All Twenty-Tuesday: Best of 2017

I opened the previous statistical section of this Cover 3 by saying that this wasn’t exactly the year the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were hoping for in the end. But, that didn’t mean this season came and went without some impressive and, at times, jaw-dropping plays with athleticism and skill put on display in some of the biggest moments.

Here I’m going to give you my Top 10 plays of the Bucs’ 2017 season. Some of them have more significant importance than maybe the skill that went into them, but I’ll break down each starting from 10 and counting all the way down to my favorite play of the year.

Let’s begin.

No. 10: Jackson On The Run

DeSean Jackson’s first year in Tampa Bay hasn’t been what many thought it would be. He and quarterback Jameis Winston failed to connect on most of the quarterback’s deep passes, and the offense was having trouble keeping him involved as well alongside fellow wide receiver Mike Evans.

I personally think the play designers of this offense were overthinking things when it came to Jackson. I feel like we didn’t see enough of the plays like the one above, or better said, I feel like Jackson wasn’t set up the way he needed to be to allow plays like that to happen more often.

That 41-yard reception showed Jackson still has the speed to be a big-play guy. But big plays don’t have to mean big throws in the air. Just get him the ball. Anytime Jackson is matched with off coverage, this and other quick, short momentum routes should be an option. More drag routes, slant passes and mesh concepts in 2018 – and for the love of God – let Evans and Godwin play outside with Jackson in the slot.

No. 9: Spence’s Speed

The Buccaneers defense had plenty of shortcoming this year giving up yards in big amounts through the air, but a big reason for that wasn’t just the play of their secondary members but also from the lack of pass rush – Tampa Bay was dead last in the league in sacks with 22.

Edge rusher Noah Spence didn’t get to play much this season because he had to have shoulder surgery for the second time in one calendar year. That was a downer, especially when you see plays like the sack-fumble above from the team’s first game of the year.

Without Spence this team just had no speed rush. In fact, the reason why I chose this play as one of my favorites is because it was the best speed rush of the season from any player. The other one that comes to mind is linebacker Adarius Glanton’s sack fumble on his blitz of Tom Brady in the Patriots game. The Bucs need to not only hope Spence can stay fully healthy next year, but also must pair him with another speed rusher opposite him. If they do that, they could see more plays like the one above.

No. 8: Jackson Takes Flight

Did I love the play calling on the play above? Absolutely not. It was off coverage and all Jackson did was run a go route to the end zone; no change of direction, not added movement to benefit Jackson; nope. With not a lot of space to work with close to the end zone, the back of the end zone acted as an extra defender for the defensive back. But, what overcame a less-than-ideal route set up was a perfectly timed throw by Winston and a well-timed jump from Jackson.

Jackson isn’t just a straight-line burner. He’s a savvy wide receiver who can win in a variety of different ways. In the play above, we saw him get up like a red zone threat and come down with a touchdown. He’s a player that can do it all. In 2018, this team needs to run their passing offense through Mike Evans, establish some play-action, and let Jackson be the beneficiary on less targets but more yards with more efficiency.

Plays like the 25-yard touchdown above show Jackson can do it all anywhere on the field.

No. 7: Howard Roams Free vs. Buffalo

It’s just so beautiful; the design, the play-action sell, the complimentary routes, the throw, the 33-yard touchdown.

The wasn’t the first time this season that Howard found himself in blown coverage. In fact, it wasn’t even the first time that game that he benefitted from a design like that. If the Bucs were more balanced in the formations they ran and passed the ball out of, plays like that one could happen more than they already did. And even if that throw would have been covered, someone else would be open as a result. That’s how good that kind of design is when you have players like Brate and Howard on the field and on the line of scrimmage at the same time in a play-action formation.

That leads us to my sixth favorite play of the year.

No. 6: Hello World, I’m O.J. Howard

Did the Giants not watch the National Championship game between Clemson and Howard’s Alabama team?

@Giants, did y’all not watch the National Championship game?

As if there could have been a more perfect play for Howard to have his coming out party and score the first touchdown of career on, the 58-yard reception was in the exact way that scouts and general manager Jason Licht saw Howard be used as an athletic freak of a decoy and playmaker for Alabama’s title game two years ago.

This one was a favorite of mine, not just because I called it hours before the game, but because, like the Buffalo touchdown that would come weeks later, it showed the potential of a two tight end offense and how dangerous it can be as a mismatch formation. Howard finished his rookie season tied for the team lead with six touchdowns.

The 2018 season the year for the Bucs to fine tune it.

No. 5: One-Hand Cam

Coming off a season where he was tied for the NFL lead for touchdowns by a tight end, sharing some of the positional impact with Howard must have made for a somewhat new mindset for Cameron Brate. There was a point this season where Howard had just as many touchdowns as Brate, but as the year went on and Winston’s health improved, his connection with Brate began to click on an elite level again.

The official seal of that upward trend came in that Packers game up in Green Bay, and that one-handed, 28-yard touchdown grab you see above on the first drive is what sparked a great day for the savvy Brate, who had two touchdowns in the game.

It may not have been as acrobatic as Evans’ one-handed grab last season against Atlanta, but Brate’s was one of the better offensive highlights of the year regardless.

No. 4: The Flying Grimes

It was an up-and-down year for 34-year-old cornerback Brent Grimes.

After likely thinking that he and the young cornerback Vernon Hargreaves could build off a good Week 17 in 2016, as a whole, the secondary regressed, and both of them as starters had some of the blame.

Grimes was hurt for portions of the season, and though he lost some battles here and there, one thing he proved that he didn’t lose was his alien-like athleticism.

Grimes’ athletic ability was on full display during the Jets game as he was guarding the speedy Robby Anderson. The Jets tried to use Anderson deep down the field one too many times, as shown above, and Grimes was all over it.

Who said cornerback’s can’t catch? That over the shoulder grab was as textbook as they come for a wide receiver, let alone a defensive back. Grimes showed there that he continues to be one of the best cornerbacks in the league when it comes to ball skills.

No. 3: The Acrobatic Justin Evans

This year’s Buccaneers rookie class was a treat to watch and safety Justin Evans was a big reason for that.

The play above wasn’t Evans’ first career interception, but it was his most confident one. Evans made a spectacular play on the ball at a crucial point on the field to stop the Dolphins’ first drive of the game from generating points. If you’ll remember, that game ended 30-20, but in reality it should have ended 23-20 due to a botched lateral that went for a Bucs touchdown as time expired and they were already winning. That meant Evans’ INT above was a huge difference-maker.

Evans showed all of his athleticism on that play, and that’s a key reason why this team believe he can be a starting player on their back end for years to come.

No. 2: David Does It Again

Year-in and year-out linebacker Lavonte David just gets it done.

David finished the regular season tied for second in the NFL in forced fumbles (five) and was first in NFL in fumble recoveries (five). In the play above at Arizona, David added to both of those stats and even took it back for a touchdown.

Two of David’s performances that I remember the most from this season were the one above against Arizona and the one in Minnesota. Both came from losing efforts, both came from what were, for the most part, blowout losses, and yet David played like a madman and a leader the entire time he was on the field.

This is my second favorite play of the year because it helps encapsulate how incredible David played this season.

No. 1: Winning With Winston

Time winding down. The clock running. Down one point. No timeouts. Ball just outside of field goal range. The ball was hiked. He looked right. He saw the spot. He let it go.

Touchdown.

I said this right when it happened, but that was Winston’s best throw of the season, all things considered. That moment was so big and carried so much weight. With everything that had happened this season that could have been in the back of his mind, with the losing streak ringing in his ear, with the rumors of his head coach and his players all on his shoulders, Winston delivered that pass.

Rookie wide receiver Godwin wasn’t even open when Winston let that ball go. He put it right where it needed to be to hit Godwin in stride for a game-winning 39-yard touchdown strike. Not only was the connection great in and of itself, if that ball would have slowed down Godwin at all and he would have been tackled the game would have been over, as they would not have been able to stop the clock.

It was perfect, and it was needed to end the year on the right note.