Close losses key in Koetter’s mind
TAMPA — This week’s three-day minicamp was the final push in the Bucs’ offseason, with about six weeks now until the team reconvenes in late July for training camp and the real preamble to the 2018 season.
So what, if anything, can be gleaned from the past five weeks of non-contact practice as the Bucs seek to build a new identity in moving on from a disappointing 5-11 season?
“I think what we learned is the new additions are going to help us a lot, not only the free agents but the draft picks,” coach Dirk Koetter said after Thursday’s practice, the 12th and final fullsquad practice of this phase. “[GM] Jason [Licht] did an awesome job with the guys he added to our team, and I think the guys that are returning are really serious about putting their best forward.”
The biggest change, and the biggest need for change, is on defense, where the Bucs ranked last in the NFL in sacks, last on third downs and last in passing yards allowed. There are five new players on the defensive line alone, headlined by end Jason Pierre-Paul and rookie tackle Vita Vea, and the newcomers have impressed as much as they can in what is intended to be non-contact work.
“The D-line set the tempo in practice every day,” Koetter said. “We’re supposed to be in no-contact. I don’t know how much you could tell, but if that’s no contact, I wouldn’t want to be in there.”
Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, leading the returning part of the defensive line, said adding talent isn’t enough, that there’s work to be done and any progress can’t be appreciated until the defense can starting really hitting.
“You can’t play real football without pads,” he said. “Coach spoke highly of us, but he knows, as well as everybody else, that you don’t really find out what you have until you put the pads on. I’m excited about the progress we’ve made in the offseason. It gives us something to look forward going into training camp.”
McCoy points to the strong line play that helped the Eagles and Patriots to the Super Bowl last season, and hopes the Bucs’ emphasis on improving both lines can lead to immediate improvement. McCoy now goes directly up against the NFL’s highestpaid center in free agent Ryan Jensen, who now leads a retooled Bucs offensive line, with Ali Marpet shifted to left guard.
The rookie class will be much more than just Vea, with three second-round picks at key positions in running back Ronald Jones and cornerbacks M.J. Stewart and Carlton Davis. All three are picking up new systems and terminology quickly, but they’ll really get to prove themselves in August, when starting jobs are on the line.
Koetter has emphasized the number of close games his team played in last year, and all too often, came out losing.
“When you’re 3-7 in onescore games, that really puts everything into perspective,” Koetter said. “You’re sitting at home, 5-11, versus Atlanta [who was] 6-4 in one-score games and gets in as a wild card.”
There are health questions that will be answered by next month, with two starting linemen recovering from injuries in guard J.R. Sweezy (fibula) and Demar Dotson (knee), as well as second-year linebacker Kendell Beckwith returning after fracturing his ankle in a car accident this spring.