Das Forum » Five reasons to be optimistic of the Bucs moving forward

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 2-2 and are on their bye week this week before facing the Atlanta Falcons in week 6. While many fans would have taken a 2-2 record going into the bye week Tampa Bay Buccaneers Hats , there’s a sour taste around the team after their play the last two weeks. While the negatives are obvious, there are some things with this team to be positive about moving forward. 1.Mike Evans and DeSean JacksonCurrently, the Buccaneers have the best 1-2 punch in the NFL this season at the wide receiver position. Evans is ranked 6th with 426 yards receiving, while Jackson is ranked 7th with 424. No other team has two receivers ranked in the top 10 in that category. Since week one, Evans and Jackson have arguably been Tampa Bay’s most consistent players week in and week out. Jackson still has top notch speed at his position and Evans has been a man on a mission ever since training camp began. The return of Jameis Winston will bode well for these two moving forward and I expect both to easily exceed the 1,000 yard mark this season. In fact, both are on pace for 1,600 yards. 2. The return of Vita Vea and Beau Allen as well as Mitch Unrein. The team will have to wait a few more weeks on Unrein, but all signs point to Vea and Allen returning after the bye week fully healthy and ready to go. All three being healthy will give the Buccaneers exactly what they envisioned back when training camp began in July. As the season goes on, Vea will only get better and will help free up other players on the defensive line. Since Allen went down in week 2, the run defense hasn’t been the same. He will improve that area for sure. We haven’t seen Unrein, but he is a veteran and will undoubtedly add another body to the defensive rotation. 3. The return of starter Kendell Beckwith.Yeah, this is big and seems to have been forgotten amongst many of us. Beckwith was spectacular last year as a rookie Tampa Bay Buccaneers Hoodie , but the injury he sustained in the off season was unfortunate and has kept him out through the first 4 games. He is eligible to return week 7 against the Cleveland Browns and if he’s healthy, he needs to be inserted right away. The defense needs a spark and Beckwith is their best coverage linebacker and should help in that department. 4. Jason Pierre Paul is off to a hot startPierre Paul is on pace for a 16 sack season and has been the team’s best defensive lineman through four games, by far. With the return of Vita Vea, JPP is going to get even more one on one looks than he has early in the season and I expect him to take full advantage of those opportunities. At this current pace, JPP would be the first Buccaneers defensive end to reach 10+ sacks since Simeon Rice did it in 2005. JPP has been a much needed boosts to this defensive line and is just another shrewd move by general manager Jason Licht that has paid dividends for this Buccaneers football team. 5. Jameis Winston is officially BACK. Don’t put any stock into last week. Winston was just average in Week 4, but the Bears knew every play would be a pass and it was easy for them to defend the Buccaneers in that case. Whether fans believe it or not, Winston is clearly the better quarterback than Fitzpatrick and will give this team a chance to win week in and week out. Everything on the offensive side of the ball is set up for him. He has all the weapons in the world, an improved offensive line and a play caller in Todd Monken who seems to have a good idea on what he’s doing. It’s all on Winston and people should expect Winston to rise to the challenge for the rest of the season. The Buccaneers are technically still in the playoff hunt, but they would need to win their remaining five games and get some help to play in the postseason. It doesn’t feel like there is much riding on games these days for Tampa Bay, but there are some individual and team records that could be broken in the coming weeks. Additionally, there are some other records that players are working their way toward as the season winds down.With that said, let’s see where things stand heading into Sunday’s home game against the Panthers.Career ReceptionsWith 371 receptions in his career, Mike Evans is 60 away from owning the franchise record. James Wilder (430) currently holds the top spot.Career Passing YardsJameis Winston is at 13 Customized Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys ,328 passing yards for his career, which is the third-most in franchise history. He needs 207 more to pass Josh Freeman (13,534) for second all-time.Career Passing TouchdownsWinston has 79 passing touchdowns in his career, leaving him two away from owning the franchise record that is currently held by Josh Freeman (80). Career CompletionsWith 1,076 completions, Winston is fourth in Bucs history. He needs 42 more to pass Trent Dilfer (1,117) for third. Career Passing AttemptsWinston’s 1,746 career passing attempts have him fifth in franchise history. He is 145 away from taking fourth from Doug Williams (1,890).Career Rushing TouchdownsWinston has nine rushing touchdowns in his career, leaving him two away from passing Michael Pittman (10) for 13th.Peyton Barber found the end zone last week against the 49ers to bring his touchdown total to seven. He is now in sole possession of 16th in franchise history, needing two more to pass James Owens (eight) for 15th. Two more would also pull him into a 14th-place tie with Winston.Jacquizz Rodgers has three rushing scores in his Buccaneer career, putting him in a tie for 29th. He needs one more to tie for 26th.Career TacklesLavonte David looks to be returning from injury on Sunday, which means he has a chance to inch closer to third place in career tackles. He is currently in fourth with 603 www.authenticstampabaybuccaneers.com , needing 78 more to pass Hardy Nickerson (680).Gerald McCoy is tied with Tanard Jackson for 22nd in team history with 212 career tackles. He can take sole possession of 22nd with one more tackle. He is 16 tackles away from passing Reuben Davis (227) for 21st.Career SacksWith 54 1鈦? sacks, McCoy is third in franchise history. He needs 15 1鈦? more to pass Simeon Rice (69 1/2) for second.Career SafetiesLavonte David has one career safety, which ties him for the franchise record. He can own the record by himself with one more.Career InterceptionsDavid has 10 interceptions in his career, placing him tied for 17th in team history. One more would tie him for 15th with Jermaine Phillips and Jeremiah Castille.Career Passes DefendedBrent Grimes is questionable for Sunday’s game, but if he plays, he’ll have a chance to inch closer to sixth place in passes defended. He has 38 in his time with the Bucs, so he needs five more to pass John Lynch (42) for sixth.Lavonte David is at 37 passes defended in his career, leaving him tied for eighth with Simeon Rice. He needs two more to pass Grimes for seventh.Career Fumble RecoveriesDavid is tied with Ronde Barber (12) for most fumble recoveries in franchise history. One more would give him sole possession of the record.Career Forced FumblesDavid has 18 forced fumbles in his career, meaning he needs two more to pass Simeon Rice (19) for second all-time.Career Games PlayedGerald McCoy is set to play in his 119th game with the Bucs, which pulls him into sole possession of 17th all-time.Demar Dotson is doubtful for Sunday, so he will likely have to wait a week to tie Donald Penn (112) for 23rd in games played.Lavonte David finally appears ready for his 101st career game, which ties him for 33rd in team history with Ian Beckles and Jeremy Trueblood.Single-Season Receiving YardsMike Evans has 1,073 receiving yards this season. He needs 350 more yards to break the single-season record of 1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers T-Shirt ,422 that currently belongs to Mark Carrier (1989). Evans needs to average 70 yards per game the rest of the way to break the record. Single-Season Receiving TouchdownsEvans owns the team record for touchdown catches in a season, putting up 12 in both 2014 and 2016. He has five this season, so there’s work to be done with just five games left. DeSean Jackson, Chris Godwin and Adam Humphries all have four.Single-Season SacksJason Pierre-Paul is up to 10 1鈦? sacks on the season. He needs 6 1鈦? more to break Warren Sapp’s single-season record of 16 1/2, which he set in 2000.Single-Season Total Yards (Team)The Bucs have put up 4,997 yards as a team this season. The single-season franchise record for total yards is 6,014, which was set in 2015. The offense needs to average 203.6 yards per game over its final five games to break the record. Single-Season Passing Yards (Team)Jameis Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick have combined for 3,914 passing yards this season. The franchise record for team passing yards in a single season is 4,366, which was set last year. Over the final five games, the Bucs need to average 90.6 passing yards per game to break the record.