Speaker 1: Welcome to Buccaneers Insideer Live presented by Miller like Casey
Speaker 1: Phillips and Scott Smith here and man, we haven't been
Speaker 1: doing this for a while. We haven't done it since
Speaker 1: training camp and that was mainly talking about what was
Speaker 1: going on there camp. Get it just a chance to
Speaker 1: answer everybody's questions. We've had all the roster cuts, we
Speaker 1: know who the bucks are now, so plenty to get
Speaker 1: to today. And again, if you're not already watching on Facebook,
Speaker 1: make sure you hit over to there, and if you
Speaker 1: have any questions, thoughts, comments, all of that, leave that
Speaker 1: for us in the comments section underneath our live video
Speaker 1: and as we give people a chance to do that. Um,
Speaker 1: I just want to hear your initial thoughts on now
Speaker 1: you've seen the fifty three man and who's on the
Speaker 1: practice squad and what are some of the biggest things
Speaker 1: that stood out to you of either who did make
Speaker 1: it or who didn't make it. I like the way
Speaker 1: you said we know who the bucks are now, because
Speaker 1: that's kind of what Bruce Aaron said he told the
Speaker 1: team in his first meeting with them after they came back.
Speaker 1: Because it was a long weekend while those cuts and
Speaker 1: roster tweaks were being made, and he told them we
Speaker 1: weren't the Bucks until now now we're the Bucks, right.
Speaker 1: That's kind of that was the message to the team
Speaker 1: as well. There really wasn't a ton surprising. I don't
Speaker 1: think did you think so? I know we were. We
Speaker 1: were wondering if Tanner Hudson had done enough to make
Speaker 1: the team. I thought that they would keep a fourth
Speaker 1: tied in, and they did. I think they did that
Speaker 1: initially by going a little light on running back with
Speaker 1: only three of them. But now we're back to four
Speaker 1: because we picked up uh t J Logan as a
Speaker 1: waiver claim. That was a guy that coach Areans really
Speaker 1: had his eye on. He was kind of hoping he'd
Speaker 1: get cut no offense TJ in Arizona, but it all
Speaker 1: worked out for everybody. Obviously. Uh didn't really think he
Speaker 1: would because he had a nice preseason over there. It's
Speaker 1: a guy that he really wanted to get in here,
Speaker 1: specifically to get the kickoff return job. And I'm kind
Speaker 1: of excited about that because we haven't had much in
Speaker 1: the kickoff return game. Actually, we've been pretty much last
Speaker 1: in the league the last few years at kickoff return,
Speaker 1: So any spark in that part of the game would
Speaker 1: be useful and and maybe as time goes on, t
Speaker 1: J can help us more and things like punt returns
Speaker 1: and being a gunner run and maybe even fitting into
Speaker 1: the offense a little bit, right, I know, Noah Spence
Speaker 1: was one that seemed to kind of catch some people's
Speaker 1: eye that he did not make the team, So overall
Speaker 1: thoughts on that and and let's just go through what
Speaker 1: our defensive line will look like. That was one of
Speaker 1: the big questions we had all preseason, was what that
Speaker 1: was going to look like in this new three four.
Speaker 1: So looking at who made the team and who didn't,
Speaker 1: what did we learn about the defense? I can't go
Speaker 1: so far as to say that I would have predicted
Speaker 1: that Noah Spence would be waived, But in retrospect, it's
Speaker 1: not terribly surprising when you look at the fact that
Speaker 1: he played every snap on defense in the third game.
Speaker 1: He played pretty much the whole first half of the
Speaker 1: of the fourth game, which is really rare for a
Speaker 1: guy who's listed as a starter. He was basically the
Speaker 1: only starter who didn't who played in that game, and
Speaker 1: they clearly just they needed to see. They had a
Speaker 1: feeling that this wasn't working out, but they wanted to
Speaker 1: give him one last extended opportunity, and coach Arean said
Speaker 1: that he said nothing but positive things about Noah Spence's approach.
Speaker 1: How hard he worked, He said, nobody worked harder. It's
Speaker 1: just a simple fact of the production per snap was
Speaker 1: not as good as the guys they kept. Just wasn't
Speaker 1: producing the same way that Patrick O'Connor, who was subsequently
Speaker 1: then waved and signed back to the practice squad and
Speaker 1: Demone Harrison, guys like that. So you know, it eventually
Speaker 1: comes down to product, and you know, hopefully I saw
Speaker 1: I got a trout in Buffalo, hopefully gets another shot somewhere.
Speaker 1: But it wasn't terribly surprising. I guess in the long run,
Speaker 1: you wish that a second round, high second round draft
Speaker 1: pick would be on your team longer than he was,
Speaker 1: So that didn't really work out. Now you're talking about
Speaker 1: the defensive front. Obviously no was in that group called
Speaker 1: outside linebackers, but I know what you mean. They land
Speaker 1: up on the line for the most part. It's a
Speaker 1: little I think they only kept five right now. I
Speaker 1: could see this evolving over time, but they only kept
Speaker 1: five down Linemen and Dominckensue and Vita van all that.
Speaker 1: That seems a little light to me. I would have
Speaker 1: expected six. But I think that's probably good news regarding
Speaker 1: Vita vias health. He wasn't practiced yesterday, and I think
Speaker 1: they would have gone a little deeper on that line
Speaker 1: if they thought he was gonna be out for any
Speaker 1: extended time. And we did have a question from Robbie
Speaker 1: who asked, was a Vita limited in practice at all? Well,
Speaker 1: we didn't get a practice report because that was a
Speaker 1: bonus practice day. I mean an injury report. We'll get
Speaker 1: our first injury report today and that's how they do it.
Speaker 1: On Wednesday and Thursday they say full practice limited or
Speaker 1: no practice at all. Um, you know, I can't really
Speaker 1: report on anything beyond what the media is allowed to see,
Speaker 1: which is the first twenty minutes or so, and individuals.
Speaker 1: During individuals, he was doing everything that everybody else is doing.
Speaker 1: Whether or not he was limited in the remainder of
Speaker 1: practice isn't really open to reporting right now because that
Speaker 1: part's closed. But we'll have a better answer for that
Speaker 1: at the end of practice today when we get an
Speaker 1: injury report. Okay, Eric said, I know you always hate
Speaker 1: these questions about asking about our record. But Eric said,
Speaker 1: is it wishful thinking that the Bucks could finish eleven
Speaker 1: and five? Well, it's yeah, I mean I think it
Speaker 1: by definition it's probably wishful thinking, but not outrageous wishful thinking.
Speaker 1: I think it. What it's going to come down to
Speaker 1: is is this defense fixed the defense? The results on
Speaker 1: defense last couple of years have been very, very bad.
Speaker 1: Let's be honest about it, right. I think last year,
Speaker 1: had the Buccaneers had even the middle of the road defense,
Speaker 1: they probably wouldn't won eight games instead of five. I
Speaker 1: think we want you know you you lost a number
Speaker 1: of games by three points. Your average about twenty five
Speaker 1: points a game that you should win most of your
Speaker 1: games if you're averaging points a game. So if you
Speaker 1: get that defense improved, even just league average, I think
Speaker 1: you're looking at least five. Because the offenses, I don't
Speaker 1: see how it's any worse than it was before. It's
Speaker 1: pretty much intact basically, and I think Bruce is a
Speaker 1: good offensive mine and Byron Leftwich, so the offense should
Speaker 1: be fine. Now. If for some reason the defense doesn't improve,
Speaker 1: then obviously you can see where you get the same results.
Speaker 1: If it's better than even I expect, then maybe you
Speaker 1: can get to double digit victories. I think it's all
Speaker 1: gonna all hinge on that. It's a little hard to
Speaker 1: predict at the moment. But like I said, I think
Speaker 1: it's not outrageous, but yes, a little bit of wishful thinking, right, Um,
Speaker 1: we had someone asked who technically took Noah Spence's spot,
Speaker 1: would it be Shack Barrett? No. I think Shack Barrett
Speaker 1: was gonna make the team regardless, and you were gonna
Speaker 1: have a rotation among the outside linebackers anyway, so I
Speaker 1: think it would be more like Demone Harris that took
Speaker 1: a spot. Um Scott asked, should we have kept Spencer
Speaker 1: Schnell over Scottie Miller? Well, no, and I don't think so.
Speaker 1: And if they had really really thought that Spencer Schnell
Speaker 1: was something they really didn't want to lose, I'm sure
Speaker 1: they would have. Had they would try to sign into
Speaker 1: the practice squad, and that didn't happen. They signed Emmanuel
Speaker 1: Hall instead. Listen, I'm not saying anything negative about Spencer Snell,
Speaker 1: but he had one really good quarter in the first game,
Speaker 1: and and that guy people really excited for good reason,
Speaker 1: and good for him and everybody that was excited for him.
Speaker 1: But um, I don't think that that meant he was
Speaker 1: all of a sudden a better prospect than Scotty Miller. Okay, Um,
Speaker 1: we had a few different questions about the safeties, and
Speaker 1: especially now that Justin Evans is back, who the starters
Speaker 1: will be and how that safety rotation could look. That's
Speaker 1: going to depend a lot on injuries and how those
Speaker 1: guys are coming back. Mike Edwards is you know, he
Speaker 1: hasn't played in about three weeks. Is he ready to go?
Speaker 1: Because before he got his minor injury, he was clearly
Speaker 1: locking down that starting spot, and Jordan White had has
Speaker 1: played very well. So I would suspect that those two
Speaker 1: would be the starting safeties to begin the season at
Speaker 1: the very least if health is not an issue. But
Speaker 1: then you also have Justin Evans. He just came back
Speaker 1: and he didn't really get a chance to play in
Speaker 1: any of the games. He was going to play in
Speaker 1: the final game, and then they got there in Dallas
Speaker 1: and he I guess he had a little bit of
Speaker 1: irritation and Achilles. That's what coach Aaron said after the game.
Speaker 1: So they decided to hold him out, So is he
Speaker 1: ready to go? I totally would not be shocked if
Speaker 1: if for some reason, Mike Edwards isn't fully ready to go.
Speaker 1: If actually Darren Stewart starts the first game opposite Jordan
Speaker 1: Whitehead or along with Jordan Whitehead, just because Stewart is
Speaker 1: a ten year, tenth year veteran, he really knows what
Speaker 1: he's doing, and I think they probably feel comfortable putting
Speaker 1: him in there. So it really comes down to injuries.
Speaker 1: But I think it's Edwards and Whitehead if there are
Speaker 1: no injuries involved. Okay, Stevens had asked about what our
Speaker 1: backup center situation looks like generally you have if you
Speaker 1: look at our depth chart or backup center situation as
Speaker 1: a blank. Yeah, that's and I think that's kind of
Speaker 1: their Their actual question said, why do we not have
Speaker 1: a backup so you know you're you're just nine is
Speaker 1: a normal number to keep of starters and four backups,
Speaker 1: and you keep two of those guys in active usually
Speaker 1: on game day to have them active and too inactive.
Speaker 1: So all you're really doing by leaving that blank is
Speaker 1: not putting a name that you're you're only putting every
Speaker 1: name on their once. Some teams will make sure that
Speaker 1: they list a backup at every spot, and some teams
Speaker 1: will just put every name on their one. So if
Speaker 1: there's an open spot, there's an open spot, right, So
Speaker 1: the backup center is probably could be you know, I
Speaker 1: would guess one of the main options would be Alex Cappa.
Speaker 1: If Ryan Jensen can play, Alex Cappa slides over to
Speaker 1: center and somebody like Earl Watford or Zach Bailey comes in.
Speaker 1: But every team cross trains three or four guys so
Speaker 1: that they have options at center. You'll see that at
Speaker 1: the beginning of every practice. You've got I guess we
Speaker 1: probably have four quarterback three do we have a quarterback
Speaker 1: on the Yeah, we got next fixt deral and practice squad,
Speaker 1: So we've got four quarterbacks on the team right now,
Speaker 1: counting the practice squad. And at the beginning of practice,
Speaker 1: they do that little drill where they have the quarterback
Speaker 1: center exchange off to the side, and you'll probably see
Speaker 1: four different guys snap in the ball. It could be
Speaker 1: Earl Watford, he apparently can play all five positions. I
Speaker 1: think Alice Apple would be one of them. Obviously, Ryan
Speaker 1: Jensen I don't really know if the rookie Zack Bailey's
Speaker 1: a scener yet, but I suspect they would try to
Speaker 1: train him in that. And in relation to the office
Speaker 1: of line, Jacob asked, do you think we can expect
Speaker 1: better offensive line play than last year? Yeah? I think so. Um,
Speaker 1: it's a different scheme and that could make a big difference.
Speaker 1: And uh, you know, I thought that the past protection
Speaker 1: in the preseason wasn't great. It was pretty good in
Speaker 1: the first couple of games, it was it was it
Speaker 1: was very poor in the third game they really made
Speaker 1: a bunch of mistakes. But all of that, even the
Speaker 1: good and the bad is a small sample size. I
Speaker 1: think the team is very, very you know, solid with
Speaker 1: Diamond Smith and Ali Mark Patt and Ryan Jensen. Uh,
Speaker 1: Damar Dotson in the last three or four years, whenever
Speaker 1: he's been healthy or you know, it's healthy as a
Speaker 1: guy who's been in LEAs song can be. Uh, he's
Speaker 1: been pretty good. And so the question mark and the
Speaker 1: really the weak spot last year was right guard and
Speaker 1: that's Alex Cappa now and they had high hopes for
Speaker 1: him all offseason and he took that job and never
Speaker 1: let it go. So I think a lot of it's
Speaker 1: gonna hinge on Alex capp on how well he plays.
Speaker 1: It's it's that whole only as strong as strong as
Speaker 1: your weakest link. Thing. Um. I think it will be improved,
Speaker 1: but that's definitely a unit that has to prove itself. Okay.
Speaker 1: Kyle asked, was this a surprise that m J. Stewart
Speaker 1: is listed ahead of Sean Murphy Bunting. No, and it
Speaker 1: was actually a little. The only reason it wasn't switched
Speaker 1: earlier is because teams don't really put much attention into
Speaker 1: their depth chart during the preseason when you got ninety
Speaker 1: guys and there's all kinds of shuffling going on. But
Speaker 1: when you make your first one for the regular season,
Speaker 1: you try to make it reflect reality. And the reality
Speaker 1: is m J. Stewart is you're starting nickelback right now,
Speaker 1: and therefore he has a job where he's gonna be
Speaker 1: on the field for fifty sixty percent of the snaps,
Speaker 1: Whereas of the moment, I don't think Sean Murphy Bunting
Speaker 1: has that role. I'm sure you will at some point,
Speaker 1: but it's Carlton Davison, Vernon Hargraves, and then MJ's your
Speaker 1: third guy, so he should be listed ahead of him.
Speaker 1: And uh, we'll close with this one. Eric said, how
Speaker 1: do you think time will be split between Peyton and
Speaker 1: ro Joe? Getting a lot closer to at this point,
Speaker 1: I think, um, I would have not said that going
Speaker 1: into the off season. I would have thought more like
Speaker 1: maybe seventy thirty and that was hopeful that Rojo was
Speaker 1: going to have a bigger role. But he just looks
Speaker 1: like a guy that if you needed him to be,
Speaker 1: could be in every down back I'm talking about round
Speaker 1: Jones at this point. He's he ran well in between
Speaker 1: the tackles during training camp, and he also has that
Speaker 1: explosiveness out on the edges that I think he's the
Speaker 1: only guy that gives you that right now. So I think,
Speaker 1: as Coach has said on several occasions, if somebody has
Speaker 1: a hot hand, they're going to stick with it. And
Speaker 1: so I could see Rojoe having a good game, being
Speaker 1: in the middle of a good game, and and Coach
Speaker 1: deciding just to keep feeding him, and then you're getting
Speaker 1: a lot closer to right. All right, Well, thank you
Speaker 1: so much for joining us on this edition of Buccaneers
Speaker 1: and Sider Live, presented by Miller Lite will have another
Speaker 1: live show forty five minutes before kickoff on Sunday. We
Speaker 1: hope to see you guys there at the stadium, or
Speaker 1: at least watching online. See then,