Buccaneers: The Emerging Play of Russell Shepard

The Bucs are just on the edge of the red zone, lined up at the 49ers’ 20 yard line. This time, Winston is in the “pistol” formation, with Shepard lined up wide to the right. The defensive backs are playing off of the line, indicating a zone coverage.

On the snap, Russell will run a “corner-post” route. He starts out by running towards the corner of the end zone, and then breaks for the goal post. Winston fakes a handoff to Jacquizz Rodgers to buy some time.

Here is Shepard making his move to the corner, into the territory of the cornerback. Notice how the two defenders in the play are a bit shallow compared to Russell? The safety has back pedaled far enough, instead trying to follow Shepard by turning. Shepard is basically selling the corner route by running with authority. When Shep breaks to the post, watch how out of position the safety is.

Russell makes his break to the post. If you look, he is at about the five yard line, while the safety is at around the eight. That renders him totally out of position to get back to the end zone. Time for a great throw from our young quarterback.

Winston makes a perfect throw, over the safety’s head and perfectly placed in front of the cornerback. After running a perfect route, Shepard catches the ball at its highest point and brings it home for six!

Next: Draft Profile: Mike Williams

The Bucs may not have to look very far for production on the outside opposite Evans. He may be right here already playing for us.

Tune in next week for more from the “Eye in the Sky”.