GDHQNFL14_Tampa Bay Buccaneers3

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Gameday HQ

Three Questions 1. Will Leslie Frazier have the horses to turn things around defensively? Frazier has a track record for getting the most out of defensive backfields, most notably Tony Dungy’s Super Bowl-champion Colts, who ranked 15th the previous season, but the first-year defensive coordinator will have his work cut out in his first season. in Tampa. There are a lot of new faces in the secondary and the LB corps is questionable after David. 2. Can the Bucs control themselves? Never mind controlling opponents or the line of scrimmage. The Buccaneers must first show that they can control themselves, something they didn’t do during the Greg Schiano regime. Last season that didn’t appear a high priority, as the Bucs were were the third-most penalized team in the NFL, getting flagged an average of 7.56 times a game at a cost of 71 yards per game. 3. Can they survive tough early schedule? Last year’s Bucs went off the rails early, starting 0-8. This year’s team has a potentially difficult early schedule, with three tough road games (at Atlanta, at Pittsburgh, at New Orleans) then Baltimore heading into the break. A 1-5 start heading into that break could similarly doom the team early on. corner Alterraun Verner, who picked off a career-high five passes in 2013, returning one for a score. He’s the new landlord on the area that had been “Revis Island.” Second-year pro Johnthan Banks will benefit from the lessons of his rookie year. Safeties Mark Barron (second on Tampa in tackles behind David, albeit WAY behind, with 88, 70 solo, 2.0 sacks, 2 picks) and Dashon Goldson (72, 54, 1 INT) are ferocious hitters, although Goldson needs to rein in his recklessness, as he was suspended for multiple head shots last season and has earned a rather unsavory reputation and the eye of officials on a weekly basis. Defensive Player to Watch It hasn’t taken long for David to make a name for himself. The third-year linebacker has already drawn comparisons to former Bucs legend and 2014 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Derrick Brooks—pretty good company. David, a second round pick in 2012 (No. 58 overall) out of Nebraska, has made it a habit to introduce himself to opponents and has made himself right at home in opposing backfields, recording 284 tackles (219 solo), 40 of them for loss, with 9.0 sacks. David earned All-Pro status in 2013, making 144 tackles (106 solo) both rank sixth in the NFL, with 20 TFLs, 7.0 sacks and even recorded his first safety. He’s also stellar in pass coverage, picking off five passes and defending 10. Buccaneers Special Teams The Buccaneers should have known the kicking game would be a trouble spot when PK Connor Barth tore the achilles tendon in his right foot during the summer while playing in a charity basketball game. The injury forced Barth to miss the entire 2013 season. The Bucs missed him as veteran Rian Lindell struggled (23 of 29 on FGAs, 20 of 26 outside of 30 yards). Barth is back healthy and Tampa should thrive in field goal kicking. Punter Michael TEAM ROSTER BUCCANEERS DEPTH CHART OFFENSE QB Josh McCown Mike Glennon RB Doug Martin Charles Sims FB Jovorskie Lane Lonnie Pryor WR Vincent Jackson, Mike Evans, Chris Owusu, Louis Murphy Jr. TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins Brandon Myers LT Anthony Collins Jace Daniels LG Carl Nicks Jason Foster C Evan Dietrich-Smith Josh Allen RG Patrick Omamen Jamon Meredith RT Demar Dotson Kevin Pamphile DEFENSE LDE Adrian Clayborn William Gholston LDT Gerald McCoy Clinton McDonald RDT Akeem Spence Ronald Talley RDE Michael Johnson Da’Quan Bowers LLB Jonathan Casillas Danny Lansanah MLB Mason Foster Dane Fletcher RLB Lavonte David Ka’Lial Glaud LCB Alterraun Verner Mike Jenkins SS Mark Barron Major Wright FS Dashon Goldson Kelcie McCray RCB Johnthan Banks Leonard Johnson SPECIAL TEAMS K(FG) Connor Barth P Michael Koenen KR Eric Page PR Eric Page LS Jeremy Cain


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