FAB 5. SR’s Buc Shots

• I will be heading out for a holiday family vacation over Thanksgiving so there will NOT be a SR’s Fab 5 next Friday. Enjoy your Black Friday shopping. I will be contributing to the PewterReport.com Pewter Preview & Predictions column for the next two games, and the weekly PewterReport.com Roundtables as well, but Trevor Sikkema will be handling my 2-Point Conversion column duties for the next two weeks, so that will be a treat. I can’t wait to read his 2 Big Statements, 2 Probing Questions and 2 Bold Predictions. Have a Happy Thanksgiving, Pewter Nation!

• Here is one more thing on Jon Gruden. He’s a big family guy. During his hiatus away from coaching in the NFL, Gruden volunteered to help coach Carrollwood Day School where his son, Deuce, played quarterback and his youngest son, Jayson, is currently a slotback. After winning a world title as a weightlifter this past summer, Deuce took on an assistant strength coach position with his uncle, Jay Gruden, with the Washington Redskins.

Gruden probably sees his son working for his brother in Washington and longs for the opportunity to work with him in Tampa Bay and that may be yet another factor in wanting the Buccaneers head coaching job if it becomes available. Nepotism usually isn’t considered to be a great idea for the workplace, but Gruden’s son working as a weight room assistant is different than having Lovie Smith’s son, Mikal, as a position coach. Mikal Smith was in way in over his head as the Bucs’ defensive backs coach in 2014-15 and the secondary struggled mightily as a result.

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• Thank you, Pewter Nation, for helping us surpass 28,000 Twitter followers for our @PewterReport Twitter account. For those of you who don’t follow us on Twitter, please do so and help us reach 29,000. For  the latest Bucs news, observations from the PewterReport.com staff, reports from Bucs press conferences and notifications of the latest PewterReport.com stories, join the masses who follow @PewterReport and help us continue to grow our following on Twitter. And if you are on Facebook, please follow our Facebook page by clicking here.

• I documented North Carolina State defensive end Bradley Chubb in last week’s SR’s Fab 5 column, and he went out and had another sensational game for the Wolfpack on Saturday, racking up nine tackles, in addition to five tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles in a 17-14 win over Boston College. Chubb now has 25 sacks at N.C. State, which breaks Mario Williams’ career sack record. Chubb’s 10 sacks this season ties his career high from a year ago. Chubb has the potential to be a top 10 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and could be targeted by Tampa Bay.

• Tight end O.J. Howard already has as many losses during his rookie season in Tampa Bay – six – than he had in four seasons at Alabama. That came as quite a surprise midway through the season.

“It’s different, but I know that the NFL is a long season – a lot longer than college,” Howard said. “It’s just different. You just have to keep playing week to week. There is a lot of great talent in the NFL. It’s all across the board even. College is up and down and the NFL is all across even. That’s just different. I was kind of expecting to not have this many losses, but I knew we’d have some because it is hard to go undefeated.”

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

What Howard was prepared for was to be forgotten about from time to time in Tampa Bay’s offense – unfortunately. After catching six passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns against Buffalo, Howard has only been targeted four times over the last three games, catching just three passes for 22 yards. The biggest gripe of Alabama fans was how Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban and offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin forgot about using him as a weapon on offense.

“This is nothing that I haven’t seen before,” Howard said. “I dealt with it in college, so I always know that there will be opportunities that come along. You have to wait your time. The most important thing is when that opportunity comes you have to make the most of it. That’s what I’m big on and I definitely trust the process.”

Howard, who turns 23 this Sunday, Nov. 19, loves to block just as much as he does catching passes.

“It’s a lot about being a competitor,” Howard said. “I love to be able score touchdowns but there is nothing like throwing a big block to allow a running back to break free for a big run or touchdown. It feels great. I love to block and be able to make those types of plays. It’s just part of it.”

It would be nice for Dirk Koetter to throw Howard a bone on his birthday and put him back into the game plan as a receiver. The Bucs drafted Howard in the first round because he’s a complete tight end – not just a blocking tight end.

• They won a game! The Bucs won a game! It’s been awhile. Now can they win back-to-back games with a victory in Miami on Sunday? Check out the Pewter Nation Podcast that previews this Sunday’s Sunshine State battle. Get the insight and analysis on the Bucs from PewterReport.com’s Mark Cook, Trevor Sikkema and yours truly in our latest podcast. We talk about what this game means to Dirk Koetter’s future, why Flipper was such dumb TV show and the latest on the Jon Gruden rumors in this season in this week’s podcast. Here is a link to the latest Pewter Nation Podcast – Episode 45: Hidden Meaning For A Meaningless Miami Game

If you haven’t listened to this week’s podcast yet, do it during your lunch break or fight rush hour traffic on your way home from work with some Bucs news, entertainment and laughs. Mark and Trevor will be taping another Pewter Nation Podcast on Monday afternoon after the Bucs play the Dolphins while I’m out of town on my Thanksgiving vacation. 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.

• It wasn’t a good look for embattled Tampa Bay head coach Dirk Koetter – and I say embattled because of the team’s 3-6 record this year and rumors swirling about a potential Jon Gruden-Bucs reunion. On Thursday, Koetter ended practice about 15 minutes early and hurried to the podium for his post-practice press conference. The local media is usually given a two-minute warning to make their way over to the press conference room, but Koetter was already entered. As most of the media was still filing in, Koetter noted that it was a sparse crowd, muttered “Good,” waited 10-15 seconds for a question to be asked (that never came) and then said, “Thanks” and walked out.

Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter – Photo by: PR

I asked PewterReport.com’s Mark Cook and Trevor Sikkema, who were in the press conference room when Koetter took the stage, why they didn’t ask any questions, and after being present for both Monday’s and Wednesday’s pressers they didn’t have any left to ask. Fair enough, and with how chippy Koetter has been with some members of the media lately it’s better not to ask a question at all instead of asking one just to buy time for the rest of the media members. Sometimes I don’t ask questions because they’ve already been asked of Koetter and someone beat me to it and it’s been answered.

But Koetter should have waited another 30 seconds for the rest of the media to enter before bolting for the door. It just gives off the appearance of him being rattled from the pressure of a losing season and wanting to dodge the media.

Koetter is not a fan of the media and doesn’t have much use for press conferences. He would prefer not to do them if he had his way. He’s not alone in that regards. Most head coaches would rather watch film than talk to the press, but part of being a head coach is communicating with the media. I’ve always believed that coaches are ultimately fired via the win-loss column and not the Sunday newspaper column, but Koetter is very standoffish with the media in a Greg Schiano-like way. And that certainly didn’t help Schiano’s cause in the end.

• And finally, if you are looking to buy some Bucs gear or sports apparel for ANY team (Lightning?) in ANY sport (college football, NBA, NHL, etc.) there is a way to do that and support PewterReport.com! It’s time to do some holiday shopping and Black Friday and Cyber Monday are right around the corner. PewterReport.com has partnered Fanatics.com, the leader in sports apparel and fan gear and receives a portion of each sale made through our site.

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Now you know where to visit if you are looking to purchase a Lavonte David, Mike Evans or O.J. Howard Bucs jersey – or any sports merchandise. Visit PewterReport.com first, then click on the Bucs Gear tab.

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