Buccaneers keys to victory against the Falcons in Week 15

TAMPA, FL - NOVEMBER 3: Running back Antone Smith #36 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finds room to run between free safety Ricardo Allen #37 of the Atlanta Falcons and defensive back Brian Poole #34 during a carry in the first quarter of an NFL game on November 3, 2016 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - NOVEMBER 3: Running back Antone Smith #36 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finds room to run between free safety Ricardo Allen #37 of the Atlanta Falcons and defensive back Brian Poole #34 during a carry in the first quarter of an NFL game on November 3, 2016 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – NOVEMBER 26: Julio Jones #11 of the Atlanta Falcons talks to Brent Grimes #24 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on November 26, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – NOVEMBER 26: Julio Jones #11 of the Atlanta Falcons talks to Brent Grimes #24 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on November 26, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

1. Fight Back

The Buccaneers haven’t quit. There’s something to be said about this. At the end of the day however, these are professional football players. Whether or not a player has quit on their team or season shouldn’t be a topic of conversation let alone a cause for celebration.

Effort is not a silver lining, it’s expected.

What’s not expected, is a Bucs defense who fights to the finish.

All season long we’ve witnessed soft coverages, limited blitzing, no effective pass rush and minimal effectiveness.

In their first meeting, Mike Smith’s defense ran a typical soft zone coverage which essentially relies on opposing quarterback mistakes to create turnovers.

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It didn’t work. And Julio Jones had yet another dominant game against the Bucs.

In postgame, head coach Dirk Kotter was asked about the possibility of Brent Grimes following Jones. The theme of his response essentially fell into the land of – it would be a bad idea because then the defense would be predictable….yes, only then would it be predictable.

Jones later commented the Falcons offense never changed their strategy of attack because the Bucs never changed theirs.

Tampa countered by saying they threw fourteen different coverages at the Falcons. Fourteen. All looked the same. That’s like throwing fourteen baseball cards at someone during a water balloon fight and claiming you changed your attack because the cards had different players printed on them.

Soft coverage isn’t going to work, this much has been proven. The Falcons will shred your zone scheme, this much has been proven. Do the same, and the result will be the same. However, what we don’t know, is what happens when you fight back.

Man up, not in the theoretical insulting manner. Literally, man up. Tell Brent Grimes he’s covering Jones. Tell Robert McClain he’s covering Mohamed Sanu, and Ryan Smith is on Taylor Gabriel. Line up linebackers like young Kendall Beckwith on running backs and tight ends with safety help if and when needed.

Let Keith Tandy play center field like he did so well towards the end of last season. Go out, and scrap. Put it on one person. If Jones goes off, it’s because of Grimes, so on and so forth.

If you lose, it’s the same result either way. But if you win. Well, you may just save your job.

Next: Spotlight on Kendall Beckwith

These are the keys to a Buccaneers win as I see them. What do you think are the key factors to the Bucs getting their first divisional win of the year?

Find me in the comments, on Facebook, or on Twitter and tell me what you think about this and anything else Buccaneers related!

"Check out the Locked on Bucs preview of Week 15 along with the host of the Locked on Falcons podcast!"