A new Pewter Report Roundtable debuts every Tuesday on PewterReport.com. Each week, the Pewter Reporters tackle another tough question. This week’s prompt: What was your biggest takeaway from the Bucs’ 37-20 win over the Washington Commanders in Week 1?

Scott Reynolds: SirVocea Dennis Will Be A Factor For Bucs Defense

Bucs ILB SirVocea Dennis – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

There’s a reason why K.J. Britt wasn’t named a team captain this year as he replaced a former team captain, Devin White, in the lineup as a starting inside linebacker next to Lavonte David. Britt won’t be an every down ‘backer like White was for much of his five years in Tampa Bay. Even last year when Britt supplanted White as the starter, head coach Todd Bowles often platooned Britt and White down the stretch of the 2023 season.

Britt is a solid run stuffer, but his limited athleticism holds him back in pass coverage. That essentially makes him a tw0-down linebacker in Tampa Bay.

Cue second-year linebacker SirVocea Dennis, who will replace White as the platooning player with Britt this year and we saw that in Week 1 in the win against Washington. Britt played 39 snaps on Sunday while Dennis logged 21 snaps – mostly on third-and-long or obvious passing downs. Despite playing nearly half the snaps, Dennis was more productive on the stats sheet. He had six tackles to Britt’s five, and also added another on special teams.

While Britt missed a sack opportunity on Jayden Daniels in the first half, the quicker and more athletic Dennis recorded his first career sack in the second half on a second down blitz. I don’t necessarily see Dennis taking over the inside linebacker role this year on a full-time basis, but I think he’s fully capable of doing it. If Dennis can continue to be an impact player in coverage and as a blitzer in his role on passing downs he could replace him next year as Britt will be a free agent. But for now it looks like the Bucs have two quality inside ‘backers next to David for this season in Britt and Dennis.

Matt Matera: Bucs Defense Will Be Able To Consistently Generate Pressure

Bucs OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Commanders QB Jayden Daniels – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs were missing key defensive tackle Calijah Kancey before the game even began and suffered many injuries throughout the game. Despite all of that, Tampa Bay was constantly able to create pressure and get into the backfield. We have to remember that Jayden Daniels is one-of-a-kind when it comes to his speed and elusiveness, so it’s no surprise he was able to create plays with his legs.

Although the Bucs only recorded two sacks in that game, don’t let it fool you. Yaya Diaby missed two of his own and there were chances for more. He finished with a team-high five pressures, and Tampa Bay’s defense recorded 18 pressures (16 hurries, two sacks) on 40 pass plays, forcing Daniels to scramble 16 times. That’s once again credit to Daniels for escaping and not a failed opportunity by the Bucs.

Diaby looked as good as ever on his pass rushes and seemed no worse for wear coming back from his ankle injury. He played just 32 snaps and that was likely because they want to ease him back into the lineup. I’d imagined that snap count number increases in the following weeks.

When the Bucs go up against non-mobile quarterbacks such as Kirk Cousins of the Falcons, those pressures will turn into sacks. It was also great to see that the two players that recorded sacks on Sunday was Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, who also had a forced fumble, and second-year inside linebacker SirVocea Dennis. Bucs fans have been clamoring for years to see JTS make plays like he did, and Dennis finds himself getting more playing time on third down, giving him the opportunity to blitz.

And that’s the benefit of all this. Even if Tampa Bay can’t get to the quarterback with their group up front, Todd Bowles will find other creative ways to do so by blitzing defensive backs and inside linebackers. What will be important is that those blitzes aren’t because he needs call them, but he wants to. Having Diaby back in action, perhaps and improved JTS and a promising rookie in Chris Braswell in the mix should help the Bucs immensely.

Bailey Adams: Chris Godwin Looks Like Chris Godwin Again

Bucs WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: Cliff Welch P/R

It got frustrating a year ago when, despite going over the 1,000-yard mark, Chris Godwin didn’t feel like a big part of Dave Canales’ offense while largely playing outside as the Z receiver (flanker). So with new offensive coordinator Liam Coen moving him back to the slot – where he’s done the best work of his career – it generated some excitement. But it still remained to be seen: Would Godwin look more like himself again?

For me, the big takeaway from the Bucs’ Week 1 win is yes, Chris Godwin looks like Chris Godwin again. Even if he shrugged off Mike Evans’ assertion that he looks like 2019 Godwin again and said he’d prefer to look at himself as the 2024 Godwin, Tampa Bay’s No. 14 really did look like he was back at home against the Commanders. He finished with eight catches on eight targets for 83 yards and a touchdown. After not scoring until Week 7 last year, Godwin got his first one out of the way early this year.

It was more than the production itself, though. It was seeing Godwin drive the offense the way he did before his 2021 knee injury. Seven of his eight catches went for first downs, and five of those came on third down. As good of a day as Mike Evans had with his two touchdowns, it was Godwin who led the team in targets, catches, receiving yards and first downs. Baker Mayfield was finding him on just about every third down, with Godwin converting:

Third-and-7 – 11-yard catch
Third-and-2 – 5-yard catch
Third-and-3 – 14-yard catch
Third-and-6 – 9-yard catch
Third-and-18 – 24-yard catch

Heading into every season, we know Mike Evans is going to be Mike Evans. But the takeaway from Week 1 is that having Chris Godwin be Chris Godwin – on top of Evans’ consistent production – will give Mayfield and this Tampa Bay offense a very high ceiling in 2024.

Josh Queipo: Bucs New Offensive Coordinator Shows Adaptability

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

I waxed poetic about new offensive coordinator Liam Coen’s ability to adapt in a profile on the Bucs offense in a previous Pewter Report article but allow me to belabor the point. The Bucs attempted to establish the run in the first half. Tampa Bay ran the ball on first down nine of 13 times in the first and second quarter.

But they failed to gain any traction on those plays netting less than 15 yards on those runs. Yet the few passes the Bucs attempted on first down in the first half were wildly successful.

Under former offensive coordinator Dave Canales, it would have been likely that the trend would have continued in the second half. But something strange and amazing happened in the third quarter on Sunday. The Bucs started throwing the ball on first down.

And they kept throwing it. Six times in fact. Six first down passes in the third quarter to zero first down runs. Coen and the offense adapted to their run/pass success and continued doing the thing that worked and stopped doing the thing that didn’t.

This may seem simple, but it is a long way from Canales’ mantra that he took with him to Carolina that he would be stubborn about running the ball even if he doesn’t see success with it. The NFL is constantly adapting, and each team will bring unique challenges. The best coaches can modify their approach to meet the needs of the moment. And in the smallest of sample sizes Liam Coen showed he is up to that challenge.

Adam Slivon: Baker Mayfield Is Worth Being A $100 Million Man

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

After a big Week 1 performance against the Commanders, Baker Mayfield proved that he was worth the Bucs re-signing him to a three-year deal worth $100 million. Coming off a career year in 2023, Mayfield was electric in his 2024 opening act throughout Sunday afternoon. He completed 24-of-30 passes for 289 passing yards and four touchdowns, doing so by spreading the ball around and moving the chains. When he needed to, he scrambled outside of structure to evade pressure and made things happen without forcing throws.

All of this reaffirms Tampa Bay’s decision to commit to Mayfield this offseason. The past year has molded the veteran quarterback as a player and a person, and his new deal is a steal compared to what other quarterbacks are being paid these days if he can keep up his play from last year. If he plays even better, Jason Licht, Mike Greenberg, and the rest of the front office may have pulled off a heist. Mayfield has shown that he is smarter with the football and has changed his play style and how he carries himself — although still retaining a little swagger. With how he has taken to the organization in becoming a team captain and a critical part of the culture, he has shown being worth the investment.

With wide receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and rookie Jalen McMillan to throw to — and more promise and results expected from the run game and offensive line — greater success will follow for the Bucs’ offense this season. Having offensive coordinator Liam Coen around to call the shots on offense and cater to Mayfield’s strengths doesn’t hurt, either. But the train only goes as far as the on-field conductor, and with a focus on being efficient and letting the players around him make plays, Baker Mayfield already looks to be worth every cent. Time will tell how much better he can be for an encore.