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About the Author: Scott Reynolds

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Scott Reynolds is in his 28th year of covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the vice president, publisher and senior Bucs beat writer for PewterReport.com. Author of the popular SR's Fab 5 column on Fridays, Reynolds oversees web development and forges marketing partnerships for PewterReport.com in addition to his editorial duties. A graduate of Kansas State University in 1995, Reynolds spent six years giving back to the community as the defensive coordinator/defensive line coach for his sons' Pop Warner team, the South Pasco Predators. Reynolds can be reached at: [email protected]

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FAB 1. These Bucs Must Grow Up

Why do the Buccaneers keep beating themselves?

It’s easy to suggest that this Tampa Bay team, which is 2-4 heading into Sunday’s game at Tennessee, is quite young and inexperienced, and it is, especially in the secondary where four of the five regular starters are rookies or second-year players.

In fact, the Bucs have 13 rookies or first-year players on their 53-man roster, in addition to eight second-year players. Add in five third-year players and nearly half of Tampa Bay’s 2019 roster is comprised of guys that have three years or less experience in the NFL.

Dgd Save10 Square 2019The Bucs’ median age is 25.4 years of age, which makes them the second-youngest in the league this year, and Tampa Bay has 20 players who are age 24 or younger with rookie inside linebacker Devin White, who is 21, being the youngest. On the other end of the age spectrum, 34-year old right tackle Demar Dotson is the oldest Buccaneer, and one of just three players age 30 and older.

Head coach Bruce Arians sounded the alarm during the bye week that the players, especially the young guys, needed to do a better job of preparing for games if Tampa Bay had any hopes of winning enough games down the stretch to turn the season around and have a chance at the playoffs.

“They have to grow up,” Arians said. “Growing up starts in practice. It happens when you start seeing those mental errors go down. First, it was penalties and we’ve kind of eliminated the penalties. Now it’s still been the mental errors and simplifying it enough so that we can play fast, but not so simple that the other team knows what we’re doing.”

The players have heard Arians’ message and are echoing it to the media.

“It’s time for us to grow up and play like we can play,” Bucs running back Peyton Barber said. “We’re not out of the race and I think we know that also. Moving forward, if we do those things, I think we can beat anybody and do anything.”

The first order of business for a team trying to win games is to not beat itself. Unfortunately, the Bucs have perfected the art of self-destruction over the years.

If Tampa Bay is going to eliminate things like mental errors and turnovers on Sundays it needs to do a better job of eliminating them in practice during the week.

Saints Wr Michael Thomas And Bucs Cb Sean Murphy-Bunting

Saints WR Michael Thomas and Bucs CB Sean Murphy-Bunting – Photo by: Getty Images

“It’s really just the preparation,” Arians said. “It’s just how good of a team we want to be. Are you going to go the extra mile to prepare? As far as studying it’s just taking every practice as a day to get better, seeing your weaknesses and improving in those areas.”

Tampa Bay inside linebacker Kevin Minter has been around Arians dating back to 2013, which was his rookie season in Arizona. In order for the Bucs to stop beating themselves on game day they need to execute better in practice.

“Effort-wise, absolutely – the practices have been good all along,” Minter said. “Execution-wise, it becomes so-so and you kind of see that in the game. We just, as a whole, need to start honing in on what we need to do as far as the little things to win the game. As far as the back end and the front end, I’m talking about the defense specifically. But if we’re going to be any type of the defense we’re striving to be this year, we’ve got to figure it out and we’ve got to figure it out now because it’s time – if we’ve got any kind of playoff hopes.”

Right tackle Demar Dotson, an 11th year veteran who has never been to the playoffs during his Tampa Bay career, says that errors in practice have too often shown up in games.

“It just comes down to not beating yourself in practice,” Dotson said. “Mental errors come from not getting in your playbook. We need guys to put more time into studying. B.A. said a good thing the other day, ‘Whatever we’ve been doing – do 15 minutes more a day. Have you been in your playbook and watching film? Watch 15 more minutes a day.’ It’s about finding that extra edge. We still have too many turnovers. We still have too many mental errors. It basically comes down to being sharper in practice and getting in your playbook more.”

For young players, that’s the real issue. That’s where youth and inexperience can rise up and bite the Bucs on Sundays.

“It’s trying to be as close to perfect as possible every single day,” Arians said. “Then it’s going back and correcting the mistakes and learning, and putting a little more film study in. Young players a lot of times don’t even know how to watch film. So we need to ask each coach, ‘Does this kid know what he’s looking at when he turns on that iPad for two hours? If not, help him.’ Our leaders need to ask the young guys if they’re understanding it – because young guys will lie to a coach, but they won’t lie to them.”

Bucs defensive tackle Beau Allen said it’s up to the team’s veterans to step up and help the rookies and young players do a better job of preparing for each week’s opponent.

“The more time I spend in the NFL there’s so much studying and preparation that goes into it that a lot of fans, or people that are watching or people that are involved in the game don’t necessarily realize,” Allen said. “You might practice one thing all week and think a team is going to attack you in a certain way and then you get on the field on Sunday and that play or that thing you practiced for doesn’t even show up. I think B.A. said it best – it’s just preparation. We need to figure out the best way to prepare and for everyone that’s different. Some guys are crunching tape, some guys have to get their body ready because they’ve been in the NFL for 10 years and other guys have to figure out a good routine, or a good way, to get ready for each Sunday.

Bucs Ilb Kevin Minter

Bucs ILB Kevin Minter – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“I think that can be attributed to youth and inexperience in some senses, but for me, as kind of a veteran guy, I always think that you have to do things right to show other people how to do it. Show people the right way to do it and bring people along. I think it’s kind of easy to say that it might be youth or lack of experience or whatever. But I look at it as, what can I, Beau Allen, do to [expletive] help guys out? The short answer is, I think the guys like myself that are vets need to help other guys prepare well. … Your original question was about Bucs beating Bucs and the way to fix that, which is going to happen every week. That’s the nature of the NFL, but I think you need to have the vets and the guys that have been around bring the other guys along.”

The assistant coaches can only do so much. It will take players like Allen, Minter, Dotson and Lavonte David to hold the younger players accountable and make sure they know the scheme, the calls and their assignments down the Bucs’ 10-game stretch.

“We’ve got to focus on our jobs – that’s the main thing,” David said. “And we’ve got to stay consistent. Times when we aren’t being consistent, other teams will take advantage of us and our mistakes. Our main thing is not beating ourselves and honing in on our jobs. We’ve got a lot of thinking going on. Guys just need to know their roles and do their jobs.”

That means spending more time watching film, taking notes and being better prepared. That’s where the young talent on the team might be holding the Bucs back. They are learning how to play in the NFL on the fly, and learning how to study, watch film and prepare at the NFL level for the first time with a new coaching staff.

“Overall we’re pretty young, defensively and offensively as well, but we don’t kind of have the Derrick Brooks, the Warren Sapps, where if we do make mistakes, they’ll cover it for us,” Bucs tight end Cameron Brate said. “As an offense we know that we don’t have that guy that’s going to save the day for us so it comes down to us looking ourselves in the mirror. It’s a million dollar question, how do you stop beating yourself?

Bucs Te Cameron Brate - Photo By: Cliff Welch/Pr

Bucs TE Cameron Brate – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Once you’ve kind of been in that rut for a couple of years like we have, until you do it, I don’t know what to say. We’ve had flashes where even two games in a row we’ve looked very good, but it’s doing it week in and week out and for some reason we’ve kind of reverted back to Bucs beating Bucs, as B.A would say, and somehow we’ve just got to find a little more consistency across the board.”

The only way the Bucs are going to stop beating themselves is to learn how to win – consistently.

“I’d say everybody doing the things that they need to do and worrying about their own task, playing a full four quarters is the biggest thing,” Bucs running back Peyton Barber said. “It’s everybody playing together as one for a full four quarters and not playing in spurts. It’s about consistency. There have been weeks when the M.E. (mental error) sheets have been quite low and we’ve still lost. Like I said, it’s just playing a full four quarters like we know we can play and being consistent.”

With sustained good effort and more focus on reducing mistakes in practice, the Bucs can hopefully start going on a winning streak to turn their season around.

“The work ethic on the practice field – I really can’t tell if we win or lose, which I like,” Arians said. “It’s not real high, it’s not real low – it’s just solid work. Hopefully, we can start stringing wins together. … It’s about our preparation, making better adjustments – in-game, halftime and on the sidelines – studying maybe a little more film. It’s just all about preparation.”

One thing is for certain with Arians. Keep making mistakes and you’ll be gone. That became apparent when the Bucs released punt returner and wide receiver Bobo Wilson and linebacker Devante Bond during the bye week.

“It won’t be a problem for too much longer if you keep seeing your name on the M.E. board, as you can see,” Minter said. “He gets them in and out. B.A. is going to have guys that will execute – period. You’re going to play it right. It’s one thing if a guy just beats you, but you’re not going to keep messing up the same thing over and over again, that’s not B.A.’s deal. You’ll be gone.”

Bucs Pr Bobo Wilson

Bucs PR Bobo Wilson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Wilson was a second-year player who averaged 2.3 yards per punt return through six games, and had two muffs, including one that became a fourth quarter turnover in London against the Panthers.

It’s time for the young Bucs to grow up.

“Absolutely,” Minter said. “Some of these guys, they’re not rookies anymore. Like 45 (White) and 34 (safety Mike Edwards) – they’re not rookies anymore. It’s time for us to get it going. If we have any hope of making the playoffs we’ve got to grow up now. The record is what it is, and it’s pretty much 0-0 now. We dug ourselves in a hole. This 10-week stretch we’re going to see what type of team we are.”

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