FAB 5. SR’s Buc Shots

• The Bucs defense ranks 26th in points allowed with 185 through six games. The defense has allowed an average of 30.8 points per game, which ranks 30th in the league. But keep in mind that Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston has thrown three pick-sixes this year, so that’s 21 points that the defense didn’t really allow.

So subtracting those points, the Bucs defense has really allowed 27.3 points per game, which would rank 27th – a bit better. And the 164 points the Bucs defense has actually allowed would rank tied for 21st with Houston and the L.A. Rams.

Bucs SS Jordan Whitehead – Photo by: Getty Images

“We need to get more takeaways,” said Bucs inside linebacker Kevin Minter. “If the offense is struggling we need to have their back and vice versa, turnovers are going to be big. I feel like this young group is figuring it out. We’re starting to understand each other. A lot of different stuff with the secondary is chemistry and knowing how each other plays. It’s coming together.”

While Tampa Bay’s defense needs to do a better job of creating takeaways to negate scoring chances and holding teams to field goals rather than touchdowns, the offense needs to help out, too. The Panthers were held to 268 yards in the Bucs’ last game, but scored 37 points because they had five – FIVE – scoring opportunities that started inside the Tampa Bay 40, resulting in 20 points. The Bucs lost by 11 points because they had a minus-6 turnover margin and the defense had to defend way too many short fields.

• Tampa Bay got some good news on the health front after the bye week as right tackle Demar Dotson and wide receiver Breshad Perriman returned to practice from their hamstring injuries. Only right guard Alex Cappa (broken forearm) and linebacker Jack Cichy (dislocated elbow) have been ruled out for Sunday’s game at Tennessee.

“It was good to get out there and test it a little more,” Dotson said on Wednesday. “It’s healing up good. It’s not all the way where I want it to be, but it felt better than what I thought it was going to feel, which was good news for me. The more I work on it, eventually it will get where I need it to be.”

While Dotson missed just one game after injuring his hamstring at New Orleans, Perriman has missed two after pulling his hamstring in Los Angeles in Week 4.

Bucs WR Breshad Perriman – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Yeah, I’m excited to be back to work and have a strong start to the rest of the season,” Perriman said. “Whatever they tell me to do, I just try to go out there and do to the best of my God-given ability. If the ball flies my way it flies my way, but if not I’m helping my teammates get open and doing what they’ve got to do so either way I’m good, it’s a positive for me.”

• THE BEST EPISODE EVER! – The entire PewterReport.com staff was reunited at the AdventHealth Training Center to record a pre-game Pewter Nation Podcast prior to Sunday’s Bucs game at Tennessee. Right off the bat we thought this was the best episode ever! It ended pretty well, too. Listen to it and let us know what you think as we delve in to the changes during the bye week and how the Bucs match up with the Titans. Which Pewter Reporters picked the Bucs to win? Listen and find out!

Pewter Nation Podcast Episode 154: Best Episode Ever

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 before college football begins. The next Pewter Nation Podcast will be recorded Sunday night following Tampa Bay’s game at Tennessee.

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.

• Tampa Bay tight end O.J. Howard was not only a teammate of Tennessee running back Derrick Henry at the University of Alabama, he is also a good friend of the 2015 Heisman Trophy winner. Howard is looking forward to playing against his friend and former college buddy.

Bucs TE O.J. Howard – Photo by: Getty Images

“This one’s a little more special to me because he was my roommate from all three years,” Howard said. “We came in together, he’s always been my guy so this will be a cool one. We got a chance to play them in the preseason a year ago, but that wasn’t the same as a regular season game. So it’ll be a good day to get his jersey after the game and get to compete against him.”

Howard remains proud of the fact that he helped block for Henry during his Heisman Trophy season where he rushed for 2,219 yards and 28 touchdowns during the 2015 season.

“Yeah, that was a cool season for us,” Howard said. “We won a National Championship that year. Like I said, he was my roommate that year. Just to be the roommate of a guy who won a Heisman, that’s a pretty cool story that I can always talk about. That was awesome.”

• THANK YOU! PEWTER REPORT IS ON THE WAY TO 34,000 FOLLOWERS ON TWITTER! Thank you – Pewter Nation – for following the PewterReport.com Twitter account, as we hit a new milestone last month with 33,000 followers and we’re now up to 33,600. We cover Bucs practices, Bucs press conferences, Bucs games and break news on our @PewterReport Twitter account.

So if you aren’t one of the 33,600 Bucs fans that follow PewterReport.com on Twitter please do so right now so you don’t miss out on our Bucs coverage, including injury updates, breaking news and notifications about the latest stories and columns on PewterReport.com. Follow us today and help us get to 34,000!

• PewterReport.com contributor Steven Cheah had a great video breakdown on Twitter of Bucs rookie inside linebacker Devin White’s performance in London against Carolina where he posted a career-high and team-high nine tackles. Be sure to check this out.

Inaugural #PlayByPlayByCheah – Bucs Rookie LB @DevinWhite__40 vs. Carolina. Enjoy! #Bucsfilm2019wk6 pic.twitter.com/mNV3nDdoHT

— Steven Cheah (@StevenCheah) October 24, 2019

• And finally, if you are thinking about continuing your education, get your graduate degree in Business Administration at the University of Tampa. The University of Tampa is a private university located at 401 W Kennedy Boulevard, in picturesque downtown Tampa, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UT offers more than 200 programs of study, including 14 master’s degrees and a broad variety of majors, minors, pre-professional programs, and certificates.

UT offers graduate degrees in the following areas of study: business, creative writing, criminology and criminal justice, cybersecurity, nursing practice, education, educational leadership, entrepreneurship, exercise and nutrition science, instructional design and technology, nonprofit management, nursing, and physician assistant.

For more information, click on this link – UT.edu/graduate-degrees – or the University of Tampa banner. Enrollment for spring 2020 classes will begin soon, so visit the link and request information today.