By Keith Larson – Bucs Report Special to Sports Talk Florida
Week 1 has passed. On comes the hot take, ignorant, short-sighted garbage opinions that take one game and blow it out of proportion.
God, I did not miss this bullshit.
Now, here is more of that bullshit spewing from my keyboard in the next few paragraphs, with a couple things to be excited about and a couple things to be a bit worried about after the Bucs’ week one 20-17 victory in Minnesota.
The Buccaneers defense should still be very competitive
Now, I’m not going to go out and say they’re going to be really good or really bad, because while they forced some turnovers and stuffed the Vikings’ running game, they also gave up 369 total yards of offense. The Vikings are a really good team on that side of the ball, but it’s still a bit tough to see. However, with all of that being said, if the Bucs can avoid some major injuries on the defense, that group should be pretty fun to watch moving forward. Devin White looked full of energy and the secondary was at least able to hold their own against Justin Jefferson and the wonder that is Kirk Cousins at quarterback.
The Bucs rushing attack leaves something to be desired
Yeesh. 73 yards is not anything to be thrilled about, and they left me feeling very disappointed in both the play calling and the execution. And following last year’s near-historically bad rushing attack with no major upgrades at the offensive line or running back position, it’s not something to dismiss entirely as a Week 1 fluke. Hopefully I’m wrong, but it could be troubling moving forward.
Baker pulled himself together quite nicely
I’m not yet sold on Mr. Mayfield even keeping his QB1 job for the whole season, but Sunday got off to a horrid start. Yet he managed to come back and submit a very serviceable performance with some gritty plays. He took care of the football, didn’t make any careless throws, and lead the Bucs to a W. It would’ve been nice to see him hit on a few of those easy throws though…
The Vikings played some sloppy football
This is something that could be taken as a double-meaning; the Bucs got really lucky on some horrible play from Minnesota, from the offsides call that gave the Bucs a touchdown, to the mishandled snap by Kirk Cousins, to the INT by Kirk Cousins, and finally to one of the worst throws I’ve seen in a minute in a key 3rd down from Kirk Cousins to KJ Osborn. But, a counterpoint could be that the Bucs managed to limit their own mistakes, giving you something to be hopeful for moving forward. Maybe count this one for both…
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