Now this is how you kick off a season
From journeyman QBs to Cadillacs, the most enthralling season launches have featured some unlikely stars.
Should they break out of the gate as cleanly as they have in recent years, the Bucs can carve a little history in their season opener
10. Bucs 21, Eagles 6
Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia
Sept. 3, 1995
After winning four of their last five games in an otherwise dreadful 1994 season, the Bucs added to that fleeting momentum with this stunning beatdown in the Eagles’ backyard. Tampa Bay sacked Randall Cunningham five times and got two scoring passes from Trent Dilfer — including a picturesque 64-yard bomb to Horace Copeland (above) — for its eighth win in 10 games dating to the previous season. Alas, the surge was short-lived; the Bucs started 5-2 but lost seven of their last nine, resulting in coach Sam Wyche’s dismissal.
against the Commanders today.
A victory at Raymond James Stadium would be the team’s fourth consecutive season-opening win, establishing a franchise record. The Bucs have won three openers in a row only three times (including 1979-81 and 2016-18) and remain below .500 (22-26) in season debuts.
9. Bucs 23, Cardinals 7
Tampa Stadium
Sept. 6, 1992
The Bucs unveiled a new coach, Wyche (above), and their garish orange pants on this searing afternoon. While neither lasted, both made resounding first impressions. In the wake of nine consecutive Bucs losing seasons, Wyche’s debut represented a model of efficiency. Tampa Bay struck a convincing offensive balance (128 rushing, 140 passing yards), committed zero turnovers and was whistled for only three penalties, offering a glimmer of future hope that would be fleeting. Wyche’s inaugural team finished 5-11.
6. Bucs 48, Falcons 10
Tampa Stadium
Sept. 13, 1987
To the shock of Tampa Bay and the NFL at large, the era of Ray Perkins (above left) got off to a rousing start. This may have been the high-water mark of Perkins’ mediocre tenure. Thirty-three-year-old journeyman quarterback Steve DeBerg (above right) set a franchise game record with five touchdown passes (tied many times since), and the defense held Atlanta to 197 yards and forced three turnovers in the most lopsided season-opening win in Bucs lore. The euphoria was fleeting; the Bucs finished 4-11 in the strike-abbreviated season.
3. Bucs 31, Cowboys 29 Raymond James Stadium
Sept. 9, 2021
Thanks to the previous season’s Super Bowl title (not to mention the global appeal of Brady), the Bucs opened this season on a Thursday night and delivered a comeback worthy of prime time. Down by one with 1:24 remaining following a
But seemingly every dud on that list is offset by a dandy. Turns out, some of the most mesmerizing victories in team lore have come on opening day (or night).
To kick off another year and commemorate some of those rousing starts, we offer our list of the 10 greatest season openers in franchise history.
8. Bucs 24, Vikings 13
Metrodome, Minneapolis
Sept. 11, 2005
Mired in a two-year funk since their Super Bowl 37 triumph, the Bucs began their resuscitation with this stirring road performance. The defense forced Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper into five turnovers, including two of his three interceptions in the last 1:45. Brian Kelly (above right) had two of the picks, including one at his 6-yard line with 1:45 to play that set up rookie tailback Cadillac Williams’ game-clinching 71-yard touchdown gallop three plays later. Williams finished with 148 yards on 27 carries.
5. Bucs 31, Lions 16
Tampa Stadium
Sept. 1, 1979
In the wake of three woeful seasons (including a winless one in 1976), the Bucs served notice they were evolving from patsy to playoff contender in this rare Saturday night season opener. Led by Jerry Eckwood, the Bucs amassed 229 rushing yards and got a touchdown from Lee Roy Selmon (on a 29-yard fumble return) in a triumph that triggered a 5-0 start (and eventual playoff berth). “If they called off the rest of the season right now, we’d be Super Bowl champs,” coach John McKay quipped.
7. Bucs 19, Cowboys 3
AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Sept. 11, 2022
Six months after his unretirement, Tom Brady brought the Bucs to the heart of Texas for this Sunday night season opener in Todd Bowles’ debut as head coach. Brady wasn’t nearly as dazzling as Bowles’ defense, which held the Cowboys to 244 yards and a woeful 3 for 15 effort on third down. Ryan Succop had four field goals and Leonard Fournette ran for 127 yards, but the game’s enduring image will be Brady’s 5-yard fade pass to outstretched receiver Mike Evans (above) for the game’s lone touchdown late in the third quarter.
4. Bucs 48, Saints 40
Superdome, New Orleans
Sept. 9, 2018
It was “Fitzmagic” at its finest. With starting quarterback Jameis Winston suspended, 35-year-old journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick (above) had the game of his life in one of the NFL’s most raucous cauldrons. Outdueling Saints icon Drew Brees, Fitzpatrick passed for a career-high 417 yards with four touchdowns and ran for another score in a season-opening stunner. His top targets: Desean Jackson (five catches, 146 yards, two TDs) and Mike Evans (seven catches, 147 yards, TD). “I’d like to announce Fitzmagic is alive and well,” Bucs coach Dirk Koetter said.
Eagles 0
DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
BUCS SEASON PREVIEW
Jordan Whitehead and Antoine Winfield Jr. are quite the Tampa 2. With them, the Bucs have designs on fielding the league’s best D.
REUNITED AND THESE BUCS FEEL SO GOOD
and they’ve only gotten better since.
BY RICK STROUD | Times Staff Writer
ATAMPA
ntoine Winfield Jr. was dressed for success, bare chested in his creme Alexander McQueen suit and strutting down the NFL Honors red carpet in Dolce & Gabbana shoes at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas in February.
The Bucs’ All-Pro safety credits fiancee Teesa Mpagi for the selection of his wardrobe.
“I kind of follow her lead,” Winfield said. “But you know what they say: look good, feel good, play good.”
No one played better at safety last season than Winfield, who in the offseason signed a four-year, $84.1 million contract, the richest for any defensive back in NFL history.
Winfield will have some competition this season when he strolls the NFL runways in stadium tunnels and faces flashbulbs at postgame news conferences.
Fellow safety Jordan Whitehead is back with the Bucs after playing the past two seasons with the Jets. He also spent part of the summer at Paris Fashion Week, witnessing the latest offerings from Zegna, Fendi and Prada.
Granted, it was a different cultural experience for a guy who grew up in western Pennsylvania, but Whitehead has a distinctive style on and off the field.
“He’s got some swag. I got my own style,” Whitehead said of Winfield. “We’re going to be competing with each other this year to see who has more.” Their real passion is football, not fashion.
Having Winfield and Whitehead reunited at safety is tailor-made for the Bucs. It’s a better fit than when they helped lead the Bucs to the Super Bowl 55 championship during Winfield’s rookie season.
Back together, and better than ever
This Tampa 2 should never have been split apart. Whitehead, a fourthround draft pick of the Bucs in 2018, was entering his third season when Winfield arrived. They were a perfect combination. Whitehead was known primarily as a thumper, someone more than willing and able to come down in the tackle box and root out ball carriers. Winfield was an under-drafted rookie from Minnesota, with a father
Safeties Antoine Winfield Jr. (31) and Jordan Whitehead made magic together during the Bucs’ Super Bowl 55 season,
of the same name who played 14 NFL seasons. While Whitehead supported the run defense, Winfield patrolled centerfield.
But the Bucs allowed Whitehead to sign a two-year deal with the Jets in free agency in 2022.
“With Jordan, it was a mea culpa,” Bucs general manager Jason Licht said. “We had to draw the line at some point, and I made a mistake. I’m glad we got him back. It was a mistake that I regretted the minute we let him walk.”
Whitehead held no grudges, which is why he was so open to returning.
“I knew it was business,” Whitehead said. “You want me, and I will help you win games.”
What’s interesting is that the Bucs got a better player back than the one they let get away.
In the Jets’ defense, which has its safeties play a lot of zone coverage, Whitehead was forced to improve his ball skills. He had five interceptions in four seasons with Tampa Bay. That improved to six picks in only two years, including four last season, in New York. Three of them came in a season-opening victory over the Bills.
“I feel like I elevated my game going to New York,” Whitehead said. “My coach, specifically (Jets defensive backs coach) Marquand Manuel, just took time to work on my middle-of-the-field skills.
“We played a lot of coverage. I mastered that because I wasn’t in the box. Now that’s my game. … For me to say I’d rather go get an interception instead of a big hit? That’s changing my game.”
Winfield has always admired the physicality Whitehead brings. He watched him sustain a shoulder injury in the Bucs’ win at Green Bay in the NFC championship game during the 2020 season.
Whitehead’s third-quarter hit of Aaron Jones created a fumble and knocked the Packers running back out of the game with a chest injury. The turnover set up Tom Brady’s third touchdown pass of the day, and the Bucs went up 28-10. Whitehead left the game after the next possession but made it back for Super Bowl 55.
Winfield was inactive in that conference championship game with an ankle injury. A week earlier, it was Winfield forcing tight end Jared Cook to fumble, a key play in the Bucs’ comeback division playoff win over the Saints.
Now teams won’t be able to key on either safety based on their alignment on defense.
“That’s the weirdest thing about it. We were separated for two years, then he came back and it’s like, ‘Wow,’ ” Winfield said. “I remember when I first came into the league. Now I’m in my (fifth) year, and he’s in his (seventh). It’s crazy having him come back. He’s way more well-rounded this time around. … That’s nice to have to mix it up a little bit.”
Coach Todd Bowles said Whitehead received some great coaching with the Jets and may now be better in coverage than anything else.
“When he left, he was a first- and second-down player,” Bowles said. “Then when he came back, he’s a three-down player. His backpedal is smooth, his awareness is great, and he’s not a young player like he was. He learned some things over there, rightfully so. They did a good job of teaching him certain things, and he came back a much better player.”
All paths lead to Tampa Bay
For all the shared traits, their backgrounds are dramatically different. Whitehead, 27, went to Central Valley High School in Monaca, Pennsylvania, an industrial area that has seen its share of collapse.
But it’s only 6 miles from Aliquippa, home of the Quips, a football factory of talent that has produced NFL Hall of Famers such as tight end and coach Mike Ditka, running back Tony Dorsett, Super Bowl champion safety Ty Law and cornerback Darrelle Revis, who is Whitehead’s cousin.
Whitehead grew up in that western Pennsylvania football culture. He began playing on sandlots at 5, entered youth leagues by 8.
“I can remember when I was 5 years old, literally wanting to be outside in the yard doing running back drills and things like that,” Whitehead said. “We were always playing Saturday and Sunday games in little league.
“But now I see the culture that western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh and Aliquippa specifically has produced. I always check with my buddies back home, like, ‘How is
it back there? How is it? Is it the same as when we were little?’ And they say, ‘It’s the same.’ It’s a blessing. It’s a small town. You don’t see guys make it as much as it could be done because there are so many obstacles that happen during your journey. There’s probably a lot of great football players that never got out of there.”
Whitehead remembers “the jail workouts,” lifting old, rusting 60-pound dumbbells in the winter chill of his uncle’s garage in Center Township as a middle schooler.
“That was the grind,” Whitehead said. “It was cold. We worked hard, getting in whatever you could think of.”
Winfield’s route was more predestined as the son of Antoine Winfield, who played five seasons for the Bills and nine for the Vikings. By the time he was 8 or 9, the younger Winfield would crawl into bed with his father, who was using a DVD player to watch his next opponent.
But he remained just as hungry eating from more of a silver spoon.
Winfield had only a few Division I offers coming out of high school: Houston, Purdue and Northwestern.
“Somehow I got to Minnesota,” he said. “One of my high school buddies had just committed to Minnesota at the time, and I was just up there visiting friends, and he said, ‘Come check out Minnesota.’ … I didn’t know I was there on an official visit, and they offered me a scholarship.”
As fate would have it, Winfield’s last collegiate game, in the 2019 season, came in the Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium, a win over Auburn.
“We practiced here. Played at (Raymond James Stadium). I’m sure that had a little to do with (the Bucs) picking me. That’s what I thought. I didn’t even know I was on
Since the two last played together, Antoine Winfield Jr., far left, has become the highest-paid defensive back in the league, while Jordan Whitehead, near left, elevated his game in two seasons with the Jets.
Tampa’s radar. I didn’t have a visit. It was COVID, so they were all Zoom calls.”
Winfield’s ability to fill up a stat sheet is second to none. He finished last season with 122 tackles, six tackles for loss, six forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, six sacks and three interceptions. Not only does he disrupt air traffic over the middle of the field, his ability to change directions and close with a predatory burst has transformed Winfield into one of the best pass-rushing safeties in the NFL.
“I never really blitzed like that in college, so I was never in that position,” Winfield said. “Being with coach Bowles, he’s going to dial it up for us. That’s an acquired skill that I’ve developed over time. It’s making the back miss. … It’s picking the minds of (former Bucs linebacker Shaquil Barrett) and what are their moves? How do they like to get past guys? They talk about setting things up.”
Whitehead is 5 feet 10, 198 pounds; Winfield is listed at 5-9, 203. Mirror safeties who demonstrate the same relentless fury. Off the field, they share the same laid-back demeanor. They play video games. They love to travel.
Winfield is also part of the Bucs’ barefoot bunch, a group of players who enter the field with bare feet on the grass to warm up.
“Whenever I would train, they had us warming up barefoot, and ever since then, I kept that on,” he said. “It allows you to warm up your feet, and that activates everything. Our feet are our most important asset.”
From head to toe, the Bucs may have the best safeties in the NFL — in or out of Dolce & Gabbana shoes.
Contact Rick Stroud at rstroud@tampabay.com. Follow @NFLSTROUD.
JEFFEREE WOO | Times
BUCS SEASON PREVIEW
Expectations are high in Year 2 for Calijah Kancey and Yaya Diaby, who hope to stick together for the long haul.
BY RICK STROUD Times Staff Writer TAMPA
Minutes before the end of the Bucs’ seventh training camp practice, Yaya Diaby grabbed his left ankle in anguish after his leg bent awkwardly following a collision with defensive tackle Vita Vea. The outside linebacker remained on the ground with trainers for several minutes, imagining his second pro season ending before it started.
“I cried on that field,” Diaby said. “I thought it was worse because I’ve never had a high ankle sprain. I didn’t know the feeling of it and I cried. I said, ‘Please God, I’m having the best camp. I’m feeling the best right now. All the work I’ve done put in this offseason. I’m feeling so good and feeling super explosive, the plays are easier for me and the concept that coach (Todd) Bowles wants is getting easier for me.’ ”
Diaby’s prayers were answered when an MRI revealed no significant damage. Even though it meant the end to his training camp, the Bucs’ 2023 sack leader will have the chance to start the opener against Washington and build on a terrific rookie season in which he started only seven games, none before Nov. 26.
“About the middle of the season last year, the light clicked on and he realized they couldn’t block him and he started figuring out the blocking schemes,’’ Bowles said of Diaby. “When he came back, he sat down and we had a talk and I asked him what he needed to do better. He understands the schemes, and he understands how to rush and with Vita, how to set each other up and that comes with experience.”
A year ago, first-round pick Calijah Kancey found himself reciting similar prayers when he sustained a calf strain the second day of camp. He returned in time for the season opener at Minnesota but lasted only 11 plays before aggravating the injury that would keep him sidelined the next four weeks.
He made up for lost time. Kancey recorded 18 tackles, 10 for loss, and three sacks during November and was
See FUTURE, 7X
“When
A couple of defensive stars in the making?
JEFFEREE WOO | Times
Bucs linebacker Yaya Diaby, left, on his bond with defensive lineman Calijah Kancey:
you have somebody like Calijah who wants the same things you do, who wants to be great, it just makes everything easier. … We’re growing together.”
JEFFEREE WOO | Times
Calijah Kancey got off to a slow start in his rookie year due to injury, but he really broke out in November 2023 when he was named the NFC Defensive Rookie of the Month.
named the NFC Defensive Rookie of the Month.
“You don’t feel like you’re producing or bringing anything to the table,” Kancey said. “And for me, I just had to attack. I had to fall in love with something I didn’t want to do but I needed to do and that was the rehab. The ice and the stretching and the treatment.
“When it came time to play, I was making mistakes I should’ve made back in training camp and not in the season or the postseason. That’s really my main regret.”
The Bucs have no regrets about their decision to pair Kancey and Diaby on their defensive front, hopefully for years to come.
If you’re looking for a reason why Tampa Bay’s defense could emerge as one of the best in the NFL over the next few seasons, don’t ignore these two ascending players.
Suffice to say the Bucs’ Super Bowl 37 pursuit got a boost when Simeon Rice paired with Warren Sapp.
Is it unfair to even make those comparisons, given that Sapp is a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame player? Maybe, but the recipe hasn’t changed. If you have an inside pass rusher who can wreak havoc, draw double teams and free up a teammate, that duo can become dynamic.
“Last year in the Jacksonville game, he helped me get that sack,” Diaby said of Kancey. “He said, ‘Yaya! Yaya! I see something. They’re setting real hard. So let’s run this.’ He called a (pass rush) game and I had a sack. He was super happy. It’s watching film together. Just picking each other’s brains or if we see something.
“Calijah is a very explosive guy, so whenever he’s on my side ... I just play off him. The more we play together, the more it’s going to become just so crisp and natural. I’m just so excited. I’m trying to just get myself healthy and go from there.”
Humble beginnings
Diaby and Kancey may have similar aspirations, but their stories are uniquely different.
Diaby was born in the United States, but his family is from Guinea, a coastal country in West Africa. He and his mother returned there briefly when he
was about 3 years old, but he has no real memory of it until they vacationed there in 2014.
“You always have family, they’re always going to keep you humble,” said Diaby, who is named after his mom’s brother. “That’s something I always am. Super humble. You can’t not take advantage of opportunity.
“That’s what I learned from my mom. If you have somebody who is above you or underneath you, you treat them the same. That’s how I approach every day. Even being injured, I was telling (rookie linebacker) Chris Braswell, “Go! Go! Get better! You’re getting more snaps.’ And you can see him getting better. He’s just starting to get the feel and starting to get relaxed and that’s going to help us
into the season.”
Diaby wears No. 0, in part because he was “a zero-star recruit” out of high school.
As a senior, he was 6 feet 4 and barely weighed 200 pounds. After graduation, Diaby took a job as a wheelchair passenger assistant at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
With no offers to play college football — not even Division II or Division III — Diaby went to Georgia Military Academy, a junior college in Milledgeville. Graduates receive an officer’s commission from the U.S. Army, and the time there came with some regimented practices.
Diaby recorded 77 tackles and two sacks in two seasons, which landed him at Louisville.
He played five games as a junior before an injury and COVID conspired to limit his production. But as a senior, Diaby started all 13 games, totaling 37 tackles, 14.5 for loss, and nine sacks while being named third-team All-ACC. He also impressed at the NFL combine, running the 40-yard dash in 4.51 seconds to earn the second-highest athleticism score among defenders in the 2023 class.
“Louisville meant a lot to me. I was super blessed to have that COVID year and going into that offseason, I knew I had to have a good year and work hard,” said Diaby, who led the Bucs with 7.5 sacks last year. “Because the year before, I had some opportunities, and I would get there but I just wasn’t finishing. … I knew I had to
be one of the focal points for us to be successful. I was like, ‘Man, I’ve got to take that next step and help myself out.’ ”
‘Growing together’
Diaby found the same fire in Kancey, a relative blue blood as a first-round pick. Aside from the calf injury, Kancey’s only hurdle was unrealistic expectations due to the natural comparisons to Aaron Donald, the retired future Hall of Fame defensive tackle who played the same position at Pitt.
“To even be compared to a guy of that caliber is crazy,” Kancey said. “I’ve seen him actually put in the work as well. But at the end of the day, I’m Calijah Kancey.” The injury derailed what might have been a splashy rookie season. “When I did return, I was just knocking the rust off, which is what I should’ve done in training camp,” he said. “Then it just started to click. I started to make plays and feel comfortable. I felt like myself again and was just having fun.”
Like safeties Jordan Whitehead and Antoine Winfield Jr., the personalities of Kancey and Diaby are similar. Both are laid-back and they spend a lot of time together on and off the field, playing video games and talking football. Their desire to be the best pushes them in the weight room, during offseason workouts and beyond.
If the Bucs are going to win another Super Bowl one day, defense will need to be dominant and these are burgeoning stars that could make it happen.
“Calijah and I have been together every day. It’s just building,” Diaby said. “We communicate and when you have somebody like Calijah who wants the same things you do, who wants to be great, it just makes everything easier.
“He’s just a goofy guy. The new NCAA just came out. We play games and just talk junk to each other and it keeps us together. That’s what I appreciate about Calijah. We’re growing together and we just try to take this organization higher and it’s working. So we just want to keep doing what we’re doing and stick together.”
Contact Rick Stroud at rstroud@tampabay.com. Follow @NFLSTROUD.
ZUMA Press (2023)
The Bucs hope that Calijah Kancey, left, and Yaya Diaby become an iconic duo for years to come.
The Bucs are feeling pretty stoked about their defense.
Among the faces you’ll see this season: CENTER: inside linebacker SirVocea Dennis, and CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: safety Antoine Winfield Jr., defensive lineman Calijah Kancey, safety Jordan Whitehead, nose tackle Vita Vea, outside linebacker Jose Ramirez, cornerback Jamel Dean and safety Tavierre Thomas.
Playing to their strengths
The Bucs’ most successful teams always have been known for a suffocating defense, which should lead the way in 2024.
Todd Bowles went back to school. Not like he did a year ago, when he walked with his graduating class at Mount St. Mary’s in Maryland. • The continuing education of the Bucs head coach commenced for two days in Jacksonville last month and another day during a joint practice in Tampa against the Dolphins when Bowles did not get within a football field of his defense. • Instead, he had a front row seat for an offensive tutorial taught by new coordinator Liam Coen. • “Really, it was just seeing it from an offensive perspective,” Bowles said. “I’m a defensive coach and I know the more points you score, the better off you are on defense because you can pin your ears back. We’ll have some close games, which is fine. • “You can’t stop developing as a coach. For me, getting better is learning new things and listening and being calmer. ... It’s the pace, the how, the whys, the substitutions, the down and distance, the thought process in situations, the time and parts of the field. Seeing it from the other side had a different understanding of how you could call things. Just understanding how, where, what, who’s in the game, where the ball has to go. Who’s the playcaller, who’s the blocker, who’s the puller and who is this and that.
• “As a defensive coach, that’s helped me a great deal.” • There’s another reason Bowles felt empowered to switch sides of the football field. • It’s the quiet confidence he has in the defense this season.
TAMPA
DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times (2023)
DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
DYLAN TOWNSEND | Times
DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times (2023)
DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
DYLAN TOWNSEND | Times
DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times (2023)
DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times (2023)
RICK STROUD Bucs
For all the talk about the fabulous Baker boys, Mayfield’s new personal protectors and offensive weapons galore, Bowles is all too aware that championships are won with defense.
Although young and largely unproven at some positions, this could be the year the Bucs put the D back in their DNA. History doesn’t lie
Whenever the Bucs have gone deep into the playoffs, the defense led them.
How far back do you want to go? In 1979, Lee Roy Selmon, Richard Wood and Co. shocked the NFL with the league’s No. 1 defense, losing 9-0 to the Rams in the NFC Championship Game.
In 2002, Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, John Lynch and Ronde Barber helped the league’s No. 1 defense score nine defensive touchdowns and eventually led the Bucs to a 48-21 win over the Raiders in Super Bowl 37.
In 2020 under Bowles’ direction, the Bucs defense took down the Saints’ Drew Brees, the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers and the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes in successive
weeks of the playoffs. In fact, they held Mahomes and the Chiefs without a touchdown in a 31-9 Super Bowl 55 triumph.
The Bucs have owned a top-10 defense in three of the five years since Bowles arrived as defensive coordinator under Bruce Arians.
There still are questions about the production of their outside linebackers. No player on the roster has ever had more than 7.5 sacks in a season and Yaya Diaby accounted for that as a rookie last year.
Linebacker K.J. Britt is slower than his predecessors and he’s playing with 34-year-old Lavonte David, who enters his 13th season.
But Bowles knows he has playmakers at every position. He also cannot contain his excitement over the return of safety Jordan Whitehead, who is reunited with Antoine Winfield Jr. after two seasons with the Jets.
“The thing we have defensively now is better communication,” Bowles said. “Jordan solves half the field’s problems. Winfield can only take care of one half of the field. He can’t go here and go there. With
Jordan coming back, that puts my mind at ease a great deal. You’ve got Lavonte and then you’ve got (nose tackle) Vita (Vea) who’s extremely smart and you’ve got (outside linebacker) Joe (Tryon-Shoyinka) who is extremely smart and you’ve got (cornerback) Zyon (McCollum) who is extremely smart.
“But now I’ve got all these guys talking to each other and they have a better understanding. And believe it or not, (rookie defensive back) Tykee (Smith) may be one of the more vocal ones out there because he is super sharp. And they fit in so well from a communication standpoint and that’s probably half the battle. It’s knowing what everybody is supposed to be doing and knowing based on formations what they could be getting and handing it to the next guy.
“If you just line up and play with talent, you’re going to get beat. If nobody says anything, you’re going to get beat. It’s too hard. To have that type of communication, that’s been big for us.”
But it’s not just communication that has improved. It’s the construction of the defense as well.
Adapt and advance
During their last Super Bowl run, the Bucs had wildly athletic outside linebackers who could rush up field in Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul, and huge anchors at defensive tackle in Ndamukong Suh and Vea.
Eventually, opponents abandoned inside runs and began attacking the perimeter, making the big men exhaust themselves chasing ballcarriers to the sideline and forcing lighter outside linebackers to set the edge and play the run.
But the Bucs countered by drafting Calijah Kancey, a quicker, lighter defensive tackle in 2023’s first round while adding more stout outside linebackers such as Diaby and Tryon-Shoyinka.
“We’re still athletic on the outside but we’re bigger,” Bowles said. “We’re like 260-pound, 264-pound range so we can set the edge because all the balls are going outside now. Now you’ve got to get faster inside. That’s where Logan (Hall) and Kancey come in. Our thinking went from bigger outside and smaller inside, but you’ve still got Vita, which is still kind of big in there. But those guys can run sideline to sideline and track plays. The bigger guys don’t have to do that anymore.”
What’s also different is the way Bowles may deploy his linebackers. Britt is a heady player but runs 4.7 in the 40-yard dash and David isn’t getting faster at his age.
“K.J. is not as fast as Lavonte or Devin White was, but he plays fast,” Bowles said. “His mental makeup allows him to play fast, it gives him the step or two that he lacks on the other guys. He studies so
DIRK SHADD | Times
Coach Todd Bowles is happy with the communication and cohesion of his defense this season.
LUIS SANTANA | Times (2023)
Bucs linebackers Lavonte David (54) and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka bring down Saints running back Jamaal Williams in December at Raymond James Stadium.
Associated Press (2003) Time will tell if the 2024 defense will be as heralded as the one, with Simeon Rice, above, that helped the Bucs win their first Super Bowl.
ner but can also play safety or in the box as a linebacker.
much.
“He knows where the ball is going, and he’s gone. ... He plays fast mentally and that’s all we need him to do.”
But on certain passing downs, Bowles has options. Second-year pro SirVocea Dennis, who played with Kancey at Pittsburgh, is the Bucs’ best coverage linebacker.
“If it’s truly a pass, other than Lavonte, SirVocea is out most athletic one,” Bowles said. “He’s going to come in and he’s a helluva blitzer and a helluva cover guy. He’s going to play. He’s got a big role.”
The other big addition is rookie Smith, who will start as the nickel cor-
“Tykee came in Day 1 and was the best pass dropper we had,” Bowles said. “I told coach (Larry) Foote, ‘Don’t screw him up. Leave him alone. We’ll correct him as he goes.’ He’s the best. He can see everything.”
Of course, the most athletic player on the defense is McCollum, who started nine games last year and played well enough for the Bucs to trade Carlton Davis to Detroit. He’ll be opposite Jamel Dean, but the Bucs have experienced depth at corner in Jets free agent Bryce Hall and Texans free agent Tavierre Thomas.
“Everybody flies to the football, and you know, everybody being on the same page allows everybody to fly
to the football,” David said. “So that’s really a positive outlook on everything. Everybody’s in tune when we’re out there. A lot of people are communicating. A lot of people are talking, and that’s one of the things that Coach Bowles emphasizes every year since he’s been here. It’s been better than what it usually has been in the past.”
Unfinished business
When the Bucs walked out of Ford Field in January, having lost to the Lions in an NFC division playoff game, there were many emotions at play. Pride that they had accomplished more than the pundits predicted. Disappointment because they were tied in the fourth quarter and 13 minutes from playing in the conference champion-
ship. Ultimately, the Lions scored 31 points. That’s not good enough.
So Bowles went back to school. If the Bucs can apply those lessons, he doesn’t believe it’s a stretch to think they can reach another Super Bowl.
“The best part for everybody knocking us last year, for us to finish two games from the Super Bowl, the guys are saying, ‘Why not us? Why not us?’ ” Bowles said. “If everything falls into place, that’s how we feel. We know we’ve got a ton of work to do, but we feel confident if we play the right kind of football, we can win a lot of games.”
Contact Rick Stroud at rstroud@tampabay.com. Follow @NFLSTROUD.
DNA continued from 8X
JEFFEREE WOO | Times
Bucs rookie safety Tykee Smith tackles Dolphins back Jeff Wilson Jr. during the final preseason game. Smith “can see everything,” coach Todd Bowles says.
Bucs season preview
BUCS SEASON PREVIEW
An attack on every blade of grass
TAMPA
There is no instruction manual, nor is there a net.
Take a job as an NFL offensive coordinator and you’re on your own.
You choose the style, you direct the practices, you call the plays. And if the scoreboard does not cooperate, you take the fall.
This is the high-wire adventure Liam Coen has been chasing his entire adult life. He’s changed jobs nine times in 15 seasons, growing from a $16,000-a-year position at Brown University to being the guy responsible for touchdowns and millionaires in Tampa Bay’s huddle.
He is also the sixth offensive coordinator employed by Todd Bowles in the past six seasons that he has been a head coach in New York and Tampa Bay. Some have left for better jobs, most were fired, all were underwhelming when it came to scoring points.
This is the predicament that Coen, 38, calls a dream job. It is the position he has been prepping for since watching his father go a combined 97-15 as the head coach at La Salle Academy and Salve Regina University in Rhode Island a generation ago. He comes at it with an enviable mix of humility and confidence. Humble enough to know he is only as good as his players, confident enough to believe he can help them unleash their potential.
“I did an interview with my high school newspaper/magazine this summer and they asked for one piece of advice,” Coen said. “I said, ‘Bet on yourself.’ Try to put yourself out there a little bit if you really want to achieve your goals. And a lot of that is betting on yourself.”
That’s what Coen did a year ago, as unconventional as it may have seemed to the outside world. He had been promoted to offensive coordinator of the Rams in 2022, but it was a title without authority. Head coach Sean McVay did not want to give up play-calling duties, and Coen never felt the offense was his. So he returned to the University of Kentucky to be the offensive coordinator in 2023 and, after helping the Wildcats improve from 20.4 points a game to 29.1, the Bucs came calling.
Coen is insistent that the players are the key to the offense, likening himself to a caddy who
JOHN ROMANO Columnist
gives his golfer the right club, correct distance and impact of the wind. Yet he is also insistent about the way the Bucs are going to play.
He doesn’t say it quite this way, but his philosophy can be distilled thusly:
Attack on every blade of grass.
Coen wants defenses to fret about any and all conceivable paths to the end zone. He wants to operate out of similar-looking offensive sets that can be utilized for dozens of plays to keep defenses guessing. He wants to attack, although not necessarily with the no-risk-it, no-biscuit downfield style of Bruce Arians.
“Make the defense defend every blade of grass, both horizontally and vertically,” Coen said.
“We want to be able to stretch the defense. We want to be able to penetrate the defense and we want to be able to throw the ball over the defense. That can be done with motion, with formations, with tempo, with scheme. Force them to defend the whole field so that we don’t become static and predictable.
“It’s not just shots, not just bombs. When you think of attack, it’s being aggressive and penetrating the defense. How do we get our playmakers the ball in space and with room to do something?”
He mentioned motion, formations, tempo and scheme but left out one critical component: Faith. Or maybe it’s trust.
Coen wants quarterback Baker Mayfield to have a hand in determining how the Bucs attack. Nearly every play will come with one or two options for Mayfield to sub out. If the defense is prepared for one play, it is Mayfield’s responsibility to switch to something else.
Nearly every quarterback in the league has similar latitude, but Coen is aggressively pushing Mayfield to take advantage. To not be afraid of being occasionally wrong. To feel comfortable enough to overrule a play without looking over his shoulder.
“To be able to process that information really quickly is what he harps on in the QB room,” Mayfield said. “(It’s) getting us into a good position. ‘If it doesn’t look
A new NFL season is about to begin, which means Todd Bowles must have a new offensive coordinator. In his seven seasons as a head coach in New York and Tampa Bay, Bowles has had six different offensive coordinators. At least his 2023
with their offensive numbers:
right, get out of it. You have the power to do so. I’m teaching you guys that. Go out and put us in a good position.’ Not feeling handcuffed at the line of scrimmage is always a good feeling, but you’ve got to know where you’re going to go with it.”
Ultimately, the success of the offense will depend on improvement in the running game. The Bucs have thrown for more yards the past two seasons than all but five teams, and yet they were 24th in scoring in 2022-23. The discrepancy makes more sense when you understand Tampa Bay has been last in rushing yards.
“If you understand offensive line play or understand the running game, the way we’re running the ball will appear different,” receiver Chris Godwin said.
“Everything else kind of stems off of that. So the rest of the game looks different, like play-action will look different, screens will look different, even deep shots will look different.”
The Bucs also are planning to be more aggressive when it comes to pass blocking, particularly up the middle. Generously listed at 6-1, Mayfield is shorter than the average NFL quarterback. So instead of taking a step back
to prepare to pass block, Tampa Bay’s center and guards will push forward to keep linemen from getting their hands up in Mayfield’s face when he throws over the middle.
“We’ve got to be very intentional about how we protect and that means getting hands on people early so Baker has more room to see,” Coen said. The offense may have made incremental improvement in 2023, but it was not enough. Not if the Bucs want to get out of the rut of .500-adjacent finishes.
The front office did its job by getting most of Tampa Bay’s free agents re-signed. By the time the Bucs whittled their roster down at the end of training camp, the depth chart showed 19 of the 22 starters were around last season.
That means the onus is on Coen and the offense to at least get the Bucs into the top half of the league in scoring.
“It’s a chess match that you’re playing and, at the end of the day, we want to have the answers,” Coen said. “We want solutions, but we don’t want to paralyze our players at the line of scrimmage. We want to let them go, play freely, play fast and let it rip.”
Contact John Romano at
Photos by JEFFEREE WOO | Times
Of all the offseason changes made by the Bucs, none may be more consequential than handing the keys to the offense to new offensive coordinator Liam Coen.
BUCS SEASON PREVIEW
RUNNING BACKS
Fired up about the ground game?
The Bucs’ most beleaguered unit shows promise in the preseason, thanks to some rookie infusion.
BY JOEY KNIGHT | Times Staff Writer TAMPA
Any resuscitation starts with a pulse, then a steady heartbeat, followed by stability. It’s a process, more methodical than brisk.
If nothing else, the Bucs’ run game was defibrillated in the preseason. After flatlining the past two years, signs of life have resurfaced, and a fan base suddenly is roused.
In three preseason contests, the Bucs amassed 307 yards rushing on 74 carries for a solid average of 4.15 yards per attempt, which tells only part of the story. In his lone preseason appearance, Aug. 23 against the Dolphins, tailback Rachaad White had 16 yards on four carries behind the first-team offensive line, capped by a 4-yard TD run.
“It’s been positive,” said coach Todd Bowles, whose rushing attack ranked last in the NFL the last two years (88.8 yards per game in 2023, 76.9 per game in 2022). “The backs have been hitting the hole; they’ve been one-cut and getting downhill. They’ve been doing a good job of finding the creases, and the line has been doing a good job so far.”
Now comes the tricky part: keeping that pulse steady, ensuring it’s more efficient than erratic. The season’s prognosis depends on it.
“Obviously it’s still a young (running back) group that we have, but I think they’re just running it better,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “I think they’re seeing it. I think they’re understanding what we’re trying to get done and they’re not guessing where the hole is going to be. They’re trusting the guys up front and hitting it quickly.”
Unlike last season, when White (990 rushing yards, 3.6 yards per carry) accounted for 62% of the Bucs’ rushing attempts, look for more of an ensemble approach in 2024.
The Bucs drafted shifty Oregon dual threat Bucky Irving in the fourth round, and they have been impressed with the development of 2023 undrafted free agent Sean Tucker, who ran for 68 yards on 10 carries in the preseason opener at Cincinnati. Veteran Chase Edmonds (knee) is on season-ending injured reserve.
“Sean has improved a lot,” Mayfield said. “He’s another guy that a lot more reps is going to help him. It’s just a different run game from college to the NFL. Bucky is a stud, just another guy that is a similar-type back as Rachaad, where he’s able to catch the ball out of the backfield, really athletic, smooth. … He’s fun to watch when he sticks his toe in the ground and decides to run north and south.”
Ideally, Irving (5 feet 10, 195 pounds) will seamlessly step in when White (6 feet, 214 pounds) needs a breather, with neither skill set nor superstition sacrificed. Irving’s lone pregame sustenance is Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, a sugary fuel that helped him run for 1,156 yards and collect 413 receiving yards (on 56 catches) at Oregon last season. White, who insists his gameday attire must include a helmet visor and gloves, was a similar dual threat for the Bucs last season, adding
549 receiving yards to his total production.
“I think our games are pretty similar,” Irving said. “We’re both guys that can be dynamic in the offense in many different ways — by catching the ball out of the backfield, lining up in the slot, bringing a lot of value to the offense that running backs need nowadays.”
The fate of Mayfield is intertwined with those ball carriers and their blockers. Bereft of a consistent run game last year, Mayfield completed only 64.3% of his passes and was sacked 40 times, sixth most of any NFL quarterback. But he helped salvage things with his mobility, savvy and leadership chops, passing for more than 4,000 yards and leading Tampa Bay to the playoffs.
This year, all signs point to far greater stability — if not formidability — up front, which should buoy the run game, which in turn benefits Mayfield. Rookie Graham Barton has emerged as a run-blocking bulldozer at center,
and he is flanked by veteran free-agent signee Ben Bredeson (25 career starts) on his left and second-year right guard Cody Mauch.
Meantime, left tackle Tristan Wirfs and right-side counterpart Luke Goedeke could evolve into one of the most efficient tackle tandems in football.
“They’ve been doing some great things in the run game, getting up to the second level, where we had trouble in the past getting up to the second level, but they’ve been doing a great job in preseason,” Bowles said.
“We know it’s not live bullets, and we know we’re going to face better competition — and Miami didn’t have their (starters) out there (in the preseason finale) — but from a chemistry standpoint and for us getting good work, I think they did a great job.”
Toss in new offensive coordinator Liam Coen’s quest for run-pass balance and it’s hardly a stretch to suggest Tampa Bay’s run game could be one of the most improved. By many accounts, Coen’s system features more complexities than that of predecessor Dave Canales, and his smorgasbord of presnap motion is designed to fool defenders and possibly lure them out of their run fits.
“It might be the schemes,” Wirfs said after the preseason finale.
“I don’t think it’s ever been a physical problem. I know we have pretty much the same guys up front. I think it might just be a combination of the scheme and the new motions (that’s) keeping the defense on its toes a little bit. But I’m excited. We had a good plan in place, and it’s going to be fun.” Something, perhaps, to make the pulse rise.
Contact Joey Knight at jknight@tampabay.com. Follow @TBTimes_Bulls.
JEFFEREE WOO | Times
Bucs running back Rachaad White has 16 yards on four carries, capped by a 4-yard touchdown, in his lone preseason appearance, Aug. 23 against the Dolphins.
CHRISTOPHER O’MEARA | Associated Press
Running backs Rachaad White, left, and Bucky Irving vie for the ball in camp but look to be in sync during the season.
JEFFEREE WOO | Times
Sean Tucker enters his second NFL season and “has improved a lot,” QB Baker Mayfield says.
BUCS SEASON PREVIEW
More than just wins at stake
Some significant franchise and individual achievements appear within reach this season.
BY JOEY KNIGHT | Times Staff Writer TAMPA
As the season opener looms, the 2024 Bucs find themselves at the precipice of history.
Actually, many precipices.
Even if a third Super Bowl title may be a bit of a stretch, this team can configure a landmark season in various ways, collectively and individually. Some milestones are more nuanced than others, but all are significant in their own realm.
As the journey commences, here are the historical mile markers:
1 and 2. Mike Evans
The beloved 11th-year wide receiver can tie Jerry Rice’s NFL record for consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons (11). He’s already the only NFL player to begin his career with 10 consecutive seasons of at least 1,000 receiving yards.
Evans likely will become the franchise’s all-time scoring leader at some point this season. He enters with 578 points (including 95 touchdowns), 14 shy of Martin Gramatica. He’s also five touchdowns shy of becoming the first player in franchise history with 100 career TDs.
3. Owning the South?
The Bucs can claim their fourth consecutive NFC South title, tying the division record held by the Saints (2017-20).
4 and 5. Move over, Derrick
With 22 tackles, 13th-year inside linebacker Lavonte David (right) can become the second player in franchise history with 1,500 career tackles, joining Derrick Brooks (2,198). If the future Ring of Honor recipient stays healthy, he’ll move into the top three in franchise history in career games played. David has appeared in 181 games; tight end Dave Moore (190) ranks third. He also can set a franchise record by leading the team in tackles for a 10th season. He is tied for the franchise lead with Brooks.
6. Playoff five-peat?
The Bucs can eclipse the franchise record for consecutive playoff berths (four), a mark the current group shares with the Tony Dungy/Jon Gruden eras (1999-2002). That previous regime won four of seven playoff contests during that stretch; the latest run has produced a 6-3 postseason mark.
7. Cade over Kellen?
Third-year tight end Cade Otton (left), clearly the No. 1 tight end in an offense that could employ mostly single-tight formations, could threaten the franchise’s season record for catches by a tight end, held by Kellen Winslow (77 in 2009).
8. Dual-threat All-Pro
If he excels at left tackle as masterfully as he handled the right side, newly signed behemoth Tristan Wirfs could become the first player of the salary-cap era named an Associated Press first-team All-Pro at both tackle spots. Not until 2016 did All-Pro teams include both right and left tackles. Before that, the two first-team spots reserved for tackles went almost predominantly to left tackles. If Wirfs, a first-team All-Pro on the right side in 2021, can earn a nod on the opposite end, he’ll be one step closer to Canton.
9. Save the date
This is a quirky one: If the Bucs top the Broncos on Sept. 22, it would be their first win on that date. They are 0-5 all time on that date: losses to New Orleans (20-13 in 1985), Buffalo (17-10 in 1991), Seattle (17-13 in 1996), New England (23-3 in 2013) and the New York Giants (32-31 in 2019). Contact Joey Knight at jknight@tampabay.com. Follow @TBTimes_Bulls.
DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
JEFFEREE WOO | Times (2023)
ZUMA Press (2023)
Receiver Mike Evans can continue his assault on the NFL and franchise record books.
