Early Takeaways from One Buccaneers Place

Jameis’ Decision-Making

The facts have been laid out over and over again. Winston has had concerns on and off the field. The Buccaneers have placed a lot of trust in him, perhaps too much trust. He’s in a contract year. Bruce “The Quarterback Whisperer” Arians is probably his last chance to salvage what has been an underwhelming career. Week 1 Winston struggled big time. Poor decision making and three picks (two of them returned for touchdowns) contributed to an abysmal QBR of 11.9. Last night Jameis looked much improved, but a shoddy Panthers defense helped with that. Even so, he didn’t necessarily shine, with some poor decisions leading to bad sacks on the plays where the line actually did their job. Next week shouldn’t produce much of a challenge, so we might have to wait until Week 4 to draw any conclusions on the play-caller’s improvements under Arians.

Backfield Battle

After having a pretty one-dimensional offense in 2018, the Buccaneers are off to a much better start from backs Peyton Barber and Ronald Jones. Jones put up more rushing yards against San Francisco than he did all of last season, and Peyton Barber has looked like a real NFL-caliber starting running back just after it had started to look as though he was going to be a placeholder until Tampa could get some better talent lined up in the backfield. The success of each has been detrimental to the other, however, making for a pair of rushers who have had to share snaps. Either could end the season as the starting back, but both are showing promise early.

Fading Stars?

Buccaneers fans and coaches have been high on Chris Godwin for the past two years, so it should come as no surprise that he’s on the cusp of becoming the league’s breakout star this season. However, it’s been mildly surprising that it’s been at the expense of top tier wideout Mike Evans. Through two games it almost seems as though Evans might be relegated to WR2 status as he’s hauled in a mere 6 receptions for 89 yards. On top of that, tight end OJ Howard was not even targeted in last night’s game against the Panthers after fumbling the ball twice in the matchup with the 49ers. Coach Bruce Arians seemed frustrated with Howard so far, so it seems that Brate might be the preferred receiving tight end in the coming weeks.

Despite this, it’s hard to imagine that Evans or Howard continue to struggle this way. It’s far more likely that the pair are facing minor setbacks and should both be formidable options in Byron Leftwich’s offense moving forward.

Defense Holding Strong

After a disaster of a season last year, the Buccaneers
defense has looked respectable and flashed a lot of promise through two weeks. Of
the 38 points scored against the Bucs in the first two weeks, 12 were from the pair
of pick-sixes Week 1 and another 2 points came from a safety after the Panthers
stopped Peyton Barber in the endzone last night. This means that opposing teams
have averaged only 11 points against the Buccaneer defense itself

They’ve also been able to handle star power relatively well,
with George Kittle catching 8 passes for 54 yards and Christian McCaffrey rushing
for a mere 37 yards on 16 attempts. The Buccaneers were able to keep both out
of the endzone, too, including a crucial stop by Vernon Hargreaves late against
the Panthers.

The young secondary has had some growing pains but looks
leagues better than they did last season, Vita Vea and Will Gholston have shown
significant improvement on the D-Line, and the linebacker corps looks strong despite
the loss of Kwon Alexander.

The only major problem with the defense is first-round pick
Devin White, who was ill Week 1 and had a minor MCL sprain that kept him out of
the majority of the game Week 2. He’s day-to-day and not ruled out when the
Giants come to town next weekend, but this definitely isn’t the start the Bucs
had hoped for out of White.

Kicking Woes

After both veteran Cairo Santos and sixth-round pick Matt Gay looked good in preseason, there was reason for hope. But after years of field goals that the average punt, pass, and kick winner would have hit with ease, there is always scepticism in Tampa Bay.

On Thursday Gay missed a 42-yard attempt from the right hash
mark, a spot from which he occasionally struggled in camp. After two games he’s
connected on 3/4 field goal attempts and 4/4 extra point attempts. It’s early,
but Gay is looking like he might be able to put Bucs fans’ worries to rest. Though
the miss last night is mildly concerning, Gay should have things under control.