Buccaneers game grades: 2017 Week 3 loss in Minnesota
LINEBACKERS
With Kwon Alexander out for the Buccaneers this week, there was hope Kendall Beckwith and Adarius Glanton could step it up.
As it turned out, they weren’t enough, and Lavonte David just can’t get it done by himself.
The rookie, Beckwith, lead the team with eight tackles as David turned in another seven.
Part of this is game planning too though. Keenum did essentially what I recommended the Bucs have Winston do.
They got out of the huddle and lined up quickly, went with hard counts and long counts, forced the Tampa defense to expose themselves and adjusted accordingly.
Must Read: Spotlight on Cam Brate
When the linebackers blitzed, Keenum went with quick throws and outlets in the open spaces. When they sat back in coverage, the quarterback took his time and enjoyed the plethora of time he had to find whatever target he chose.
The linebackers simply couldn’t find a way to make a real impact. However, I wonder how much could be helped.
On multiple occasions, I watched the Buccaneers come on delayed rushes with their linebackers only to have the ball come out of the quarterbacks hand long before they made it in, yet well after they vacated some space on the field.
Last week, the Steelers exploited the right side of Minnesota’s offensive line by lining up players like T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree to come off the edge quickly and effectively.
The Bucs rush was very simplistic, without a lot of wrinkles involved for the Vikings linemen to account for. Some of this is due in part to the injuries and youth within the group, but it still had a profound impact this week.