FAB 5. SR’s Buc Shots

• Prior to Thursday night’s 19-14 loss to New England, Tampa Bay had an opportunity to improve to seven straight wins dating back to four-straight wins to end the 2016 season. The Bucs started off 2-0 at home in 2017 after Sunday’s 25-23 victory over the New York Giants and had four straight home wins to end the 2016 campaign.

Bucs QB Jameis Winston – Photo by: Mark Lomoglio/PR

The Bucs’ six-game winning streak is tied for the second longest in team history, matching 1997 (four wins) to ’98 (two wins), 2000 (five wins) to ’01 (one win) and the ‘02 and ’08 seasons.

The longest home winning streak in Tampa Bay’s regular season history is eight games and occurred first with the last five victories in 1996 and the first three home wins of ’97. It was matched a few years later with the last seven games of the 1999 campaign and the first game of the 2000 season.

If you include the Bucs’ home playoff victory against Washington in 1999 the actual winning streak at Raymond James Stadium extended to nine games. Tampa Bay will have a chance to start a new home winning streak on October 29 against Carolina.

• Kosmo’s Q –Competition Brisket Mop / $12.99


Kosmo’s Q Competition Brisket Mop is meant for one thing: briskets. It’s a concentrated blend so you can add your own flavors (if you feel the need to) to spice up your brisket. You can even open up the bottle and mix with a beer of your choice. You’ll get about two brisket-worth’s out of the bottle. If you’re cooking a brisket, you will want this mop sauce.

Pick up some Kosmo’s Q – Competition Brisket Mop at Just Grillin, which is located at 11743 N. Dale Mabry Highway in Carrollwood, just 15 minutes north of Raymond James Stadium. Or shop online at JustGrillinFlorida.com

• Bucs rookie linebacker Kendell Beckwith had his first double-digit tackle game of his young NFL career on Thursday night, recording 14 tackles (including 12 solo) against New England to lead all defenders. Through four games Beckwith has 36 tackles to lead all Buccaneers. The next closest Tampa Bay defender is safety Chris Conte, who has 24 stops.

Beckwith, a third-round pick, has been the big surprise of the rookie class, filling in nicely for injured middle linebacker Kwon Alexander, who has missed all but the first quarter of the season due to a hamstring injury.

• Speaking of Alexander, the Bucs are hopeful that both he and injured weakside linebacker Lavonte David (ankle) will be ready to play at Arizona on October 15. Adarius Glanton has filled in nicely for David over the last two games, recording seven tackles and recording the first sack and first fumble of his career against Patriots quarterback Tom Brady after notching six tackles last week versus New York and eight tackles playing the strongside linebacker spot at Minnesota. With 23 stops, Glanton is third on the team in tackles through four games.

• The reason for the sudden departure of Tampa Bay defensive end Jacquies Smith, who was cut on Wednesday prior to Thursday’s game against New England? He didn’t trust his surgically repaired knee in practice and during the seven snaps he played on defense against New York on Sunday. In practice, Smith didn’t show the burst he had prior to tearing his ACL, and was clearly the Bucs’ sixth-best defensive end – even behind newcomer Will Clarke IV.

Will it take Smith a few more weeks to fully come back, or a few more months? Or will Smith not ever return to form? The Bucs didn’t have the answers to those questions and couldn’t afford to wait around and have him occupy a precious roster spot.

• We’ve got another Pewter Nation Podcast for you, Pewter Nation! The latest one was recorded immediately following Tampa Bay’s heartbreaking 19-14 loss to New England on Thursday Night Football. Here is a link to the latest Pewter Nation Podcast – Episode 34: Get The Folk Out.

PewterReport.com’s Mark Cook, Trevor Sikkema and yours truly break down the Bucs’ loss to the Patriots and take kicker Nick Folk, quarterback Jameis Winston and head coach Dirk Koetter to task. Don’t miss this one! 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.

• As Tampa Bay Times Bucs beat writer Greg Auman reported, Bucs kicker Nick Folk has missed seven kicks – five field goals and two extra points – in the first four games of 2017. Roberto Aguayo only missed 11 kicks – nine field goals and two extra points – in all 16 games last year in his rookie season. When asked if Folk, who missed three field goals in Thursday night’s 19-14 loss to the Patriots, was going to be Tampa Bay’s field goal kicker moving forward, Koetter said: “Yeah, we’ll talk about that. [General manager] Jason [Licht] and I had a brief conversation afterwards. That will be something that will be forthcoming. But, you don’t want to make any rash decisions.”

In other words, Folk will be cut on Friday. If he’s not then the Bucs are continuing to play with fire at the kicker position and will ultimately continue to get burned. According to NFL research, the Bucs are 28-42 (66.7 percent) on field goals over the last two years, and their 14 missed field goals are four more than any other team in that span.

• One of our premier advertising partners is Just Grillin – the official sponsor of the Pewter Player of the Week awards on PewterReport.com. If you love to grill out and haven’t been to Just Grillin, what are you waiting for? Just Grillin is Tampa Bay’s premier outdoor living company and your one-stop shop for tailgating with a huge selection of Weber, Big Green Egg and other grills and smokers, along with pellets, charcoal and wood chips, BBQ sauces and rubs, and grilling tools and accessories.

Just Grillin is located at 11743 N. Dale Mabry Highway in Carrollwood – just 15 minutes north of Raymond James Stadium. Stop by on your way to the game to get the supplies you need to tailgate like a pro. Visit them on the web at JustGrillinFlorida.com

This weekend Just Grillin is presenting its annual Eggs By The Bay Egg Fest and BBQ Cook-Off, which benefits the Shriners Hospitals for Children. The event takes place on Saturday, October 7 from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at A La Carte Event Pavillion. Click here for more information.

Tickets are just $34.99 and children under the age of 10 are FREE. Your ticket includes admission and tastings from all of the fabulous Big Green Egg chefs. Come hungry! Click here to purchase your ticket.