WEBVTT - How Important is the Game vs. the Vikings? | Bucs Insider 0:00:04.680 --> 0:00:07.960 Morning Bucks fans, how's everybody doing? Casey Phillips here with 0:00:08.080 --> 0:00:10.079 senior writer and editor Scott Smith. It is time for 0:00:10.160 --> 0:00:13.480 us to take all of your questions on Buccaneers Insider Live, 0:00:13.520 --> 0:00:17.560 presented by Miller Lte. If you're not already watching on Facebook, 0:00:17.600 --> 0:00:20.200 you can head on over there to submit your questions 0:00:20.280 --> 0:00:23.279 in the comment section underneath our live video. Anything you 0:00:23.280 --> 0:00:24.919 want to know about the Buccaneers. This is where we 0:00:24.960 --> 0:00:27.480 want you to tell us what you want to talk about. 0:00:27.520 --> 0:00:30.040 As we give people a chance to start submitting some 0:00:30.080 --> 0:00:31.800 of those questions, I figured we'd start with some of 0:00:31.800 --> 0:00:34.159 the roster moves that have happened this week and what 0:00:34.200 --> 0:00:36.559 they mean for the team. Yeah, we even have one 0:00:36.600 --> 0:00:40.320 to day um. Jaden Mickens, who was waived on Monday 0:00:40.320 --> 0:00:43.600 when the Buccaneers promoted Kenyan Barner from the practice squad, 0:00:43.680 --> 0:00:45.960 has now been signed to the practice squad. So essentially 0:00:46.320 --> 0:00:48.240 you have a switch of those two guys and they're 0:00:48.240 --> 0:00:51.720 both returnment. But the differences. Jaden Mackins is a wide 0:00:51.720 --> 0:00:55.800 receiver and Kenyan Barner's running back who coach Arians likes 0:00:55.880 --> 0:00:57.640 quite a bit and even thinks he could do a 0:00:57.680 --> 0:00:59.760 little bit on offense if they decided to do so. 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:02.040 But what that does is give him a little more 0:01:02.080 --> 0:01:05.200 balance between his position groups there. Because we had seven receivers, 0:01:05.440 --> 0:01:07.360 he can't keep seven of them active, but he would 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:09.600 like to keep six and four running backs. So now 0:01:09.600 --> 0:01:11.400 he can do that. And if you really really need 0:01:11.480 --> 0:01:14.399 Jaden Nickens to help you in the return game or 0:01:14.560 --> 0:01:16.240 some way in the next few weeks, you can always 0:01:16.280 --> 0:01:19.199 use up to two practice squad elevations on him, while 0:01:19.240 --> 0:01:21.400 we were already out of those options on Kenyan Barners. 0:01:21.440 --> 0:01:23.160 So it all makes sense when you put it together 0:01:23.200 --> 0:01:26.280 that way. We also brought Peck a blast from the 0:01:26.319 --> 0:01:31.400 past yesterday and Ted Larson, a really versatile interior lineman 0:01:31.400 --> 0:01:33.560 who started at all three positions, has made a lot 0:01:33.640 --> 0:01:37.440 of starts, has started every every place he's gone, beginning 0:01:37.440 --> 0:01:40.240 with the Buccaneers in two thousand and ten, but he 0:01:40.240 --> 0:01:42.600 hasn't played here since two thousand thirteen, so a seven 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:45.479 year gap is a long time. He's on the practice squad, 0:01:45.480 --> 0:01:47.240 he could he he could be elevated if need be, 0:01:47.400 --> 0:01:50.840 so if he played, would be the same gap between 0:01:50.880 --> 0:01:52.840 his time here as work done had and a lot 0:01:52.840 --> 0:01:54.640 of fans would remember that the way we worked done 0:01:54.680 --> 0:01:57.160 came back seven years later, so it's kind of interesting 0:01:57.160 --> 0:02:00.200 when that happens. That's great. I love that. Yeah, love 0:02:00.280 --> 0:02:02.520 seeing that he was with us so long ago and 0:02:02.560 --> 0:02:04.120 now getting like a second go around. And yeah, I 0:02:04.120 --> 0:02:06.840 had been with Bruisarian, so he just gets to redo everything, 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:09.560 which is really awesome. Um, all right, Wait a question 0:02:09.639 --> 0:02:13.320 from Reven I think is how you say it? I'm yeah, 0:02:13.639 --> 0:02:16.520 I think I'm hoping I didn't butcher that. Um. He 0:02:16.680 --> 0:02:18.280 wanted to know how many wins do you think we 0:02:18.360 --> 0:02:20.680 need to make the playoffs, and he said he's watching 0:02:20.680 --> 0:02:23.760 from Denmark, which is well, what we know for sure 0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:26.720 is that eleven will do it. If the Buccaneers went out, uh, 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:29.000 they're in. I am of the opinion that if they 0:02:29.040 --> 0:02:31.679 win three or four and get to ten wins, they're 0:02:31.680 --> 0:02:35.200 almost certainly gonna make it, simply because there's only one 0:02:35.240 --> 0:02:40.440 other team that has seven wins uh right now, and 0:02:40.480 --> 0:02:43.240 so everybody behind the Buccaneers has that could be in 0:02:43.360 --> 0:02:45.800 play have either six or five. And so you talk 0:02:45.880 --> 0:02:49.119 about Minnesota with six wins, they would have to run 0:02:49.160 --> 0:02:52.560 the table um to get to ten wins, and even 0:02:52.560 --> 0:02:55.640 then that doesn't bump the Bucks out of the playoffs, 0:02:55.680 --> 0:02:58.000 So I don't, I don't. I think ten wins is 0:02:58.000 --> 0:03:00.440 almost a virtual lock. Nine is when it starts to 0:03:00.480 --> 0:03:02.040 get a little bit hairy and some of the other 0:03:02.080 --> 0:03:05.080 teams could catch you there, and then tiebreakers come into place. 0:03:05.120 --> 0:03:08.079 So you know, if you're Bucks fan and you're you're 0:03:08.160 --> 0:03:10.120 trying to decide what you you know, what you need 0:03:10.160 --> 0:03:12.720 to root for. Three wins is almost certainly going to 0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:15.160 get it done. So uh and really the biggest game 0:03:15.240 --> 0:03:18.280 of those three is this first one against Minnesota. Yeah, 0:03:18.320 --> 0:03:20.359 that was gonna be My follow up is how important 0:03:20.440 --> 0:03:22.600 is this particular win When we talk about the kind 0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:25.919 of overall numbers of how many wins and the different 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:28.360 combinations of which teams that could come against over these 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:31.760 last four games, this one in particular, how much would 0:03:31.760 --> 0:03:33.720 a win or a loss be different than maybe one 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:35.840 of the other games. It would be really big. And 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:38.720 even coach Areas called it a huge game yesterday, and 0:03:38.760 --> 0:03:42.160 he's right. Minnesota is right behind the Bucks in the 0:03:42.200 --> 0:03:44.920 seventh seed with a six and six record, so obviously, 0:03:44.960 --> 0:03:47.520 if they were to beat the Buccaneers, both teams would 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:49.760 be seven and six, and Minnesota would have the tiebreaker 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:52.280 with that head to head win and thus would jump 0:03:52.360 --> 0:03:55.120 the Bucks in the in the rankings, and you just 0:03:55.160 --> 0:03:58.320 feel more secure at six because it's seven. Somebody catches 0:03:58.320 --> 0:04:01.240 you and has a tiebreaker on you, like say the Bears, 0:04:01.680 --> 0:04:04.880 then uh, then you're in trouble. So this is a 0:04:04.920 --> 0:04:06.720 big one. If the Bucks could win this and get 0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:09.640 to eight wins and push Minnesota down to six and seven. 0:04:09.680 --> 0:04:11.640 You know, they've won five of their last six games, 0:04:11.640 --> 0:04:13.280 so they're kind of hot right now and coming in 0:04:13.280 --> 0:04:16.280 with a full head of team. So, um, it's the Also, 0:04:16.360 --> 0:04:19.520 the buccaneers last three games against Atlanta twice in Detroite 0:04:19.520 --> 0:04:23.479 are all against teams with something like four and eight records, So, um, 0:04:23.480 --> 0:04:26.360 it's the one. It's the biggest one. It's the team 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:28.160 is always gonna say it's the biggest one anyway because 0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:30.000 it's the next one. But if you're just a fan 0:04:30.040 --> 0:04:32.080 looking at the next four games, this is the biggest one. 0:04:32.800 --> 0:04:34.280 And I know that we've got a little bit of 0:04:34.360 --> 0:04:37.480 media sessions since everybody came back from the bye week. Um, 0:04:37.520 --> 0:04:39.080 and some of these questions have been asked before the 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:40.960 bye week and then again, now, um, what did you 0:04:40.960 --> 0:04:42.800 feel like the team really took the bye week to 0:04:42.839 --> 0:04:45.839 do What were some of the um takeaways or lessons 0:04:45.920 --> 0:04:47.760 or things that you think they got out of this 0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:51.400 incredibly late bye week. Yeah, it was weird. This is 0:04:51.400 --> 0:04:54.599 the latest bye week the Buccaneers have had since bye 0:04:54.600 --> 0:04:57.800 weeks first started, and generally they've always gotten around weeks 0:04:57.800 --> 0:05:00.480 five or six. And in those years whereways, we always 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:03.080 felt like that was a disadvantage because you figure later 0:05:03.160 --> 0:05:05.680 in the year more likely that you'll have some injuries 0:05:05.680 --> 0:05:08.920 and just basic aches and pains that a bye week 0:05:08.920 --> 0:05:11.360 would help. But this is really really late, and coach 0:05:11.400 --> 0:05:12.840 had said a few weeks ago that he felt his 0:05:12.880 --> 0:05:15.680 team was tired. So what the bye week does for you, 0:05:16.200 --> 0:05:18.480 it's kind of different for players and coaches. For players, 0:05:18.520 --> 0:05:22.040 the main point is to rest, get mentally rejuvenated, relax. 0:05:22.560 --> 0:05:24.960 You know, if you've got minor injuries, hopefully you come 0:05:25.000 --> 0:05:27.400 back in better shape. Like say Donovan Smith and his 0:05:27.440 --> 0:05:29.719 ankle that he played through last week, Hopefully he's closer 0:05:29.760 --> 0:05:32.880 to now. Chris Godwin got the pins out of his finger. 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:35.279 Jamal Dean was on the practice field after missing the 0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:38.080 game with concussion, so it's helped in that regard. I 0:05:38.120 --> 0:05:41.039 did hear from Dominican sue that they did watch some 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:43.800 film during that period, which which is interesting so but 0:05:44.440 --> 0:05:46.320 not nearly as much as the coaches did. What the 0:05:46.360 --> 0:05:50.560 coaches used the bye week for is self evaluation of 0:05:50.600 --> 0:05:53.040 what happened in the previous twelve weeks. And they went 0:05:53.120 --> 0:05:55.839 into that bye week with all of the information already 0:05:55.839 --> 0:05:58.240 broken down. They reviewed everything, and now they were going 0:05:58.279 --> 0:06:01.960 to study it and try to figure out why and 0:06:02.000 --> 0:06:04.840 how to fix the biggest problem of the recent weeks, 0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:07.600 which is slow starts on both sides of the ball. 0:06:08.000 --> 0:06:10.680 And um Bruce says to him, he it's kind of 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:13.440 confirmed what he already thought going in. The problem on 0:06:13.520 --> 0:06:16.120 offense is not converting manageable third downs. I mean, you 0:06:16.120 --> 0:06:18.240 get their third and five, third and four, you need 0:06:18.279 --> 0:06:20.280 to make most of those. And the Bucks weren't early 0:06:20.320 --> 0:06:22.560 in the early in the games. And on defense, for 0:06:22.600 --> 0:06:25.120 some reason, they weren't matching the speed of the opposition 0:06:25.600 --> 0:06:27.320 early in the games, even though they could do it 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:29.800 as the game went on. So those are two things 0:06:29.800 --> 0:06:32.520 that they were focusing on. How exactly they fixed those things, 0:06:33.080 --> 0:06:34.599 you know, is something we'll have to wait and see. 0:06:35.400 --> 0:06:37.640 All right, we had a question from Mike. I thought 0:06:37.640 --> 0:06:38.800 this is a good one. He said, with the new 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:41.120 i R rules this year, is it possible to see 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:43.839 Vita back in time for the playoffs? That's a really 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:46.920 good question. And actually somebody did ask coach that I 0:06:46.960 --> 0:06:48.599 think it was last week and he said no, he 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:51.839 does not believe so. So that would be great, wouldn't it. 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:54.040 But it doesn't seem like it's going to happen. You're 0:06:54.120 --> 0:06:55.880 right about the i R rules, They would allow for 0:06:55.920 --> 0:06:58.640 that to happen, but doesn't seem like the team expects it. 0:06:58.960 --> 0:07:04.520 And does that include with playoffs versus regulars? Even with playoffs? Um, So, 0:07:04.560 --> 0:07:06.080 we had a few different people just bringing up this 0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:08.279 upcoming game against the Vikings and what are some of 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:11.880 the keys you think it will be? The biggest players, positions, 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:14.720 things that knowing how hot the Vikings are, how many 0:07:14.720 --> 0:07:17.200 they've they've won in a row, essentially, what are the 0:07:17.200 --> 0:07:19.120 biggest things that they bring to the table that we're 0:07:19.120 --> 0:07:20.920 gonna have to watch out for. Yeah, did you know 0:07:20.960 --> 0:07:23.360 how good of the season the Rickie receiver Justin Jefferson 0:07:23.400 --> 0:07:25.560 was happening? No, I did not. I knew he was 0:07:25.600 --> 0:07:28.160 doing well just from hearing various things on broadcast, But 0:07:28.200 --> 0:07:30.600 when I started working on the Vikings this week, and 0:07:30.600 --> 0:07:32.760 looking at the numbers, he's having one of the best 0:07:32.840 --> 0:07:35.960 rookie receiving seasons of all time. He's he's got I 0:07:35.960 --> 0:07:38.240 think the sixth most. He's got a thousand, thirty nine 0:07:38.320 --> 0:07:41.600 yards already, he's averaging seventeen yards and carry, I mean 0:07:41.600 --> 0:07:44.880 a catch. He's basically completely replaced any production they would 0:07:44.880 --> 0:07:46.840 have got from Stefan Diggs, who himself is having a 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:50.560 great year in Buffalo. Uh. But that doesn't make him 0:07:50.600 --> 0:07:53.520 the number one concern. The number one concern, as we know, 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:57.640 as Dominansue was stressing again yesterday, is Dalvin Cook and 0:07:57.680 --> 0:07:59.320 the running game and stopping at first and they get 0:07:59.360 --> 0:08:02.240 a hundred forty five yards a game. The Buccaneers allow 0:08:02.520 --> 0:08:05.080 basically half of that per game. So this is absolutely 0:08:05.120 --> 0:08:07.880 strength on strength. No individual rusher has gotten to a 0:08:07.960 --> 0:08:10.760 hundred yards against US. I think only one team has 0:08:10.760 --> 0:08:14.400 gotten to a hundred yards against US in the running game. Uh. If. 0:08:14.480 --> 0:08:16.200 If some things have been up and down this year, 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:19.000 the rush defense has not. It's been good virtually every week, 0:08:19.440 --> 0:08:21.640 and even against very good backs that have had a 0:08:21.680 --> 0:08:24.720 tough time cracking that and that has That's one of 0:08:24.720 --> 0:08:27.520 the reasons why the Bucks pass rush numbers are pretty 0:08:27.520 --> 0:08:30.640 good because they've succeeded in their goal of stopping the 0:08:30.720 --> 0:08:32.840 r on early and then having a better opportunity to 0:08:32.880 --> 0:08:35.520 rush the passers. So that's goal. That's goal number one 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:37.840 every week. And I only know that because they say 0:08:37.840 --> 0:08:40.120 that had every single week, but I think it's an 0:08:40.120 --> 0:08:43.720 even big deal this week. And uh, you know Dalvin Cook, 0:08:43.800 --> 0:08:46.520 he's great at breaking tackles. He's really good at the 0:08:46.559 --> 0:08:49.000 cutback run, you know, the quick plant the foot and 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:51.280 then go back to the backside. And that can be 0:08:51.320 --> 0:08:53.400 an issue because if you don't, if you're you're the 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:56.240 defender on that side, and you don't keep your containment 0:08:56.280 --> 0:08:58.480 over there, he could be gone. And one of the 0:08:58.520 --> 0:09:01.040 reasons why you might not keep your contain is because 0:09:01.800 --> 0:09:04.679 the Vikings with Kirk Cousins run a lot of bootlegs 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:07.320 and rollouts, and so they'll play action and he'll roll 0:09:07.360 --> 0:09:09.000 out and you think it's a rollout plane it's actually 0:09:09.120 --> 0:09:11.199 run or vice versa. And that's really one of the 0:09:11.240 --> 0:09:14.360 big difficulties of stopping this offense. Okay, yeah, that's a 0:09:14.400 --> 0:09:16.400 that's a great point. Um, all right. I like this 0:09:16.400 --> 0:09:18.599 when Richard asked, is Ryan suck up on pace? To 0:09:18.679 --> 0:09:23.400 have one of the best kicking seasons in Bucks history. 0:09:23.440 --> 0:09:26.800 I know, right, I know. On the it's like what 0:09:26.960 --> 0:09:29.880 Joe Buck did to Justice Tucker the other night. Did 0:09:29.880 --> 0:09:32.800 you hear that? He's like at five yard or he's 0:09:32.840 --> 0:09:35.080 made a billion in a row, and it's like, well, 0:09:35.200 --> 0:09:37.640 now you know he's gonna miss So he's he unpaced 0:09:37.679 --> 0:09:39.560 for what was the question, one of the best kicking 0:09:39.559 --> 0:09:42.640 seasons in Bucks histor? Yeah, he's he's missed too. He's 0:09:42.640 --> 0:09:45.720 something like twenty two the record for the Bucks by 0:09:45.760 --> 0:09:48.720 Connor Barth, the guy we really liked. Fun guy was 0:09:49.280 --> 0:09:52.960 I think, and you're thinking that you're kicked. I'm doing 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:54.480 this off the top of my head, so I apologize, 0:09:54.520 --> 0:09:58.360 but I think I've got it right. So basically, Ryan 0:09:59.040 --> 0:10:01.880 can get that record, just can't really miss anymore. And 0:10:02.120 --> 0:10:04.520 you know, hopefully he's made seventeen in a row, which 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:06.480 is the second longest streak we've ever had. And I 0:10:06.520 --> 0:10:08.920 don't mind saying that as a jinks because we already 0:10:08.920 --> 0:10:10.520 talked about it last week and then he still went 0:10:10.559 --> 0:10:12.240 ahead and made his kick and it's it's been in 0:10:12.280 --> 0:10:14.520 all of our notes. Prs putting it in their notes. 0:10:15.240 --> 0:10:17.120 You don't want to Jinks the kicker. But you can't 0:10:17.120 --> 0:10:19.640 just ignore these things. So I'd like to think it 0:10:19.760 --> 0:10:24.200 can't be a jinx unless it's during the game. That's 0:10:24.320 --> 0:10:26.240 my view of it is that during the week it 0:10:26.280 --> 0:10:29.440 doesn't count. It's the like right before the kick. That's 0:10:29.440 --> 0:10:32.440 when the jinks there's like a statute of limitations. That 0:10:32.520 --> 0:10:34.520 makes sense. I'll go with that. In that case, the 0:10:34.559 --> 0:10:36.920 answer is yes, he he could have right now. He 0:10:36.960 --> 0:10:39.360 does have one of the best kicker seasons in team history, 0:10:39.360 --> 0:10:41.240 and he also is on pace to break the record 0:10:41.320 --> 0:10:45.480 for scoring um Brian a hundred one in two thousand 0:10:45.559 --> 0:10:47.480 eight I think, and he's on pace to get that, 0:10:47.520 --> 0:10:49.120 he said, I think a hundred three or a d 0:10:49.280 --> 0:10:52.400 two with four games to go, so heasually get there. 0:10:52.640 --> 0:10:54.640 That's pretty great. Yeah, and see, I I just have 0:10:54.760 --> 0:10:56.959 my view that I am not superstitious. I am a 0:10:57.000 --> 0:11:02.920 little stitious. You're a little stitious and not superstitious superstitious 0:11:02.960 --> 0:11:06.120 that's my favorite. Okay. Delvin asked, do you feel the 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:08.800 absence of Scottie Miller has had an impact on our 0:11:08.840 --> 0:11:14.640 deep pass attack? Well, my initial reaction that is no. 0:11:15.240 --> 0:11:18.080 For one thing, he hasn't really been absent he's been there, 0:11:18.280 --> 0:11:19.840 so we could throw it to him if we want to, 0:11:20.080 --> 0:11:22.920 and we did. I believe one time it may have 0:11:22.960 --> 0:11:25.559 been played that was intercepted down the left sideline against 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:29.920 Kansas City. I think that was a throw to Scotty Miller. Um. 0:11:29.960 --> 0:11:32.080 You know, Scotty had a couple of deep catches, but 0:11:32.120 --> 0:11:34.480 so of other guys when we were when we were 0:11:34.520 --> 0:11:36.720 doing well in that regard, and then we did actually 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:38.160 did pretty well in that regard in the last game 0:11:38.200 --> 0:11:42.120 against Kansas City. So um, I don't think just his 0:11:42.480 --> 0:11:46.480 reduced playing time was the issue while that was going on. Now, okay, 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:47.880 well that is going to do it for us on 0:11:47.880 --> 0:11:50.640 this edition of Buccaneers Insider Live presented by Miller Lte. 0:11:50.640 --> 0:11:53.600 Thanks as always for all those amazing questions, Thanks for watching, 0:11:53.640 --> 0:12:02.600 and we'll be here next week. Gify water here, said 0:12:02.640 --> 0:12:03.360 the skil.