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Buccaneers Round Table: Which Bucs team is the real one?

By David Harrison

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 24: Tampa Bay Buccaneers players link arms on the sidelines during the national anthem before the game against the Minnesota Vikings on September 24, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 24: Tampa Bay Buccaneers players link arms on the sidelines during the national anthem before the game against the Minnesota Vikings on September 24, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – SEPTEMBER 24: Jameis Winston #3 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers passes the ball in the second half of the game agains the Minnesota Vikings on September 24, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – SEPTEMBER 24: Jameis Winston #3 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers passes the ball in the second half of the game agains the Minnesota Vikings on September 24, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) /

James Yarcho

Will the real Buccaneers please show up? In week two, they appeared to be every bit the dominant force they were expected to be. In week three, they came out flat, over-matched, outplayed, out coached, out everything-ed.

The real Bucs has to be somewhere in between, but I lean closer to the week two Bucs than the week three. Once the game got out of hand and the injuries piled up the game script was thrown out the window. Winston made his mistakes, the run game was non-existent, and the defense was a sieve. Those are all things we saw creep up last season and they were corrected.

Winston can’t continue to make poor decisions, but the interception to Evans is really much to do about nothing. The game was out of reach at that point anyway and he was just trying to make anything happen. This wasn’t a 4-point deficit, game on the line mistake. This was a “screw it, we’re down three scores with five minutes left so why the hell not” mistake. I’m over it. You should be too.

The pass rush has an opportunity to get on track this week, despite missing Lavonte David and Kwon Alexander in the middle. The running backs will not see an easier matchup all season. They have to focus on running the ball and should succeed in doing so. This is Jacquizz Rodgers‘ last shot at starter before Doug Martin returns and we need to see something – anything – from him.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – this team has too much talent to be “the same ol’ Bucs” as some negative people like to refer to them as. They had a bad week. So did a lot of other teams. It happens. That does not mean the season is lost because of one game. That does not mean the team is fraudulent because of one loss. It means they had a bad game.

Until they dig themselves a massive hole like last season at 1-3 or 2-5 or what have you, I firmly believe in this roster, its coaches, and its talent to be the playoff contending team we all expected them to be.

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