FAB 4. SR’s Analysis Of Bucs vs. Dolphins Game

Bucs football season is officially here and that means the return of my 2-Point Conversion post-game column to PewterReport.com. You can read Thursday night’s column by clicking here, and if you’re looking for more of my post-game analysis I’ve got some additional notes to share with you right here.

• Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter did a masterful job of handling the quarterback reps in the preseason opener. He did exactly what I suggested he do on my WFLA News Channel 8 appearance last Sunday with Dan Lucas and Annie Sabo. He played Ryan Fitzpatrick for the entire first quarter, Jameis Winston the whole second quarter and Ryan Griffin for the second half. All three quarterbacks got great work and combined to complete 37-of-47 passes for 336 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions or fumbles.

Bucs OC Todd Monken and head coach Dirk Koetter – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Koetter also gets a tremendous amount of credit for giving offensive coordinator Todd Monken a shot at calling plays in Miami. I already discussed this at length in my 2-Point Conversion, so I won’t go into detail here other than to reiterate that it was a really good move by Koetter to do so and give him the experience of watching the game unfold, and strategizing and managing the game without the time-consuming pressure of calling plays. Well done, Dirk.

• The lineup at right guard on Thursday’s night was very telling. Rookie Alex Cappa really struggled in pass protection during the first two weeks of camp. The reason? Well, aside from coming from a small school like Humboldt State, Cappa played left tackle in college and the move inside to guard presents its challenges.

The action happens a lot faster as defensive tackles are right on top of you, trying to run through you as a guard, whereas most defensive ends will try to run around you and bend the edge when you play left tackle. Cappa had more time to react when he played left tackle, so this is an adjustment for him.

Veteran Evan Smith got the reps with the first team at right guard in the game because of his experience. Koetter didn’t want Fitzpatrick hurt in the preseason opener, so he, Monken and offensive line coach George Warhop went with the most experienced player, which was a good move. When Winston came in for the second quarter, he had a second-string offensive line in the game, but had Caleb Benenoch, who could wind up as the starter, in at right guard to help pass protect.

We finally saw Cappa in the game during the second half as he was put in to block for the team’s least valuable quarterback in Griffin, who will be the third-string QB when Winston returns from his three-game suspension to start the season. Cappa played okay in his first NFL game, but it’s clear he’s not ready to start yet and truly compete with Benenoch for the opportunity to line up at right guard when Tampa Bay travels to New Orleans on September 9. We’ll see how much improves in the remaining three preseason games.

• Ali Marpet’s move to left guard paid immediate dividends as he combined with center Ryan Jensen and left tackle Donovan Smith to blow open holes for running back Peyton Barber on the left side of the line. Marpet and Smith are best friends and have an undeniable chemistry together on the field. Most teams are right-handed when it comes to running the ball, but Marpet’s presence on the left side could make Koetter and Monken want to run the ball more behind them – or at least create a 50-50 balance between runs to the right and runs to the left this season, which will make the Bucs offense less predictable.

Bucs CB Carlton Davis – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

• Rookie cornerback Carlton Davis lived up to his second-round draft billing in Miami. Now you can see why we’ve been hyping him so much during the offseason. At 6-foot-1, Davis has very long arms, which he used to break up two passes in the game, in addition to making five tackles. Davis did surrender a 15-yard completion by playing off coverage, and that’s a type of coverage that he needs more work on to master after playing a lot of press coverage at Auburn.

I don’t see Davis recording a lot of interceptions this year because he didn’t do that a lot in college and he hasn’t recorded many picks in practice – actually none that I can remember. But Davis will swat balls away and prevent receptions, which is a good start. He fared better than fellow cornerback M.J. Stewart, who needs to do a better job of turning his head and locating the ball as it’s approaching the receiver.

• Speaking of cornerbacks, after doing a Pewter Report Conversation with Bucs cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III and featuring him as the lead story in this week’s SR’s Fab 5, he goes out and gets hurt in the first preseason game. Hargreaves, who has had a really good camp, pulled a groin muscle while slipping on the grass during a nickel blitz from the slot in the first quarter. Hargreaves’ pressure almost forced an interception by a diving Justin Evans, but he couldn’t hang on to the pass.

Hopefully Hargreaves’ injury is minor and that he returns for Saturday’s game at Tennessee. PewterReport.com’s Mark Cook saw Hargreaves is the locker room following Thursday night’s game and reported he was walking fine and wasn’t taped up. What was encouraging was seeing defensive coordinator Mike Smith blitz Hargreaves and other defensive backs during the preseason. Expect more aggressive play-calling from Smith this year as he has more weapons to work with on defense.

• Mike Evans said the number one thing he needs to work on this year is getting yards after catch. Yet, he fell into a bad habit – literally – on a pass across the middle on Thursday night in Miami. Evans has a bad habit of falling down after catching passes across the middle. He does this to protect the ball and himself from a big hit, which is hard to blame him for.

But too often, Evans has gone down without contact across the middle instead of making a safety take the 6-foot-5, 230-pounds to the ground with a big hit or a tackle. That’s exactly what happened again in Miami. Perhaps wide receivers coach Skyler Fulton can point this out to Evans and impress upon the big receiver to stay up, take the hit and perhaps bounce off for more yards and a big play.

• Bucs cornerback Ryan Smith really struggled in coverage against the Dolphins. Aside from giving up several catches, Smith got flagged for defensive pass interference. He rarely makes plays – pass breakups or interceptions – in practice on defense, and didn’t record an interception during the 2017 season despite plenty of playing time and passes thrown his way.

Bucs CB Ryan Smith – Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images

While Smith ended up clinching the Bucs’ win over the Dolphins with an interception on Miami’s final drive, the reality is that he’s the fifth-best cornerback on the team behind starter Brent Grimes, Hargreaves, Davis and Stewart. That might be good enough for Smith to stick around because he is still young and has room to grow, but more importantly, Smith is a stud on special teams covering punts.

• Bucs rookie running back Ronald Jones did not have an impressive debut in Miami. Jones dropped a pass that hit him right in the hands on third down on his first snap in the game, and unfortunately that’s something we’ve seen too often from RoJo. He just doesn’t have great hands and he’s not a natural pass catcher at this point of his career.

Unfortunately it didn’t get much better for the second-round pick. Outside of scoring a 2-yard touchdown in the second quarter, Jones rushed for nine yards on eight carries in his first NFL game, and didn’t show any of his trademark speed or acceleration in Miami.

Bucs RB Ronald Jones II – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Jones looked tentative, which is understandable, but needs to get over that quickly and be more decisive and aggressive as a runner like Peyton Barber is. Otherwise the coaches won’t trust him and he won’t gain much ground on Barber in terms of earning reps and carries in the regular season. I’m convinced that Barber could get 1,000 yards if he was the lead back in Tampa Bay this season.

• Bucs defensive tackle Vita Vea should make his preseason debut in Tennessee next Saturday. Vea was out of his walking boot last week and has been rehabbing his calf strain. While he might not suit up for Saturday’s practice, the team is hopeful that he will be ready to go Monday or Tuesday prior to the Bucs leaving for Nashville for joint practices with the Titans.

With Vea out of Thursday night’s game along with Mitch Unrein, who remains in the concussion protocol, the Bucs were forced to use two big defensive ends – Will Gholston and Patrick O’Connor inside at defensive tackle in the second half. Check out my analysis of those two here, and why Gholston’s roster spot may be in jeopardy.

• What an athletic touchdown catch by tight end Alan Cross, who hauled in a high pass from Griffin in the end zone in the second half. Cross’ spot on the depth chart was never in jeopardy as Koetter, Monken and tight ends coach Ben Steele value his versatility, flexibility and special teams prowess. The Bucs have three decent undrafted free agent tight ends along with Austin Johnson, but unless there is an injury, O.J. Howard, Cameron Brate, Antony Auclair and Cross will be the four tight ends on the opening day roster.

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

And speaking of Brate, yes, he was running with the second team at tight end on Thursday night. It’s becoming clear that Howard, who was last year’s first-round pick, is ready to have a breakout season. Brate will still play and get his snaps and catches, but he may take a back seat to Howard. We’ll see.

And Koetter and Monken were wise to play Brate with Winston in the second quarter as the two have an undeniable chemistry together. Brate caught five passes in the game for 48 yards and was clearly Winston’s go-to receiver on Thursday night, accounting for over one third of Winston’s targets in Miami.