Updates on Special Teams | Bucs Insider

hearing where you're watching from. That's always really fun. Um as we give people a chance to do that. Figured we'd start with the COVID news and how this is going to affect our Special Teams units. So tell us at this point what we know and what some of the potential options might be for the game. Yeah, that

was sobering news yesterday. Um. Obviously your first concern is for the health of all those guys, although the first thing to understand is teams are not allowed to say whether guys go on that list because they have tested positive or because they have been in proximity with someone who has, so we don't at this moment know whether Bradley Pinion, Ryan Suck Up or Zach Trner what the reasons for all three of those are for going on the list, and it could all three of them could

be a proximity issue, or it could be one of them is positive and the other two were in proximity to him, similar to what happened with the Broncos quarterbacks quarterbacks room a few weeks ago. Um. So we won't know for a little while, and I imagine all that information will eventually be clarified, but we won't know for a little while exactly who's who on that and who might be available on Sunday. But what the Buccaneers will do and are in the process of doing, is bringing

in replacements for all three of them. You do have a kicker on the practice squad that that they've been carrying for this exact reason, named Gregg Joseph, and they've using one of their protection options on him every single week just because if this would have happened later in the week, there will be no chance of that kicker being ready on Sunday. So having one in the building is the only way you'd have a kicker available on

game day. So Greg Joseph is there. But the Buccaneers will probably sign another kicker just in case something makes Greg Joseph unavailable light in the week. So, uh, the Buccaneers have not They don't really announce their visits and tryouts, so we're not going to name names here, but it's out there, of course, and they've already been I you know, as soon as they got this news, they obviously started

looking for potential fill ins. And since it happened on Tuesday, there is a window for them to have replacements in place in time for Sunday's game. But I know there are always guys on the team that are trained to be a backup long snapper. So what what do you think the odds? And then you know, with with hunting, kicking, long snapping, those are sort of unique positions compared to everything else on the team. So what are some potential ways you try to fill that gap if it's is it?

Do you think all of them is going to be a direct replacement with someone new? Do you think you have guys on the team you try to use. Yeah, you always have at least one person who's not a long snapper but is at least functional at it, that practices it. But the reason for that is if something happens to your long snapper in a game, that guy. You've seen those guys warm up and practice, haven't you, Casey?

At practice, they're better than you and me and everybody else on the team other than the real long snapper, but they're usually not very good compared to an actual long snapper. So you would, I'm pretty sure you'd bring in a guy who has approven long snapper in this league rather than use your your emergency replacement, as long as you have the time to get him in and it it appears as if we do. And also, your kicker can usually point in an emergency, and your punter

can usually kick in an emergency. As a matter of fact, when we were preparing for one of our pregame shows recently at Stadium, we saw Bradley Opinion trying some field goals. So, um, that's always an option in a game, but if you have time, you try to find actual replacements who play those positions, right, That makes complete sense. Um. We also were talking about Um in terms of replacements and who's gonna be available and not. We don't really know what

the situation is with Rojoe at this point. We know that he Um has had too. He's had a finger injury and now we know that unfortunately kind of sounds a lot like Chris Godwin's and the need for a pin to be put in there. So what do we know about the timing of this and what this could mean? And again same thing options if if he's not available, what that could look like and how that will affect

the offense. Yeah, and then Godwin I believe, missed one game and then he came back and he played with a brace on his hand and with the pins in there for like three games I think, and played well. I didn't didn't really hold him back. But of course we know how tough Godwin is. This first time we've really had this kind of situation with Ronald Jones. I mean, all these guys are tough, obviously, but we'll see if

he can play with something on his hand. Uh, And it made an issue, I'm not but the obviously your your depth chart is still pretty strong at running back. We didn't even use Leonard four Nette last week and after the game, I mean he was inactive and after the game head coach Bruziian said that had nothing to do with Leonard four Net Where you still really like him, So you got Leonard from that, you've got um Lashawn McCoy, who showed that he's got fresh legs and can still

do some things. And you have the rookie Keyshawn Vaughn, who hasn't had much of an opportunity yet but would probably be much more in the mix if Ronald Jones wasn't available, but let's be clear, it would be it would be a significant absence for the Bucks because he's

playing very very well right now. Actually all season, he's played very well, and and you know, just from a personal standpoint, I'd like to see him get as much playing time as possible because he's at nine hundred yards and I know he's he's admitted that the thousand yards is a goal for him, so you want him to get that well. And that actually is a perfect segue to our first question we had, which was about Mike

Evans and his quest for thousand yard seasons. So maybe for people who don't know, explain the significance of what a thousand yards season would mean for Mike this year, and then what do you think the odds are that he could get there? Looking at how many games we

have left? Yeah, Mike Evans is the only only player other than Randy Moss to start his career with six straight one thousand yard receiving seasons, which is obviously an incredible accomplishment, and since Randy Moss didn't get it in his seventh year, uh, Mike had a chance to be the first player ever to do it seven years in a row. And he still does have that chance, but it's getting to be more and more of a long shot.

I believe he had about fifty six yards in the last game, and going into these last four games, he needed an average close to a hundred yards of games. So now his average has to go up even a little more than that. So for it to even be a possibility, I think Mike's gonna have one of those crazy games where it has two hund yards or something like that. And that just doesn't seem to be the

way our offense operates this year. As as a couple of guys were saying this week, you just have to understand that the ball is getting spread around and and some people are not having the numbers that they normally have. But as long as the offense works, everybody's happy with that. And let's keep in mind that Mike Evans has eleven touchdown catches, so it's been a very good year for him, and hopefully he can still break his own record in that regard, which is just twelve. So it's been a

good year. In a perfect world, Mike would get that record. But I'd be willing to bet he doesn't care that much compared to playing in the playoffs for the first time. Yeah, and at least he did get to tie Randy Moss. I mean, I know that's a guy that he really looked up to, you know when he That's who he was watching as a kid and all of that. So that at least for him to just be alone with Randy Moss, I think he's probably plenty happy, good, very good.

Um Edward had asked, do you know if Jamal Dean will be back? No, we don't, because we don't. This is what we run into with this show. Every week. It's on the morning of the day we get our first injury reports. So, um, now it's a little tiar early to know that. Um he was he wasn't out going into the weekend last week. He was doubtful, which means they held out some hope that by Sunday, his groin injury wouldn't be bad enough and he'd be able to play. So to me, that's a pretty good sign

that he'll start this week with a chance to come back. Okay, that's good to know. Um. Daniel had asked, do you think Tristan Worths and Antoine Winfield will get awards for their rookie season play in offense and Defensive Rookies of

the Year. Uh, Antoine went Field, I don't think he has a shot at Defensive Rookie of the Year because Chase Young probably went into it as the favorite and has had a phenomenal season, and guys that get sacks are going to be looked at first for that award, Um and then but I mean they always do these various publications and organizations do all rookie teams, and I think he's got an excellent chance to be a first team All Rookie team guy. Uh, Tristan worse You know,

he's probably pretty deserving. Come you know, he probably should be in the discussion for Offensive Rookie the Year. And I'd have to look at it. I don't think you want me to pull out the NFL Record and fact guide, right now, but I'd be willing to bet that that is a rare occurrence for an offensive lineman to win that award. If any running back or any oh, I'll justin Jefferson in Minnesota. I mean, he's having an incredible year.

Any running back or a receiver putting up big numbers, or a quarterback, obviously, um is going to is gonna run away with that. Wards he got Justin Herbert in

uh In in Los Angeles for the orders. So again, Tristan Worst will almost certainly be on that All Rookie team, which, if you think about it, is a pretty big accomplishment because there were those four highly thought of blue chip offensive tackles available in the draft, and he was the fourth one selected, and I'd be willing to bet he'd beat on all the other three to be if the

first guy inline and for that All Rookie team. That's so true, and I mean that just means it speaks volumes to the value that we were able to get from him in that to to be the fourth tackle selected and to still feel like he was, He's the one you'd want to pick even if you had the first shot at all those guys. Yeah, that's pretty incredible. Um. And on that line of rookies, Mitchet asked, which rookie has surprised you the most, Well, Um, probably Tristan Worse.

And you know, I have to clarify saying it's not like I thought Tristan Worth was gonna be bad. I think I probably sent her on these shows early in the season that as good as Tristan Worst is probably gonna be in the NFL, rookie tackles can go through some struggles. I mean, you look at see what's happening with Andrew Thomas with the Giants, who's definitely had some struggles up there, and he was the fourth pick taken overall.

That doesn't mean Andrew Thomas is a bad player and or that he's not gonna be a long time stud for the Giants. But it's tough transitioning to the NFL and playing offensive tackle because there are so many good edge rushers in this league and they're not just all rushing around left tackle anymore. The right tackle has to face tons of really good pass rushers. And Bruce Arians himself said, we're not surprised at how well he has

run blocked. We knew from his tape at Iowa that he was going to be a pretty dominant run blocker, but the fact that he's played so well in pass protection is of play well, but not this well. I mean, coach Arians thinks he's playing at a pro Bowl level and it's hard to argue with. So it's probably him because only really him and and uh and Antoine Winfield have played a time among the rookies, So it's really

gotta be one of those two. Yeah, that's true. Um, East, I asked, who's your m v P on offense and deep and so far this season? Well, since it's been such a sort of a thing by committee among the past catchers, it's hard to pick just one out of that. And uh, you know, the running back has been good, but our running back, our running game hasn't been awesome. Uh, it's kind of gonna seem like an obvious answer. But Tom Brady, you know, thirty touchdown passes if you think

about it. Bruce Arians said during the off season when we were making this dramatic move at quarterback, and even before that that turnovers were the real problem that kept the Bucks seven and nine instead of in the playoff hunt. Uh, Tom Brady has a very good shot of breaking Jameis Winston's touchdown record from last year, which was thirty three.

He's got thirty with three games to go. But while we had thirty interceptions last year, we have eleven this year, and I think that's probably more than the Bucks and Tom expected for him to throw this year, but it's still a heck of a lot better than last year. So when you think about it, that's the biggest change for this team, and and just his le dership and everything. I think it has to be Tom Brady defense. I just think Lavonte David has done at all. I mean,

I love our edge rushers. Devin Whites had a great year, Carlton Davis has been very very good. But if I have to pick one, I'm going with Lavonte. Yeah, I mean, you can't go wrong with Lavonte, which is perfect because then that also means we can shout him out that he is a finalist for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award. He's in the top eight um, so that I thought was really exciting and something he's very very deserving of

on off the field, all of those things. So it's been cool to get to watch us get to honor Mike Evans for his Walter Payton May of the Year and Lavonte for the you Know Sports and Ship Award of just we talked so much about their on field accomplishments, but this locker room is just so full of really great guys that do it the right way, which makes it even more fun to root for them that you know you're you're believing in who they are as people too. Yeah.

I don't think we've had a finalist before. I mean, I think every team has a nominee every year, but I think this is our first finalists. So that's that's great. Maybe A'll win. Yeah, that is pretty incredible. All right, Well, that's gonna do it for us on this edition of Buccaneers and Sider Live presented by Miller Lite is always for joining us, Thanks for those great questions, and we'll see you next week. Mm hmmm, m m m m m hmmm.