Notable Defensive Players: Suh, JPP, Barrett, Winfield, Davis, Dean
+ Tom is a statue, so we need to generate pressure through the middle otherwise he has weapons and can hit them in the mid-ranges, similar to Oakland last night. He's infinitely smarter than Carr, but probably less talented than the version of Carr we saw last night - or at least on par.
+ TB's receiving talent is right up there with the best in the league. For some reason Evans/Brady have been slightly off, and we'll have to hope that continues. Gronk is a shell of himself, but still a large target that might be difficult for, say, HB, to defend if the ball is placed in the right location.
+ TB's secondary is young, talented and smart, but prone to youthful mistakes. We should be able to confuse them as the game goes on.
+ TB's run game can be nasty, and we need to shut them down early. Rojo is no joke. [Reply]
Since I became a Chiefs fan in 1993-1994, we have not beaten the Buccaneers. Most memorable was that blown 18 point lead at home in 2008 and Alex Smith's rare pick in the red zone that changed the game in 2016.
If we can get Watkins and Hardman back, this offense become a lot more explosive. No more Robinson mistakes to stall drives. Conversely, the defense will give up lots of yards and points. Shutting down Tampa's offense with this group is likely asking for much. All depends on whether they can make key stops and force a turnover or two. Likely another high scoring game that comes down to who gets the ball last. [Reply]
Here’s some interesting facts about the Bucs that correlate with us.
Veach was going to sign a FA that the Bucs ended up signing. He was the fall back if Sammy didn’t work out. That was OL Ryan Jensen.
Ali Marpet was a guy we were linked to a lot. He was definitely a prototypical Andy Reid OL. Bucs ended up drafting him before we could get a chance in the 2nd rd. Think many thought he’d go in the 3rd. [Reply]
The Bucs have incredible weapons, but they're not the nightmare matchup that the Raiders O is for us because their weapons aren't nearly as speedy. Evans is a strider and will cause some issues in the end zone, as will Gronk, but neither Brown or Godwin are very fast.
Their run game is also kinda meh. They'll stick with it regardless but RoJo and Fourney don't scare me. If we can pressure Brady, we should be able to keep them from grinding out long TD drives.
Their defense could cause some problems. They can get pressure with the front 4 and their inside LBs are the best, and fastest, in the league. I highly doubt we'll see any of our backs beating Lavonte David to the edge. Their secondary is very young, though, so if Mahomes has some time we should be able to get a fair amount of chunk plays.
I honestly have no clue how this one will play out. If both team's A games show up, I believe we will win, but our defense lately has me a bit concerned. I don't expect that we will be as efficient against this capable defense as we were against Vegas' trash heap so if the guys play that uninspired this coming Sunday, we could be in for another nail biter. [Reply]
The DBs need to be on point, though. Brady's gotten very good at throwing up the arm punts that linger in the air for 4 seconds. I've seen far too many DBs shit themselves and commit a huge 50+ yard DPI.
We can't allow any of that easy shit, cause you know the refs will be looking to flag us any chance they get. [Reply]