Carolina Panthers vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Full Report Card Grades for Tampa Bay
So, this is how it starts. Not with a cannon blast, but with a whimper.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got the Lovie Smith era underway with a disappointing performance on both sides of the ball, falling to the division-rival Carolina Panthers 20-14 Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.
The offensive woes that plagued the Bucs in the preseason bled over into their first real contest, managing just 264 total yards and failing to put any points on the board until the fourth quarter. Tampa Bay ended the game with 17 first downs, but had just two at halftime and had most of their offensive success when the Panthers were playing prevent defense late in the game.
Bucs fans were thrilled to hear that Panthers QB Cam Newton wouldn't be playing, but Derek Anderson absolutely carved up the Tampa Bay defense in his stead. Rookie receiver Kelvin Benjamin and tight end Greg Olsen had big days, and the Bucs managed just one sack against a seemingly inferior offensive line.
Tampa Bay's run defense was solid enough, holding Carolina to just 3.4 yards per carry, but the Panthers' effectiveness through the air allowed them to still move the ball with ease for most of the game.
Bad decisions by quarterback Josh McCown led to costly turnovers, and by the time Tampa Bay developed a rhythm on offense, the damage was too much to overcome. The Bucs also lost Logan Mankins and Doug Martin for a good chunk of the game and had a plethora of other injuries that kept piling up throughout the afternoon.
Here's my take on how each Tampa Bay unit graded out in Sunday's season-opening loss.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Josh McCown's performance was a Jekyll-and-Hyde tale of three miserable quarters followed by a fourth quarter that almost saw the veteran journeyman lead the Bucs to victory.
McCown led an offense that ended the first half with just 84 yards of total offense, coughing up a pair of interceptions on two absolutely horrendous decisions. On both plays, McCown should have simply taken the sack and lived to play another day, but he tried to force the ball and Carolina made him pay dearly.
Though he tried to turn things around late in the game, it was too little, too late. McCown finally settled into a rhythm and tossed two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough. McCown finished the game 22-for-35 for 183 yards, but his final completion percentage isn't indicative of how ineffective he was for most of the game.
When he was signed this offseason and immediately named the starter, McCown was billed as a smart, game-managing type who wouldn't lose games with bad decisions and turnovers. He was the complete opposite of that Sunday, and a large reason why the Bucs are 0-1.
Grade: D
Running Back
2 of 10
It's hard to accurately grade the performance of Tampa Bay's backs, considering they didn't have much room to run. When your fullback and quarterback are your leading rushers for the game, you probably had a rough time running the ball.
Fullback Jorvorskie Lane got twice as many rushing yards on his only carry of the game as the next-highest rusher on the stat sheet—and that was quarterback Josh McCown. Lane had a 54-yard run to get the Bucs out of some bad field position early, while McCown managed 27 yards on three attempts.
The rest of Tampa Bay's backfield didn't fare so well. Starter Doug Martin carried nine times for just nine yards, eventually leaving the game with a knee injury. Bobby Rainey didn't do much better, netting 12 yards on four carries. Rainey did catch one of the Bucs' two touchdowns, but he also had the costly fumble that ended Tampa Bay's last-ditch effort to tie or go ahead on the final drive.
There wasn't much room to work, but good backs make plays where there aren't any to be made. That didn't happen for the Bucs today.
Grade: D
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
When the ball actually got to them, the Bucs receiving unit performed fairly well. Quarterback Josh McCown seemed to be struggling with timing early on, but eventually settled down.
There weren't many big plays to be had, with rookie tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins making the biggest catch of the day at 26 yards. Chris Owusu hauled in his first career touchdown reception, showing great concentration and body control on a 19-yard score that put the Bucs on the board for the first time in the game.
Tight end Brandon Myers led the Bucs in receptions with six, but they went for just 41 yards. Rookie first-rounder Mike Evans led the wide receivers with 37 on five catches, while Vincent Jackson snagged four passes for 36 yards.
The Bucs had plenty of issues on offense in this game, but the receiving corps wasn't necessarily one of them. They did a decent job with the opportunities they had but will need to work on their timing with their quarterbacks this week.
Grade: C
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
The struggles this unit experienced in the preseason continued against Carolina, as both run blocking and pass protecting were an issue all afternoon.
Not counting a 54-yard run by fullback Jorvorskie Lane, the Bucs running backs carried the ball 13 times for just 21 yards. Starter Doug Martin eventually left the game with a knee injury, as did the team's prized recent addition at left guard, Logan Mankins. Mankins never returned to the game.
This unit also gave up three sacks and forced Josh McCown out of the pocket way too many times, contributing to a pair of poor decisions by the quarterback that led to turnovers.
This group wasn't expected to have a great performance against a stout Carolina defensive line, and it's safe to say they met those low expectations. And if Mankins is out for any significant amount of time, things might not get better anytime soon.
Grade: D
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The Bucs front four was supposed to have a field day without Cam Newton to worry about, but they failed to generate any real pass rush and allowed Derek Anderson to have his way with the Tampa Bay secondary for most of the game.
Gerald McCoy tallied the team's only sack, and big-money free-agent acquisition Michael Johnson was completely nonexistent for the entire game.
Against the run, the Bucs front four continued their fairly strong play, holding the Panthers to just 3.4 yards per carry, but it didn't matter much thanks to the success Carolina was able to have through the air.
This matchup was supposed to be one of the biggest areas of strength for the Bucs in this game, going up against a weaker Carolina offensive line, but Tampa Bay just didn't deliver. They set the tone against the run, but they allowed a backup quarterback to have his way up and down the field.
Grade: D+
Linebacker
6 of 10
Much like the defensive line, the Bucs linebackers had a fairly impressive day against the run but just didn't get the job done in the passing game.
Lavonte David led the team with 10 total tackles, while Mason Foster tallied nine of his own. But the entire unit was caught looking into the backfield multiple times, getting fooled by play-action fakes and giving up big plays in the passing game. Foster had a particularly tough time getting back in coverage to take away the deep middle in the Tampa 2, allowing Carolina tight end Greg Olsen to have a big day.
The success of the Tampa 2 is predicated on the coverage ability of their linebackers, and the Bucs' current unit proved today it has a long way to go.
Grade: D+
Secondary
7 of 10
High expectations, low delivery. Sensing a trend yet?
The Bucs defensive backfield was supposed to be licking their chops against a backup quarterback and a lackluster receiving corps. Instead, Derek Anderson picked apart the Tampa Bay secondary for most of the afternoon, completing 24 of his 34 passes for 230 yards and a pair of touchdowns with no interceptions.
Like the rest of the team, Tampa Bay's secondary had a day filled with missed opportunities. Mike Jenkins got beat deep for a touchdown by rookie Kelvin Benjamin, but he could have easily intercepted the pass had he turned his head to locate the ball. High-priced safety Dashon Goldson also missed an opportunity to possibly put the Bucs ahead late in the fourth, letting a would-be interception go right through his hands instead of turning into a possible pick-six.
The Bucs' lack of pass rush didn't help, but for a group that was billed as one of league's better units going up against a seemingly weak lineup of receivers, Sunday's performance was a huge disappointment.
Grade: D
Special Teams
8 of 10
Michael Koenen averaged 44 yards on his five punts, continuing his strong play from the preseason. Kicker Patrick Murray—who was surprisingly kept in favor of veteran Connor Barth—didn't get into the action until the fourth quarter with a pair of extra points.
Tampa Bay's kickoff coverage unit didn't get much of a chance to shine, while the punt coverage team brought Koenen's net average down to 36.8 yards per punt.
Solomon Patton was signed back to the active roster this week and showed why with a fairly impressive performance in the return game. The undrafted free agent out of Florida averaged 26 yards on his two kick returns and 14 yards on four punt returns, including a 33-yarder that turned field position around for the Bucs in the second half.
This unit wasn't spectacular, but sadly, that was still good enough to be among the most impressive groups Tampa Bay trotted out this week.
Grade: C+
Coaching
9 of 10
Lovie Smith started his Tampa Bay tenure with a loss, and it reminded Bucs fans far too much of the team's past low-scoring struggles.
It's hard to know whether or not Jeff Tedford's absence as the play-caller had a negative impact on the Bucs' gameplan, but some extremely conservative decisions didn't sit well with the crowd at Raymond James Stadium, with boos resonating as early as the second quarter.
Smith spent the whole offseason claiming that he'd learned from past mistakes, but his own struggles with offensive production continued today.
The coaching staff didn't make any particular decision that won or lost the game by itself, but it's hard to give more than a barely-passing grade after a loss this uninspiring.
Grade: C
Final Grades
10 of 10
Don't let the final score fool you; this was an absolutely dominant performance by Carolina for most of the game.
The Bucs had high expectations on both sides of the ball heading into the regular season and were supposed to have their way with a Cam Newton-less Carolina team. But bad decisions by Josh McCown, a run game and pass rush that was nonexistent and a failure to capitalize on early opportunities ultimately led to an ugly home loss to open the season.
This game was hard to watch for Bucs fans from just about every facet, and it was supposed to be as winnable as any of their early-season matchups will be. Instead, Tampa Bay is 0-1 and looking forward to facing an even tougher defensive line next week when St. Louis comes to town.
Grade: D
All stats courtesy of NFL.com.
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