Faith In Beckwith
September 17th, 2017
Should start today.
Unless something weird has happened or is going to happen, it’s a pretty safe bet that rookie linebacker Kendell Beckwith will start today at strongside linebacker for your Buccaneers, baby.
And Joe has faith Beckwith will do well. More on that in a bit.
Late in training camp, Joe caught up with Beckwith, the third round pick who shows the influence of Kwon Alexander. A lot of Bucs folks refer to Alexander as the “Jameis of the defense” because of his leadership and his passion for the game. And that is already paying off.
You see, Alexander and Bucs defensive coordinator Mike Smith seemed to hit it off right away when Smith came on board in January 2016.
The two have such a bond that it is common Alexander comes into work 30 minutes or an hour earlier than scheduled, and Smith makes the time to have a daily sitdown with Alexander and they go over the defense and the daily task at hand. Just the two of them talkin’ football. It’s almost like a father-son relationship.
Well, that little extra effort Alexander puts in has been noticed by Beckwith, who once was teammates with Alexander at LSU. Beckwith, being a sharp observer, started showing up to practice early too, joining in with Alexander and Smith for the chalktalk. It’s become a regular routine for Beckwith as well.
“It is just good to get in and get the brain started thinking about football,” Alexander said. “Sometimes, we just go in and watch old tape. So we watch that film and we are just talking, talking football. Kind of like motivational things. Sometimes, we go through plays and sometimes we just talk football and sometimes we watch film.”
Beckwith said he especially enjoyed watching film of two old games the Bucs played in 2001 and 2002, both against the Baltimore Crows. There was solid linebacker play by Derrick Brooks and Ray Lewis. Smith just happened to be Lewis’ position coach in 2002.
“Oh, my God!” Beckwith exclaimed about watching Brooks and Lewis in the same game.
And just like Alexander, Beckwith seems to be developing a tight bond with Smith. He certainly appreciates Smith coming in early just to meet with the two young Bucs linebackers.
“That is pretty special,” Beckwith said. “This is my first year in the league and I don’t know of too many defensive coordinators that do that.”
Oh, there is one other person Beckwith hasn’t met yet, but he wants badly to sit down and pick his brain. That would be double-nickel, Mr. Derrick Brooks. Beckwith did meet Brooks briefly when Brooks spoke to the team, but Beckwith hopes to have a football meeting with him.
“I shook his hand and introduced myself,” Beckwith said of his brief meeting with Brooks. “That is someone I definitely am looking forward to talking to in the future.”
Now here is why Joe thinks Beckwith will have a fine start to his NFL career today. The Bears are a running team. Well, you think the Bears are going to run at Alexander? Do you think they will run at Lavonte David? Hell, no. They are going to test the rookie.
Because only a moron of an offensive coordinator wants to run at Alexander or David instead of a rookie making his first NFL start. Therefore, Joe believes Beckwith will get plenty of opportunities to make plays today. And Joe believes Beckwith will be just fine.
September 17th, 2017 at 1:45 am
More worried at other positions. Kendell will be just fine. When they try to run it at him he’s gonna come up big. Amazing comeback!!!
Beckwith’s putting pressure on Lavonte David, one of my favorite Bucs players, to play at a pro bowl level. With the big 2nd contracts we got coming up, Lavonte is sad to say expendable if doesn’t play to his old Probowl self and make the Bucs keep him.
BUC CAN EERS
GO BUCS!!!
September 17th, 2017 at 3:22 am
I don’t think I’d ever use the word “expendable” to describe Lavonte David. If we get rid of him and move Beckwith to MIKE and Alexander to SAM or WILL, who will play the third position? BOND? GLANTON? David not at his highest level is still better with all due respect.
September 17th, 2017 at 4:18 am
Our starting LB corps has the P-O-T-E-N-T-I-A-L to be very good, but it’s still just potential at this point in the season. Their ‘baptism by fire’ starts today. Three LB aspects I’m most interested in: (1) Can our LBs contain & stop the run?; (2) Can they limit gains from the short pass?; and (3) Can they effectively blitz & add pressure on the QB? Convinced that the Bears’ gameplan will once again call for a good mixture of runs & short passes like in their game against the Falcons. Bears will test Beckwith early (and to a lesser degree David), but I’m more concerned about Kwon’s play in the middle (been awhile since he’s played).
September 17th, 2017 at 5:06 am
Great pick Licht!!!
I know I know…he whiffed on Aguayo and ASJ…
But…
Kwon in the 4th? He is a 2nd round talent.
Beckwith in the 3rd? He is a 2nd round talent.
Godwin in the 3rd? He is a 2nd round talent.
Marpet in the 2nd? He is a 1st round talent!
Licht has drafted some incredibly talented in the 3rd and 4th round.
Now we just hope that Justin Evans can develop into a star-safety and Ryan Smith can develop into a solid #4 CB.
September 17th, 2017 at 5:30 am
Due to lack of preparation. Bucs lose today 17 – 10
September 17th, 2017 at 5:58 am
Lack of preparation? They have had two weeks to prepare.
September 17th, 2017 at 6:51 am
No practice brah!
September 17th, 2017 at 7:00 am
Ya’ know Joe…. EVERYONE seems to love/like Kwon…. I really do like his attitude and his passion for football…..BUT… he disappoints on several levels as an NFL LINEBACKER. His pass coverage is average at best (gets burned ALOT) and, far too often, he is out of position – and always has been (even in college). I’ll say this, Kwon loves football and plays above his limits as a non-instinctive linebacker who has always taken the bait way too early.
September 17th, 2017 at 7:38 am
Never a better time to deploy the 3/4 than today Coach K and Smith!
September 17th, 2017 at 8:45 am
@Largosamim, I’m not sure you know what you’re talking about. Let you tell it he should be on a practice squad. SMH
September 17th, 2017 at 9:21 am
Beckwith IS a rookie. But tackling…unlike with Evans is a genuine strength. What he is still mastering is coverage in NFL D’s…I hope the Bears run at him a lot…that won’t fool him…perhaps some swing passes in his area might but I hope they run it at him all day long!
September 17th, 2017 at 11:34 am
BigBucFan11,
It not about being better. Of course LD is better but, at at some point if he’s not playing at a probowl level, I’m saying they won’t be able to afford him with all the players that need to be resigned. For that matter, as much as I like McCoy, Gerald must play at a higher level also. You unfortunately can’t keep everyone unless people agree to play for less to keep the team together.