After complaining to the media about playing time, the spotlight this week falls squarely on the shoulders of safety T.J. Ward. Time to put his money where his mouth is.
I was thrilled when T.J. Ward was signed by the Buccaneers before the season. A Pro Bowl, super bowl champion, play making safety to help shore up the secondary. Instead, his production has been limited and he’s been sidelined by injury.
Then he complains about playing time.
In a game where Cam Newton and the Panthers’ offense has all the ability in the world to explode on a moment’s notice, Ward has to find a way to be the difference maker we all thought he was going to be. He’s effective in the box but – as we saw against the Cardinals – he’s susceptible to the play action and will leave his assignment wide open for a touchdown. Running back Jonathan Stewart has had success against the Bucs, so Ward has to discipline himself to not give up a back breaking play because he rushes to the line to stop a phantom run play.
With Brent Grimes and Robert McClain both out, the Bucs will be relying on Vernon Hargreaves, Ryan Smith, and Javien Elliott at cornerback. That leaves a lot of pressure on Ward and the rest of the safety corps to not allow Newton to go wild and move the Panthers at will.
Related Story: Pewter Plank Roundtable: Was Ward Right?
If you’re going to talk about how you came to this team to make plays, not be a rotational guy, and to be on the field, then you better show something on the field to make the coaches think twice about rotating another guy in to your spot. Ward has given up horrendously ugly touchdowns in consecutive weeks. Time for him to return to that Pro Bowl form.
We discuss Ward as well as the hate on Doug Martin and preview the rest of the Panthers game in the latest Walking The Plank Podcast below.