Speaker 1: They're Bucks fans. How's everybody doing on this Wednesday morning,
Speaker 1: Casey Phillips, you were senior writer and editor, Scott Smith.
Speaker 1: This is actually our normal time for Buccaneers in Satura Live.
Speaker 1: We had one yesterday and guess what, we're also going
Speaker 1: to have one tomorrow. We're just making sure you guys
Speaker 1: have all of the Buccaneers content that you could possibly
Speaker 1: want going in this layoff game, making sure that everybody
Speaker 1: is all caught up, so as we give people a
Speaker 1: chance to start submitting some of the questions on the
Speaker 1: Facebook page. Um, we got a lot. Actually we can
Speaker 1: talk about even just that has happened since yesterday. First,
Speaker 1: let's go ahead and start with the Hall of Fame news. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's really really good news. Um, it's not surprising. It's
Speaker 1: still it's still a great accomplishment, but it's not surprising
Speaker 1: anymore that John Lynch has made it through to the
Speaker 1: finalist stage of the selection process in this case for
Speaker 1: the Class of for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1: It's the eighth straight year that this has happened, and
Speaker 1: that in and of itself tells me that the voters
Speaker 1: on the selection committee do think he's a Hall of
Speaker 1: Fame caliber player. They wouldn't keep making him a finalist
Speaker 1: and giving themselves a chance to put him in. But
Speaker 1: the even better news is that Rande Barber joined him.
Speaker 1: This is his fourth year of eligibility, and quite frankly,
Speaker 1: I've been surprised the last three years, especially the last couple.
Speaker 1: Maybe the first year wasn't a big surprise, but I've
Speaker 1: been surprised the last three years that he didn't make
Speaker 1: it through to the final stage. But now he has.
Speaker 1: So the Buccaneers have two of the fifteen finalists. And uh,
Speaker 1: they're both very, very well deserving. We've obviously stated their
Speaker 1: cases many times here and in other places, but uh,
Speaker 1: you know, you got to make that step before you
Speaker 1: get all the way to the Hall of Fame. And
Speaker 1: this year, instead of voting on the day before the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl in the host city, which is the traditional way,
Speaker 1: they're going to hold a virtual meeting on January nineteenth,
Speaker 1: so we may find out even sooner than that. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that is just such great news. They're both so deserving,
Speaker 1: and I mean, man, of all the years, the fact
Speaker 1: that it would be here in Tampa, it's like they've
Speaker 1: been deserving any year and We'd be happy for them
Speaker 1: to get in any year, but if it could happen
Speaker 1: this year, that would just be so h all. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Originally I thought twenty would be the perfect year for
Speaker 1: Randy Barber to go in. Uh you know, number twenty,
Speaker 1: his number, nobody else, nobody else wears that number anymore
Speaker 1: for the Buccaneers. So, but now I agree with you,
Speaker 1: would be very fitting for one or both to get in.
Speaker 1: That would be incredible. Um, And Richard had asked, if
Speaker 1: you had to pick one who gets in Lynch or
Speaker 1: RANDI that's a really good question. And and I want
Speaker 1: to make sure that that it's understood that when I'm
Speaker 1: saying this, I'm not saying that one player is better
Speaker 1: or more deserving than the other. Just circumstantially, I feel
Speaker 1: like this could be the year for John Lynch. And
Speaker 1: believe me, I understand that I've said that before on
Speaker 1: a couple other occasions. But you look at who The
Speaker 1: first thing you have to do is understand that it's
Speaker 1: a maximum of five of those fifteen, and you have
Speaker 1: to look at the first year candidates and guys that
Speaker 1: you know are probably gonna make it in the first year.
Speaker 1: So how many spots are they gonna keep take up. Well,
Speaker 1: Peyton Manning is obvious, clearly he'll get in the first year.
Speaker 1: And I think there's a very good chance that Calvin
Speaker 1: Johnson and uh, I'm blinking on the other one right now, Oh,
Speaker 1: Charles Woodson will will also get in. They seem like
Speaker 1: first ballot types, so you've got two spots there. And
Speaker 1: and looking at all the other players that are eligible,
Speaker 1: like some Tory Holtz and Alan Fanicas and and and
Speaker 1: guys like that, um, he seems just as good of
Speaker 1: a choice as any of them. So I do believe
Speaker 1: that the Hall of Fame committee takes opportunities to clear
Speaker 1: up log jams or to take care of a guy
Speaker 1: they've been trying again but just couldn't make them top
Speaker 1: five before when they have a chance. And so I'm
Speaker 1: thinking this could be John's chance. And yeah, I'd love
Speaker 1: to see Rodney go in, but he might have to
Speaker 1: wait a couple of years. Yeah, that's that's I I
Speaker 1: can understand that logic for sure. So hopefully, yeah, this
Speaker 1: is the year that at least one of them can
Speaker 1: get in. All right, Well, we also had some exciting
Speaker 1: other award news, not quite Hall of Fame level, but
Speaker 1: still pretty exciting for UH kicker Ryan suck Up. Well,
Speaker 1: hey yeah, those awards along the way help you get
Speaker 1: in the Hall of Fame eventually, and the Buccaneers have
Speaker 1: had a lot of these specialty or I mean Player
Speaker 1: of the Week awards. This year, Ryan suck Up it
Speaker 1: wanted for the second time. He had fourteen points, made
Speaker 1: all eight of his kicks, which was big because the
Speaker 1: Bucks offense was pretty much moving the ball at will.
Speaker 1: They scored on all five of their first half drives
Speaker 1: against Atlanta, but they were having a little trouble in
Speaker 1: the red zone, um, so they had to kick field
Speaker 1: goals and he made all of them, which allowed the
Speaker 1: Bucks to take that twenty three to ten halftime lead
Speaker 1: and then hold on and kind of pull away at
Speaker 1: the end. So it's a great award for Ryan. It's
Speaker 1: actually the seventh time he's won it in his career,
Speaker 1: a couple of times with Casey and a couple of
Speaker 1: times with Tennessee. Uh. He is the first Bucaneer, however,
Speaker 1: to have won this the Special Teams Player of the
Speaker 1: Week award twice in one season, which I was surprised
Speaker 1: to find when I looked it up because I figured
Speaker 1: Martin Grammatica, who did win it multiple times, it's just
Speaker 1: never won it twice in one season. Wow, that's a
Speaker 1: really interesting staff there. I love that will. Congratulations to
Speaker 1: Ryan and I know that Bucks fans have loved his consistency.
Speaker 1: I mean, it is really great to have that kind
Speaker 1: of confidence that your your kickers getting the Player of
Speaker 1: the Week award right before the playoffs. That it's a
Speaker 1: pretty thirty one and I think something like the last
Speaker 1: twenty six or something like that. So you're feeling very
Speaker 1: good about m Yeah, that's great. And UM, finally, we
Speaker 1: just wanted to before we get to these questions, figure
Speaker 1: out what all we learned from some of the press
Speaker 1: conferences yesterday morning from the practice that happened. It was
Speaker 1: essentially a walk through, um, but what different players and
Speaker 1: coaches said that they gave us some insight into, especially
Speaker 1: things like health, but just overall team things. Well, first
Speaker 1: to walk through, and that's a that's an important distinction
Speaker 1: because uh, and then the teams do this generally when
Speaker 1: they have an accelerated schedule. Since we have a Saturday game,
Speaker 1: you're practicing on Tuesday what you would normally do on Wednesday,
Speaker 1: and so on. But two days after the game, it's
Speaker 1: the last game, isn't a lot of time for players
Speaker 1: to recover. Sey generally don't do a full speed practice.
Speaker 1: What they do is a walkthrough. So uh, most notably
Speaker 1: Mike Evans and Carlton Davis did take part in the walkthrough,
Speaker 1: which is a good sign, because a walkthrough is you
Speaker 1: line up how you're going to run the players you're
Speaker 1: choosing to use on Saturday, and then you walk through them.
Speaker 1: And if those guys are taking part in them, that
Speaker 1: means the club that's hoping has, you know, some optimism
Speaker 1: that they'll be out there. Otherwise they wouldn't bother to
Speaker 1: put them in the practice for what you're gonna do
Speaker 1: on the game. However, the the actual injury report is
Speaker 1: based upon a full speed practice, so when you walk through,
Speaker 1: you have to estimate what would have happened if you've
Speaker 1: gone full speed. And the Bucks said that Carlton and
Speaker 1: Mike would not have practice, which isn't a setback or anything. Uh.
Speaker 1: It was always a target of Thursday for Mike. So
Speaker 1: it's not bad news. I think it's actually kind of
Speaker 1: good news, but it's it's not anything certain yet as
Speaker 1: for the press conferences. I think the biggest, probably the
Speaker 1: best statement anybody made was Bruce arians saying, we don't
Speaker 1: think we're playing a seven and nine Washington team. We
Speaker 1: think we're playing a four and one Washington team because
Speaker 1: that's what they are under Alex Smith. And it's a
Speaker 1: good point. All right. Well, now let's get into some
Speaker 1: of these questions, uh, Jamir, I think is how you
Speaker 1: say it? Um said, how do you think Mentor will
Speaker 1: do in the middle and place of Devon White? Well,
Speaker 1: based on this last game and the three games that
Speaker 1: he played in White's absence early last year, I think
Speaker 1: he'll do pretty good. I mean, we saw that he
Speaker 1: could do all of the things that you want that
Speaker 1: position to do in this defense. He can rush the
Speaker 1: pastor a little bit if you need him to. So
Speaker 1: that element of that blitz up the middle that White
Speaker 1: has done so well this year is still there. I'm
Speaker 1: not gonna say there aren't any many linebackers inside linebackers
Speaker 1: that can blitz like Devin White, so let's not go
Speaker 1: that far. But he Mentor can also range around the
Speaker 1: field to make tackles on rushing plays and even covered
Speaker 1: pretty well down the field. So Um, He's a solid
Speaker 1: guy who knows the defense backward and forward. And uh
Speaker 1: has a ton of experience with Bruce Arians and played
Speaker 1: pretty well last week, so I think he can do
Speaker 1: just fine. And Greg asked, Uh, do you think all
Speaker 1: Claire or Hudson will get activated this week or do
Speaker 1: you think they will want to use an O lineman
Speaker 1: to help in pass protection? Well, Um, I think they'll
Speaker 1: probably do well. Claire would be my guest. That's what
Speaker 1: they did last week. And obviously with this ferocious Washington line,
Speaker 1: I think you're gonna want your blocking tight end a
Speaker 1: little bit more. You could still use that um extra
Speaker 1: offensive lineman is a tight end. It's kind of six
Speaker 1: of one have to isn't of another? Or you could
Speaker 1: you know, you might have some jumble packages where you're
Speaker 1: using both of them. So but again, as I said yesterday,
Speaker 1: even against a pass rush like this, you have to
Speaker 1: remember the head coach that's that's running things. And and
Speaker 1: Bruce Arians, even against tough pass rushes, doesn't like the
Speaker 1: max protect that much. He likes to put players out
Speaker 1: into routes. And Richard asked, are you concerned that it's
Speaker 1: a night game considering how those have gone for us
Speaker 1: this year. Well, I mean I would be if I
Speaker 1: thought there was any particular reason for that little mini trend.
Speaker 1: I don't think there is. It doesn't there's really not
Speaker 1: much sense to it. Um. I think it was just
Speaker 1: coincidental that the Buccaneers kept playing their worst games in
Speaker 1: the evening. So no, it doesn't really concern me at all.
Speaker 1: John asked when will the Bucks fly to Washington and
Speaker 1: also do we think Rojo's carries will increase this week? Well?
Speaker 1: To start back, Well, okay, they'll fly up on Friday.
Speaker 1: Of course, they always fly the day before. Um, I
Speaker 1: don't know the exact time and probably wouldn't give it
Speaker 1: out if I did. But um, as for Rojo's carries,
Speaker 1: it's it's all just how the game unfolds. Uh. You know,
Speaker 1: this is still a passing team, and Rogo looked great
Speaker 1: in the last game, and I know Bruce arians wants
Speaker 1: to use him and was certainly encouraged by how he played.
Speaker 1: But we're gonna pass first for the most part in
Speaker 1: most games, and then see how the game develops, and
Speaker 1: and that usually is what indicates how many carries that
Speaker 1: your primary running back gets. So if the Bucks have
Speaker 1: a nice lead in the second half. Yeah, he'll get
Speaker 1: a lot more carries. I think. Um. Bruno had a
Speaker 1: question he's watching from Brazil, which is um. He said,
Speaker 1: we know that Devin White won't be able to play Saturday,
Speaker 1: but would he be able to play the next week
Speaker 1: if we win? Yeah? Yeah, I think that's the presumption.
Speaker 1: In fact, Um, you know, Bruce arians wasn't thrilled. I
Speaker 1: think it was the way you put it that we
Speaker 1: drew a Saturday game instead of a Sunday game because
Speaker 1: he thought there might be a chance of White coming
Speaker 1: off that list. For all we know, he's ready to
Speaker 1: go right now. It's just the protocol says ten days.
Speaker 1: So um, yeah, he would be assuming that he is
Speaker 1: healthy and ready. Um, there's nothing that would stop him
Speaker 1: from coming off that list in time for a second
Speaker 1: round game if the Buccaneers get past Washington, and Curtis asked,
Speaker 1: what are the odds of a Buccaneer home game in
Speaker 1: the playoffs? Well, they're not high, and they never are
Speaker 1: for any wild card team. And you'll know at least
Speaker 1: for the next round before the Buccaneers even play, because
Speaker 1: the Rams and and Seahawks will play on Saturday afternoon.
Speaker 1: And if the Seahawks win, then the Buccaneers definitely won't
Speaker 1: have a home game in round two. They would go
Speaker 1: to either Green Bay if um New Orleans beat Chicago
Speaker 1: or Seattle. If Chicago beats New Orleans, if the Rams win,
Speaker 1: then it remains a possibility because if the Rams and
Speaker 1: the Buccaneers win on Saturday, and then the Bears win
Speaker 1: on Sunday, then all three wild card teams won and
Speaker 1: as the highest wild card team, the lowest wild card
Speaker 1: team would would which would be Chicago, would go to
Speaker 1: Green Bay, and as the highest wild card team, we
Speaker 1: would host the Rams. So yeah, it's possible. And then
Speaker 1: even if it doesn't happen this week, if at least
Speaker 1: one of the Rams or the Bears wins and the
Speaker 1: Bucks win this weekend, there remains of possibility for the
Speaker 1: m C Championship game in Tampa. But somebody's gonna have
Speaker 1: to knock off Green Bay for that dappen. Yes, that's true. Um,
Speaker 1: all right. We also had a question, do you see
Speaker 1: uh there being more quick slants to someone like a
Speaker 1: b because of going against this pass rush, so get
Speaker 1: rid of the ball quickly. Um, well, I guess it
Speaker 1: depends on how well, we're holding up because we are
Speaker 1: rightfully talking about how good that Washington pass rushes and
Speaker 1: star studded with first round picks. But remember that we
Speaker 1: have a very good offensive line, and I think they're
Speaker 1: really hitting their stride as the season ended. I mean,
Speaker 1: if you watch this last game against Atlanta, I know
Speaker 1: it Land doesn't have the same defensive line, but they
Speaker 1: have some talented defenders as well. Tom Brady had a
Speaker 1: lot of time to throw, a lot of time, and
Speaker 1: that allows you to look downfield. So I would think
Speaker 1: what you have is every play has a number of possibilities, right,
Speaker 1: so you have your chance to hit the ball downfield
Speaker 1: if you have time. Otherwise you get rid of it
Speaker 1: more quickly to somebody underneath. Um, I don't think you
Speaker 1: necessarily call more slants because you're terrified of their pass rush. Okay,
Speaker 1: well that's going to do for us on this edition
Speaker 1: of Buccaneers Insider Live presented by Miller Lite. Thanks as
Speaker 1: always for joining us, and again we'll actually be back
Speaker 1: tomorrow morning to answer more of your questions and give
Speaker 1: even more updates from the practice that happens today. So
Speaker 1: we'll see you then.