The Path To Tampa Overcoming Their Banged Up Secondary
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
The Tampa Bay Bucs’ secondary is in complete disarray with injuries. Star safety Antoine Winfield Jr. is slated to miss at least a few weeks after suffering a foot injury, though it appears that he’ll avoid an IR designation. Elsewhere, Zyon McCollum suffered a concussion and Josh Hayes went down with an ankle injury. The short-term prognosis for Hayes is not as optimistic.
That’s Josh Hayes in the walking boot…he’s got a noticeable limp so I do not expect him to be in play this week for the Bucs. There’s a chance Zyon McCollum is though. He’s practicing today and without the non-contact jersey. pic.twitter.com/zglNxPI1r0
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) September 12, 2024
Perhaps worst of all, Bryce Hall played all of 17 snaps in the season opener before he was carted off the field due to a season ending injury.
#Bucs CB Bryce Hall suffered a dislocated right ankle and fractured fibula in today’s win over Washington, per source.
Hall was carted off the field in an air cast. A tough blow. pic.twitter.com/BJNoD74IhH
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 9, 2024
The Bucs already had the fourth worst pass defense in 2023 by allowing 248.9 yards per game. With these injury setbacks, they are now scrambling for answers as they face a tough upcoming schedule as twitch the Lions and Eagles over the next few weeks.
How can Todd Bowles team overcome these injury setbacks so the Bucs don’t fall behind after their solid start to the season?
Get Keenan Isaac up to speed as quickly as possible
I challenge you to name someone who has had a more chaotic stretch of transactions in the last two weeks than cornerback Keenan Isaac.
In less than two weeks, Keenan Isaac was:
– Waived by the Bucs
– Claimed by the Panthers
– Waived by the Panthers
– Signed by the Bucs https://t.co/24ixJ8xW8P pic.twitter.com/1SWJcodGNG— Edgar Salmingo, Jr. ✌🏽 (@PanthersAnalyst) September 10, 2024
Isaac, who was signed by the Bucs as an undrafted free agent in 2023, was let go by the Bucs during roster cuts prior to the season. The cut was despite a strong preseason in which he had exactly as many interceptions (1) as he had passing yards allowed.
Preseason INT from newest #Panthers CB Keenan Isaac
Good recovery here after being beat at the LOS pic.twitter.com/G52RzkD5eu
— Unnecessary Bluntness Owner/Coach/QB (@DuncOnDemand) August 28, 2024
Keenan Isaac was particularly strong as a pass defender in the 2024 preseason, logging a 90.2 PFF grade in coverage and a 16.7 passer rating allowed on 57 coverage snaps. He may not be an immediate starter, but there is definitely a role for the Alabama State product. It’s an excellent opportunity for a hungry young player and the sooner they can get him up to speed, the more support they will have for a group that desperately needs it.
Build a game plan on defense that prevents offensive explosions
In the three weeks Winfield Jr. could be out, the Lions and Eagles with both present explosive but different problems for the Bucs’ defense.
In Week 1, the top two pass catchers for Washington were their two running backs, Austin Ekeler and Brian Robinson Jr., who combined for 7 receptions and 101 receiving yards. Life does not get any easier on Sunday with Detroit, who has explosive potential in arguably the best running back duo in the league in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. And that’s before you start listing their pass catchers.
“They’re a very physical team,” Todd Bowles said of the Detroit Lions. “Very fast on the outside, very fast in the backfield, very athletic at tight end. They can beat you (in) a bunch of ways. They don’t have one way to beat you. You’ve got to be sharp on all accounts.”
In terms of rushing, the player that gave Tampa’s defense the most problems in Week 1 was Jayden Daniels, who rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns. While Lions quarterback Jared Goff is only slightly more mobile than the Barry Sanders statue outside of Ford Field, Eagles QB Jalen Hurts has the second most rushing TDs since 2023 among QBs and the third most rushing yards. Finding a way to at least somewhat limit the explosive passing of Detroit and the explosive quarterback run game of the Eagles are key in giving Tampa Bay the opportunity to…
Embrace the shootout
The most likely scenario in Weeks 2 and 4 is that despite the Bucs’ strongest game planning efforts, the Lions and Eagles will likely accumulate yards and points in bulk. Tampa Bay will likely engage in shootouts with both teams. Normally in a situation like this the best thing Tampa could do is keep their offense on the field, which will keep the defense fresh and limit opportunities for both teams’ explosive offenses. But in this case given the talent on offense and ability of new coordinator Liam Coen, the best plan might be to go balls to the walls with a shootout.
The captain of the Buccaneer Cove, Baker Mayfield, has momentum heading into Week 2 after posting a 146.4 passer rating against a despicable Washington Commanders secondary. He even managed to take home some hardware.
Baker Mayfield Named Week 1 FedEx Air Player of the Week
Release: https://t.co/wTlYvPzxAp pic.twitter.com/xE1Sdq4YVX
— Buccaneers Communications (@BuccaneersComms) September 11, 2024
The Lions’ and Eagles’ secondaries aren’t much better, as they ranked sixth worst and second worst, respectively, in terms of passing yards allowed per game in 2023. Despite offseason secondary acquisitions made by both teams, Week 1 saw the Eagles give up 260 yards to Jordan Love, and the Lions gave up 317 passing yards to Matthew Stafford. The latter of the two performances was despite the fact that the Rams lost Puka Nacua to an injury in the middle of the second quarter.
In the event that both teams cook offensively and make the most of their opportunities, it will be on Baker and his supporting cast to keep up. Given the state of both opposing secondaries, that is a legitimate possibility.
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