The Buccaneers fell to 1-2 this preseason on Saturday night in Tampa. Of course game three of the preseason is considered the “dress rehearsal” ,for the Bucs however, that may have not been the case.
The Buccaneers were missing several key players on both sides of the ball against Cleveland and it showed. There were several positives, but the lack of playmakers on both sides of the ball was evident. This is the preseason, which is not a great indicator of regular season performance, but of course, most of us would like to see the team put on a good show.
Offense: Let’s first take a second to recognize that Nick Folk went 3/3 in the kicking game. What a relief. Anytime I see a kicker in Buccaneer uniform lineup between the hash marks, I shudder a little bit, but perhaps our kicking fiasco is behind us? Other than that the offense failed to produce much. Red zone production is an area we discussed last week and it was a similar story this week. 0-2 in the red zone has to have Koetter and Jameis Winston frustrated. Missing key players like Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson, Caleb Benenoch, Demar Dotson and Kevin Pamphile didn’t help.
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The Good: 4-56
Godwin made a few appearances didn’t he? His four catches for 56 yards seemed to be a highlight. Throughout camp we have heard the coaching praise him; it was nice to see that translate to the field. In the absence of Jackson and Evans, Godwin made good use of his five targets. Competition at WR has been stiff. Godwin won’t lose his spot, but it’s nice to see we have a little bit of depth behind DeSean and Mike.
The Bad: 3/15 (20%)
The Bucs were not good with third down efficiency, only converting three of them. Remarkably the team ranked sixth in the NFL last year converting 44% third downs. Keeping the chains moving is key for allowing the defense to rest and of course, scoring touchdowns. Red zone efficiency and third down conversion are closely linked and both extremely important. Not converting on third down in the red zone can force the offense into field goals, I’m happy with Folk, but we want touchdowns.
Defense: The defense overall performed better than they had been in my opinion. It was the Browns, but the first team defense didn’t allow much. Nine passes defensed is a nice stat and one of those led to an interception by Vernon Hargreaves. Speaking of Hargreaves his progression has been impressive, his confidence is high. I predicted this to be a breakout year for him and things continue to trend upward for him.
The Good: 61.3
The average rating of the Browns quarterback was atrocious. Combined they went 19/41 with the worst rating going to their starter Kizer, whom they ironically named the week one starter. Regardless, the defense in the preseason doesn’t always show its full bag of tricks, but from what we have seen, they have been solid and improving.