FAB 5. SR’s Buc Shots

• BUY NEW BUCS GEAR – AND HELP PEWTER REPORT! The Bucs unveiled new, improved uniforms on Tuesday, which were a huge hit with the Tampa Bay fan base. I shared my take on the new uniforms along with the rest of the Pewter Report staff in this PR Roundtable column, which you should check out if you haven’t already. Personally, I love the all-pewter look.

Naturally, Bucs fans are eagerly purchasing the new jerseys, including Tom Brady jerseys, and if you haven’t done so, you can click on the banner in this column – or any Fanatics.com banner on PewterReport.com – to make your purchase. When you buy anything from Fanatics.com – Bucs-related or not – and you do so by clicking on a banner from PewterReport.com we get a percentage of the sale through our affiliate program.

You, the customer, won’t pay a penny more by making your Fanatics.com purchases via PewterReport.com, and you’re still eligible for any sales, discounts or free shipping offers that Fanatics may be offering at the time. But what you are doing is supporting our revenue stream at PewterReport.com, which has taken a hit due to the coronavirus pandemic. We rely on our advertising partners for our revenue, and nearly every business in America has taken a financial hit with the COVID-19 outbreak.

The revenue we get from your purchases on Fanatics.com via the banners on PewterReport.com help us a great deal, so we encourage you to shop Fanatics.com from now on via PewterReport.com. Not just now, but after the draft when the Bucs will have new jerseys for their rookies, and also as you gear up for the 2020 season this summer and fall.

And when the holiday season rolls around we want you to remember to do your holiday shopping at Fanatics.com by clicking on the Fanatics banners on PewterReport.com. Just one click can help your favorite website – PewterReport.com – in these troubling times. Thank you!

• KEEP AN EYE ON ADAMS: I’m not saying this will happen, but keep an eye on the Jamal Adams situation in New York, as Tampa Bay may be interested in trading for him. The two-time Pro Bowl safety is having a contract dispute with the Jets and will be staying away from the team facility when things revert back to normal after the coronavirus pandemic ends if he doesn’t get a contract extension.

Jets S Jamal Adams – Photo by: Getty Images

Adams is in the final year of his rookie deal and has a base salary of only $825,000 in 2020. The Jets have already paid him his roster bonus of $2,765,292, but might consider trading him if the team doesn’t want to pay him market value, which would be close to $15 million per season.

Bucs general manager Jason Licht loved Adams coming out of LSU in 2017, and Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Todd Bowles was the head coach in New York at the time and used the fifth overall pick to select him that year. Adams is a physical tone-setter and tremendous leader who has racked up 209 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, five interceptions, two sacks and two forced fumbles in his first three years in the NFL.

If the Jets are looking to deal Adams, who does have a fifth-year option available on his contract, the Bucs would be willing to listen. Tampa Bay could use a veteran, play-making safety in the secondary to bolster its defensive backfield.

• BECTON IS A BEAST: What makes Louisville offensive tackle Mekhi Becton such an intriguing draft prospect is his freakish size and athleticism. At 6-foot-7, 364 pounds, Becton ran an impressive 5.1 time in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. With nearly 36-inch arms and hands that are close to 11 inches wide, Becton is an absolute beast with one of the most impressive spider graphs on Mockdraftable.com.

Although a 40-yard dash isn’t a necessary trait for offensive linemen where arm length and weight carry greater value, it is an example of just how athletic Becton is for a man of his size and stature. Fellow first-round tackles like Alabama’s 312-pound Jedrick Wills (5.05), Georgia’s 315-pound Andrew Thomas (5.22) and Houston’s 319-pound Joshua Jones (5.27) weigh significantly less than Becton does and weren’t as impressive in the 40-yard dash as a result. The only first-round tackle that was as physically impressive as Becton was at the Combine was Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs, who ran an eye-opening 4.85 in the 40-yard dash at 320 pounds.

• LOVE IS A PLAYMAKER OUT OF THE POCKET: Speaking of impressive 40 times, Utah State quarterback Jordan Love ran a solid 4.74 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, in addition to a 35.5-inch vertical jump and a 9-foot, 8-inch broad jump, showing that he has enough athleticism to make plays in and out of the pocket. Those were among the best measurements of any QB in Indy this year.

Utah State QB Jordan Love – Photo by: Getty Images

In addition to passing for 8,600 yards and 60 touchdowns in three years with the Aggies, Love also rushed for 403 yards and nine TDs, including a career-high 175 yards last year.

“That’s something I feel is a huge part of my game,” Love said. “When the play breaks down, being able to make off-schedule plays and get out of the pocket – throwing on the move, and being able to take off and run. So, that’s just an instinct from growing up and playing backyard football. You either have it or you don’t, and I feel that I have that play-making ability.

“It’s like going from high school to college. The game speed is going to change a little bit, and you just have to get a feel for it once you get in the game. The passing game in the NFL over the last couple years and the way I like to play – how that lines up. I think that fits together well – my play-making ability, being able to make off-schedule plays.”

• SR AND JON LEDYARD WITH ANOTHER PRE-DRAFT PEWTER NATION PODCAST!
Yours truly and PewterReport.com’s draft expert and Bucs beat writer Jon Ledyard spent an hour analyzing the top offensive tackle talent in this year’s draft for Tampa Bay, in addition to dishing out the latest Bucs draft buzz in the latest edition of the Pewter Nation Podcast. This one was recorded on Thursday, April 16 – don’t miss it!

Pewter Nation Podcast Episode 188: Latest Bucs Draft Buzz

Pewter Report’s Mark Cook, Taylor “Grizz” Jenkins and Matt Matera hosted the previous Pewter Nation Podcast and discussed Tom Brady’s interview with Howard Stern, in addition to looking at some veteran running backs the Bucs could sign. This one had a hilarious story about Grizz’s knee injury that you have to hear.

Pewter Nation Podcast Episode 187: Brady’s Reveal; Should Bucs Sign RB Freeman?

If you liked the latest draft-oriented episode of the Pewter Nation Podcast featuring Ledyard and yours truly, we spent another hour previewing the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft and the positions of need for Tampa Bay a few weeks ago that is worth checking out if you missed it. Nobody knows this year’s draft prospects like Ledyard does, and this episode is a must-listen for Bucs fans interested in the team’s draft plans.

Pewter Nation Podcast Episode 186: Bucs 2020 Draft Preview

There will be another pre-draft Pewter Nation Podcast on Tuesday, April 21 – stay tuned for that on PewterReport.com.

There is no better time to listen to a new Pewter Nation Podcast, which is presented by Chris Garrido of Westshore Financial, than on your drive home from work on Friday or early Saturday morning during your workout or running errands.

The popularity of the Pewter Nation Podcast continues to grow. In addition to listening to the Pewter Nation Podcasts on PewterReport.com you can also subscribe to the free podcasts at PodBean by clicking here and on SoundCloud by clicking here. And of course the Pewter Nation Podcast is also available on iTunes. Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss a single episode.

• BE AWARE OF BUCS RB WARE: He’s far from a lock to make the Bucs’ 53-man roster, especially if the team drafts a running back or two as expected next week, but keep an eye on Aca’Cedric Ware, a reserve running back that the Bucs signed to their practice squad back in October. The team kept Ware on the practice squad all last year and was brought back this offseason to see what he can do during training camp and the preseason as Tampa Bay looks to upgrade its ground game.

The 6-foot, 205-pound Ware played with Ronald Jones II at USC as a backup before becoming the starter in 2018 when Jones left for the NFL. As a senior he rushed for 825 yards and six touchdowns on 125 carries (6.6 avg.). He totaled 1,505 yards and 10 touchdowns on 264 carries (5.7 avg.), along with 19 catches for 126 yards (6.6 avg.).

His pedestrian 4.6 time in the 40-yard dash caused him to go undrafted, but he spent training camp and the preseason with Indianapolis and rushed for 108 yards on 33 carries (3.3 avg.) with a long of 18, and caught nine passes for 36 yards (4.0 avg.) last August. Ware’s best game came in the fourth preseason contest in a 13-6 win over Cincinnati when he rushed for 44 yards on seven carries (6.3 avg.), including an 18-yarder, in addition to catching three passes for 30 yards, including a 22-yarder.

Ware had seven 100-yard games for USC, including a 173-yard, two-touchdown performance in a win against Arizona and a 205-yard, three-touchdown effort in a win at Oregon State. Here are some of his highlights with the Trojans.

• BRADY DOES MORE WITH LESS: Bucs fans should give Tom Brady Facts (@TB_FACTS) a follow on Twitter, as the account does a great job with stats regarding Tampa Bay’s new quarterback. Here is a tremendous stat that shows off Brady’s passing prowess along with something that the Bucs organization is very excited about – zero interceptions after Jameis Winston’s league-high 30 INTs last year.

Most games in NFL history with at least 250 passing yards and 0 INTs (playoffs included)

1) Tom Brady – 104
2) Drew Brees – 83
3) Peyton Manning – 74
4) Aaron Rodgers – 65

(Via @pfref)

— Tom Brady Facts (@TB_Facts) April 14, 2020

• FOLLOW PEWTER REPORT ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Thanks to a lot of new Buccaneers fans due to the signing of Tom Brady, PewterReport.com has surpassed 35,800 Twitter followers on the @PewterReport Twitter account! Thank you to all of our Twitter followers. We’re also approaching 10,000 followers on Facebook, so if you don’t follow us on Twitter or Facebook please take the time to do so, Bucs fans.

Here is a list of all of the PewterReport.com social media platforms. Make sure to follow us this offseason as we cover the NFL Draft this month, plus any breaking Bucs news or press conferences.

Twitter: @PewterReport

Facebook: PewterReport

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Soundcloud: PewterNation

• BRADY IS BETTER THAN BREES: I had the chance to speak to former Bucs quarterback and current Pro Football Talk NFL analyst Chris Simms about the arrival of Tom Brady in Tampa Bay a few weeks ago. One of the subjects we discussed was the upcoming made-for-TV battles between New Orleans’ Drew Brees, the No. 1 all-time passer in NFL history in terms of yards and touchdowns, versus Brady, the league’s No. 2 all-time passer in yards and TDs, twice a year as NFC South rivals.

Despite having more 5,000-yard passing seasons (four) than anyone else in NFL history, Brees lacks Brady’s big-time arm, according to Simms.

Tom Brady and Drew Brees – Photo by: Getty Images

“Brees is great, but I don’t put Brees anywhere near the same level as Tom Brady as far as arm strength goes,” Simms said. “It’s nowhere near – but nonetheless, it’s going to be two legends going up against each other twice a year. And that division, let’s not forget about Matt Ryan, who is no slouch himself, it’s going to be exciting.

“Even before Brady got to Tampa Bay I was one who was saying to watch out for the Bucs this year. They’re really close. They were a team I had an asterisk next to anyways, and now it goes way up to a different stratosphere with Brady being there. Yes, we know that the Saints are going to be one of the cream of the crop teams in the NFC, and as far as Brees and Brady go, I think they would be lying to you if they said those records didn’t mean something to them. It’s not that it’s personal or that they are rooting against each other, but I think each would like to retire being the record holder in those departments. That’s fine and that’s healthy, in addition to some stuff that is personal. Brees is looking for that second championship, and Brady is looking to prove that he can win without Belichick. There is a lot of personal stuff that goes into the team achievements in that conversation right there.”

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