After a very disappointing 2017 season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers look to rebound to 2018. Head coach Dirk Koetter may be on the hot seat as he begins his third year with the team, and how his club performs early on may be the difference in him lasting through the season or not.
If Week 1 is any indication, Koetter will be just fine. However, there is one major issue that doesn't bode well for him.
Buccaneers Offense
That issue has to do with the most important position on the field: quarterback. Jameis Winston, the first overall pick in 2015 and the face of the franchise, is suspended for the first three games. This moves journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick back into the starting role, a position he held three times last season, winning two games.
Fitzpatrick isn't exactly a great backup, but Tampa Bay does have a chance to win with him under center, as they proved on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. Fitzpatrick had the game of his career, throwing for 417 yards and four touchdowns while running for another score to lead Tampa Bay to a shocking 48-40 win over their division rivals.
Still, their next two games come against very good defenses in the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers. Their success will depend on the performance of the skill positions.
Doug Martin is gone, and his replacement is Peyton Barber, Martin's backup from the last two seasons. Second-round pick Ronald Jones II was drafted to infuse talent into the backfield, but he had a terrible preseason (28 carries for 22 yards) and now finds himself third on the depth chart.
On paper, the Buccaneers should have a formidable passing attack. Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson, and Chris Godwin provide a red-zone target, a deep threat, and a chain mover, and tight ends Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard are both solid receivers and blockers. If Fitzpatrick and Winston are underperforming, it isn't because of their weapons.
The offensive line is not great. Donovan Smith is entering his fourth season and hasn't exactly lived up to his draft billing. Ali Marpet is solid if unspectacular. Ryan Jensen was brought over from Baltimore and is now the highest-paid center in the NFL. Is he worth that incredibly high price? Probably not, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and Koetter needs to produce results in order to save his job. If that necessitates overpaying for a center with one season of starting experience, so be it.
Buccaneers Defense
The defensive unit as a whole is very talented, but quite a few key pieces are unproven. Both starting defensive ends are new additions, in Vinny Curry and Jason Pierre-Paul. Noah Spence and recent waiver claim Carl Nassib will provide excellent depth.
Gerald McCoy is still one of the league's best defensive tackles, and now he has an excellent compliment in rookie Vita Vea. At 6-foot-4 and 350 pounds with rare athleticism, Vea has the potential to be dominant. However, he needs to get healthy first, as he has missed extended time during training camp and will not play in week one.
The linebacker unit is probably Tampa Bay's strongest. LaVonte David and Kwon Alexander are among the best at their positions, and Kendall Beckwith and Adarius Taylor are good compliments. While Vea is out, this group will have more responsibility, especially while the secondary gets sorted out.
Brent Grimes is still going strong as he enters his 12th season, which is especially impressive considering the shortened NFL lifespan of cornerbacks. Unfortunately, he may be the only sure thing in the secondary. 2016 first-rounder Vernon Hargreaves has not lived up to expectations, and the Bucs desperately need him to begin playing to his potential.
Rookie Carlton Davis is the ideal prototype for a DB in today's game, as he stands he stands 6-foot-1 and 206 pounds, but he cannot be relied upon to be consistent at this point in his career.
At safety, Chris Conte will retain his starting spot. Relative to other teams, Conte would be a solid depth player, but he is a poor starter. This hole could have been fixed through the draft, as Tampa Bay was expected to select Florida State's Derwin James but went with Vea instead. Second-year player Justin Evans has plenty of range and will get a chance to prove himself as a starter, although he needs to be a more disciplined player if he hopes to keep his spot.
2018 Buccaneers Outlook
With the Saints, Panthers, and Falcons all legitimate playoff contenders (and possibly Super Bowl contenders as well), it will be extremely difficult for the Buccaneers to make the postseason. There are rumblings that the team is fed up with Winston's off-field behavior and on-field performance, and if Tampa Bay winds up with a high draft pick, they could decide to give up the Winston experiment and head in a new direction with a new signal-caller.
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