Elite Roster?
July 13th, 2020
Expects big season.
Adam Schein is not one to hold back opinions, good or bad.
So when the CBS and SiriusXM sports television and radio personality checked out the rosters of all 32 NFL teams, he was stoked for the Bucs’ chances this season.
How much so? Schein believes the Bucs have the fifth-most complete roster in the NFL.
Much has been written about the offense. Not surprising, with Tom Brady’s relocation to Tampa. The G.O.A.T is still great — and now he has the league’s premier 1-2 punch at receiver in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. And Rob Gronkowski’s reuniting with the quarterback, while joining a TE group that already included O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate. Talk about a wealth of receiving options! Not to mention, the Buccaneers’ O-line got better with the addition of No. 13 overall pick Tristan Wirfs.
But the defense is what sells Tampa Bay as a total package. In the second half of last season, when the Bucs’ young secondary started to come into its own, this D was top-tier. Vita Vea and Ndamukong Suh form a brick wall against the run, Shaq Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul hunt quarterbacks off the edge, and Lavonte David and Devin White comprise the best linebacking duo in the game.
In Joe’s eyes, there is one major hole on the Bucs roster. Perhaps two.
Running back is a monster hole, there is no getting around it. Any spin someone tries to put on this is simply a sell. Sure, Joe *hopes* Ke’Shawn Vaughn is decent, but the dude hasn’t taken one handoff in practice yet.
The other potential hole is safety. Yes, Joe likes Jordan Whitehead’s hitting. A lot. And while Joe is very high on Antoine Winfield, Jr., he’s also a rookie who hasn’t snapped on a chin strap in a Bucs practice yet.
For the Bucs to make a run to play meaningful games in January, at least two things must happen. The first is keep park-violating, home-invading, NFLPA-ignoring Tom Brady upright. The other is make sure Jason Pierre-Paul has gas in the tank come December.
July 13th, 2020 at 6:15 am
Am I still asleep, or did a member of the national media just give LVD props? Did he’ll freeze over!? Is this the final sign that we are now in the end times?!
July 13th, 2020 at 6:43 am
Actually, no gas in JPP’s tank would be a good thing….you can’t spin-out a Ferrari if it is out of gas.
This is the first time I’ve heard about us having a problem at running back (sarcasm.
July 13th, 2020 at 7:22 am
We have DARE at RB! I did that for you TBBF…
July 13th, 2020 at 8:12 am
The biggest issue in our run game was D coordinators stacking the box against us every game. Forcing the pass and interceptions.
Marpet and Jensen will be pro bowlers.
Rojo. Vaughn and Dare will get the job done.
Fun option to watch will be Raymond Calais sneaking in after being our special teams addition.
In BA I Trust!
July 13th, 2020 at 8:22 am
RoJo will get 1000+ yards on the ground barring injury. With TB12 pulling the trigger and all of the receiving weapons at his disposal – look out! Teams would be crazy to stack the box.
July 13th, 2020 at 10:06 am
If they play, I am optimistic the the addition of Brady, Gronk and Wirfs will raise ROJO’s game to another level and Vaughn may be a pleasant surprise.
July 13th, 2020 at 10:08 am
Joe whitehead is more than a big hitter he’s a smart player. Check out some of his breakdowns on YouTube. He’s a big part of that run defense and his coverage is decent. He’s getting better with coverage I have hope for him.
July 13th, 2020 at 11:00 am
The Bucs would be an “elite roster”………..if the year was 2015!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
go bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 13th, 2020 at 11:21 am
Joe says: For the Bucs to make a run to play meaningful games in January, at least two things must happen.
Joe you failed to mention two other important factors: a) the season comes off as planned, and b) none of our starters are infected with the virus.
If we can get buy those two things, then perhaps RB and Safety will be concerns. One can only hope!
July 13th, 2020 at 11:43 am
That’s with any team. That’s not just unique to the Bucs.
July 13th, 2020 at 2:16 pm
How many times have we heard about the Bucs roster being top notch? I’m taking the wait and see approach.