Vita Vea And Dak Prescott
May 15th, 2021
Time to eat in September?
Joe believes one of the most underrated stories of the 2020 Super Bowl-winning season was Vita Vea.
The 2018 first-round pick missed 11 starts due to a broken foot. But man, did he ever return at the right time.
Vea was able to come back for the playoffs and his play at Green Bay and against the Chiefs in the Super Bowl was a huge reason the Bucs defense played so well and perhaps won a Super Bowl.
Well, with the announcement that the Bucs will host Dallas in the season opener on Thursday night, Sept. 9, the PFF tribe cautions Cowboys fans that Vea may just blow up Dallas’ offense.
The Buccaneers will host the Cowboys in week 1 of 2021
The last time they met was in week 16 of 2018 – Dallas beat Tampa Bay 27-20
Vita Vea was all over Dak in that game and had 6 total pressures – tied for the most in a game for his career#GoBucs pic.twitter.com/1CGrzs3FWR
— PFF TB Buccaneers (@PFF_Buccaneers) May 13, 2021
There are more than one NFL analyst who believes the way the Bucs got after Mahomes in the Super Bowl, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and his gimpy ankle want no part of Shaq Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul, Vea and company hounding him all game long.
Of course, Joe doesn’t want to see the guy injured. But let’s just say if the Bucs chase Prescott around the field of The Licht House anywhere near as much as they did Mahomes in February, it will be hard for Joe not to smile.
May 15th, 2021 at 8:04 am
Don’t forget about Suh!
And Vea himself needs to be healthy. That’s a huge body to keep from harm.
May 15th, 2021 at 8:05 am
Bucs might’ve not won it all w/o Vita. Made Aaron Rodgers very uncomfortable up the middle in the NFC Championship
May 15th, 2021 at 8:10 am
Remember all the complaints we got for drafting Vea?…..and we got Carlton Davis as a bonus with him.
May 15th, 2021 at 8:34 am
Our defense gonna feast. D White gonna own the game
May 15th, 2021 at 8:35 am
To quote the great Bart Scott, “CANT’T WAI!”
May 15th, 2021 at 8:42 am
Great player but has a injury history with the Bucs
May 15th, 2021 at 9:13 am
Damn do it in one game against an o line decimated by injuries and media is like a dog with a frisbee just can’t let it go. That is not what you saw from our defensive line all year just the super bowl but for the life of me I have no idea why people are acting like that super bowl performance is the norm. It’s overdramatizing so there’s something to write about when things are back to normal. Damn they ain’t doing that five weeks out of the year let alone the whole season. I think they’ll repeat if healthy but no need to be dramatic about how it will happen
May 15th, 2021 at 9:26 am
Daks face lol. Like me the morning after Chinese food.
May 15th, 2021 at 9:37 am
Really sucks. We could have had Denzel Ward. Think where we would be now! {heavy sarcasm for you slower folks…}
So excited for that first game, especially since it is vs Cowgirls. I used to live in Houston. Anyone with a brain knows Houston is way better than that slum up north called Dal-lass.
Sorry for the Dal-Lass troll, not like me, but couldn’t help myself!
May 15th, 2021 at 9:44 am
I wish we could somehow erase all Bucs history of those jerseys. It wasn’t just the digital clock numbers, it was literally everything. The Bucs lettering/font on sleeves, the multi colored BS on shoulders. Everything. Just disgraceful, didn’t even look professional. Absolute clown show jersey and made the team (and by proxy the city) look completely second rate. I’m almost mad just thinking about it. And the people that says “oh derrr off what the jerseys look like as long as they win.” – that, THAT completely misses the point and buries the big picture. It represents the city, its branding, its the ability to be popular with new generations. Our previous marketing CLOWNS, in conjunction with NIKE blew it in the worst possible way.
What’s actually funny is they went right back to the other extremes, being is conservative as humanly possible by simply going back to the same exact jerseys they wore from 97-2013, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it was almost as if they were frightened of getting it wrong so badly again with a New Jersey
May 15th, 2021 at 9:46 am
Pete.
I agree. Without Vea the GB and KC games are very close ones. I’d still take Brady to pull it out but I’d prefer vea in there. Won’t find a bigger fan of Vea than Mea.
May 15th, 2021 at 9:46 am
Gotta agree.
May 15th, 2021 at 9:53 am
HEY JOE IT’S GREAT TO NOT BE THE DEN OF DEPRESSION ANYMORE!! GO SUPER BOWL CHAMPION BUCS!! DAMN THAT SOUNDS AWESOME!!
May 15th, 2021 at 10:11 am
Everyone seems to forget that most of last season the pass rush was inconsistent. I am hoping they stay healthy and get after it every game like they did in the playoffs
May 15th, 2021 at 11:10 am
Im not sure about Vea being such a disruption on the pass, but he will definitely help slow down the rushing attack of Dallas. Because of this, Bowles is able to be more creative with 54 and 45. Opposing offenses need to throw 2-3 guys at Vea just to run, which is the beauty of this defense- who gets the double team? Its a smart move to double on the pressure coming from over center, but what about Shaq and JPP coming off the edge? What happens with the double team when Barrett moves inside and you slide Vea to the outside along man beast Gholston? Not sure if it was just Vea’s production we were missing, or if we were just one more dawg away from channeling that 2002 defense, but his addition was noticeable. I think the defense is going to be the story of the team this season. They learned they can carry the team, and I think the GOAT continues to manage the game and take advantage of the opportunities the defense gives him.
May 15th, 2021 at 11:31 am
I don’t get why people don’t see the value in Vea’s pass rush. He was 2nd in pass rush disruption percentage as a DT when he plays, and he is the only 3-4 DT/NT in the top 10. Kid balls and the defense is different when he is healthy.
May 15th, 2021 at 11:44 am
Man, can you imagine if Vita can stay healthy for the whole season?!? So excited and the season can’t start soon enough.
May 15th, 2021 at 12:54 pm
347 pound monster.
May 15th, 2021 at 1:29 pm
Great pic.
May 15th, 2021 at 3:12 pm
I liked the pick then and I like the pick now. VV is a stud! Not many guys his size would have made it back last year.
May 15th, 2021 at 3:46 pm
Every historical great D is HOF up the middle – Vea/DWhite/Winfield
Watch it unfold again
May 15th, 2021 at 4:23 pm
Dang Joe. I’m as thrilled as anyone about the SB win. I have to say though I’m disappointed in you.
You fail to point out that the reason, ” the Bucs got after Mahomes in the Super Bowl” was that both of their starting tackles were out. tsk…tsk.
May 15th, 2021 at 5:02 pm
Last year is over. Nothing is getting handed to this team. Stop the asinine 16-0 crap. Do you think Tom Brady sits around and assumes anything?
May 15th, 2021 at 6:30 pm
People need to stop with the Vita worship, it’s just silly. The guy did nothing in the SB, except let Mahomes extend a play because he quit. He only played 22% of snaps in games which he appeared, got that? That’s not 22% of snaps on the season because he was injured, that’s 22% of snaps of the games where he wasn’t injured. The guy was mostly a non-factor, with the exception being the Packers game were he was solid. But being solid for one week is not the same thing as being the hidden secret to winning a SB, that just is nonsense.
Also that pressures stat, 6 from the Cowboys game? The pressure stat is always a loaded one that doesn’t mean, but a better stat is how many QB hits did he have. He had 4 for that entire season, that’s not a lot. Obviously his job isn’t to get a ton of pressure, but again, it’s not me claiming he’s a pass rusher, it’s you guys.
I hope Vita takes a big step forward next year, and the biggest step would be actually staying healthy. As Sapp warned us, at 350lbs you’re not going to survive the FL heat, and Sapp has been right. The best thing for Vita might be to get down to at least 320lb or so, at that size he might be able to stay healthy for once. It’s something that him and the team should consider.
But stop putting the guy in the pro-bowl. He’s done nothing so far. He’s had a few nice games and many games where he’s completely a non-factor (like, importantly, the SB). Let the guy actually perform at a high level for a while before you’re putting him in the HOF.
May 15th, 2021 at 7:44 pm
Always good to see the Cowboys lose. Even better when the Bucs get the pleasure! I would love to goose egg them! “Take from them everything and give them nothing” – Leonidas
May 16th, 2021 at 11:28 am
All we can do is hope that they all stay healthy and if they do we’ll win two in a row without a doubt !
May 16th, 2021 at 11:31 am
VV’s a BEAST who can’t be stopped when healthy !
May 16th, 2021 at 1:49 pm
Rod Munch, nobody seems to agree with you and that includes the Tampa coaching staff. Vita influence cannot just be measured in numbers. GO BUCS!
May 16th, 2021 at 2:03 pm
Rod Munch: In the 5 games prior to Vea’s injury, he played in 84%, 56%, 59%, 83%, and 70% of the Bucs defensive snaps.
May 17th, 2021 at 1:06 am
Rod Muncher is just making up stats because he’s still salty that Tampa passed on Derwin James.