9 Things You Might Have Missed Friday Night
August 14th, 2017
Photo courtesy of Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Of course Joe has rewatched Friday night’s preseason opener. How cool is it to have real 2017 film on the Bucs? Joe is in heaven! The game opened with long, sustained drives by both teams. Joe has notes on happenings many likely overlooked.
*Kendell Beckwith had a very forgettable start to his NFL career. On the opening kickoff, Beckwith was flagged for a block in the back, and that faulty block led to him losing his balance and running into Bucs returner Ryan Smith. The hard hit brought Smith to the turf.
*America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston, was taken to the ground by Carlos Dunlap on the first Bucs play from scrimmage. It was a rollout right, and a completion. But Joe believes the NFL chalks that up as a QB “hit.” Jameis has taken more “hits” than any NFL QB over the past two seasons.
*Sweezy eaten up in the run game by Geno Atkins. Sweezy mauled in pass protection, too.
*In a move that warmed Joe’s heart, Donovan Smith’s punch off the line of scrimmage literally knocked Michael “Ghost” Johnson on his ass. Fantastic. Smith way too strong for Johnson on that play. A few plays later, it happened again. Johnson tried a spin move on Smith, who recognized it quickly and lowered his head into Johnson’s back. That drive/jolt in the back brought Johnson to the turf.
*Doug Martin cost himself at least two yards on 1st-and-10 from the Bengals’ 17 yard line. Martin ran left, a designed play with a great block from Mike Evans. Martin had a head of steam but pulled up needlessly to cut back inside where the defense was waiting. Should have kept running to the left edge and stayed 1-on-1 with cornerback William Jackson. Great end zone view featured on the Bengals’ local broadcast.
*Cornerback Ryan Smith, starting for Brent Grimes, gave A.J. Green a seven-yard cushion at the line of scrimmage. When the ball was thrown to Green 13 yards down the field, Smith was still giving him at least a three-yard completion. No surprise, the pass was complete.
*Bucs jumped offsides and it the official called it on Robert Ayers, but the replay showed it was Lavonte David and Noah Spence jumping the snap. Ayers was motionless.
*A couple plays later, Noah Spence got turned around and mauled in the running game by Tyler Eifert. Ugly.
*Not a pretty night for Chris Baker. He won’t win any motor awards. Hopefully, he plays with a different intensity in real games.
August 14th, 2017 at 9:34 am
nice piece joe.
dline is going to be a problem. Not a lot driven winners in that position group and it is proven incredibly fragile ALL OF THEM….
I was disappointed in Ryan Smith but still sold he has a great future
August 14th, 2017 at 9:37 am
Vernon Hargreaves should be arrested for grand larceny.That is by far One of the sickest picks I have ever seen.
August 14th, 2017 at 9:37 am
Well that was a whole lot of negativity.. ok, time for another cup of coffee
August 14th, 2017 at 9:45 am
I definitely noticed that Doug Martin play you referenced. In fact I rewound that play several times because that was such a strange move by Doug. In fact linebacker #55 Vontaze Burfict had enough time to side shuffle all the way across the back of the Dline and then stuff Martin as he tried to cut inside. I kept rewinding it trying to figure out how come, even with the cut back that the play took so long to develop that the LB on the other side of the field had time to make that play. Martin made a bad choice but the play was too slow to develop anyway. Its like Jameis and Martin were moving in slow motion.
August 14th, 2017 at 9:46 am
I really think we should attempt to trade for Jeremy Hill from Cincinnati.
That’s my take away from Friday night.
August 14th, 2017 at 9:52 am
when we were in the red zone, did anyone notice Hawley getting blown up by the DT?….that came on the first incompletion to evans in the endzone…..
dotson still looks shaky….
didn’t see anything special from any of our rb’s….
baker and gmc seemed to be going thru the motions….
beckwith and j.evans have a ton of work to do….
wrs have some work to do….
@bighog was right….Joe Mixon looked like a stud….good thing it only preseason…..GO BUCS!!!!
August 14th, 2017 at 9:59 am
“@bighog was right”
There’s something you don’t read everyday – or ever for that matter….
August 14th, 2017 at 10:04 am
I am rewatching the game today, and one thing I am noticing is that Noah Spence is constantly beating his man and was in the backfield all night. Sometimes rushing the QB into a bad throw is just as good if not better than a sack.
August 14th, 2017 at 10:04 am
People rewatch the tape Chris baker looks bad..
August 14th, 2017 at 10:09 am
You are right Mike Evans GOAT!!!!!!! NS57 was the only one to get a constant pass rush!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot wait until the regular season when Joe will write articles of NS57 “Breaking out” , “Stepping Up”!!!! and how going against DS76 made him a good player!!!!!!LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Its a “Realist Repost”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Buc Realist Says:
August 13th, 2017 at 10:58 am
Yes there are Joe!!!!! Noah Spence!!!!!! In fact, before the end of the year, many will be saying, that NFL GM Jason Licht will need to find help on the Defensive line to complement Noah Spence play!!!!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 14th, 2017 at 10:16 am
bighog has some valid points from time to time….he was right about Roberto as well….he mentioned Roberto may not make it out of TC…..not because of his talent but his head….something dirk confirmed…..GO BUCS!!!!
August 14th, 2017 at 10:17 am
A lot of good stuff there joe. Seemed to me like Jameis got hit several times. He was under a lot of pressure as well I.e first fade to Evans in the ez he had a def come free and in his face w/i 1.2 sec.
Jameis also got Evans and DJax blown up by lbs. on the first play Howard was running free but he threw to Evans who almost got decapitated by burfict.
The oline got owned. The bengals got off their blocks quickly and gang tackled. Atkins bull-rushed Sweezy right into Jameis on the long pass to Evans who btw is still committing offensive pass interference and going down with the ball far too soon, imo.
Finally, Doug, you right he doesn’t seem to have the burst to cut back or change directions. More importantly he doesn’t seem to have the confidence to follow his blockers. On a designed toss sweep right Doug cuts inside rather than following hawley and Sweezy outside where they had the corner sealed and at least a 10 yard lane for him to run.
It’s early but I didn’t see any marked improvement from any group except maybe the fullbacks. Alan Cross continues to impress with gutsy blocking and dependable hands. The other guy #46? sure looked the part as well. How much longer until Stocker gets cut?
August 14th, 2017 at 10:20 am
Definite rust….I know we’re not game planning, but looking for better performances across the board. Can’t start this slow in the regular season. We have the talent, just need all 53 on the same page when the bullets start flying.
August 14th, 2017 at 10:21 am
Is Chris Baker the next “Ghost?”
August 14th, 2017 at 10:21 am
My question is where in the hell is Will Gholston at?
August 14th, 2017 at 10:25 am
I’m praying that Chris Baker is our next “Anthony Collins”. The only effort Collins ever gave the Bucs is taking his game check to the bank.
August 14th, 2017 at 10:26 am
Sorry, meant “isn’t”! Lol
August 14th, 2017 at 10:35 am
Hey Chris (Baker) come to the coach’s office and hey, bring your playbook….
August 14th, 2017 at 10:39 am
a little worried about sweezy. O lineman don’t typicaly take a year off from back/neck and comeback great.
August 14th, 2017 at 10:40 am
Great observations Joe. Baker & Beckwith stood out all game long, for mediocre play unfortunately. Really disappointed in our run defense but it is just the 1st preseason game. Like GMC said after the game, now that it’s on film, they can go back & figure out what’s working & what isn’t. No need to panic … yet.
On the offensive side of the ball, it’s the ‘big picture’ that counts, not specific plays. Jameis drove the team down the field TWICE in the 1st qtr, so the OLine must’ve been doing something right (and no DB55, the OLine didn’t ‘get owned’ but they did have a number of kinda ugly plays). Martin didn’t look all that bad (great spin move early in the 1st qtr BTW) … for the 1st preseason game. Was quite impressed with Charles Sims, and to a lesser extent Peyton Barber. Jameis looked awesome I thought. This next week of practice & 2nd game should tell everyone a lot about what we’ve REALLY got here.
August 14th, 2017 at 10:40 am
It’s pre season, u guys sound like whinny little girls^^^^^
August 14th, 2017 at 10:43 am
Joe, I hear what you’re saying about Sweezy. But I thought after the first few plays he settled down and did a respectable job. He pushed the pile nicely on a few run plays and his pass blocking improved as the opening drive continued. The guy hasn’t played in a year so I’m going to give him some time to get back into the groove.
August 14th, 2017 at 10:45 am
Guess we’ll have to define “owned”. Martin and Smith avg 2.8 ypc, Jameis was hit several times and Fitz was the leading rusher. QBs were scrambling hard all night.
August 14th, 2017 at 10:47 am
Just discussing our observations, relax, it’s not that serious.
August 14th, 2017 at 11:02 am
I think it’s safe to say Kwon, Spence and Hargreaves looked good enough to keep out for the rest of the preseason. I wish coaches thought that way too
August 14th, 2017 at 11:03 am
So far not a fan of the Baker signing. My fear is his slacker attitude becomes a cancer on the D line.
August 14th, 2017 at 11:04 am
And Jameis. If we are gonna play him next week, we need the long snapper to hurl it to him 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage in max protection
August 14th, 2017 at 11:07 am
Yeah, just observations here, mainly small criticisms:
-Starting D-line did not look good at all. You guys mentioned Spence, but he didn’t show until after Cinci subbed. Very disappointing. Baker was a complete non-factor.
-LBs seemed to be routinely out of position, especially Beckwith. I expect it from a rookie though.
-Ryan Smith was outmatched, obviously.
-Ditto, Justin Evans.
-Back-up WRs must not want to make the team, except maybe Reedy.
-Fitz’s pick was A-W-F-U-L!!! It’s those plays that will lose a football game for you.
August 14th, 2017 at 11:11 am
Good read JBF. I agree with some of the Sweezy criticism but he may need more time to get acclimated. He has not been out there for almost 24 months (12-27-15)! As JBF knows, its next to impossible to play at a high level with that long of an absence. I thought he played as expected due to the time off.
On the contrary, giving props to Donavan Smith against the ghost……he is the ghost for a reason and its not contact related.
August 14th, 2017 at 11:19 am
funny how people can think so many different things about the line play based on watching the same game.
I thought 1st string O-line was just fine in pass pro despite missing our best O-lineman. Jameis had plenty of time on many throws. Sure he was pressured on others; but that’s going to happen even with great O-lines. No O-line is going to allow 0 QB hits and 0 pressures every game.
Winston was hit like once (?) – maybe twice. If he was hit once per quarter this season he’d be on pace for a much better year than last year.
I’m not going to worry about the D-line too much until week 1. I have a feeling Baker doesn’t really give a sh1t about going all out in a preseason game; but we may see a different dude week 1. I could be wrong though.
August 14th, 2017 at 12:14 pm
So nothing good
August 14th, 2017 at 12:24 pm
What MikeEvansGOAT said!
And what Lord C said!!!
Those of us who had to watch the NFL net saw the Cincinnati broadcast. And they said..wow…#3 is getting way to much time..it that continues he’ll pick any defense apart.
Funny what our opponents saw and what our fans see.
One of my fears is that we win a dozen games and make the playoffs. That will kill about 1/3 of our posters who will no longer have anything to beotch about.
August 14th, 2017 at 12:26 pm
Bucfanman
That’s where u are wrong. When McCaron came in it was still most of the 1st team offense out there including the entire starting O line.
August 14th, 2017 at 12:57 pm
I kept my eye on Sweezy on the first drive, and I saw him knock several D Linemen back nicely. It may not be pretty, but the guy is tough and plays hard.
August 14th, 2017 at 1:12 pm
ME…GOAT- I’ll have to take your word. I was swilling tasty adult beverages at the time. I remember seeing him flash a couple of times but the line as a whole was a bit underwhelming IMO.
August 14th, 2017 at 1:43 pm
Looked to me like the Bucs passing attack is nearly unstoppable. Chris Baker appears to be in terrible physical condition.
August 14th, 2017 at 3:06 pm
The Bucs, barring significant injuries, will be a playoff team this season.
No team is 100% at all positions all the time. Let’s see how this team pans out when it counts before we judge the entire season or any particular player.
That said: “Joe Mixon” is a really great RB. ATC, the Bengals have no excuses not to go far in the playoffs.
Go Bucs….!!!
August 14th, 2017 at 3:35 pm
Something else you may have missed: There was a large group of us Bucs fans at the Cinci game in section 139 (myself included) with 2 Bengals fans in the mix (very front row). Gerald and Kwon came over after halftime and gave them each Bucs swag. Assuming they didn’t like seeing the orange behind their bench!
August 14th, 2017 at 3:55 pm
Donovan Smith is playing well and he even looks like he is in much better shape tan last year. Sweezy is a stud. Dotson is still a top 5 RT in this league. My biggest concern is depth at CB. With Jude out and Brent Grimes injury Ryan Smith should get more playing time with is exactly all he needs. Licht should consider getting a FA CB to fill in? Chris Conte is showing why he should be the starter.
August 14th, 2017 at 4:52 pm
Great pic at the top of this thread! Lafell is at least four inches taller than VHGIII
You can see that disparity in the pic…but you can also see as long as the DB has the “hops” he can compensate…even in the endzone.
August 14th, 2017 at 5:30 pm
@ stpete
Love that picture too. What a freaking play by VH3. What made it even better was the dopes in the booth calling for a guaranteed TD moments b4!!!! LOL
August 14th, 2017 at 11:02 pm
The first preseason game is the most meaningless of them all. The next one will show us a little more.
I hold nothing against the offensive line. Its first game.
As to Hawley, he dominated his DT most of the time, even pushing him upfield, which the play by play guys mentioned.