At Amuni Financial, managing your family’s finances means more than just distributing assets. It means estate planning, brokerage and advisory services, retirement accounts, college savings accounts and insurance services. With 40 years of experience, Amuni Financial can help you plan and stay ahead of the curve.
Call Amni Financial (800) 868-6864 Or visit Visit Amuni.com.
Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions Pewter Report This Week’s Bucs Mailbag Twitter account. Every week, submit your questions to the Bucs Mailbag via Twitter using the hashtag #PRMailbag. Here are your Bucs questions we’ll answer in this week’s edition:
question: Great win! Not to be disheartened, but why use a timeout to prevent a knee down after the first stop? Why not use a timeout before 4th down and 8 yards? If not, why not let them line up and use it? Also, what happened to Jake Camarda? Great effort and a great win!
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles – Photo courtesy of USA Today
answer: It was a valiant effort by the Buccaneers defense to keep the Lions out of the end zone and off the scoreboard altogether in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 20-16 win over Detroit. As I recounted the fourth quarter, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles took his team’s first timeout with 1 minute, 12 seconds left in the game. The Lions had the ball down to the Tampa Bay 13-yard line, and Bowles was buying time for the offense to drive and retake the lead in case Detroit scored a come-from-behind touchdown.
There is nothing wrong with this strategy, and in fact it was good time management. If the Lions had scored a touchdown with under 30 seconds left, it would have been difficult to get enough time to turn the game around and score a game-tying field goal, even with three timeouts. If the Lions had scored to take a 23-20 lead and kicked the ball into the end zone for a touchback, the Buccaneers would have had to go 30 yards to the Detroit 40-yard line for a 57-yard field goal, which would be difficult with limited time left, even with timeouts.
Sure, it was unfortunate that Tampa Bay needed another stop to beat the Lions with 33 seconds left after the Buccaneers defense forced a turnover on downs. I didn’t like the playcall on the Buccaneers’ final offensive series, which included a pass being batted down on third down that allowed Detroit to keep their timeout instead of using their final timeout if Tampa Bay had gone for the run. That’s the fault of offensive coordinator Liam Cohen and quarterback Baker Mayfield, not Bowles.
As for Jake Camarda, I’m not sure what’s going on. He had five punts for 230 yards (46 average) and a net average of 39.6 yards. He had a 51-yard punt in a game, but his kicks just don’t seem to have the power they once had. Tampa Bay has a punter on the practice squad in Seth Vernon, so Camarda needs to get better at punting or he’s in danger of being replaced at some point.
question: Scott, what a great choice to go straight for the Buccaneers! But the run game still has serious issues with the Bucs rushing for 40 yards on 17 carries. Any thoughts on where they go from here with the run game?
Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving – Photo courtesy of USA Today
answer: Credit to the Lions’ incredibly tough and stout defense for thwarting the Buccaneers’ rushing attack on Sunday. Aaron Glenn’s team has once again proven to be one of the toughest run defenses in the league, as Detroit held the Los Angeles Rams to just 83 yards on 23 attempts in Week 1. Rams Pro Bowler Kyren Williams was held to just 50 yards on 18 attempts (2.8 average). The Lions are fourth in the league in run defense, allowing an average of 76.5 rushing yards per game. Detroit’s run defense was second in the NFL last year, allowing an average of 91.1 rushing yards per game.
Additionally, the Buccaneers lost starter Rachad White to a groin injury early in the game, and the Lions were using a basic 4-3 defense with three linebackers in Derrick Barnes, Alex Anzalone and Jack Campbell, making things tough for Tampa Bay. Detroit used the basic defense against both Los Angeles and Tampa Bay, even when both teams were fielding three receivers. Detroit is really good at making teams one-dimensional, and it worked well against Tampa Bay on Sunday in Week 2.
The Buccaneers’ run game is definitely a work in progress, but it’s too early to panic after rushing for 111 yards in Week 1 against Washington. Center Graham Burton is a rookie who is still learning on the job and needs more experience. The Buccaneers were also playing without starting right tackle Luke Goedeke, one of the team’s best run blockers. Goedeke’s physical presence makes the line flow, and his presence was missed on Sunday.
New offensive coordinator Liam Cohen is smart, and he and offensive line coaches Kevin Carberry and Brian Picucci will continue to make strides with the Buccaneers’ ground game this year. There’s no doubt Tampa Bay’s rushing attack will improve from last place a year ago to maybe around 20th place in 2024, which is to say, middle of the pack. The offensive line needs more time and practice together, and the tight ends need to get better at blocking. I thought Cade Otton really struggled as a blocker in Sunday’s game in Detroit.
question: Zion McCollum is performing well, but what are your expectations for him this year?
Buccaneers CB Zion McCollum – Photo Credit: USA Today
answer: Now, Zion McCollum said his goal this season is to get a team-leading six interceptions. He got his first career interception on Jared Goff’s first pass on Sunday, so he’s off to a great start. And kudos to McCollum for shaking off last week’s concussion and coming back to play well in Week 2.
Including the interception, McCollum had a career-high four pass breakups and could have had two more. In the third quarter, he jumped a route and dived for an interception, but Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown stripped the ball at the last moment. McCollum also dived for an interception in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t catch it. All in all, it was a great game for Detroit’s third-year cornerback.
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Jason Licht have a lot of confidence in McCollum. A lot of faith The team’s expectations of him are so high that they traded starting cornerback Carlton Davis III just to get McCollum on the field as a starter. At 6-foot-2, McCollum has the length, speed and athleticism to be a true lockdown cornerback in the league. He took big strides toward becoming that kind of shutdown defender in Week 2, contributing greatly to Tampa Bay’s upset win at Detroit.
question: Talk about injuries. The conditioning coach needs to calm down. Practices need to be more relaxed because we’re losing our best players on a weekly basis.
Buccaneers RT Luke Goedeke – Photo: Cliff Welch/PR
answer: Every injury on the Buccaneers is a different story. There is no common thread between them and the Buccaneers strength and conditioning coach is not to blame. Defensive tackle Logan Hall missed Week 1 with a foot injury, but that’s what happens when bodies go to the ground in the trenches and players get rolled up. Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and cornerback Josh Hayes also had rolled ankles against the Commanders. These things can’t be prevented.
Kariya Kansi missed the first two weeks of the season with a freak calf injury. These types of injuries are typically freakish in nature, the same ones Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson and 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey have. In Kansi’s case, it was an injury to his other calf, not the calf injury that kept him out of the Buccaneers’ first four games last year.
This isn’t a hydration issue. The Buccaneers’ training staff has an almost manic approach to closely monitoring everyone’s fluid intake. Cunci played college at Pittsburgh but is a South Florida native, having attended the same high school as Lavonte David. He’s used to playing and training in Florida’s heat and humidity.
As for Luke Goedeke’s concussion, a Pewter Insider YouTube TV channel member reported last Friday that Goedeke suffered a mild concussion during Sunday’s game but didn’t feel the full effects until he returned to the practice field on Wednesday. About halfway through practice, he showed symptoms of a concussion, and the team pulled him from practice. He missed the rest of the week’s practices, and the team wisely did not play him against the Lions.
Buccaneers DT Vita Vea – Photo: Cliff Welch/PR
It’s not a bad thing for a cornerback like Zion McCollum to return from a concussion within a week. But it’s difficult for a trench player like a right tackle to return that quickly, with offensive and defensive linemen colliding at the line of scrimmage every play. Returning Goedeke too soon could lead to a recurrence of symptoms that could result in him missing more games. Tampa Bay hopes that Goedeke will return when he is completely symptom-free, ideally before Sunday’s game against Denver or next week’s game against Philadelphia.
And finally, the nose tackle. Vita Vea’s knee injury This is the result of a friendly fire incident on Sunday when outside linebacker Yaya Diaby accidentally got caught in Bear’s knee during a pass rush. With what appears to be an MCL sprain, Bear will likely miss two to four weeks of action.
question: If Luke Goedeke can’t play against the Broncos, who can play right tackle? Not Justin Skull!
Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield and RT Justin Sukur, Lions DE Aidan Hutchison – Photo courtesy of USA Today
answer: Right tackle Justin Sukur, filling in for Luke Goedeke, certainly had a tough time against Lions Pro Bowl defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who recorded 4.5 sacks. But not all of Hutchinson’s sacks were on Sukur’s part. The first came from right guard Cody Moach, who was late in catching Hutchinson on an inside twist on third down and three yards in the red zone in the first quarter.
One of Hutchinson’s other sacks was against tight end Cade Otton, so Skurr actually allowed 2.5. This is certainly not ideal, but the film before kickoff showed this was going to be a one-sided game. There’s a reason Hutchinson was the No. 2 overall pick. He’s a good pass rusher, and good pass rushers are good because they’re elite enough to beat double teams and chips to get sacks. Skurr is a swing tackle and a backup. And he’s a former sixth-round pick.
Offensive coordinator Liam Cohen has tried to use Rachel White and Otton to help with chips and double teams, but against quality players, it’s sometimes to no avail. Four of Hutchinson’s sacks came on third downs when the Buccaneers were clearly looking to throw the ball, so that helped. Plus, Detroit is playing at home and typically has an advantage on pass rushers off the snap.
The Buccaneers will likely use Sukur again this week if Goedeke is unable to return from his concussion. Tampa Bay will also have backup center Robert Hainsey, who played right tackle at Notre Dame, and reserve guard Elijah Cline, who played right tackle at Jacksonville University during the preseason, available for depth.
