Nobody is talking about it, but much like both of our Super Bowl runs, the Bucs were amazingly healthy throughout the season. Yes, guys were banged up, but they suffered no major injury (unless we count Gage).
Was this the main reason why the Bucs enjoyed relative success this season and showed “improvement” with an $80 million dead cap hit?
Well of course being healthy helps, id say it was good leadership from Bowles and the team to stay focused and to win. I think it was really just focus
This team was super thin and could have collapsed with an injury to any starter at multiple positions.
The Bucs were very fortunate. A couple of injuries next year may look like a regression.
This team could have won more games if Dean or Davis were healthy. At this point the Bucs need to make drafting a boundary CB to play opposite McCollum a high priority. It is possible Dean or Davis end up cap casualties.
But yes drafting and developing depth is crucial for the teams long term success.
In addition to a boundary CB the Bucs need a starting safety opposite of Winfield, another ILB to add with Britt and Dennis. For sure need an edge rush starter opposite of Diaby. And adding another DT to rotate on the inside. Merriweather might be the default starting safety heading into the new off season and Delaney should be resigned. But that is still not enough at the safety position. Now if Zyon plays more safety than drafting another boundary CB shoots up the list of needing to be addressed.
On offense:
Need another RB to pair with White. Right now the Bucs have a bunch of stop gaps and niche role players.
Another TE that can block in line and dynamic in the passing game. Otton while was impressive down the stretch still reminds me of Alex Smith which is a solid #2 TE. Durham and Taula have potential but they are third stringers at best right now. Kieft is a niche special teams/situational blocker.
Offensive line depth is not bad if the Bucs bring back Leverett and Skule with Hainsey moving back to a backup role.
At WR Palmer and Jarrett are developing nicely but need another WR in the mix that can bring more size to the table on the boundary. Thompkins was kind of a disappointment as he is strictly special teams/gadget type of player.
While the Bucs found a lot of rookie gems and probably could find more in 2024 the depth needs to take another leap while upgrading some starting spots (eg OC, LG, S, TE).
well yeah, health always helps and i agree we were pretty damn healthy this year and SB year but it's not always the primary factor
in 2020, the key injuries were to OJ Howard and Vita Vea. While OJ Howard is a joke now, he was worth a damn mention back in 2020. Also, Vita Vea came back from NFC Champ game but was out most of the year. Other minor ones include Godwin out 4 games with Dean and David missing their few games per normal. To me, health helped but us clicking and getting hot at the right time was more important. We were sitting at 7-5 and slow to get started even in some wins.
in 2021, the Godwin season ender was a dagger. Gronk missed 5 games, David and Winfield missed a quarter of the season, Dean, David, and Bunting combined for a full season of games missed. JPP missed 5 games, Barrett a few, etc. It was an injury plagued season but we still won 13 regular season games, a franchise best. Wirfs getting banged up not 100%, Godwin injury, and AB head injury were the daggers to our repeat run.
in 2022, we were pretty damn healthy. Evans missed 1 game, Godwin 2, with again Dean, David and Bunting right on schedule missing games. Winfield also missed 4 games. The key injury was Shaq's career ender. did i say career and not season? looks like one in the same. Same goes for Ryan Jensen. I dont think anyone will chalk up the 2022 disappointment to injuries but that Jensen injury in training camp goes right up there with the Gronk, AB, and Marpet depatures playing a key role.
in 2023, remarkably healthy with again Dean and David right on Q missing a combined 9 games, Vita Vea 2, etc. but the only season enders were Gage and again Jensen from the year before. Health helped, but i think again it was more the team clicking at the right team finishing season 6-2.
The lack of injuries was very relevant regarding the OL. Can you imagine what the season would have looked like with just 1 injury on the OL, let alone a couple? In the words of Charlie Brown, "Good grief!"
The lack of injuries was very relevant regarding the OL. Can you imagine what the season would have looked like with just 1 injury on the OL, let alone a couple? In the words of Charlie Brown, "Good grief!"
for sure. i mean considering we have 4 JAGS and 1 future HOF, would not be good lol
You're saying Goedeke is a JAG? You have a tough grading scale.
You're saying Goedeke is a JAG? You have a tough grading scale.
Yeah, Goedeke went from JAG last season to a top 10 RT this season. It's not common to see guys play as badly as he did last year improve to how good he was this year. He was really good, along with Wirfs.
It's certainly fair to say the interior OL were JAGS. It would be nice to see Mauch make the same leap next year that Goedeke this year, but that's rare.
Goedeke isn’t JAG but he’s also not a star. He has to be one of the most penalized Tackles?
like the guy and for sure a big turnaround but he’s probably more middle to upper middle this season, in terms of overall Tackle position? Be fun to see him improve from here though. Especially because he’s an aggressive, set the tone kind of guy.
But yes overall very luck with injuries because we are so thin
