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Buccaneers vs Panthers: 5 Bucs to watch in Week 8 of 2017

By David Harrison

ORCHARD PARK, NY - OCTOBER 22: Kwon Alexander #58 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates with Kendell Beckwith #51 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the third quarter of an NFL game against the Buffalo Bills on October 22, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NY - OCTOBER 22: Kwon Alexander #58 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates with Kendell Beckwith #51 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the third quarter of an NFL game against the Buffalo Bills on October 22, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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ORCHARD PARK, NY – OCTOBER 22: Robert McClain #36 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is escorted by referee Clete Blakeman #34 during the fourth quarter of an NFL game against the Buffalo Bills on October 22, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NY – OCTOBER 22: Robert McClain #36 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is escorted by referee Clete Blakeman #34 during the fourth quarter of an NFL game against the Buffalo Bills on October 22, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /

Robert McClain / Ryan Smith

The Buccaneers finally moved Vernon Hargreaves III into the slot and closer to the line of scrimmage. The results were, zero catches against him on four tries, and no missed tackles with a pass break-up credited.

Granted, some of this was due to early inaccuracy by Tyrod Taylor, but if you’re going to persecute him for great throws he got beat on, you have to credit him for bad ones he wins against.

Replacing him on the outside was veteran Robert McClain who did pretty well for the most part. Outside of a few plays, there isn’t much to complain about, and it was his first start outside for this defense. Again, there’s some mistakes expected in this situation.

However, what’s worrisome is he left the game in the NFL’s concussion protocol, which means he may not even be able to play in Week 8 against Carolina.

If he doesn’t, then all eyes turn to Ryan Smith who came in to replace McClain on those last couple of series in Buffalo.

While Hargreaves stayed inside, Smith joined Brent Grimes as the other outside defender. If this is a sign of things to come, then Smith could very well be matched up against either Kelvin Benjamin or Devin Funchess for Week 8.

He has the speed and athleticism to compete against those guys, but it’s his physicality which worries me. More specifically, I don’t know if he has enough.

McClain is a scrapper, as he showed in the hit which put him into protocol. He’s not afraid to mix it up, and they’ll have to do just that if they don’t want to get pushed around by the big Carolina receivers.

Keep a special eye out for this part of the injury news prior to the game, and another on whomever is patrolling the outside as the Buccaneers hopefully keep Hargreaves lined up against the slot moving forward.

These are the Bucs I’m watching this weekend, as they may hold the keys to success for Tampa Bay.

Which guys are you looking for to have solid games out there? Let me know your thoughts on this and more!

Comment, find me on Facebook, Twitter, or email me at walkingtheplankpodcast@gmail.com to discuss this or anything Buccaneers related.

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