The Buccaneers lost to the Patriots in frustrating fashion Sunday by a score of 28-23. One of the main weaknesses that New England took advantage of was rookie cornerback Benjamin Morrison.
Tampa Bay drafted Morrison in the second round of April’s draft. But with Dean and Zyon McCollum taking the lion’s share of reps at outside cornerback, and fellow rookie Jacob Parrish starting in the slot, there isn’t much room for Morrison.
That’s a good problem to have, especially after a lack of depth at cornerback plagued the team so badly just a season ago. The team’s solution is to split reps between Dean and Morrison each week. Dean has a history of injuries, and limiting his reps instead of relying on him as an every-down player has helped keep him fresh and healthy.
It also gives Morrison the opportunity to take much-needed reps as the team looks to develop what they hope is their starting cornerback of the future.
But against the Patriots, Morrison was a liability. He was beaten for a touchdown for the Patriots’ first touchdown score of the game, and was later called for a pass interference. New England made it a priority to target him in the passing game whenever possible.
Meanwhile, Dean has been playing the best football of his career this season, so seeing him on the sideline while the rookie struggled was frankly puzzling.
Head coach Todd Bowles was asked by Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times about his decision to continue splitting reps this week, despite Morrison’s struggles.
“We’ve been putting him in all year. So the fact that they gave up this play, this game, is no reason to single him out,” said Bowles. “If you give up a play, we’re not going to give up on you. But he gave up a play and he’ll learn from it and be better.”
Bowles’ statement is one of loyalty towards his rookie, making it clear that he believes in the system the team has been operating under and is in no rush to give up on his players.
Bowles’ loyalty is admirable, and it’s why players love him so much. But at the same time, in this case, it was hurting the team.
It makes perfect sense why the team wants to get the best of both worlds by trying to keep Dean fresh while simultaneously developing their rookie for the future, especially with Dean headed to free agency after the season. But a high-stakes mid-season matchup is not the time to worry about developing for the future.
Tampa Bay had a lot on the line this week, with a chance to take the No. 1 seed in the NFC if everything went their way. Instead, the Bucs will now fall to the No. 3 or No. 4 seed heading into next week.
With road games against the 6-3 Bills and 7-2 Rams on the horizon, it’s hard to shake the feeling that the Bucs fumbled their chance at the top seed by losing to the Patriots.
Bowles’ refusal to bench Morrison in favor of his high-performing veteran is a big reason for that loss. Hopefully, Bowles’ confidence pays off and Morrison improves in the coming weeks.
The Bucs need all hands on deck as they prepare for this late season playoff push, and they can’t afford to have any liabilities holding them back as they pursue a Super Bowl.