Five Things the 49ers Need to Know About the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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This Sunday, the 49ers will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have been surprisingly mediocre despite having a good defense, good weapons on offense and the greatest quarterback of his era.
To find out more about the Buccaneers and their matchup with the 49ers, I spoke to David Harrison, who writes for BucsGameday, part of the FanNation network. Here's what Harrison said.
1. Why has the Buccaneers offense struggled to score points this season?
HARRISON: "It definitely looks like Tom Brady is not supremely comfortable behind the offensive line. To a certain extent, that's to be expected. Left guard Ali Marpet retired. Center Ryan Jensen got injured on the first day of the offseason program. And then right guard Shaq Mason is experienced but new to the group. So it has been a jumble up front. Tristan Wirfs is also injured and missing time. So a lot of the quick throws you're seeing from Tom come from a lack of confidence, and the play calling of Byron Leftwich displays a lack of confidence in what that offensive line can truly provide the running game and passing game. And then Todd Bowles is a classic defensive-minded head coach who wants to control the ball, run the ball, control the clock but also let his defense be the hero of the day. All that combined is the reason you're seeing a very pedestrian offense out of Tampa Bay."
2. How good is the Bucs defense?
HARRISON: "It's definitely a top-10 defense and I think its biggest strength is versatility. They have some very talented defensive linemen who can impact the run and the pass. And of course they've got the linebackers behind them -- Devin White and Lavonte David are versatile enough to play in pass coverage and also impact the run game and pressure the quarterback as well. And when you look at the safeties, they have a solid combination if and when they're available, and that's kind of the key -- having all those guys available, so when Bowles sees what the opponent is doing in real time, if he needs to make an adjustment, there's a guy to fill whatever hole. Their weakness is some of the inexperience. Zyon McCollum, rookie cornerback, has a lot of promise and potential, but the potential is not met with the play on the field as of yet and he's getting exposed in some situations where he's having to play more than you would like him to."
3. What's the latest with the Bucs' injuries?
HARRISON: "The No. 1 tight end Cameron Brate missed last week's game with what's being disclosed as an illness. He still has that illness designation, but he has been at practice so expect to see him back on the field. Sean Murphy-Bunting, I think he'll return to action. He missed the Saints game but has been practicing in a limited fashion. Vita Vea is listed but he's going to play. Tristan Wirfs is out. Antoine Winfield Jr. and Mike Edwards, the two safeties who missed practice all last week and missed the Saints game, they missed practice all week this week. I don't expect either of those guys to play, and that really damages the versatility I was just talking about with the Buccaneers defense, and that puts Logan Ryan and Keanu Neal in starting roles. Ryan is a veteran who's a little bit limited in his knowledge of the scheme, and Neal is very very limited as a safety. He doesn't have a lot of coverage ability."
4. Predict the final score.
HARRISON: "The 49ers should win this game, considering the way the Buccaneers offense has been not playing and the way the Buccaneers defense can get victimized if it's missing certain players. But my gut has said 24-17 Tampa Bay. Tom Brady is getting his second crack at playing in San Francisco, and I don't care how old he gets, his dream is to play in San Francisco -- not necessarily that stadium, but still in San Francisco. This is his opportunity to do it. This is going to be a different kind of game for him, it's going to put him on a different level, the team is going to want to play for him even more. So I think you're going to see the Bucs put it together a little more than usual."
5. What is in store for Tom Brady's future?
HARRISON: "There are some rumors that he's eyeing a potential return to New England. I don't know that I believe it, but last December the rumors about the Dolphins situation started to fly around, and it turns out they were pretty true. So maybe these rumors are true as well. But I feel the 49ers have to be the frontrunners. If you look at why Brady chose the Buccaneers, it was a team that's Super Bowl ready, they had weapons, they had a good defense and warmer weather. You look at the 49ers, they have just as many weapons, the defense is immaculate, you have a coach who fits Tom who's looking for fun toward the late stages of his career, and I think Kyle Shanahan can give him that. You have John Lynch who's a former player and a former Buc, so I think there's a connection there. And it's the 49ers. His parents are there. He grew up watching Joe Montana and the 49ers. And Tom may be an older guy, but he's still a guy playing a kid's game and that whole thing is rooted in childhood dreams. I feel like that's what's going to happen."
