Due to injuries and team personnel, the Bucks have been forced to play a handful of young players in elevated roles this season. Results were mixed. Rookie Bucky Irving is at running back, Tykie Smith is at nickel, and Graham Burton is doing great at center. However, there were some performances that held back the Bucs. The question is what to do at cornerback between second-year Josh Hayes and undrafted rookie Tyreke Funderburk. Wide receivers are also an issue, as freshmen and sophomores Jalen McMillan, Trey Palmer and Rakim Jarrett have yet to break out.
If a player goes down or there are no other options at the position, there is no easy solution. Sometimes you just have to take what you got and coach them. The Bucks are currently facing that problem. Take cornerbacks, for example. Tampa Bay has depth thanks to Jamel Dean. Zion McCallum And Bryce Hall is the top three.
However, Hall broke his foot in the first game of the season and was sidelined for the rest of the year. Dean is on injured reserve and won’t be back until at least after a bye. This leaves McCollum on one side and fourth and fifth stringers Hayes and Funderburk on the other. It’s not exactly how the Bucs portrayed it.
Bucks’ young cornerback can’t think of a play in important situations
“You don’t expect those things, but there’s a reason they make the team,” Bucks head coach Todd Bowles said. I answered about how difficult it is. Even if you’re not physically ready, you have to be mentally prepared, so when you go out and get a chance, you have to make the most of it. It’s the same in football and in life. ”
In Tampa Bay’s most recent game against San Francisco, McCollum left late in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury. This put Hayes and Funderburk in the corners for the final drive, and the 49ers drove well down the field with 40 seconds left before kicking the game-clinching field goal.
There were complaints that Tampa Bay played too much off the ball, allowing San Francisco to take short routes to continue forward or stop the clock going out of bounds. Even after the 49ers used their final timeout, the Bucs continued in the playoffs, allowing themselves to get closer to field goal range. This made a huge difference as kicker Jake Moody was already struggling with three missed field goals. He connected, but the ball was still drifting to the right, so if he had gone a few yards back, it might have missed again.
This isn’t the first time Todd Bowles has come under intense scrutiny for such soft coverage at the line of scrimmage. However, due to who was on the field, Bowles may have felt he had no other choice.
“It depends on who’s the weak link and who’s the weak link you’re trying to protect, and the people you’re trying to protect are different,” Bowles said. “You try to protect them, sometimes on the outside, sometimes on the inside. You’re playing along. [Tyrek] Funderburk, you’re playing with Josh. [Hayes]you are playing with some men. [are] It’s my first time in full-time action, so I have to be careful about a lot of things, but I still have to calm down where I need to be, and that hasn’t translated over four quarters. ”
He further elaborated on why receivers in zone defenses receive a ton of separation.
“Part of the reason for that is because the quarterback is throwing a little bit longer than normal,” Bowles said. “And part of it is we’re not in the right areas on play-action.”
The Bucks’ WR hasn’t appeared either.
We knew it was going to be a tough game for the wide receiver backs after the departures of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, but I don’t think many expected it to be this bad. To get the job done between veteran wide receiver Sterling Shepard, second-year wideouts Trey Palmer, Rakim Jarrett, Ryan Miller, and rookie Jalen McMillan, the committee selected wide receivers. I have nominated it.
The group was littered with brief moments of spark, including Shepard, Palmer and Miller’s game-tying contributions on Miller’s touchdown against the Chiefs on Monday night.
But let’s actually watch the 49ers game.
Miller had one catch for 11 yards. Sheppard had one catch for 7 yards and Jarrett had two catches for 10 yards in the game. Palmer did not record any catches or receiving yards. Pedestrian is an understatement of their performance, but there’s a reason tight end Cade Otton and running backs are the focus of the passing game.
Jalen McMillan was dressed for this game, but missed his second straight game and fourth game of the season with a hamstring injury. His absence is another story, but the bottom line is he’s not helping time either. The Bucks desperately need Mike Evans back soon.
“It’s a little bit of everything,” Bowles said of the lack of productivity on the receiving end. “When you drop two All-Pros, you always have guys playing for the first time — ‘Shep’ (Sterling Shepard) has played in this league before, but this is his first time in this system — “J-Mac” (Jalen McMillan) is the new Trey [Palmer] teeth [in his] Year 2, you have Ryan [Miller] I will be removed from the practice squad, [are] It’s about chemistry.
“There’s a change in offense and it’s going to be a little different. We’ve been throwing the ball cleanly. [well] I’ve had some success lately, but not yesterday. They did a good job down the diagonal. ”