I know what you might be thinking; “What the h*ll just happened?”. I was asking myself the same thing. Although we got blown out by a Titans team that didn’t look all that strong either, it’s important to remember that this is just the pre-season it really doesn’t mean anything. Do you need proof? The same year the Detroit Lions went 0-16 in the regular season they went 4-0 in the preseason; need I say more.
Last night, none of the Bucs starters were playing because coach Bruce Arians said that due to the “competitive” nature of this week’s joint practices he would opt to let them sit out and recharge the batteries. Good call coach. The last thing you want is another brawl and a starter to get injured in the preseason.
One of the biggest takeaways from this game was the amount of dropped passes by the Bucs receiving corps. I felt especially bad for Kyle Trask because most of his turnovers and interceptions were caused because the receivers couldn’t make a catch. It’s as if they had oiled up their gloves before the game. It was quite a spectacle in how not to catch the ball.
It wasn’t all bad news for the Bucs however, as many reserve players had solid outings in last night’s game. One of those guys was Tight End Tanner Hudson, who led the team in receiving yards with 74. I was quite impressed with his ability to run his routes, as well as his speed after he caught the ball to gain extra yardage.
I do hope that Hudson can get a crack at the packed Bucs roster come regular-season time but based on coach Bruce Arians’ words, I highly doubt it. Arians are quoted as saying that he and his staff are still evaluating the situation revolving around Hudson because “there’s more to it than just catching a ball”. Hopefully, Hudson sees these words as motivation and uses them to show out, even more, come next week’s preseason game.
Lastly, I do have to call out the Bucs offense in this game, as it was absolutely abysmal. Now I know we said that none of the starters were on the field, but c’mon, 11 first down throughout the entire game is unacceptable. Even though the lineup is mostly made of second-stringers you would still expect them to put together a performance with a bit more fight and character.
Overall this may not hurt the team in the short term, as this team is slated to repeat as champions with the starters they house, but down the line, when some of those starters leave, this team could be in some deep trouble.
The Bucs second-stringers have one more game to show what they got (the last preseason game the starters normally play to warm up for the regular season). Hopefully, they can show us something better than they did last night.