The Buccaneers won ugly versus the Rams. All of the highs had corresponding lows on the other end, but the performance from Jake Camarda had few flaws.
The Buccaneers did themselves very few favors on offense last night. The team struggled to move the ball well on offense despite an inspired defensive performance, but the special teams unit was able to help out in a major way with keeping the team in a position to make plays.
The player who stood out the most on this end was rookie punter Jake Camarda.
Camarda was an interesting addition to the Buccaneers by way of a higher draft pick for a special teams player. There was understandably some scrutiny surrounding the rookie punter, but last night seemed to show a guy with potential to be the best in the league at his position.
The up-and-coming star special teamer finished the game averaging a staggering 54.2 net yards on punts and had four punts that were within the 20. This number could’ve been even more impressive if the referees didn’t mistakenly call one of the best punts of the season off due to missing an obvious cut of grass between the ball and the end zone line.
Still, even with the mistake from the refs, Camarda finished the game with numbers that would make any punter blush, and that was one of the main deciding factors for the team in their much-needed win last night.
Special teams matters. It may not be as important as something like having a great offense, but that was the difference for Tampa last night.
Hats off to Jake Camarda. Many people (including this site) did not love the pick (purely due to the positional value and nothing to do with the player), but that win last night falls in large part on his shoulders.
Fourth-rounders should win you games. Camarda did exactly that last night.
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