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Buccaneers at Saints: Five game-changing players for Week 9

By Bailey Adams

TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 29: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers line up in the tunnel before taking to the field to take on the Carolina Panthers an NFL football game on October 29, 2017 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 29: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers line up in the tunnel before taking to the field to take on the Carolina Panthers an NFL football game on October 29, 2017 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – AUGUST 15: Donovan Smith #76 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looks on during the preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings on August 15, 2015 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the Buccaneers 26-16. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – AUGUST 15: Donovan Smith #76 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looks on during the preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings on August 15, 2015 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the Buccaneers 26-16. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Donovan Smith

I’m fairly certain this is the first time in 24 of my game-changers articles that an offensive lineman made the cut. Unfortunately, it’s not a good thing. Donovan Smith had a nice rookie year, struggled last year and still looks suspect at times this year. He’s on this list for the negative impact that he could potentially make. Sure, he has plays where he allows guys to beat him. But that’s not even the huge concern with him at this point.

Next: Time for Jameis to Rest Up?

No, the concern is with the constant avoidable mistakes. Smith leads the team in penalties, which probably doesn’t surprise anyone reading this. According to nflpenalties.com, Smith has been flagged five times this year for 45 yards. Honestly, five is far fewer than I expected. Look, everyone makes mistakes to an extent, but it seems as if Smith’s come at the most crucial times. Penalties can absolutely kill drives, and there have been multiple drives this year that stalled due to a flag on the third-year tackle.

At this point, it’s confusing. It can’t be that he’s that undisciplined, can it? Maybe he’s more fit to be a right tackle? But three holding penalties, an illegal use of hands to the face and a false start have combined to cost Tampa Bay 45 yards. In the grand scheme of things, that doesn’t feel like too much, right? But situationally, it’s a constant problem for the Buccaneer offense. Tampa Bay will have to score to keep up with New Orleans. That gets much more difficult if the Bucs are shooting themselves in the foot.
Check out our friends at the PewterCast below with their post game InstantCast call in show.

"WARNING: NSFW (EXPLICIT LANGUAGE) – Check out the latest PewterCast post-game Instant Cast. Brent and Ren discuss their thoughts following Week 8’s loss to the Carolina Panthers, and open up the phone for you all to voice yours as well!"

Who do you think most affects the outcome of Sunday’s game, Bucs fans? Let us know in the comments, on Twitter or on Facebook.

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