Tuesday, 4 a.m.
5 Thoughts
- How long do we have to wait before we can put Emeke Egbuka in the Ring of Honor?
2. I keep waiting for the game officials to invoke one more play review to give the Falcons one more chance. Maybe two.
4. Yeah, I was hoping for more impact out of Haason Reddick, too. On the other hand, he now has as many sacks for the Bucs as he did for the Jets.
3. I still say Bucky Irving gets his 1,000 yards. Of course, the Bucs have to figure out the puzzle that is their offensive line first.
5. Has anyone seen Chase McLaughlin's toe?
5 Comments
(From Todd Bowles' press conference)
On his summation of the Bucs' offensive line: “We’ll see what it is this week. I thought Graham [Barton], for the first time at tackle, played very well. I thought [Ben] Bredesen did a very good job at center, especially controlling where the blitzes go and the pickups and everything like that. Michael Jordan played well at guard, as well. So, they played tough and they battled. You know, for those guys moving around, playing their first game at different positions, I thought they did a good job. Going forward, we’ll see.”
On LB SirVocea Dennis’ performance: “[It was] up and down…Up and down. [There were] some plays he would want back from a mental standpoint. Physically, I thought he was very physical, especially in the second half. [There were] two plays in particular we’d like to have back on defense.”
(On what he was most pleased with from the team’s Week 1 performance): “Just the resiliency. Those guys didn’t blink whether it was penalties, a bad play, or anything else. This is the first time they’ve played that many plays in a ball game with a limited preseason so I knew there was going to be some fatigue in the second half, but mentally, they didn’t fall off. They believed in each other and that was the biggest take out of the game.”
On CB Zyon McCollum’s performance and his dropped interceptions “We dropped three of them. He dropped two. [Jamel] Dean dropped one. We had our chances. We had our chances. That could have opened the game up, but they covered well. They play very good press coverage and for the most part they were tight on their guys.”
On the team’s pass rush performance and generating just one sack) “I thought we missed quite a few of them. I thought we rushed well – we didn’t finish the play, but we rushed well. We’ve got to work on closing the middle out toward the end of the ball game with those guys, not letting the quarterback run up the middle.”
Game Balls:
Offense: Yes, he just said hello. But Emeka Egbuka looks like a weapon already.
Defense: Tykee Smith didn't get a lot of screen time, but he led the Bucs with 11 tackles.
Special teams: A lot of people thought Kameron Johnson didn't deserve to make the team. A 54-yard punt return says differently.
Grades
Quarterback: Baker Mayfield has had a lot of better days. But you can't fault his winning drive, can you? Grade: B-..
Running back: Bucky Irving rushed for just 37 yards behind the makeshift line. He did score on a pass reception. Grade: C+.
Offensive line: Who's playing where? The Bucs started three players in new positions and missed Tristan Wirfs. But they gave up just one sack. Grade: B.
Wide receivers: Mike Evans was solid, and Egbuka was sensational. Grade: A.
Defensive line: Only one sack and not enough pressures. Grade: C-.
Secondary: Michael Penix Jr. threw for 298 yards. That's far too many. Grade: C.
Kicking: Riley Dixon averaged more than 50 yards per punt but McLaughlin had one of his worst days with a missed field goal and a missed extra point. Grade: C+.
Power Rankings
- Buffalo
2. Green Bay
3. San Francisco
4. Pittsburgh
5. Washington
Bottom 5
32. Carolina
31. New Orleans
30. Titans
29. Miami
28. N.Y. Giants
Best Bucs' Newcomers
- Emeka Egbuka
2. Riley Dixon
3. Jacob Parrish
4. SirVocea Dennis
5. Haason Reddick
NFL's 5 Stars
- Josh Allen, quarterback, Buffalo
2. Justin Herbert, quarterback, L.A. Chargers
3. Aaron Rodgers, quarterback, Pittsburgh
4. Emeka Egbuka, receiver, Tampa Bay
6. Puka Nacea, receiver, L.A. Rams
NFL's 5 Goats
- Russell Wilson, quarterback, N.Y. Giants
2. Younghoe Koo, kicker, Atlanta.
3. Tua Tagovailoa, quarterback, Miami
4. Derrick Henry, running back, Baltimore
5. Bryce Young, quarterback, Carolina