Trask seems to have a good control of the offense and what Coen wants to do. Completing over 60% of your passes and leading a TD drive is what we needed to see from Trask this pre season. I do not think it was a debate to begin with but I think Trask is clearly the #2 QB on this roster. I am really curious to see if Trask will see some playing time with the 1s in the next pre season contest. That would be intriguing to see for sure.
RB room continues to impress with one, two or three cuts and they are heading north. Helps that the offensive scheme is a little creative and the interior OL like Haggard, Barton, and Klein are literally creating alley ways for RBs to run through instead of no day light or tiny creases.
Right now I feel that Irving is clearly #2 RB due to his feel in the passing game along with is running prowess. Tucker I think on the other hand is clearly #3 RB and he is showing why due to his athleticism to cut back to daylight. Jefferson and DJ are the mix but I think that Jefferson might have the edge for now but DJ has a chance to stick due to his size.
Interior OL continues to move people and that is what we want to see in the running game. On the flipside the OTs are kind of shaky but I think that Walton just isn't a natural out there.
Quiet night for the WRs but I saw wrinkles of how this offense can be really creative with them. Cody Thompson flashed but he is still going to have difficulty making the roster. Knue keeps making plays as well but right now Ryan Miller is ahead of both in understanding this offense. And the team is high on Jarrett and Johnson respectively. A deep group with diverse skill sets for Coen's offense.
Culp did have some catches but is goes to show that he is starting to become a valuable asset to the team despite his low draft status. A nice find if he does stick and I think he should stick to the final roster. So much upside and value that Culp brings.
Defensively, we saw Ramirez and Watts terrorize the edges and for that reason alone that was a huge win for the team. Beating up on scrubs is what we expected to see from both of them. And Braswell once again is using his power to move the LoS and also disrupt any running game on the perimeter.
Too much miscommunication on the back end is why the Jaguars were able to convert a lot of third and long situations. Bucs DBs even if they are not starter level have to communicate better. Second and third stringers may not be as athletic as the first stringers but they need to be on point with their assignments to have a shot to make the team or PS.
Overall my thoughts on the offense is that Coen's scheme is going to create opportunities for the play makers to make plays in space. No tight contested catches will be the norm but rather abnormal but we know that Godwin can do that. McMillan is a workhorse and quietly going to be a younger version of Godwin's consistency. If this running game continues to produce this team has a chance to surprise a lot of people. Defending a division title is hard but doing it over and over again is even harder and this team becomes more dangerous with such a running game.
Defensively, I feel that the front seven is going to come together to be a fierce group despite the inexperience. But the depth at DT is more scarier to me than the depth at OLB right now. Assuming Gholston makes the team he can kick inside at NT in an emergency situation. But definitely need more talent to either step up or draft in 2026.
Great post. A few points:
Have you ever noticed that thru the Bowles DC years, we consistently have communication issues in the backend. It doesn’t matter whose in. That worries me about the complexity of the scheme and lack of a base foundation.
i think Trask played better during last years preseason than this years. He threw for 50 yards in the first half last night and that was with a productive running game. He also missed wide open McMillan twice early. Too many three and outs. Not a good showing for him.
Our DT depth issues fall on the Logan Hall pick. Our first pick three years ago just doesn’t look good.
Bucky is IT. He is special.
Ramirez and Watts looked good, which they should against that competition.
Carmarda was bad again.
we consistently have communication issues in the backend. It doesn’t matter whose in. That worries me about the complexity of the scheme and lack of a base foundation.
good point
Isn't this point you're making almost related to your prior point about pressure with 4 and the value of a great DE? I say that because often times the miscommunication shows up when they are using deception to create pressure.
Overall my thoughts on the offense is that Coen's scheme is going to create opportunities for the play makers to make plays in space
Agreed, especially if his scheme and our line and RB talent gets the running game going consistently.
Some of the sacks you could say were coverage sacks so it isn't it like the the entire DB room had a bad night. T. Smith was a bright spot for sure and I think it is not really about complexity of scheme. Smith is going to be a weapon on nickel blitzes and that will catch some offenses off guard when they are looking for Winfield Jr, Izien, or Whitehead on those 9 gap blitzes. More so you need to communicate with other players to be on the same page. It may require a little more intellect to play in the scheme but if you over simplify the scheme then it is pitch and catch for the offense.
Logan Hall did make plays like last week and in this game, but he doesn't impact the game and he doesn't dominate against lesser competition. The fact he is seeing so much playing time indicates to me that there is doubts about him as a starter by the Bucs coaching staff and organization. I am not saying they have given up on him yet but Hall's amount of time to right the ship is dwindling.
JJ Russell once again was productive and I think that DeLoach is going to unseat Dennis. Dennis is just not healthy enough to compete and that is unfortunate because the final pre season game is Dennis' last chance to hold off DeLoach from the roster.
@alldaway - I totally agree on T. Smith and Dennis. Smith is smart, athletic, and physical. He should start over Izien on day one. But we will see if Bowles makes the right call. And Dennis hasn’t done anything since he’s been except for make a few pick-6s during last years OTAs and training camp. He’s gotta get healthy.
When I critique the communication I’m not saying to dumb anything down. Belicheck had about as complicated a defense as you could play, but rarely ever had communication issues. We have it way too often. That’s a coaching issue when it happens year in and year out with numerous different players. I see too many times when two or three defenders are on one receiver while leaving another wide open. We hardly ever get that against the defenses we play against. It’s a problem.
This game didn’t show much, unless what it will look like if we lose QB1 to injury…let’s hope that doesn’t happen.
Barton was good. Not a lot of complexity from the less-skilled 2nd teamer, d-lines yet, but also not playing with Tristan next to him. Klein looking good when I’ve seen him.
Secondary, or more specifically Cornerback, concerns me (still). Also, hoping this hybrid scheme isn’t the finished product we’ll see in the regular season.
Money McGlaughlin had an off night.
Hoping Trask takes the next step, but he was slow, threw late and led WR’s into some big hits…outside of two good drives, I wasn’t impressed. Wolford didn’t get a chance to show much, except maybe his interpretation of a bullseye.
Not sure anything more was learned than we already knew in this game - but I am looking forward to discussion starting this time next week.
SR - "What concerned me about practice was that inside linebacker K.J. Britt looked good against the run, but I’m not sure he’s made the kind of strides in pass coverage that the team needs him to make. And the other inside linebacker, 34-year old Lavonte David, is not the spry, fast coverage linebacker he used to be."
Trask seems to have a good control of the offense and what Coen wants to do. Completing over 60% of your passes and leading a TD drive is what we needed to see from Trask this pre season. I do not think it was a debate to begin with but I think Trask is clearly the #2 QB on this roster. I am really curious to see if Trask will see some playing time with the 1s in the next pre season contest. That would be intriguing to see for sure.
yeah no doubt Trask is the #2. Got to believe he gives us a better chance to win than Wolford.
as for him getting playing time with the #1s, i just cant see it.
i mean, if we do start the #1s, got to think Mayfield gets those reps unless hes hurt and then we take them all out at the same time to not risk injury.
My thoughts are that the 2nd and 3rd string performed well and ok. This weekend will show us how well our 1st string do. We have the tangible assets to build now while putting to rest if some can perform.
