mason next to him. Hainsey started his third preseason game in place of Jensen. Rookie Luke Goedeke made his second preseason start at left guard. Only left tackle Donovan Smith was the mainstay for Brady.

When Brady, Smith and Mason departed, the offense started to move backwards. Rookie running back Rachaad White had minus-5 yards on his first four carries, but that’s because of shoddy play by the interior offensive line.

The Bucs were backed up inside their 10-yard line on consecutive possessions and that led to some conservative, predictable run calls. But the backup offensive line didn’t hold up as Goedeke, Leverett, who replaced Mason at right guard, and Hainsey each gave ground on those plays that led to several negative runs. Leverett also suffered a shoulder injury last night, the severity of which is not exactly known.

Bucs QB Tom Brady and C Ryan Jensen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

A year ago Brady had a pair of Pro Bowlers in Jensen and Ali Marpet blocking in front of him, along with a fourth-year guard in Alex Cappa. Now it’s Goedeke, Hainsey and the undersized Mason, who is a better run blocker than he is a pass protector.

As a result, Brady and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich are going to have to turn to a shorter, more intermediate passing game. The Bucs will also probably have to play more up-tempo, more often.

And Tampa Bay will likely have to run the ball better and more often because the 45-year old QB just isn’t going to be subjected to the quality of pass protection he received last year in helping the Bucs go 13-4, winning the NFC South. Tampa Bay’s passing game might have to take less deep shots down the field than ever if the interior offensive line cannot adequately protect Brady.

Yes, the additions of receivers Julio Jones and Russell Gage help Tampa Bay’s offense. But Brady can’t get them the ball when he’s on his back. Losing a pair of Pro Bowlers in Marpet and Jensen, as well as future Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski, who can block as well as catch, will force Brady to be better than ever this year.

STATEMENT 2: Bucs Starting D Looks Sharp In Preseason Debut

Tampa Bay’s starting defense played two series in Indianapolis and made quick work of a Colts offense that was without Pro Bowl running back Jonathan Taylor. Matt Ryan and the Indy offense played eight plays and picked up one first down and a total of 18 yards before seeing both drives end in punts.

Well, 11 of those yards came on a Ryan scramble up the middle as the Bucs were in man coverage on that play. Take away that scramble and the Colts had seven yards on seven plays – again, not having to face Taylor, though.

The lone splash play of the night for the Bucs defense, which collapsed when the starters left for good in the first quarter, was a 7-yard sack by Lavonte David. He also helped force an incompletion on a Ryan pass to the flat. The 32-year old linebacker has come back from a Lisfranc foot injury with a vengeance.

David has had a great training camp, showing no ill effects from his injured foot that caused him to miss several games at the end of last year and play at less than 100 percent in the playoffs. David has been flying around, and picked off Tom Brady twice in the red zone in practice and an incompletion in coverage.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said that David’s 2022 training camp has been one of his best.

“Yeah, I think it has been,” Bowles said. “I think he’s been healthy. He’s been taking good care of his body this summer. He’s a leader. He’s one of our leaders, him and Devin (White) both. He flies around. He understands the game.”

White has made tremendous strides in camp this summer in pass coverage and is poised to have a rebound year – even though he had his first Pro Bowl season in 2021. As long as they can stay healthy, White and David will form what could be the best inside linebacker duo in the league this year.

2 PROBING QUESTIONS

QUESTION 1: Which Young Bucs Stepped Up In Indy?

Unfortunately, not many. Third-year running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn has really stepped up this summer and capped off a very good preseason with 36 yards and a touchdown on nine carries (4.0 avg.). Vaughn isn’t really a young player, but he deserves to be recognized. He led Tampa Bay in rushing in the preseason with 109 yards on 29 carries (3.8 avg.) and a pair of touchdowns. Ninety of those yards have come in the last two games, and he’s averaged 4.7 yards per carry.

Bucs RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn – Photo by: USA Today

Rookie tight ends Cade Otton, Ko Kieft and J.J. Howland all had good moments in Indy. Otton had an easy drop and a penalty on third down, but also had some great blocks. Additionally, he caught a beautiful, 30-yard pass from Blaine Gabbert, who held on to the backup job by beating out Kyle Trask. Otton finished with two catches for 37 yards.

Howland likely won’t make the 53-man roster, but should be a practice squad addition. The Yale product got open and had a nice, 46-yard catch on a pass from Trask, who showed better escapability from the pocket on Saturday night. Kieft had some quality blocks in the running game.

But Tampa Bay was hoping other young players would step up and make plays. Even backup inside linebacker Olakunle Fatukasi, who led the Bucs in tackles the first two preseason games, missed a few tackles and didn’t look spectacular in Indy. Yet he did tie for the team lead with five stops and also had a pass breakup vs. the Colts.

But the Bucs gave plenty of opportunities to rookie safety Nolan Turner, who started the game, and rookie cornerback Don Gardner, among others, to step up. Both finished with just two tackles on defense and a special teams stop. Tampa Bay’s backups on defense allowed the Colts to generate 27 points in the preseason finale.

“I thought the younger guys in certain situations didn’t play smart football,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said.

Not many young Bucs helped their cause against the Colts as final roster cuts begin.

QUESTION 2: Should Tampa Bay Be Concerned About Special Teams?

Yes. The Bucs have not had much of a return game over the last couple of seasons. And all of a sudden, Tampa Bay’s kick and punt coverage units looked shaky this preseason. After allowing several big returns against Tennessee last week in the second preseason game, that trend continued in Indianapolis.

Keke Coutee averaged 10 yards per punt return, including a 17-yarder, against Tampa Bay. Dallas Flowers also had a 53-yard kickoff return on Saturday night.

Bucs rookie punter Jake Camarda averaged 45.7 yards per punt, including a 63-yarder, but only had a net of 35.7 yards. Once again, Camarda appeared to be outkicking his coverage, but according to head coach Todd Bowles that was by design.

“We wanted him to hit it far because we were looking for gunners. We need gunners that can run down and make those type of plays. We told him to hit it out there. During the season, obviously, we’ll gameplan things, but we wanted to see who can get off a double team and go down there and cover a kick.”

The Bucs have spent all of training camp and the preseason trying to find a pair of ace gunners to make the team and help cover punts and kicks. Did anyone step up and impress Bowles?

“Not consistently,” Bowles said after the game.

Rookie cornerback Zyon McCollum was supposed to be one of the team’s gunners this year. But a hamstring injury he suffered in joint practices at Tennessee have kept him out of the last two preseason games. He’s lost valuable developmental time as a result. But the hope is that he can not only become a good special teams player, but also develop into a starting-caliber cornerback this year. It’s just going to take some more time due to his injury.

2 BOLD PREDICTIONS

PREDICTION 1: Bucs Will Keep 6 Receivers

I know I just came out with my 53-man roster prediction in Friday’s SR’s Fab 5 column and listed seven wide receivers making the team. But after two lackluster preseason games from the undrafted free agent trio of Deven Thompkins, Jerreth Sterns and Kaylon Geiger, it’s hard to make a case for them sticking. Thompkins and Geiger might wind up on the practice squad.

Scotty Miller had a big drop on a perfect pass from Blaine Gabbert and lost a yard on his only reception. Following a dropped pass last week in Tennessee, it’s tough seeing him make the team. After Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Julio Jones and Russell Gage, Tyler Johnson seems to have solidified the No. 5 WR spot. Jaelon Darden has made enough progress in camp to claim the sixth and final receiver role, and returning kicks and punts also helps.

PREDICTION 2: Brady Will Be Ready To Face Dallas In Week 1

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

Bucs QB Tom Brady sheepishly smiled a few times in his post-game press conference when asked about missing a week of camp due to personal reasons. There have been some reports that Brady actually took a pre-planned vacation in the Bahamas while the Bucs were in Tennessee. That trip was booked during the time Brady was retired and he wanted to keep that commitment to his family.

“It’s all personal, everyone’s got different situations they’re dealing with,” Brady said. “We all have really unique challenges through our life. I’m 45 years old man, there’s a lot of shit going on. So, you’ve just got to try to figure out life the best you can. It’s a continuous process.”

When he was asked how the layoff had affected him from a football standpoint, Brady said: “I’ve played a lot of football in my day. A lot of seasons, a lot of games, a lot of practices so I feel pretty good. … I feel good. I feel good. I’ve played football for a long time so I’m pretty good at taking off and remembering how to play it.”

With two more weeks to prepare for Dallas, Brady will be focused and ready to go for Week 1. But expect a defensive slugfest rather than a shootout like Week 1 last year.