Two weeks in a row of short Most Disappointing lists means two weeks in a row of happy Buccaneers fans.
A 14-5 win over a team like the Seattle Seahawks that featured six sacks against an All-Pro quarterback, a wide receiver dominating an All-Pro cornerback, and a feel-good performance from an All-Pro human being will leave anyone in pewter and red feeling inspired and optimistic.
Even though the final score doesn’t paint a picture of domination, Tampa Bay did just that in nearly phase of the game. That makes it a little difficult to call players or situations out, but here are a few things PewterReport.com thinks could have been tightened up or eliminated.
TE LUKE STOCKER
Conventional stats don’t show it, but Stocker plays a lot of football in Tampa Bay Bucs offense. He’s typically in for about 30 snaps a game and played 38 on Sunday against Seattle.
The primary role Stocker plays is to be the best run blocker and pass protector he can, and he usually does a stand-up job.
One bad moment marred the sixth-year pro’s day against Seattle, though.
With Tampa Bay leading 14-0 early in the second quarter and stuck inside its own 5-yard line, Stocker inadvertently provided Seattle with its first points of the day. The strong edge rush of Frank Clark knocked Stocker back and the tight end grabbed onto the defensive end’s jersey, pulling him to the ground. The penalty not only wiped out Jameis Winston’s first-down completion to Mike Evans, it occurred just inside the goal line and resulted in a safety after review.
That play cut the score to 14-2, returned possession over to Seattle, and led to the Seahawks’ lone scoring drive of the game, capped by Steven Hauschka’s 43-yard field goal.
The penalty was only Stocker’s second of the year. The other was a hold against Chicago a couple weeks ago.
RT DEMAR DOTSON
Speaking of penalties, Dotson put himself back on top as the team’s leader in that category. Similar to Stocker, he did it with a forehead-slapping splash Sunday.
Neither team could affect the scoreboard in the second half, but the Bucs appeared to seal Seattle’s fate midway through the fourth quarter. Until they didn’t.
Winston’s 10-yard touchdown strike to Cameron Brate on third down set of an eruption of cheers inside Raymond James Stadium that quickly morphed into groans and probably a solid amount of expletives. A yellow flag hit the turf and Dotson was the culprit. The big right tackle’s illegal use of hands penalty negated the touchdown and set Tampa Bay back 10 yards. One play later, Winston was lofting an ill-advised pass into triple coverage in the end zone and getting picked off by safety Kam Chancellor.
What made the penalty worse was seeing how far behind the pocket Dotson was while he committed the infraction. The Bucs’ longest-tenured player had control of his man but not of his hand, and it proved costly.
Unlike Stocker, Dotson being penalized isn’t a rarity. He entered the game tied at nine with left tackle Donovan Smith for the team-high in penalties. Dotson’s now up to 10, which ranks him fourth in the NFL.
K ROBERTO AGUAYO
It was a good run, but it was hard not to see this one coming again.
Aguayo bounced back in recent weeks from a miserable start to his NFL career. He came into Sunday’s Seattle game having converted seven field goals in a row and was last week’s NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
The rookie’s day started fine enough, burying his two 33-yard extra point attempts in the first quarter. The next time Aguayo stepped foot inside the lines didn’t go well, however. Tampa Bay got inside the Seahawks 30 late in the second quarter and set up a 48-yard field goal attempt. Aguayo’s season-long make as a pro came when he hit from 43 yards out Week 1 in Atlanta.
Monday morning, Aguayo’s season-long make as a pro remains 43 yards.
The Bucs’ second-round trade-up is now 13 of 19 on field goal attempts and that 68.4 percent success rate is the worst in the NFL among qualified kickers. From 40 yards out or more, Aguayo is just 3 of 8 (37.5 percent). One of those misses was from 50-plus yards and the rest of the attempts were from 40-49 yards.