FAB 5. SR’s Buc Shots

• From all of us at PewterReport.com, I wanted to wish all of Pewter Nation a very Happy New Year! I can’t believe I am entering my 25th year covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Pewter Report (formerly Buccaneer Magazine) in 2020, and I am eternally grateful to you – the loyal PewterReport.com reader – for the opportunity you have given me. Without your readership, I wouldn’t have this tremendous career, so please accept my heartfelt thank you for your willingness to show up to the website every day to read our great Bucs content.

Scott Reynolds, Jameis Winston and Mark Cook – Photo by: the Buccaneers

I am also very thankful to have such a tremendous president and friend in Hugh MacArthur, who owns PewterReport.com. His unwavering support and vision for the company fuels my passion for my profession.

I also want to take the time to thank my wonderful team at PewterReport.com, starting with our long-time director of photography Cliff Welch, who has been by my side every step of the way dating back to my arrival in Tampa in 1995. His pictures don’t just get better year-by-year. They get better game-by-game.

Senior Bucs beat writer Mark Cook has been with me nearly a decade and his friendship, loyalty and expertise is greatly appreciated, as is the hard work, dedication and friendship of current writers Trevor Sikkema, Taylor Jenkins and Matt Matera, in addition to contributors Andrew Scavelli and Mary Holt. Director of business administration Alison Pendrick, the sales team of Pete Nicas and Greg Micelli and webmaster Kyle Theil keep PewterReport.com growing and improving behind the scenes, and their importance, support and friendship is tremendously valuable.

I’ve also had a lot of help along the way from the likes of former PR team members Jim Flynn, Kim Roper, Charlie Campbell, Zach Shapiro, Eric Dellaratta, Leo Haggerty and Reinhold Matay among others, and former publisher Jeffrey Neil Fox, who gave me my start in this career path at Buccaneer Magazine in 1995.

Scott Reynolds and WFLA’s Dan Lucas

I would also like to thank our long-time media partners at WDAE 95.3 FM, especially program director John Mamola and on-air talent Tom Krasnicki, Ronnie Lane, Zac Blobner, Len Martez, Pat Donovan, Aaron Jacobson, Ron Diaz, Ian Beckles, Steve Carney, Trey Downey, and the late great Steve Duemig for the opportunity to help grow the PewterReport.com brand on radio.

Our partnership with WFLA News Channel 8 has also been instrumental to our growth, and I appreciate the opportunity from Dan Lucas, Bob Hansen, Gabrielle Shirley and Annie Sabo for their support, in addition to long-time media friend and ally J.P. Peterson.

The Bucs’ media relations staff has been a huge help to myself and PewterReport.com over the years, and in my 24 years of covering the team, communications director Nelson Luis is the best at what he does. Luis also has the finest media relations staff I’ve worked with in Michael Pehanich, Chris King, Andrew Holman, Danielle Burns, in addition to former staffers Allen Barrett and Brooke Skelley. All true pros and the best at what they do.

The camaraderie and competition provided by long-time Bucs beat writers like Rick Stroud of The Tampa Bay Times, The Athletic’s Greg Auman, ESPN’s Jenna Laine, AP’s Fred Goodall, and other friends I’ve met covering the Bucs along the way like Ira Kaufman, Luke Easterling, Derek Fournier, Eduardo Encina, Roy Cummings, Brent Mulberry, Ren Daxt, David Harrison and Evan Winter among others is greatly appreciated.

Scott and Ashley Reynolds

I could fill up an entire SR’s Fab 5 column thanking the folks that have helped me make PewterReport.com one of the best sources of Bucs news and inside scoop, but I’ll end with thanking the people who mean the most to me – my wife Ashley, who is the love of my life, and my kids Ellie, Logan, Caden and Jillian, in addition to my mother, Judy, who first got me hooked on football as a young boy and has supported my career from the very beginning.

We’ve got some big things in store for my 25th year of covering the Bucs for PewterReport.com in 2020, and I’ll share some of my best stories and memories with you in the next 25 SR’s Fab 5 columns of the new year during the offseason before the Buccaneers begin their 2020 season – in addition to all of the inside scoop and insight you’ll need to know about Tampa Bay’s free agency and draft plans. Stay tuned for a fun ride in 2020 and help me celebrate my 25th year doing the thing I love the most – providing you with the best Bucs coverage around.

Now on to more Bucs news.

• As prolific as Jameis Winston’s year was in 2019, throwing for a team record 5,109 yards to lead the league’s top-ranked passing game, Tampa Bay actually threw for more yards last year under head coach Dirk Koetter and offensive coordinator Todd Monken. The Bucs also had the NFL’s best passing attack last year, and averaged 320.3 yards per game behind both Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick, who started the season with an NFL-record three 400-yard passing games.

Bucs QB Jameis Winston – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Tampa Bay passed for 5,358 yards with 36 touchdowns and 26 interceptions between Winston and Fitzpatrick last year. In 2019 under Bruce Arians, the Winston-led attack passed for 5,127 yards (including Ryan Griffin’s 18 yards) with 33 touchdowns and 30 interceptions and averaged 302.8 yards per game this season.

• You know that Tampa Bay finished with the league’s top-ranked rushing defense, but did you know that the Bucs only allowed three teams all season to rush for 100 yards? Seattle rushed for the most against Tampa Bay (145 yards), and Seahawks running back Chris Carson (105 yards) was the only 100-yard rusher the Bucs allowed all season.

To put these numbers in perspective, the Bucs allowed 11 teams to rush for 100 yards or more in 2018, and allowed six 100-yard rushers. In 2019, Tampa Bay had the 24th-ranked rushing defense, allowing an average of 123.9 yards per game.

Then there is this from Football Outsiders:

“There is a 2019 defense that ends up among the ten best defenses in DVOA history, however: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Todd Bowles engineered a shocking turnaround for the Tampa Bay defense this year, as it went from dead last in DVOA for 2018 to fifth for 2019. And most impressive was the run defense, which allowed just 3.3 yards per carry, a yard below the NFL average. The Bucs come out as the No. 6 best run defense we’ve ever measured.”

• FOLLOW PEWTER REPORT ON SOCIAL MEDIA Thanks to you, Pewter Nation, we were able to reach 34,000 Twitter followers on the @PewterReport Twitter account in 2019. Now make sure you follow PewterReport.com on all social media platforms this offseason as we cover the East-West Shrine and Senior Bowl practices, as well as the NFL Scouting Combine and the NFL Owners Meeting, plus any breaking Bucs news or press conferences.

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• Tampa Bay’s run defense wasn’t the only unit getting some love from the football analytics folks. Believe it or not, the Bucs offensive line was ranked No. 7 in the league by Pro Football Focus. The Athletic’s Greg Auman took a little air out of that balloon with some relevant stats, though.

PFF ranking Bucs as No. 7 offensive line is higher than most would expect. Other basic measurables for Bucs’ o-line:
— 11th-most sacks allowed
— tied-5th-most QB hits allowed
— 3rd-lowest yards/carry in run game
— tied-5th-most false starts
— 13th-most holding penalties https://t.co/8rtYLPsiBI

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) January 1, 2020

• BRADY TO THE BUCS? – The PewterReport.com staff assembled for its first Pewter Nation Podcast of 2020 on Thursday and discussed the future of quarterback Jameis Winston with the Bucs, along with pondering the prospects of New England quarterback Tom Brady, the greatest QB of all-time, replacing Winston in Tampa Bay. We also discuss what former Bruce Arians quarterback Carson Palmer had to say about Winston.

This edition of the Pewter Nation Podcast starts 2020 off with a bang. Make sure you listen to it.

Pewter Nation Podcast 175: Brady To The Bucs?

And if you missed our great interview with Bucs right tackle Demar Dotson during the previous Pewter Nation Podcast, you can check it out right here:

Pewter Nation Podcast 174: Dotson Reveals His Future Plans

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 at the gym or running errands. The next Pewter Nation Podcast will be recorded next week in St. Petersburg at the East-West Shrine Game practices.

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.

• Aside from evaluating the play of quarterback Jameis Winston this offseason, the Bucs’ top three priorities – according to head coach Bruce Arians – are re-signing outside linebackers Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul, as well as defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. All three players were instrumental in not only the league’s top run defense, but also contributing to the team’s 47 sacks, which are the second-most in Tampa Bay history.

Bucs OLB Jason Pierre-Paul – Photo by: Mary Holt/PR

Pierre-Paul was asked to take a pay cut due to missing the first six games of the year after breaking his neck in a car accident back in May. In return for doing so, he bet on himself and wanted his final contract year in 2020 voided so he could become an unrestricted free agent. The gamble worked as Pierre-Paul as he made $9.5 million, including $6.5 million in incentives for playing time, as well as recording 8.5 sacks in 10 games. Pierre-Paul made $500,000 just for reaching the eight sack mark.

• FIRST PR MOCK DRAFT ARRIVES NEXT WEEK Tampa Bay has the 14th overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft due to its 7-9 finish in 2019. This is general manager Jason Licht’s second time picking outside the Top 10 initially. The Bucs’ latest starting draft spot was at No. 19 in 2017 when the team finished 9-7 in 2016.

Licht has picked at No. 7 in 2014 (WR Mike Evans), No. 1 in 2015 (QB Jameis Winston), No. 11 after trading down from the ninth overall spot in 2016 (CB Vernon Hargreaves III), No. 19 in 2017 (TE O.J. Howard), No. 12 after trading down from the seventh overall pick in 2018 (DT Vita Vea), and at No. 5 last year (ILB Devin White).

The Bucs’ scouting process picks up in January with the East-West Shrine and Senior Bowl practices over the next two weeks, followed by the NFL Scouting Combine in the last week of February. Yours truly and PewterReport.com beat writers will be on-hand at those three events to cover all the action.

It’s draft season, and PewterReport.com will debut its first Bucs’ 7-Round Mock Draft of 2020 next Wednesday. Don’t miss it!

• And finally, I want to thank Kevin Edmonson, the president of Edmonson Electric • AC • Security, for his continued support of our efforts here at PewterReport.com. Edmonson Electric • AC • Security first partnered with us last year, sponsoring our Bucs draft coverage and have expanded their sponsorship to my SR’s Fab 5 column.

“Edmonson Electric • AC • Security is proud to sponsor the popular SR’s Fab 5 column on PewterReport.com,” Edmonson said. “I’m a lifelong Tampa resident and Bucs fan, and SR’s Fab 5 has always been my favorite column on the Buccaneers. I’ve gotten to know Scott over the past year with Edmonson Electric • AC • Security partnering with PewterReport.com, and have developed a close friendship with him.

“When it comes to electrical, air conditioning and home security, Edmonson is the best in the business. And when it comes to covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Scott and PewterReport.com are the best in the business, so this sponsorship and enhanced partnership was a natural fit.”

I remember my first call with Kevin while I was walking from my hotel to the Indianapolis Convention Center last February during the NFL Scouting Combine, and thinking just how knowledgeable of a Bucs fan he was, in addition to realizing how cool of a guy he was, too. We have become good friends over the past year, and I can say that I have become an Edmonson Electric • AC • Security customer, too.

I recently had Edmonson’s home theater team install my new big screen TV, and a month earlier I had Edmonson out to my house for some electrical repair work. They are true pros and I highly recommend them.

Visit EdmonsonElectric.com to find out more about controlling, monitoring and securing your home or call 813.910.3403 for additional information about home security and home theater installation.