More Opportunities
October 20th, 2016
No VJax means more passes for Cameron Brate & Co.
News of Vincent Jackson likely seeing the last of his Bucs days after being placed on injured reserve sent more than a few Bucs fans into freakout mode this week.
Understandable. We all saw what happened to the offense when Jackson got hurt last year.
For Bucs tight end Cameron Brate, while the Jackson news is a total bummer, he believes this is a chance for others to make plays that otherwise would not come to them.
“I wouldn’t say [Jackson’s absence] puts any pressure on me personally,” the Harvard graduate said. “We have some good players who are definitely going to get a better opportunity to catch some balls.
“Any time a guy like VJax goes down, it is going to hurt your offense. With injuries come opportunities, so whether it is me, Adam [Humphries], Brandon [Myers], Luke [Stocker] Cecil [Shorts], D.D. [misplaced Calgary Stampeder Donteea Dye,] who we just got back, which is awesome — it just means more opportunities to make some plays.”
So this means, in Joe’s mind, America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, is going to have to distribute the ball more. Spread the wealth.
That tells Joe that Jameis better be reading defenses correctly.
October 20th, 2016 at 4:00 pm
I have him as a cheap flex option in one of my lineups. He’s poised to have a good day as TEs seem to do well against the 49ers.
October 20th, 2016 at 4:15 pm
we’ll see what dirk and smitty have cooked up…they’ve had some time to really study and dissect the 9ers….run the ball….play solid defense….have jameis manage the game…we should win….GO BUCS!!!!
October 20th, 2016 at 4:47 pm
I wonder why they never mention russel shepard?
I think he is the 2nd best receiver after evans13. Strange
October 20th, 2016 at 4:54 pm
Jameis has been dialed in on Evans and Humphries for the most part so far this year. Spread the ball around? He’ll have to break his habits first. Hopefully, that is happening over this bye week.
October 20th, 2016 at 5:02 pm
This is all assuming Winston shows up and plays winning football. Since the last 4 games of 2015 Winston has been nothing short of mediocre to rotten.
16 TD
14 INT
80 QB rating
That puts him near the very bottom of the league ratings. Yes he had a good game against Atlanta, but aside from that he’s right above Ryan Fitzpatrick, Josh McCown and Geno Smith in effectiveness. He’s not a rookie anymore. And he’s not America’s QB. I’m a huge Bucs fan, but I’m not drinking the Winston is a franchise QB Kool Aid. Sorry Joe.
October 20th, 2016 at 5:37 pm
You gotta appreciate this fella Brate…ivy leaguer….minimum wage…while players making upper seven figures this season are done.
October 20th, 2016 at 5:40 pm
Wouldn’t mind seeing Humphries get some looks downfield. I think his speed is under valued. He’s as much of a burner as we have on this team at the moment. No he can’t be a consistent #2 (do we even have one right now??) but some designed plays to let him use his speed in open space would be great instead of only the underneath stuff. Hopefully Louis Murphy can return and give us something consistent at #2
October 20th, 2016 at 5:47 pm
Humphries 40 time isn’t impressive (just looked it up) but he passes the eye test at least when it comes to game speed. Maybe he doesn’t have the breakaway speed who knows. We just need SOMEONE who can stretch the field right now so Evans doesn’t get perpetually double covered and shut down
October 20th, 2016 at 6:03 pm
Vjax caught 3 passes per game…we may miss his presence…but certainly not his production. I like our chances with more speed at WR.
October 20th, 2016 at 6:12 pm
Brate making minimum wage?!?
The league minimum for a guy with his experience is $525,000 so he’s not exactly scrounging for cash…
October 20th, 2016 at 6:23 pm
unbelievable, it is for some of us.
Not me. 😉
October 20th, 2016 at 6:27 pm
I didn’t realize there was that much money in free copies of elf erotica….who knew?!
October 20th, 2016 at 7:30 pm
Winston will do great when he leaves Tampa just like almost everyone else! Sad but true 🏈
October 20th, 2016 at 7:50 pm
Let’s see: Evans, Hump, Brate, and that’s just a start. Those 3 can spread a field. DK sees and gameplans for that one, and the 49ers will hate it. Murphy is not cleared to play yet, correct Joe? We have guys coming back: GMC, Stocker, etc. Martin will not start according to the latest on here, so what? Go Tampa Bay on Sunday in San Fran and Why Not??!
October 20th, 2016 at 7:59 pm
Its go time Jameis time to streak!
October 20th, 2016 at 8:10 pm
IN order to be reliable you gotta be on the field. Martin historically has never been consistently healthy and although Ayers talks a good game, he rarely plays. Let’s not forget about IR Sweezy. Great moves Litch!
October 20th, 2016 at 10:00 pm
Ahhh, some of you make sense, careful, the feelings police will be in and tell us how we’re not good Bucs fans.
October 21st, 2016 at 1:57 am
Many people thought Winston would be a break-out candidate for this season. He’s breaking out alright…to the downside.
Great QB’s consistently play well and lift their team above their talent or coaching level.
Average QB’s play well when the coaching and personnel are in place, poorly when those things are missing.
Bad QB’s play bad 90% of the time but will have a decent game just often enough to keep bad talent evaluators hoping against hope, but never actually live up to expectations.
Which one is Jameis Winston?
October 21st, 2016 at 10:01 am
Spread the wealth as he did in Philly last year should work just fine again. But make sure that Rodgers has plenty of holes to make their defense struggle.