Ship Righted On Special Teams

August 26th, 2013

One could say preseason is meaningless, but it’s not. Final scores are meaningless, but the performances of individuals and units are worth evaluating.

The Bucs’ special teams were downright awful against the Ravens, but the special-teams ship was righted against the Patriots and looked downright strong against the Dolphins outside missed tackles on one punt coverage. That’s progress worth noting. Coach Dave Wannstedt deserves a pat on the back.

The Bucs’ coverage teams forced — not lucked out and recovered — two turnovers in Miami on Saturday. Michael Adams wouldn’t quit and drove his blocker into the Dolphins’ punt returner calling a fair catch. Tom Crabtree stripped the ball on another return (see photo above). Bucs 21-year-old wide receiver Eric Page looks like a very legitimate returner and clearly has won the job. And the overall kicking and punting game was very strong.

Overall, the Bucs special teams were below average last season and there’s a lot of room to improve.

Special teams captain Adam Hayward told Joe about the differences in special teams this season and why he expected improvement. It appears to be happening.

5 Responses to “Ship Righted On Special Teams”

  1. Bobby Says:

    Yes! Now, wouldn’t it be nice if we could right the entire offense that quickly?
    I saw improvement on defense so I’m not really that concerned about that end, especially once you inject Revis into the mix. The O-line though…..that does concern me. Hopefully Bostad gets that straightened out.

  2. buc4life24 Says:

    One area that has shown improvement, waiting for the other concern areas to do the same (Offense as a whole, and pass D keeping long drives from happening)D-Line has showed some improvement too…Spence is a MONSTER in the making!

    Joe- what were Haywards comments about the differences?

    Still my favorite site to get up-to-date Bucs coverage!!

  3. RBellBuc Says:

    Wasn’t it just yesterday everyone was screaming for Wannstedt’s head. lol

  4. Clintro Says:

    Great to see the ST picking it up!

    I wouldn’t be to concerned about the offensive line. They did OK last year when the injuries struck. They will coach them up!

  5. tampabaybucfan Says:

    @Bobby

    I agree that the defense looked pretty good and that was without Revis. Just his presence on the field will make a huge difference.
    Many of these off season moves will have a positive impact on special teams. We are already starting to see some of that.
    As for the offense……don’t panic….I think it will all come together when the season starts.