Walk the Plank!: 3 Buccaneers who under-performed vs. Panthers

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LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 13: Vernon Hargreaves of Tampa Bay Buccaneers tackles DJ Moore of Carolina Panthers during the NFL match between the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 13, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Burstow/Getty Images) /

CB Vernon Hargreaves

This Bucs’ secondary has been cooked chicken for four weeks in a row now, giving the pass rush even a second longer to get to the quarterback. This week Panthers’ backup quarterback Kyle Allen managed to complete 62.5 percent of his passes for an efficient 227 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.

Among the most victimized over the past few weeks, and again overseas, was former first round pick Vernon Hargreaves. The calls for the rookie third round pick Jamel Dean are getting louder amongst the Buccaneer fan base.

On the day, Panthers’ wide receiver D.J. Moore had his way with Hargreaves, finishing the game with seven catches for 73 yards. On one particular comeback route, Hargreaves left about a five yard cushion on the break of Moore’s route, which turned into a 23 yard gain on third down; people have argued Moore pushed off, but it was minimal if at all.

While the confidence in the former first round pick was high this offseason, and he started out (well, the first game) the season well, Hargreaves is not the answer at cornerback for this Bucs’ defense. He has been a huge liability in coverage and the Panthers clearly picked on him in this game.

Vernon Hargreaves, you may walk the plank!

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