What To Watch For: BUCS VS EAGLES
It’s another primetime affair for the Buccaneers. Their THIRD of the season.
So far, the Team has gone 2-0 in when put in the limelight. The last one against New England wasn’t that pretty. But, the Team pulled it off.
BUCS fans shouldn’t be surprised if this one isn’t a cakewalk either.
The Philadelphia Eagles may be 2-3, but don’t let that fool you into thinking they’re pushovers. They’re a talented team with a lot of perseverance. And that’s scary. Coming off a come-from-behind victory against the Carolina Panthers on the road, this squad could have a bit of bravado brewing in front of its home crowd.
They’ve got some weapons and some tendencies that can cause the Buccaneers some issues on both sides of the ball. Most notable is the defense.
The BUCS offense is gonna have to be better than it’s been in the previous 5 games. Especially, since the offense’s objective has been to pass the ball TWICE as many times as it runs the ball. The Eagles have the 21st Overall ranked defense. But, their pass defense is ranked #3 in yards given up. This is the highest-ranked pass the BUCS have faced so far. The next-highest was the defense in New England a couple of weeks ago. Not the big of an important game or anything. Many may have forgotten about it.
In that game, Brady was 22/43 on pass attempts. He ended the game with 269 yards and ZERO touchdowns. We could point to inclement weather being a factor in that passing performance; but, Mac Jones did pretty okay tossing 2 TDs with 275 yards.
The pass defense starts with Philly’s defensive line causing all kinds of trouble for opposing QBs. The Eagles come into the game with 11 Sacks. And 8.5 of those come from the D-line. 6 of those are credited to Javon Hargrave. Hargrave usually lines up over the center in their 3-4 front. So, Jensen and/or Cappa will have their work cut out for them.
On the back end, Darius Slay is their most prominent CB. He’ll likely be matched up with Evans when possible. Evans has 5 inch height advantage if they end up going 1-on-1.
But watch out and pay attention.
The Eagles tend to use a defense very similar Bowles’. They implement a lot of zone coverages and they do a lot of pre-snap window dressing. The big difference between the two defenses so far has been the pressure Philly has been able to get upfront and a little better coverage from the secondary. Well, they’ve just been better at doing what our defense does. They’ve been far more fortunate than the BUCS in the health department.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Eagles have a few guys that can Bowles some fits.
First and foremost, Jalen Hurts has a toolset the BUCS haven’t faced yet this season. He’s got a big arm. He’s patient. He’s a QB that doesn’t get rattled often. Basically, he a combination of the previous QBs the defense has had to wrangle. Only he comes with the threat of running out of the pocket and giving the defense fits. Prescott posed a similar threat. But, he didn’t utilize his running ability likely due to his coming that season-ending injury in Week 1.
Hurts has some potent weapons around him too. DeVonta Smith is no joke as route runner. He’s got amazing hands. Jalen Reagor is a serious deep threat even though his longest reception is 24 yards this season. Lose track of him and that can change quick. Real quick.
The guy to keep an eye on is Miles Sanders coming out of the backfield. He’s their 3rd leading receiving option with 15 catches. He probably won’t be utilized as the primary running threat to soften up the defense. That may be Hurts. But, expect Sanders to be the guy to spread the BUCS out and slow down the pass rush with quick passes.
The BUCS defense, especially the front seven , will need to be super discipline with an offense that has a QB like Hurts. Get too aggressive and it can leave the outlet passes to Sanders in the flat or TE Zack Ertz in the middle of the field.
This can be a showcase game for several players on defense. Devin White can have one of those game where he looks like a superstar or one of those where it leaves fans crying about his pass coverage skill. Richard Sherman can have a true breakout game since joining the team. If the team deploys a zone-heavy game plan, the 10yr vet could truly shine and look like he did in Seattle.
I’m looking for Pierre-Paul and/or Tryon-Shoyinka to have a big game with the absence of both Lane Johnson and Dallas Goedert. It can get ugly if either one of those guys get into a groove. So far, the backup tackles have been doing a pretty okay job protecting Hurts. He’s been sacked 10 times so far. For comparison, Tom Brady has been sacked times. But they’ve yet to face a defense like the BUCS’.
The BUCS offense needs to show its true self. Some creativity to get the Eagles off -balanced would be greatly appreciated. In fact, it could downright necessary. The ongoing concern with the offense has been the notion that it doesn’t do much of anything to differ its plan week to week. This would be one of the times it’s called for.
Byron Leftwich’s name has come up a potential candidate for the Las Vegas Raiders upcoming head coach vacancy next year. His audition could start tonight.
Fournette could continue his streak of solid games this week. He’s facing one of the League’s worst run defenses once again. Last week it was the 27th ranked rush defense of Miami. This week, it’s the 30th ranked in Philadelphia. This should keep the “Lombardi Lenny should be the starter forever” conversations going for at least another 10 days. However, they shouldn’t forget about Jones. He could have a big game today if he’s unleashed on such a weak run defense. He’s only got 26 carries on the year. But, he’s still the most potent runner on the Team and that shouldn’t get lost during this coaching staff’s attempt to reignite Fournette into the phenom he was years ago. Together, they both could give Brady’s arm a rest while they tire out the Eagles’ weak run D.
