Tampa, September 28, 2018– The Bucs have fared well to say the least in moving the chains productively without their starting man under center with fourth-hardest schedule going into season, currently sitting pretty at 2-1 and first place in their NFC South division. Fans are intrigued to see the outcome Head Coach Dirk Koetter and the men upstairs unveil and what they have in store for the organization in the coming weeks as QB Jameis Winston seeks his return after an allegation that led to a 3-game suspension.
Back-up quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, more suitably known as ‘Fitzmagic’ around the Bay for his uncanny ability to step up and perform lights out, is the hot commodity among NFL headlines. The Harvard grad has showcased a historic 2018 debut engraved in NFL record books, as he is the first player in NFL history to have 3 consecutive 400+ yard passing games, accumulating 1,230 passing yards thus far, completing over 70% of his throws with 11 TD’s and an impressive 124.8 QBR! Quarterbacks as a whole are thriving this year more than EVER, completing over 60% of passes and recording the most scores ever with 168 passing TD’s overall in 3 weeks.
The 14-year vet showed a valiant effort on the biggest stage, in this past Monday night’s primetime matchup as 2-point underdogs versus the flustered
Pittsburgh Steelers; despite the black and yellow’s winless 0-1-1 record before kickoff. Tampa rallied a second half comeback after a rough start, but fell justtt short losing by the skin of their teeth, 30-27 final, missing out on collecting another momentous accolade, as no team has gone undefeated in beating Super Bowl winning quarterbacks in the first three weeks.
Definitely some turmoil within the Steeler’s organization right now, as they are open to trade offers for star RB Le’Veon Bell, so good a time as any to capitalize on the discombobulated team, but early mistakes led to the Bucs’ demise.
At halftime, the Buccaneers welcomed legendary former Head Coach, Super Bowl champ and 2016 Hall of Fame inductee, Tony Dungy into the Ring of Honor. Tony was a huge part of the rebuilding process in the early 2000’s as the ‘loserville’ franchise, when he had to move on and soon accepted the same role for Colts and Jon Gruden took over the team coming from Raiders. They later went on to win the Super bowl in 2003, ironically against the Raiders.
“This team is on the brink of championship pedigree,” Tony Dungy stated emphatically to Bucs’ Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks, as the linebacker was assuming his leadership role in the front 7.
New Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken has spiced up offensive schemes tremendously, allowing Fitzmagic to utilize his sea of weapons- building an organic chemistry and thus keeping ball rolling with ease. The league talks originally emphasized that it would have to be the Bucs’ defense to be the key factor in keeping Tampa afloat, but both spectrums have combined in organization’s success.
Their shortcomings are arguably the weaknesses in the secondary and running back position, but they haven’t had a burning need to run the rock due success in the air. Among these things, the defensive line has held their own as a main feature with first-round pick, 6’4” 346-pound defensive tackle Vita Vea out of the picture with a strained calf muscle.
-Fan quotes:
“Bucs were probably on the bottom of most people’s lists before the start of the season, Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken has surprised us with his offensive play calls and decisions, they should undoubtedly have Fitz still in chatter as candidate for starter when Jameis returns.”
“My take on this is that they need some extra firepower to keep up with the rest of the division eventually, but the tools are in place now for wildcard contention.”
Vaughan Sixbury, BCP Contributor