8 Things To Watch In Tonight’s Bucs-Titans Game

August 18th, 2018

Ahhh, it’s a football Saturday!!

Here’s eight things Joe will be looking for tonight as the Bucs face the Titans (not including cheerleaders.)

*O.J. Howard didn’t catch a pass in the preseason opener last week, while fellow tight end Cameron Brate hauled in five. Joe would love to see Howard get more action tonight. The hype around Howard and his 26 career catches has been extraordinary. Making a few preseason plays certainly could bolster his confidence.

*Hello, Ronald Jones! Questionable hands, questionable ball security and questionable special teams play is a nasty trifecta for a 21-year-old rookie gunning for a significant role. Inside the halls of One Buc Palace, Jones’ attitude and work ethic are highly respected, but he’s a work in progress. Jones needs one breakout preseason game (not necessarily tonight) if he wants to be a significant Day 1 option for Dirk Koetter when it counts.

*Vernon Hargreaves likely is in street clothes with his bad groin. That means plenty of time for maligned cornerback Ryan Smith, who really needs to prove he’s anything more than a highly suspect No. 4 corner.

*Is the Bucs defensive line really a deep and quality unit? The paper version looks awesome, but DE Vinny Curry has been slow to adjust unlike his counterpart Jason Pierre-Paul, who has been an animal so far. Noah Spence wasn’t exactly tearing it up against the Dolphins’ second teamers and he’s gotten banged up in practice. Will Gholston has had a very disappointing training camp. And Beau Allen and Gerald McCoy appear to be their consistent selves, while Vita Vea and Mitch Unrein have battled injuries. Vea hasn’t practiced this month. Joe would like to see a more encouraging outing from this unit tonight.

*Rookie safety Jordan Whitehead. If he looks as good as he did last week, then that could deliver a fast shakeup to the Bucs’ starting lineup. Joe expects him to get some first-team reps against the Titans.

*All eyes on right guard. Evan Smith, the sole survivor of the Bucs’ big-name free agent haul of 2014, started the preseason opener. Will Caleb Benenoch or rookie Alex Cappa get their shot tonight?

*Chandler Catanzaro’s missed extra point and long-range field goal last week against Miami was a real kick in the groin to every Bucs fan and team official. That’s unfair to Catanzaro, but that’s the Tampa Bay reality after years of a three-ring circus the kicker position. Catanzaro has to be good tonight to avoid mass panic.

*RB Dare Ogunbowale is a guy to watch closely. He arrived at the University of Wisconsin as a defensive back and played his final two seasons at running back, averaging 4.8 yards per carry on 285 rushes. The dude looks the part and channels his defensive skills well on special teams. He was signed early this month but might just have a better shot at the final-53 than overhyped undrafted rookie RB Shaun Wilson.

30 Responses to “8 Things To Watch In Tonight’s Bucs-Titans Game”

  1. BearLeeLegal916 Says:

    All good things to watch for. I’d also like to see how all the young RBs do in pass pro. That’s usually the difference maker them.

  2. Rod Munch Says:

    I’m going to guess Ryan Smith will get burned on at least 4 passes, then he’ll make one tackle where he shows great speed and people will think he’s someone worth keeping around.

  3. Kobe Faker Says:

    I think the Bucs 1st team starters are going to get massacred. Tenn looks good to go to the AFC Championship game this year.

    Davis and white is going to make a mockery of our pass defense in the 1st quarter

  4. Pickgrin Says:

    I say let OJ Howard block all pre-season – then feature him in the passing game early vs New Orleans. They won’t know what hit them….

  5. Defense Rules Says:

    Everything this year hinges on improved DLine play (QB pressure & stopping the run), as well as improved OLine play (better run blocking & pass protection). If the beasts in the trenches git er done, Bucs can have a winning season. If they don’t, we’ll wind up going back to Square One unfortunately.

  6. DB55 Says:

    Yea OJ has been our best tackle thus far. Honestly think Donald Penn had more targets.

    All eyes on the right side of the oline. Im looking for Seaton to take over the RT job and As for Caleb and Evan Smith all I can do is smh

    Looking for ME to get some yac and looking for Djax to catch a bomb for a score.

    Looking at Bobo making plays in special teams and wr

    Watching Teflon Kwon, see if he can wrap-up

    Watching the dline, see if they can get any push against Tenn oline, get any pressure on mr. glass I mean Mariota

    Finally watching to see if JPP is going to carry the dline once again.

    I would hope Whitehead is a foregone conclusion

    5 games on today, I’m a happy guy.

  7. Stanglassman Says:

    That’s a bold prediction that Dare (7 att for 15 yards 2.1 aypc) will beat out Shawn Wilson for that last Rb spot. I’m looking forward to seeing both he and Wilson over the next 3 games. I’d also like to see a few offensive snaps to Whitehead giving him the ball in space and seeing what he can do.

  8. Bird Says:

    I understand the Ryan smith comment , but I want to see one of the new guys they just signed step up

    Unfortunately , I have seen enough from Ryan smith . He knows the system better but He can’t be trusted The opposing team will continue to throw to any receiver he is matched up against

  9. Bird Says:

    Agree

    Want to see some Shaun Wilson. Perfect quick scat back /third down back to go with barber.

    Unfortunately ROJO needs time to get some MOJO

  10. Bob in Valrico Says:

    I am hoping for a solid showing from somebody on the right corner. In order for
    Vh3 to make have a comeback, he needs to be on the field regaining his confidence. He was shut down last year and is injured again. Carlton Davis has a chance to take this job and not look back.

  11. Bob in Valrico Says:

    Agree with Defense Rules on the Dline, but I also think we will see a heavy dose of running by Titans. The Bucs success against the run will be interesting to watch.

  12. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    I am looking for Shaun Wilson…..Carlton Davis & MJ Stewart’s play.

    Also, our pass rush with JPP, Curry & Spence….

  13. Jman5 Says:

    I don’t think Bucs first team will get massacred simply because Jax didn’t massacre them last year in preseason. But would have in regular season. I use Jax because they went to AFCCF and are comparable to your claim. Though they do have a superior qb than Jax

  14. Bob in Valrico Says:

    In other news McCaffree of the panthers broke free for a 71 yard burst. This is ominous,because he has mostly been a pass receiving back. Article stated Norv Turner has plans to run him much more this season. Hope we see great improvement in that area from Bucs Dline starting tonight.

  15. Godeep66 Says:

    All great points Joe. I would also like to see DJax return a punt or two.

  16. Pryda... sec147 Says:

    I’d like to see a deep bomb to D-Jax ! Jameis going through his progressions and not turning the ball over.

  17. Buc1987 Says:

    The defense.

    Period.

  18. Alphabucfan Says:

    Go Bucs

  19. Kevin Says:

    Noah actullay did kinda tear it up last week. He was in on quite a few hours plays.

  20. LUVMYBUCS Says:

    Players to watch out for

    Running backs
    RB Dare Ogunbowale | Shaun Wilson

    Offensive Line
    C Ryan Jensen
    RG Caleb Benenoch
    Note: This run block was terrible against Miami

    Receivers/Kick Returners
    WR Bobo Wilson – Our new Kick Returner?
    WR Sergio Bailey

    Defensive Line
    DT William Gholston

    Linebackers
    MLB Riley Bullough
    SLB Jack Cichy

    Defensive Back
    CB Javien Elliott

  21. LUVMYBUCS Says:


    Offensive Line
    C Ryan Jensen
    RG Caleb Benenoch
    Note: As a unit, Our run blocking was terrible against Miami

  22. LUVMYBUCS Says:

    Kwon Alexander’s the 2.0 version of Barrett Rudd IMO.
    So expect more of the same Ol Kwon – you’ve been seeing the past couple seasons.
    #ThisSh!tAintNothin’New

  23. unbelievable Says:

    Spawn is injured again?

    Bummer.

  24. Easy Says:

    Let’s see if Ronald Jones gets some carries behind the first team O-Line. I don’t wanna see Barber play more than a series or two because we know what he is.

  25. Jmarkbuc Says:

    Isn’t there an Igwebuike on the roster?

  26. firethecannons Says:

    Isn’t the Ryan Smith experiment over yet–thought that long ago fizzled out and should be put to history. We have new guys that need experience. Really let us move on from him–he just keeps disappointing us.

  27. Cobraboy Says:

    I’m looking for signs of life from Gholston.

  28. SOEbuc Says:

    O.J probably didn’t get any catches last week because he was likely playing #1 RT in his snaps. We had a solid looking O-line last week. Hmmm…???

  29. SOEbuc Says:

    For sure gonna be looking for the rookie DBs.

  30. Owlykat Says:

    Would love to see Shaun or VJax to return a kick for a touchdown and no missed kicks. Looking forward to see Monken’s superior playcalling again. I love watching Seaton block at RG again and Smith was decent at RG. The left side of the OL looked the best ever blocking that side. I want to see Jensen do some pull blocking to open up the perimeter for Jones or Wilson. I want all three QBs to look great again with no turnovers. Want to see our DL get sacks, pressures, and knockdowns. Want to see some blitzes again and a lot of our young DBs jamming their receivers and disrupting Mariota’s timing. How about total domination in the trenches?