The first team offense and defense look like they are better than they left off from last year. Very encouraging sign and I feel that the offense just being at least NFL average elevates this team's chance of repeating as division champs by a large margin. Tucker and Irving like White are weapons in the passing game and they can also run between tackles . I saw several times Irving put his head down in pass pro from a shotgun formation and that is what I wanted to see him do in live action .
McMillan is everything advertised and plus some. But I think people are sleeping on McMillan's ability to attack downfield because he is being labeled as a possession slot WR from outside media.
Barton as center really transforms the offense just like Vea at NT. So this is what we needed to see where the team controls both lines of scrimmage.
Cody Thompson and K. Johnson put on a clinic yesterday with the versatility they showed as pass catchers, runners and blockers. I am pretty confident to say the Bucs will keep 6 WRs on the main roster. Ryan Miller deserves a mention as well.
Trask has progressed the most this pre season as he is actually out of his shell and making plays he is capable. Trask is leading TD drives and playing a lot more loose and the play calling helps to accentuate some of his ability to move the pocket with bootlegs and play action.
The improved blocking up front combined with some creative play calling ensures the Bucs will have a running game this year which is sorely needed.
I think it is safe to say that Hainsey, Delgado and Klein are the three main interior backups. Walton and Skule are the swing tackles but Walton really is one of the better interior backups.
The thinking from PR is that the team stuffs Williams and Jefferson to the PS and I am inclined to agree. As for Edmonds I am not sure how the team feels about him but Tucker and Irving have progressed enough to the point that Edmonds is not a lock anymore.
On defense we had some question marks as to which backup DL would step up and we have some clarity. Brown and Brewer were really impressing me not only knifing through the LOS but also making tackles downfield with hustle. Just because you are a backup doesn't mean you should be invisible and I feel strongly the Bucs need to find a way to keep both of them for rotation purposes.
Gaines/Gholston/Hall are a too similar in skill set, but the Bucs need a backup that can really shine behind Kancey or rotate with him. Greene is a player the team is high on, but I think Brown and Brewer may have or will soon eclipse Greene's potential.
At LB Greer showed up flying around and I feel that Greer or DeLoach should make the roster over Dennis. Dennis has had too much time at this point and he isn't really that integral to the scheme. Combined with JJ Russell picking up where he was from last season to now and the depth at ILB is a lot better where keeping Dennis is a luxury the Bucs I do not think can afford.
At CB Isaac is so smooth in coverage and he made an important tackle at the sideline to derail a play going the distance. The team may be high on Funderburk but I think Isaac is too good to pass up as boundary CB.
T. Thomas was actually flying around making play against lesser competition which was encouraging to see but the depth and competition in the secondary is a lot more tighter this year than last year. Bucs are going to be cutting some gamers in the secondary.
Safties Widsom and Banks were playing with their hair on fire and that is very nice to see because I would love to see both of them on the PS or even one of them make the final roster.
Good to see the White runs and screens
On at least two plays I can recall, Vita Vea blew his lineman back to Lutz
Other mentions from what I saw:
Durham looking like a solid two way TE blocking and catching passes in the flat. Culp is a special teams demon and should stick along with his potential due to his speed. Braswell really was having his way controlling the LoS in this game and made his presence felt. Knue keeps making plays and may stick to the PS.
Tucker and Irving like White are weapons in the passing game and they can also run between tackles .
If we run like that last year, Evans has 22 TDs lol
Nice breakdown ADW. That touch pass by Baker & spectacular catch by McMillan really got my blood up!The first team offense and defense look like they are better than they left off from last year. Very encouraging sign and I feel that the offense just being at least NFL average elevates this team's chance of repeating as division champs by a large margin. Tucker and Irving like White are weapons in the passing game and they can also run between tackles . I saw several times Irving put his head down in pass pro from a shotgun formation and that is what I wanted to see him do in live action .
McMillan is everything advertised and plus some. But I think people are sleeping on McMillan's ability to attack downfield because he is being labeled as a possession slot WR from outside media.
Barton as center really transforms the offense just like Vea at NT. So this is what we needed to see where the team controls both lines of scrimmage.
Cody Thompson and K. Johnson put on a clinic yesterday with the versatility they showed as pass catchers, runners and blockers. I am pretty confident to say the Bucs will keep 6 WRs on the main roster. Ryan Miller deserves a mention as well.
Trask has progressed the most this pre season as he is actually out of his shell and making plays he is capable. Trask is leading TD drives and playing a lot more loose and the play calling helps to accentuate some of his ability to move the pocket with bootlegs and play action.
The improved blocking up front combined with some creative play calling ensures the Bucs will have a running game this year which is sorely needed.
I think it is safe to say that Hainsey, Delgado and Klein are the three main interior backups. Walton and Skule are the swing tackles but Walton really is one of the better interior backups.
The thinking from PR is that the team stuffs Williams and Jefferson to the PS and I am inclined to agree. As for Edmonds I am not sure how the team feels about him but Tucker and Irving have progressed enough to the point that Edmonds is not a lock anymore.
On defense we had some question marks as to which backup DL would step up and we have some clarity. Brown and Brewer were really impressing me not only knifing through the LOS but also making tackles downfield with hustle. Just because you are a backup doesn't mean you should be invisible and I feel strongly the Bucs need to find a way to keep both of them for rotation purposes.
Gaines/Gholston/Hall are a too similar in skill set, but the Bucs need a backup that can really shine behind Kancey or rotate with him. Greene is a player the team is high on, but I think Brown and Brewer may have or will soon eclipse Greene's potential.
At LB Greer showed up flying around and I feel that Greer or DeLoach should make the roster over Dennis. Dennis has had too much time at this point and he isn't really that integral to the scheme. Combined with JJ Russell picking up where he was from last season to now and the depth at ILB is a lot better where keeping Dennis is a luxury the Bucs I do not think can afford.
At CB Isaac is so smooth in coverage and he made an important tackle at the sideline to derail a play going the distance. The team may be high on Funderburk but I think Isaac is too good to pass up as boundary CB.
T. Thomas was actually flying around making play against lesser competition which was encouraging to see but the depth and competition in the secondary is a lot more tighter this year than last year. Bucs are going to be cutting some gamers in the secondary.
Safties Widsom and Banks were playing with their hair on fire and that is very nice to see because I would love to see both of them on the PS or even one of them make the final roster.
Interesting take on SirVocea Dennis, was hoping we’d see more from him, but you can only be a sleeper for so long. Bowles seemed high on him early, it really could just come down to a numbers game, there’s so much competition, with only 53 spots, and we’re going to need more depth at some critical positions.
Similar situation for Edmonds, would like to keep them all, but White, Irving, and Tucker have all been a notch above, and reliable when given their opportunities. Tough.
Brown really looked good, Brewer too. Also liked Braswell stepping in (even if it wasn’t against starters). Meanwhile, the Chop Robinson option many Buc fans would have preferred didn’t really show up - it’s only pre-season - but at this point I think it’s true that Braswell is a better fit for what Bowles wants at edge.
Until I re-watched the game, I wasn’t as high on Trask’s development. Just finished watching the game again, and isolated on the plays he made, in the context of the fact that he was not working with starters, he was more on point, fewer late reactions…that pass to Thompson in the 2nd quarter, layered over the linebackers, great timing and on time, as well as the TD’s. He’s definitely improving. Looked like there were still some ME’s, but after re-watching, not sure that some of them weren’t on the receivers?
As much as we can tell from our first series, and against non-starters, it looked pretty tight.
Interior of the o-line looks light years better than last season, run game should be better. Likewise, interior of the d-line looks better… still think we may have trouble at one edge, which will cause trouble for Yaya on the other side.
All-in-all, the team looks more efficient, and has me wanting the season to get underway!
Yeah the question marks before the pre season started were answered for the most part. Interior OL is beefier and with a better scheme/play calling there are obvious running lanes. Even with the obvious running lanes the RBs are instructed to make one cut and go upfield due to Coen's influence as noted in last night's broad coast. Irving looks competent in pass pro and Tucker looks more confident running the ball. And then the improved emphasis of blocking is showing up with Durham showing the biggest growth in that area.
Secondary looks a lot more coordinated with the 1s out there. And from a pure athletic stand point McCollum is faster than Davis that he is replacing, Smith is faster than Izien at nickel and Whitehead in on par with Neal athletically but a more cerebral player back there. Basically three new starters on the backend. Then you have Hall and Thomas as reserves. We will see if these vets stick but I think they are part of the defensive backfield plan upgrade.
Depth at ILB is a lot better than we anticipated. JJ Russell keeps impressing and DeLoach/Grier are gamers and tough inside LBs. If LVD retires next off season the Bucs have some in house candidates.
The only big question mark is who will be the starter opposite of Diaby by mid season? All the other starting roster spots are settled as McMillan is the #3 WR, Barton is the starting center, Bredeson is the starting LG, and Smith is the starting nickel.
McMillan is everything advertised and plus some. But I think people are sleeping on McMillan's ability to attack downfield because he is being labeled as a possession slot WR from outside media
Agreed on the lazy take by the media.
McMillan will play outside on the majority of his snaps.
Glad they came through relatively healthy. It sucked to see the Dolphins lose guys even though they were the opponent. I don't like to see guys' careers in jeopardy because of a preseason game like Schwartz.
