Will he dominate again?

Last week, Bucs middle linebacker Kwon Alexander went nuts. Can he repeat his feat today?

Delivering one of the most dominating linebacker performances Joe can remember in recent Bucs history, Alexander racked up 17 tackles and a sack, 15 of those tackles were solo.

Was it a fluke or was it a window into the future?

Joe spoke with several Bucs defenders this week who credited Gerald McCoy, specifically, and the other Bucs defensive tackles (Clinton McDonald and Akeem Spence) for tying up the interior offensive line of the Dixie Chicks, which enabled Alexander to roam free. The results were obvious.

In speaking to Spence, Joe learned the Atlanta guards didn’t even try to go after Alexander they were so worried about GMC. Spence — Joe is paraphrasing here — said, ‘OK, if that’s what you want, go for it, knowing Alexander would wreak havoc as a result.’

Alexander spoke about how much GMC, McDonald and Spence helped him last week.

“They did a great job,” Alexander said. “They did what they were supposed to do. They kept [Atlanta offensive linemen] off of me and all I had to do was run [at the ballcarriers]. And that’s what I did and we were able to make plays.

“I wsa surprised. Last year they were coming [after me]. It was different. I just ran to my gaps. They let me go.”

Spence said what Atlanta did was “pick your poison.” If Atlanta went after Alexander, then GMC was free to run wild.

Now whether Alexander has a similar game today will likely depend on how the Arizona offensive line attacks the Bucs. Joe believes Atlanta’s offensive line is better than Arizona’s. So will the Cardinals be silly enough to let Alexander dominate like he did last week, or will the Cardinals roll the dice and gamble on GMC not destroying brittle Carson Palmer?