Buccaneers need to utilize this opportunity in front of them

With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers first loss of the season against a very talented L.A. Rams team in Week 3, they appear to be at a decisive moment in the season, though early it may be. There are obviously issues with the secondary, of that no one can question, especially after last Sunday’s loss.

The real question is how the team will bounce back from a primetime loss as definitive as the one they received from the Rams.

Fortunately for the Bucs, they have the perfect opportunity to bounce back in a major way. For the next four weeks, they will face no teams that have a winning record this year with the New England Patriots as the only potential threat in sight, and that would be a bit of stretch itself. This will give the Bucs time to solve the issues that need to be solved if they want to make another deep post season run.

For one, the ease of schedule will mean that the Buccaneers won’t have to try and rush back starting cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting from his injury the way they might if they were worried about making a playoff spot.

A fully recovered and healthy SMB will go a long way with helping the Buccaneer defensive troubles. Additionally, in regards to the defense, the next month of easy games will also provide Bucs GM Jason Licht time to wheel and deal his way into another cornerback to try and shore up the current weakness of the team, the secondary. Tampa has already added Richard Sherman, but that doesn’t mean he is the only way to make a change.

The Buccaneers shouldn’t be worried as long as they take advantage of these next four games against mediocre teams to improve the team from its current position of defensive irrelevance. The only potential pitfall is if no adjustments are made, simply because untalented offenses like the ones of the next four teams the Bucs play fail to put up many points. As is always the case, wins don’t always equal improvement, so it’s up to Arians, Licht, and the rest of the Bucs squad to use this easy time in their schedules wisely.