FAB 3. Rewind Week 5 – Fast Forward Week 6

Not having open locker room at One Buccaneer Place and restricted media access to players this year due to COVID-19 has forced me to do less feature segments on players and more analysis on the games. So I’m using the Fab 3 section – called Rewind – Fast Forward – to share some observations from the Bucs’ last game as well as my analysis in previewing the next one. Enjoy.

Because the Bucs’ didn’t play last Sunday and Tampa Bay’s loss to Chicago was over a week ago on Thursday night, let’s skip this week’s Rewind and go right to Fast Forward, shall we? Besides, I’m sure you’re ready to forget about the Bucs’ 20-19 loss to the Bears.

FAST FORWARD: WEEK 6 VS. GREEN BAY

• Bucs inside linebacker Devin White started the season with 11 tackles in a Week 1 loss at New Orleans and 15 stops in a Week 2 win against Carolina. Over the last three games White has only totaled 14 tackles, including a season-low three in last Thursday’s loss at Chicago. The reason? It’s not that White necessarily played poorly. It was that the Bears didn’t throw the ball his way, and Chicago didn’t run the ball that much – just 13 times.

Bucs LB Devin White – Photo by: Getty Images

But with Green Bay running back Aaron Jones coming to town, White expects to see more action, as he’ll be in charge of covering Jones out of the backfield.

“This guy, he’s another Alvin Kamara as far as like route-running,” White said. “He runs the whole route tree, which is good. It will give me a chance to go make some interceptions or something. As far as the run game, he’s very patient, but he runs really hard. They’ve got a lot of guys that are coming in, running the ball and making plays. They do a lot of 21 [personnel]. They even went 31 [personnel] a couple of times – that means they’ve got three running backs in the game at one time. That just lets you know how much they value their running backs.

“That’s a good thing for me because I mean my confidence is always high, but I’ve started fiending for some plays with the way these last games went. I just know my body is ready and my mindset is ready to go make plays. I’m not really worried about how much he does. I’m starting to think about what teams have got to do to do great things on the Tampa Bay defense. That’s how I’m starting to take the approach. I know it’s kind of a cocky approach, but I feel like we deserve it. I feel like we’re playing good ball and I feel like we’re steadily getting better.”

• The Packers get three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Davante Adams back from injury this week. Adams has 17 catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns in two games and will likely be matched up against Carlton Davis – if the Bucs’ top cover man can overcome an abdominal injury by Sunday.

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers – Photo by: Getty Images

“It’s tough because Adams is a great receiver – no doubt about it – but [Aaron] Rodgers throws to everybody,” said Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. “They’ve got about three or four tight ends, the running backs catch the ball out of the backfield, all the other receivers are playing good ball and he spreads the ball around to whoever’s open. Davante coming back is a big lift for them, I’m sure, but he spreads the ball around pretty good and those other guys are playing very well. We’ve got to cover everybody, and we’ve got to win our match-ups.”

• One of the things that makes the Packers offense dangerous isn’t just the fact that Aaron Rodgers is completing 70.5 percent of his passes with 13 touchdowns and no interceptions, and has just been sacked three times in four games. It’s the “eye candy” that head coach and play-caller Matt LaFleur uses pre-snap and at the snap to distract opposing defenses, much the way Kansas City’s Andy Reid does.

“Any time you get jet motion, it makes your eyes wander a little bit,” Bowles said. “They do a lot of it, but we’ve seen it the past couple of weeks. It has nothing to do with the game plan – they can do either. They can motion a lot or they can motion a little – they still execute at a high level. We’ve got to play our game and not put too much into jet motion or anything else we see – read our keys and play football.”

• Bucs rookie defensive tackle Khalil Davis will likely see his first NFL action this week due to the season-ending injury to Vita Vea – if Davis can rebound from a sprained ankle he suffered in practice on Wednesday. Davis, the team’s sixth-round pick this year, has been inactive for the first five games of the year.

Bucs defensive end Will Gholston said he is excited about Davis’ attributes and what the 6-foot-1, 308-pound Nebraska product has shown behind the scenes in practice.

Bucs DT Khalil Davis – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“He has a fantastic motor,” Gholston said. “He’s a very relentless player in general. During camp I felt like if we had preseason games, he would have been a better player. But, in those scrimmages, you could see the elevation in his game. With that type of motor, his quicks and all of that, it’s really good attributes to have as a defensive lineman.”

If Davis can’t go on Sunday, look for Tampa Bay to elevate defensive lineman Jeremiah Ledbetter from the practice squad.