FAB 2. Tandy, Conte Lead The Way At Safety

The Bucs made veteran J.J. Wilcox the team’s highest-paid safety with a two-year deal worth $6.25 million, including $3.125 million in guaranteed money this offseason. Tampa Bay spent its second-round pick on Justin Evans, a hard-hitting safety with range out of Texas A&M.

But heading into training camp the Bucs have some very familiar faces in the starting safety spots in veterans Keith Tandy and Chris Conte, both of whom are 28 years old. Tandy has just 12 starts in his five-year NFL career, but the most recent five starts came consecutively at the end of the 2016 campaign when he replaced Conte, who suffered a chest injury against Seattle in November.

Bucs S Keith Tandy – Photo by: Mark Lomoglio/PR

Once Tandy got in the starting lineup he didn’t relinquish the job, recording 57 tackles, nine pass breakups and a team-leading four interceptions – all of which were career highs. Tandy had game-clinching interceptions in back-to-back wins at San Diego and New Orleans, and had two clutch picks against Carolina in a 17-6 victory in Week 17.

Tandy was the highest-graded safety in the NFL by ProFootballFocus.com over the final five weeks of the 2016 season, and allowed a pass rating of only 34.4 in his coverage area.

When Conte returned to the lineup after two games, he was relegated to split playing time with Bradley McDougald – who was not re-signed this offseason – instead of Tandy, who didn’t miss a defensive snap. Conte had a solid season, especially in the second half of the year when his pick-six against Chicago ignited the team to a 36-10 victory – its biggest blowout of the year. He also saved the day the following week at Kansas City when his fourth quarter end zone interception was returned 53 yards to set up Tampa Bay’s go-head touchdown in a 19-17 comeback win at Arrowhead Stadium.

Conte was re-signed this offseason to a two-year deal worth $5 million, including $2.5 million in guaranteed money. Tandy, a career backup until last year, is in the final year of a two-year deal that will pay him just $840,000 in 2017.

On paper, it wouldn’t have been a stretch to suggest that Wilcox and Evans would be the starters this year given the veteran’s contract and the rookie’s draft status. But with both newcomers sidelined with injuries during most of the OTAs and mini-camp, Tandy and Conte were in clear command at both safety spots entering their second year in Mike Smith’s defense.

When Evans and Wilcox get healed up over the summer there will be more of a contest in training camp, but that certainly wasn’t the case this offseason.

Bucs S Chris Conte – Photo courtesy of the Buccaneers

“Well, right now it’s not a battle,” Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter said. “Not a battle at all right now because of health. J.J. hasn’t been able to be out there and Justin Evans hasn’t been able to be out there. Not mad, not good, not bad. There’s no competition when guys aren’t healthy. Right now, Chris Conte and Keith Tandy are out there practicing and they’re doing a nice job.”

Not taking anything away from Conte, but if Tandy picks up from where he left last season he will be the hardest one to unseat and keep off the field.

“Keith is very cerebral. He has a great understanding of what we’re trying to do, he understands football and he’s continued to play and participate in the OTA’s like it’s been the season,” Smith said. “This isn’t even close to what we’ll be doing 16 times in the fall, but he’s made a lot of progress.”

Tandy spent more of his time during the offseason playing in the box than he did in centerfield where Conte usually lined up, but the sixth-year player out of West Virginia indicated that he’s just a safety – neither strong nor free – and capable of playing both.

“With our defense there really is no strong or free,” Tandy said. “You have one that goes to the tight end and one that goes away from the tight end. They’ll mix up the calls for us, and then when teams go no-huddle we just stay on the side we previously played on.”

Tandy has been impressed with the progress that Conte has made this offseason and there is definitely a comfort level between the two in the defensive backfield.

“We’re definitely getting the chemistry down,” Tandy said. “Any time you have continuity like Chris and I have playing last year, we kind of know what the other one is thinking. We’re always reminding each other before the play what the other one is doing. ‘In this call, these are the things that can mess us up real quick. Be alert to this or that.’ It’s been really good.”

Despite rarely seeing the field this offseason, Wilcox and Evans have already made an impression on Tandy.

Bucs SS JJ Wilcox – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“J.J. was back on the field at the end of the mini-camp, and I remember watching him play his rookie year,” Tandy said. “He played in the Hall of Fame Game and Dashon Goldson and I were talking a lot about him. We said, ‘I like the way No. 27 plays. I can play with him.’

“First of all it’s his work ethic. Guys will go inside the building, and he’ll stay after on the field. He knows he has to get his legs back under him because he missed some days and he hasn’t been going full speed like we have. His competitiveness stands out, and he’s a real physical player on tape. He can’t really show that now, and sometimes as a physical player you get stereotyped and people think that’s all you can do. Just seeing the way he moves in practice, I can tell you he’s a lot more than that.”

As for Evans, Tandy marvels at his athleticism. During the rookie mini-camp the Texas A&M product looked more like a cornerback than a safety with his fluid movements.

“He’s very springy,” Tandy said. “He has a regular backpedal and he looks so much more springy than everybody else. When he starts running, his legs are so long and powerful – he just kind of glides out there. He has great hips and great feet. I can’t wait until he gets back out there.”

The coaches like Evans’ development behind the scenes, but the rookie needs to become a more vocal player on the field, according to defensive backs coach Jon Hoke.

“He’s a quiet guy by nature, but he does have a personality in there,” Hoke said of Evans. “With that personality he will become more verbal. He’s working at it, but he’s not natural that way.

“It’s hard for any rookie in the National Football League. I think you guys (the media) recognize that. It’s tough, and with what we do with the communication, that adds a little bit of a layer to it. Some teams don’t ask [the safeties] to talk that much. We demand them to do that. It’s going to be a little bit of a learning process for him to do that, but he’s smart and he’s extremely athletic. We’ll see how he progresses.”

Hoke said he doesn’t know how the depth chart will ultimately end up at the safety position.

“We have to play first to see how it plays out, but we’re excited about Wilcox,” Hoke said. “He’s a big guy, physical guy that plays good towards the line of scrimmage. He has shown the ability to play deep when he was in Dallas, so we’re excited about him.

Bucs FS Justin Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Justin Evans, we’re just getting him up to speed, but we like what we’ve seen so far. He’s a very athletic player. We’re excited to see where he fits in as well. He’s doing a nice job in the class room with picking up what we’re doing.”

The Bucs didn’t rotate their safeties last year, and Tandy didn’t see much action unless there was an injury to Conte or McDougald until late in the season. That may change this year if Wilcox and Evans can get up to speed with the defense in training camp. Although Tandy and Conte are well in the lead to start right now, training camp is a month long and a lot can change with the regards to the depth chart when the pads come on in August.

“I have no idea who will play and how much,” Tandy said. “It’s so early in the process right now. There is so much stuff that can happen before the season gets started. Those two guys just started practicing so we have no idea. I know it’s a long season and playing safety, somebody is going to get hurt. That’s just the nature of the position. Having too much depth is never a problem.”

Hoke echoed that sentiment about the team’s newfound depth at the safety position.

“It’s always important,” Hoke said. “Football is a tough game. It’s a physical game and we’re always talking about how many teams are running three wide receiver sets more and throwing the ball, but at the end of the day you’ve still got to run and you’ve still got to tackle. You’ve got to be able to be a physical tackler, and both [Wilcox and Evans] can do it.”

Hoke and secondary coach Brent Maxie already know what Tandy and Conte can do and are pleased with how they played at the end of last year and during the 2017 offseason.

“We have three veteran guys that have got a lot of playing experience and we just added a rookie player,” Maxie said. “So it’s going to be open competition and obviously the best players are going to play. But I think that’s a good thing. I’d rather have too many guys than not enough.”