“I Don’t View Him As A Backup”
December 16th, 2023
No. 27 has coaches gushing.
Carlton Davis will miss Sunday’s game, the 22nd regular season game lost to injury in his six-year career.
Yes, Davis has trouble staying healthy. This time, it’s a bad groin. Thankfully, he stayed strong during the Bucs’ glorous playoff run in 2020.
They’re not crying about it at One Buc Palace. Second-year man Zyon McCollum has more than won the hearts of Bucs officials.
“I don’t view him as a backup. I view him as a starter. I mean, whether we got two [cornerbacks] healthy or three guys. I view him as a starter,” Todd Bowles told the Buccaneers Radio Network this week. “He plays with such confidence. He plays aggressive. He makes plays. He’s very athletic. He’s a very heady ballplayer and the arrow is nothing but up for him. He looks comfortable out there; he’s comfortable with the system. That was the biggest thing coming back in his second year. He works at it. He studies. And he’s a heck of a ballplayer right now. He’s probably our must unsung guy on defense right now.”
Bowles was really gushing with loving tones in his voice.
The Bucs are going to need McCollum to play to Bowles’ expectations, much like he did Sunday in Atlanta. Jamel Dean is hoping to return from his bad ankle/foot that has put him on the bench for the past two games. He hasn’t played since San Francisco slapped around the Bucs four weeks ago.
December 16th, 2023 at 9:25 am
If the Bucs go 2-2 to end the season, they lose in their division, Bowles should be fired. Find a good Offensive minded HC and a young mobile quarterback and REBUILD.
December 16th, 2023 at 9:30 am
Hopefully we get rid of Dean and Davis after this season. I dont see why we pay them that much money.
December 16th, 2023 at 9:44 am
Zyon put in the work. He lived at OneBuc all offseason and it paid off. Interestingly, Hall and Hainsey did, too. It didn’t work out as well for them.
December 16th, 2023 at 9:49 am
When you are giving up the third most passing yards in the entire NFL it would be hard to look at anyone in the secondary and say they are doing a good job.
December 16th, 2023 at 10:39 am
There must be another player wearing the number 27. The one I’ve been seeing is always late, always chasing. How many passes defended? He reminds me Dean in his first two years. It will likely take another season before he catches up to the NFL game.
December 16th, 2023 at 10:54 am
McCollum has all the physical tools, and he’s been putting in the work. He has a bright future. I’m looking forward to either Dean or Davis (both?) getting shipped out of town so he can be a full-time starter.
December 16th, 2023 at 11:01 am
I think Davis has 1 year left, could mebbe trade him
December 16th, 2023 at 11:23 am
Both Dean and Davis cannot stay on the field McCollum is our best cornerback and yes sometimes he hesitates, thinks to much and is late in his reads but that happens to the best corners in the league. He is developing faster than his draft status. I can guarantee that by next season he’s taking one of two outside corner positions. I also believe we don’t get many interceptions because of the system being mostly soft zone this year. Hopefully things change for the better next season and our pass rush comes alive and helps the secondary.
December 16th, 2023 at 11:29 am
Beeej is right, we’re much more likely to get rid of CDIII after this season than Dean due to the timing of the contracts. Hopefully we have a new HC and a DC next year that can get the best (& healthiest) version of Dean to show up at that point. On the one hand I feel bad for these guys because they aren’t being put in a position to maximize their skillsets, but their performance and availability for the money they’re making is flat out unacceptable.
The fact Zyon is apparently committed to film study is a good thing. I feel like a lot of fast DBs just rely on that so they’re often out of position counting on their speed to close the distance after the fact. Of course that’s perfect for this defensive scheme since our plan is to let the receiver catch the ball for a first down and then tackle him for no gain and act like we’ve done something 🙄.
Another “heady” player on this team, huh? I’m starting to think I’d rather have some guys with killer instinct instead of all these heady guys. What does all this head get us exactly?
December 16th, 2023 at 12:31 pm
I’m so tired of Bowles….
Winfield is playing lights out Bowles.
That’s your “unsung” player on defense.
December 16th, 2023 at 1:09 pm
The thing about McCollum is he plays physical. He’s not afraid of hitting someone. He’s still learning but I like him over Davis and Dean right now
December 16th, 2023 at 3:30 pm
If the secondary is that weak, then it’s even more imperative that D. White and Barrett show up with sacks and hurries. Izien plays a different DB position, but he’s showing promise, too.
December 17th, 2023 at 1:32 am
Oh Crap!
Bowles endorsement alert!
Lets see…. Yup… he endorsed D White as his best player….JTS is coming on…Diaby/Watts is still learning…
Look out!
Seriously I ain’t buying Bowles player evaluations any more. McCollum has done well.
Go Bucs!
December 17th, 2023 at 7:46 am
Dean is taking up valuable roster place. He needs to go.