Buccaneers Observer

This is the toughest opponent we've faced so far, and we were conflicted on our score predictions. The Rams defense is tough, but the Colts put up a fight in week 2, only falling by 3 points in the end. The Buccaneers will face a former coach in Raheem Morris, who is now the Rams defensive coordinator. The offense has remained largely the same from last year, with the exception of Matt Stafford who was acquired in a trade with Detroit. The offense will prove to be a challenge for the Buccaneers defense, particularly with Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods at receiver.  

The Dallas Cowboys film was surprising for several reasons. The secondary did not do as bad as they're being accused. Sean Murphy-Bunting was playing below-par prior to his injury. Jamel Dean did not play as bad as the mainstream narrative might tell you, but did lack umph. The miscues in the secondary were largely due to miscommunication. It appears Joe Tryon is cutting into Shaquil Barrett's snaps, not JPP's.

The referees were not as bad as originally thought. We'll give them a D+.

The Atlanta Falcons' coaching change took an unusual approach this year by keeping the existing roster largely in-tact. The consistency might help veteran Defensive Coordinator Dean Pees, who coached the Ravens' Super Bowl-winning team. However, the secondary had significant turnover with three of the four starters leaving.   

On offense, the Falcons are missing a huge piece in Julio Jones, who was traded to the Tennessee Titans. TE Kyle Pitts was the team's first draft pick and could be a replacement for Jones. The team drafted an offensive lineman to serve as left guard, but the rookie had a rough first game against the Philadelphia Eagles.   

The Buccaneers have this game without a doubt but the Falcons certainly have potential for growth over this season.  

Is the NFL censoring graphic injuries from the game tape?  

OLB Carl Nassib made history last week as the league's first openly gay active player. We discuss his recordbreaking performance.

Former Buccaneers Kwon Alexander and Gerald McCoy suffer injuries.

Sunday was a glorious football Sunday. We got to watch our NFC South rivals in a week where the Bucs already had a victory under their belt.  

The Carolina Panthers played the New York Jets. While Carolina won and had a decent showing, it's still to be determined whether that was because Carolina is okay or the Jets just suck. Our bets are on the latter.  

The Philadelphia Eagles absolutely stomped the Atlanta Falcons. It appears the Falcons offensive and defensive lines are as weak as they have been for the last five years.  

And of course the talk of the league is Jameis Winston's performance with the Saints. Jameis threw for five touchdowns and 146 yards. If that doesn't scream that something's amiss, I don't know what does. Time will tell whether Jameis is new-and-improved under Sean Payton's system, but our guess is the Green Bay Packers have given up on the season.

This likely will be a very good showing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on primetime. Todd Bowles' defense is well-matched against the Dallas Cowboys' run-first offense. QB Dak Prescott likes to play conservative and mitigate risk.  

Chris Godwin joined the injury report with a quad injury. Others like Rob Gronkowski and Steve McLendon sat out today for a veterans' day off. The only player officially ruled out for the game is S Jordan Whitehead.  

The Saints drop RB Latavius Murray after he declined to take a paycut.

This week is an odd week so we've broken up the preview into two parts. In this episode, Molly discusses the changes the Cowboys made in the offseason, offensive line concerns and Dak Prescott's injury. Is the Dallas wide receiver corps a top ten trio? Top five?  

How much of an impact will the defensive line have against the Cowboys offensive line, particularly with their right tackle out on the Covid reserve list and their right tackle recovering from injury?  

The Buccaneers players seem eager for kickoff. Friday's practice was so physical the players opted to wear pads in the next practice.  

Ndamukong Suh returned from the Covid list as expected Monday. S Jordan Whitehead remains sidelined with a hamstring injury and is likely not going to appear in the opener. The Buccaneers are set at the position with depth like Mike Edwards and Ross Cockrell.

K Ryan Succop and OL Nick Leverett return from the Covid list. OLB Cam Gill is (finally) moved to injured reserve for his mystery injury.   

Your hate is Tom Brady's fuel.  

Is Cam Newton's NFL career over?

The Buccaneers starting offense looked like a well-oiled machine during its performance against the Texans, with the exception of the first drive which ended in a three and out.  

The team made cuts this week in order to get down to the 53-man roster by the deadline. Surprise cuts included TE Tanner Hudson, TE Codey McElroy, Dl Jeremiah Ledbetter, and CB Antonio Hamilton. Hudson was signed to the 49ers practice squad.   

The practice squad is quickly filling up this week. We brought back Andrew Adams after he was snatched away by the Eagles this offseason. Other signings to the practice squad included WR Travis Jonsen, WR Cyril Grayson, TE Codey McElroy.  

Jameis Winston gets named starter of the New Orleans Saints. Cam Newton gets cut by the Patriots.

Jameis Winston had Twitter in an uproar this weekend as he scored two touchdowns in typical Jameis fashion. Saints fans are clamoring for Jameis to become the starter, and we couldn't agree more.  

Buccaneers Kicker Ryan Succop was diagnosed with Covid this weekend, which Bruce Arians linked to a dinner he had with former teammates from the Titans. Arians has announced the team, whether vaccinated or not, will not be going out when the team travels to Houston this weekend.  

Several Buffalo Bills players are being subjected to five-day re-entry rules after an infected but vaccinated staff member had contact with the players. The Cowboys are also having an outbreak the same week Jerry Jones went on Sirius emphasizing the importance of the vaccines.  

The Buccaneers waived T Chidi Okeke.