Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Full Bucs Report Card Heading into Week 7 Bye
Despite a 4-12 finish in 2013, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were a franchise full of hope and high expectations heading into the 2014 season.
After cleaning house from the top down, Tampa Bay's ownership energized the fanbase by hiring Tony Dungy disciple Lovie Smith as the team's new head coach, promising a return to the glory days of a dominant Tampa 2 defense.
But six games into Smith's tenure as the top dog in Tampa, his Bucs are reminding fans more of the team's 0-26 start in the NFL than their 2002 championship run.
The Bucs currently sit at 1-5, their only win coming on a last-second touchdown on the road to beat a struggling Pittsburgh Steelers team that was just trounced by the Cleveland Browns. Tampa Bay has been outscored 123-27 in the first half so far this year, twice allowing opponents to enjoy halftime leads of at least 35-0.
Smith's teams have long been known for suffocating defense and a strong running game, but the Bucs have shown neither at this point. There have been a few bright spots, but Tampa Bay fans are still waiting for this new regime to deliver on a laundry list of preseason promises.
How does each Bucs unit grade out after the first six weeks? Here's my take.
*All stats courtesy of NFL.com
Quarterback
1 of 10
Josh McCown was hand-picked by head coach Lovie Smith in free agency, and the veteran was immediately named the team's starter.
Smith and general manager Jason Licht lauded McCown's leadership ability and hoped pairing first-round pick Mike Evans with Vincent Jackson would allow their new quarterback to enjoy the same success he had in half a season for the Chicago Bears in 2013.
Instead of building on his late-season success from the previous year, McCown struggled to move the offense in the early going of 2014.
The NFL journeyman threw for just 420 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions before injuring the thumb on his throwing hand in a blowout loss to the Atlanta Falcons, and he hasn't been active since.
In his place, Mike Glennon has outperformed his more experienced counterpart by a considerable margin. The second-year pro has thrown for 986 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions, proving he can move the offense effectively, especially when given decent protection.
McCown has Glennon beat in completion percentage, but some head-scratching turnovers by the veteran cost the team dearly in their first two losses, both at home by slim margins. Glennon has helped stabilize the offense, but the bulk of his success has come against weak opposition.
Like many of the team's preseason expectations, McCown's performance has been a huge disappointment. Glennon still has to prove himself against top competition, but he's been a huge improvement since taking the reins. The youngster is promising, but McCown's poor start keeps the unit's grade relatively low.
GRADE: D+
Running Back
2 of 10
A strong running game has long been a staple of Lovie Smith's teams, but a struggling offensive line has led to a disappointing start to the season for Tampa Bay's backfield.
Coming off season-ending shoulder surgery in 2013, Doug Martin has yet to show anything resembling the Pro Bowl form of his rookie season. The former first-round pick has missed two games this year already due to a knee injury, and has managed just 139 yards and a touchdown on 48 carries over his four starts, averaging just 2.9 yards per carry. Martin has added 55 yards on seven receptions.
Backup Bobby Rainey has proved more effective when he touches the ball, carrying the ball 54 times for 262 yards and a score, averaging 4.9 yards per carry.
The 2013 waiver-wire pickup also has 13 receptions for 139 yards and a touchdown through the air. The only real fault in Rainey's performance so far this season was a pair of fumbles in the Bucs' blowout loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
One telling stat regarding Tampa Bay's inability to run the ball so far this season? The team's longest run of the year so far was a 54-yarder from fullback Jorvorskie Lane, who has only carried the ball twice all season.
Mike James has seen little action and hasn't done much with his opportunities, gaining just 11 yards on 10 carries.
Again, part of the blame for the team's lackluster ground game lies with the offensive line, which is still working to build chemistry after being completely rebuilt as a unit during the offseason. But the Bucs need their former Pro Bowler to return to his rookie form before he's unseated by last year's leading rusher in Rainey.
Martin has been a disappointment so far, but Rainey's success in reserve action and accounting for the poor play up front keeps this unit's grade out of the basement.
GRADE: C-
Wide Receiver
3 of 10
Tampa Bay's receivers have arguably been the team's strongest unit so far in 2014. Unfortunately, that's not saying much.
Vincent Jackson's drops were far too plentiful in the early part of the season for a player making more than $10 million a year, but he's been much more reliable since Mike Glennon took over at quarterback. The captain leads the Bucs with 344 yards on 25 receptions, with a pair of touchdowns.
Rookie first-rounder Mike Evans has had a solid start to his first NFL season, snagging 21 passes for 258 yards and two scores, despite missing a game due to a groin injury.
The most pleasant surprise in the receiving corps has been Louis Murphy, who was cut after the preseason but later added back due to injuries. The Florida product has 16 catches for 206 yards and has found the end zone in each of the last two games.
Rookie sixth-rounder Robert Herron and special teams standout Russell Shepard have contributed sparingly in the passing game but have each come up with a key catch here and there.
This group of receivers looks to be progressing rather well as the season moves along, and keeping Glennon at quarterback should help that progress continue. On the downside, their lack of speed has shown, as no reception has gone for longer than 41 yards so far this season.
But if Jackson, Evans and Murphy continue to be this reliable, the Bucs should have a decent chance of scoring enough points to hang around in plenty of games down the stretch.
GRADE: C+
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Tight End
4 of 10
The Bucs' primary targets at tight end are a pair of fresh faces, and both veteran Brandon Myers and rookie Austin Seferian-Jenkins have proven to be fairly effective so far this season.
Myers was one of the first free agents signed by Tampa Bay this offseason, and he's proven to be a reliable option in the short passing game. The former Oakland Raider and New York Giant ranks fifth on the team with 15 receptions for 136 yards, with a long of 26 yards.
Seferian-Jenkins was selected with the 38th overall pick in this year's draft, and though a foot injury kept him from contributing much over the first few weeks of the regular season, he's made his presence felt down the field when healthy. The Washington product as 139 yards on just nine receptions, leading them with an average of 15.4 yards per catch.
Luke Stocker has seen minimal action, hauling in three passes for 22 yards.
Nothing earth-shattering from this group, but the return on investment has been solid through the first six games of 2014. Aside from a couple of bad drops, Seferian-Jenkins has shown flashes of his elite combination of size and athleticism, while Myers has been worth the two-year, $4 million contract he signed with the team this offseason.
GRADE: C
Offensive Line
5 of 10
Tampa Bay completely revamped its offensive line this offseason, replacing four out of five starters with new faces. But despite a perceived jump in talent on paper, this unit has struggled to put together consistent performances.
Fourteen sacks allowed over six games might not seem like much, but Tampa Bay's quarterbacks have been hit and hurried far more often, forcing throwaways and turnovers. Even the Atlanta Falcons notched a sack in Week 3 against the Bucs after not managing a single one in their first two games combined.
The Bucs blockers haven't fared much better in the run game. Though the team's overall average of 4.3 yards per carry might look decent enough, both Doug Martin and Bobby Rainey have struggled to find consistent running room, and injured quarterback Josh McCown leads the team with two rushing touchdowns.
Tampa Bay has yet to get a 100-yard game on the ground from either running back, and when faced with a decent defensive front, they've been unable to keep their quarterback off his back.
If the Bucs want to turn this season around, it all starts up front on both sides of the ball.
GRADE: D
Defensive Line
6 of 10
It's no secret that Lovie Smith's Tampa 2 scheme is predicated on consistent pressure with just four rushers. It should come as no surprise then that the Bucs' defense has struggled through the first six weeks of 2014, given the absence of a consistent pass rush from their defensive line.
Tampa Bay has logged just nine sacks so far this season, good enough for 22nd in the league. This inability to get after opposing quarterbacks has led to the Bucs giving up an average of 294 passing yards per game, which ranks them 31st out of the 32 NFL defenses.
Against the run, Tampa Bay's front four aren't faring a whole lot better. The Bucs currently rank 22nd in the league, allowing just over 128 yards rushing per game, and their opponents have found the end zone seven times on the ground.
Gerald McCoy has played at a high level all season, despite being playing with a broken hand for most of the year so far. But big-money free agent Michael Johnson has been either injured or ineffective for most of the year, with his only two sacks—tied for the team lead—coming in the team's only win of the season, on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Second-year pro William Gholston has flashed some potential since replacing the injured Adrian Clayborn in the starting lineup, but outside of McCoy, nobody on this unit has made a consistent impact in opposing backfields.
Tampa Bay's defense is giving up a league-worst 34 points per game, and it all starts with a lack of disruption up front.
GRADE: D
Linebacker
7 of 10
There are two tiers when it comes to Tampa Bay's group of linebackers: Lavonte David, and everyone else.
David—a first-team All-Pro last season—has already racked up 66 total tackles on the season, averaging 11 stops per game while also forcing a pair of fumbles. His speed and instincts are second to none at the position across the league, and he remains one of the biggest reasons for Bucs fans to hope in the future of their defense.
Outside of David, however, this unit has struggled. Mason Foster has missed a significant amount of time with a shoulder injury, and he hasn't looked terribly comfortable in the Tampa 2 even when healthy.
Unfortunately his replacement, Dane Fletcher, has looked even worse after coming over from the New England Patriots' 3-4 scheme, failing to get proper depth in coverage and biting hard on play-action fakes way too often.
Jonathan Casillas has been banged up, but reserve Danny Lansanah has been a bright spot overall. A training-camp standout, Lansanah has already provided the Bucs with two of their biggest plays on defense this season, returning both of his interceptions for touchdowns.
It's going to take time for this group to settle into their new scheme, but other than David, nobody looks terribly cozy in Lovie Smith's scheme. Tampa Bay fans are hoping that changes as the season progresses.
David is one of the best defensive players in the NFL, but it's hard to give a passing grade to any unit that's part of a defense giving up the most yards per game of any team in the league.
GRADE: D+
Secondary
8 of 10
The Tampa 2 defense prides itself on creating turnovers, but for most of the 2014 season so far, Tampa Bay's secondary is just getting run over.
Aside from allowing the second-most passing yards per game in the league, the Bucs defensive backs have combined for as many interceptions as reserve linebacker Danny Lansanah has all by himself—two.
The lack of depth in this group has shown, as multiple injuries to safety Dashon Goldson and cornerback Johnthan Banks have forced the Bucs to make due with untested and over-matched reserves. Tampa Bay also lost free-agent signing Mike Jenkins for the season after just one game.
Just like the rest of the defense, the Bucs DBs are still settling into their new playbook, and the learning curve is showing on the field and in the stat sheet. Tampa Bay is tied for last in the NFL in touchdown passes allowed, surrendering 15 scores through the air so far this year.
As their comfort level with the new scheme grows, the natural talent in this group should start to show through. But up to this point, it's been a long season already for Bucs fans when their opponents go to the air.
GRADE: D-
Special Teams
9 of 10
Tampa Bay's coverage units have fared well enough, outside of a record-breaking punt return for a touchdown by Atlanta Falcons speedster—and future NFL Hall of Famer—Devin Hester. Opponents are averaging 11.8 yards per punt return and 24.5 yards per kick return.
In the return game, undrafted free agent Solomon Patton has shown his rookie colors, consistently making poor decisions on when to run deep kickoffs out of the end zone. These misjudgements have too often given the Bucs unfavorable field position to begin offensive possessions.
In the kicking game, rookie Patrick Murray has quieted some of his critics who believe the team shouldn't have kept him over veteran Connor Barth. Murray has connected on five of his seven field-goal attempts, including both tries from beyond 50 yards.
Michael Koenen has been unspectacular in the punting game, averaging just over 41 yards per kick, despite being one of the higher-paid players at his position. Koenen's struggles have given opponents friendly field position far too often over the first six weeks of the season.
Poor play in the kick return and punting game is putting Tampa Bay behind when it comes to field position on both sides of the ball. But Murray is a fresh leg who can drill it from long range, which gives the Bucs a scoring weapon they didn't have last year.
GRADE: C-
Coaching
10 of 10
Head coach Lovie Smith has been preaching patience since he was hired, and it looks like Bucs fans are indeed going to need plenty of it, as the most overhauled roster in the NFL continues to experience plenty of growing pains.
Losing his hand-picked offensive coordinator in Jeff Tedford to a health issue before the regular season even began sure hasn't helped matters, as quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo has done his best to execute an effective game plan on his side of the ball. This should keep most fans from judging the offense's shortcomings too harshly, at least for the time being.
What fans are much slower to forgive is Tampa Bay's porous defense, which was supposed to be the strength of the new-look Bucs under the defensive-minded Smith. Instead of turning a talented defensive roster into one of the league's top units overnight, Smith's group of defenders is allowing a league-worst 422.8 total yards of offense per game.
Penalties and clock management haven't been Smith's finest areas either. The former Chicago Bears head coach has made questionable decisions regarding the usage of timeouts on multiple occasions, and the Bucs have already committed 47 penalties this season for 361 yards.
It's still a little early to be calling for Smith's head—I refuse to indulge in the obvious pirate puns—but he'd better start improving the overall discipline of the entire team if he wants the Tampa Bay faithful to trust him for the rest of the year.
GRADE: D
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