PR Roundtable: What Makes The Bucs So Dangerous Heading Towards The Playoffs?

A new Pewter Report Roundtable debuts every Tuesday on PewterReport.com. Each week, the Pewter Reporters tackle another tough question. This week’s prompt: What makes the Bucs so dangerous heading towards the playoffs?

Scott Reynolds: If Todd Bowles’ Defense Keeps Playing Like This – Look Out

Bucs HC Todd Bowles

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

I’ve been Todd Bowles’ biggest fan when the Bucs defense is playing well and his biggest critic when the unit has given up too many 30-point games. Just when it seemed like Tampa Bay’s head coach and defensive play-caller had lost his touch, Bowles and the defense found its mojo during the bye week – just in time for a playoff push. Since the bye, the Bucs defense is No. 1 in the league in scoring defense, allowing an average of just 15 points per game. That’s incredible considering that the unit was surrendering 25.7 points per game in the first 10 weeks of the season when the Bucs’ record had slumped to 4-6.

Bowles’ unit has been dealing with injuries since Week 1 when cornerback Bryce Hall broke his leg and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. suffered a foot injury that cost him four games. Injuries to the defense have come on a weekly basis it seems, so there’s nothing new there. Perhaps Bowles is simply getting better using tape, rubber cement and glue to hold together his secondary, which has been hardest hit, as the season has progressed.

It’s been an ensemble approach that has helped the Bucs defense keep scoring to a minimum over the last month of football. Sometimes it’s stars like Lavonte David, Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey making splash plays, and sometimes it’s the super subs like Anthony Nelson, Kaevon Merriweather, Christian Izien and J.J. Russell who are making timely tackles or having a role in key takeaways. Bowles is getting the best out of his defenders at the right time. Yes, the Bucs beat up on some lesser offenses against the Giants, Panthers and Raiders. But Sunday’s win against the Chargers put the league on notice that the Bucs are quite dangerous – especially if Bowles’ defense keeps playing like this.

Matt Matera: Baker Mayfield Is Playing Like An MVP

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

At times it feels like the Bucs offense can do just about anything and that’s because Baker Mayfield is playing so well at quarterback. When Mayfield signed his big three-year, $100 million contract, I wondered how much more Mayfield could improve after a Pro Bowl season and getting back on his feet as a starter in the NFL. The answer was he could improve a ton. Baker Mayfield is playing the best football of his career.

Throwing 32 touchdown passes on the season has already given himself a career high and he still has three games to go. His 3,617 passing yards is good for fourth in the league and he’s done it all season long with a different cast of skill position players. Let’s remember that Mayfield has gone through games without Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. He’s had games where Cade Otton and Sterling Shepard had to be his top targets. And yet through it all, Mayfield has come out the other side even better.

Every week the Bucs are putting up points, averaging 28.8 points per game. They just scored 40 on the top scoring defense in the league. Mayfield has fantastic comfort in this offense but still plays with the edge that got people enamored with him in the first place. He knows when to tuck it and run, he understands where the ball needs to go and most importantly, he just wins football games. Mayfield inspires his teammates and fires them up on weekly basis. It’s because of him that other teams don’t want to play against the Bucs in the postseason this year.

Bailey Adams: Bucs’ Run Game Is Built For The Playoffs

Bucs RB Bucky Irving

Bucs RB Bucky Irving Photo by: USA Today

It’s still somewhat hard to believe that such a statement can be true after the Bucs ranked dead last in rushing in 2022 and 2023, but this Tampa Bay run game is built to do damage in the playoffs. That speaks volumes about the job that offensive coordinator Liam Coen and his O-line coaches Kevin Carberry and Brian Piccuci have done, and it’s also a testament to the play of the offensive line and the team’s backfield trio of Bucky Irving, Rachaad White and Sean Tucker.

The way the Bucs are running the ball, it’s hard to imagine opposing defenses lining up to want to play this team when the weather gets cold and the playoff grind begins. Coen and his staff have completely revitalized the Tampa Bay rushing attack, which is averaging 144.4 yards per game heading into Week 16. That’s tied with the Packers for the fourth-best rushing offense in the league, and it’s that type of production that can drive a deep playoff run.

Irving is leading the way for the Bucs backfield with 852 yards and six touchdowns on 152 carries, while White has 573 yards and three scores on 135 carries. The rookie is averaging 5.6 yards per carry, while the veteran is averaging a career high 4.2 yards per attempt. And then there’s Tucker, who has only 40 carries but is averaging 6.3 yards per carry, which has translated to 253 yards and two touchdowns.

Having three running backs to feed can help the Bucs wear opposing defenses down in the playoffs, and that can be more and more important as the postseason carries on. Physicality reigns supreme in January football, and Tampa Bay is exceling in that department these days. Not only is it the trio of backs – the offensive line is dominating in the trenches. Not only can that carry the offense forward, but it can make life easier for quarterback Baker Mayfield and get the whole unit firing on all cylinders.

Josh Queipo: Help Is On The Way For The Bucs

Bucs safeties Jordan Whitehead and Antoine Winfield Jr.

Bucs safeties Jordan Whitehead and Antoine Winfield Jr. – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

When considering quality of opponent, what the Bucs did in the second half this past Sunday on defense against the Chargers was truly impressive. Tampa Bay held Los Angeles to less than 50 yards and zero points. What’s most impressive is that head coach Todd Bowles and his defense did this without their top three safeties and two of their top three linebackers. For multiple plays the Bucs rolled out Ryan Neal and Kaevon Merriweather as their safety tandem.

But Bowles has become quite creative in the face of adversity. A week after utilizing a 5-1-5 front, Bowles rolled out a 6-1-4 look to combat the Charger’s heavy packages. He is marrying his coverages to his pressure packages better. And his players are executing his system better. And the best part is that reinforcements are on the way. Mike Edwards may return as early as this week. Antoine Winfield Jr. and Jordan Whitehead both have estimated timetables to return that would have them ready for the playoffs.

Can you imagine Bowles’ defense with all three of those safeties available along with Christian Izien and Tykee Smith? Bowles will finally be able to get to true nickel and dime looks with his preferred players. Improving the talent level executing his improved designs and systems can only bode well for the Bucs’ prospects going forward. And may be just the boost they need to turn a potential playoff appearance into a potential deep playoff run.

Adam Slivon: Bucs Will Continue Putting Up Points Thanks To Liam Coen’s Play-Calling

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and OC Liam Coen

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs offense has been scoring with flying colors this season thanks to Liam Coen’s wizardry. Don’t expect that to stop anytime soon. A 40-point outburst against the NFL’s No. 1 scoring defense this past Sunday and the overall consistency on that side of the ball makes Tampa Bay a dangerous playoff team. Put aside a midseason lull where the team lost four straight, and this a group that now has a four-game win streak and beat some of the league’s best teams earlier in the season.

Much of that can be owed to Coen’s play-calling. Not only has Baker Mayfield had an even better year under center, but he has done so despite losing Chris Godwin for the season and Mike Evans for a stretch of games. The offense has been able to hum along because of the weekly offensive gameplans that have put whoever is in in positions to succeed. One can point to the run game evolving from zone to more of a gap scheme. The Pony package. Allowing Baker Mayfield to get into a rhythm with efficient throws to begin games.

The Bucs’ win over the Chargers was a statement larger than any other game this year. Tampa Bay has the ability to take over any game. The offense is as good as ever and has adjusted to the personnel it has at its disposal. Liam Coen has elevated the team’s ceiling thanks to an offense that scores at will under his direction. That makes them a dangerous team to face the rest of the way.

The post PR Roundtable: What Makes The Bucs So Dangerous Heading Towards The Playoffs? appeared first on Pewter Report.

https://www.pewterreport.com/bucs-dangerous-playoffs-pr-roundtable/

#fantasyfootball #Sports #Betting #sportsbetting #sportsbettingadvice #freepick #freepicks #sportsbettingtips #handicapping #predictions #sportspredictions #NFL #esports #espn #NBA #NHL #sportsprediction #ncaa #mlb #WNBA #prediction #nhl #nhlplayoffs #nhlpicks #nbapicks #NBAPlayoffs #NFLPlayoffs #espnsports #bettingsports #bettingtips #bettingonline #bettingexpert #basketball #football #soccer #hockey #sportspicks #ncaabasketball #foxsports #cbssports #soccerpredictions #sportingbet