The Pewter Plank
FanSided

Buccaneers Week 5: Winners and Losers vs the Patriots

By Marc Magana

TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 5: Head coach Dirk Koetter of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers makes his way through the tunnel on his way to the field at the start of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots on October 5, 2017 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 5: Head coach Dirk Koetter of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers makes his way through the tunnel on his way to the field at the start of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots on October 5, 2017 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next
TAMPA, FL – OCTOBER 5: Wide receiver Chris Hogan #15 of the New England Patriots hauls in a five-yard touchdown pass in the end zone from quarterback Tom Brady while getting pressure from cornerback Vernon Hargreaves #28 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second quarter of an NFL football game on October 5, 2017 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL – OCTOBER 5: Wide receiver Chris Hogan #15 of the New England Patriots hauls in a five-yard touchdown pass in the end zone from quarterback Tom Brady while getting pressure from cornerback Vernon Hargreaves #28 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second quarter of an NFL football game on October 5, 2017 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) /

Vernon Hargreaves

VH3 struggled in pass coverage. Tony Romo pointed it out multiple times. He played soft on a lot of routes.

The one that jumps to mind right away is the curl in the end zone to Hogan. He needs to break on the ball quicker than he has been.

Last year, Hargreaves didn’t struggle as much with his breaking on the ball like he is this year. I’m not sure if its the cover four the Buccaneers have been running, or simply a regression in his play, but that two games in a row now.

I have been a huge defender of Hargreaves and still continue to believe he can be great, but I’m not blind, he is struggling.

He is young, and there’s plenty of time for him to bounce back. For some reason he seems to be much more hesitant than even the beginning of the year.

Next: Week 5 Pick Six

Dirk Koetter

Listen, I love our head coach and he is fantastic at what he does. That being said, he needs to give up play calling.

At several points throughout the game the Bucs struggled to move the ball.

Example: The Buccaneers got the ball back with 3:42 left to go before half. Instead of feeding the hot hand (who had scored just five minutes before) we go three straight pass plays and give the ball back to Tom Brady.

Terrible clock management. Steve Smith had some negative things to say about the play calling as well. Last year, there were whispers of Koetter giving up the play calling duties. This year that should return and it should be louder.

Nick Folk

I mean, come on. Can we get a kicker in Tampa who knows how to kick the ball through the uprights? It really is incredible the kicking game has been a problem for this long. You would think we can find a guy off the street that can make the kicks when they matter.

After cutting Roberto Aguayo, the Buccaneers thought the kicking game would be at least solid. Here we go again, Folk won’t be on the team tomorrow.

These were our winners and losers. What did you think of the individual performances, and what do you hope to see next week as the Buccaneers travel to Arizona?

Home/Bucs News