Buccaneers Legend Mike Alstott Says Young Players 'Starting to Find Their Role'
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers haven't had the best season up to this point, but with the back nine still left to play, there's plenty of football ahead of the first-place team in the NFC South.
Coming off a comeback win over the Los Angeles Rams, the Bucs broke their losing streak, and have many wondering if we've seen the team reach their turning point.
Tampa Bay legend Mike Alstott thinks maybe we have.
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"Having (Tom Brady) and his wide receiver crew back healthy they can start being able to do both phases of the game," Alstott said about the struggles and continuing development of the Buccaneers' offense. "Everybody talks about the running game, but again if you don't have a passing game everybody's just solely going to concentrate on the running game knowing that they can't pass the ball...I think they'll have both attacks in effect this week."
Alstott told that to BucsGameday from Rose Barracks in Vilseck, Germany on Wednesday, just after he finished coaching military members through NFL drills as part of the league's ongoing Salute to Service campaign.
The event was presented by the league's partner in honoring the military community, USAA.
"We're just out here having a great time and service members are just having a great time," Alstott said with Soldiers in the background having just finished the day's competition. "Just showing our appreciation, (Seattle Seahawks legend Shaun Alexander) and I, for the troops and for Germany in general, and for everybody that serves our country."
Impressively, Alstott said one Soldier ran a 4.6 hand-timed 40-yard dash, and another threw a pass that traveled over 50 air yards.
Brady's longest pass in air yards this season is 57.5, so here's hoping that troop isn't the only one throwing bombs in Germany this weekend.
As great as Brady has been, he can't do it alone. In Week 9 against the Rams, he didn't.
Younger Buccaneers like team captain Vita Vea disrupted Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and his offense.
Meanwhile, rookie tight end Cade Otton contributed with some clutch plays late including making the game-winning catch.
And they weren't the only ones.
Alstott says it's going to be important for those young Bucs to continue blending in with the veterans and sees it happening before our very eyes.
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"It's hard as a rookie, it's hard as a young guy. To get acclimated and understand the NFL. It's a different game from college," said Alstott. "They're starting to get acclimated and everybody's starting to find their role...They're stepping up to the challenge and then the veterans are coming back and getting healthy. And so you have this nucleus (with) a lot of guys with experience and a lot of guys that don't...and it's coming together. You could see that the other night, you can see them playing that way...and a lot of guys participated in that victory."
A team full of stars, Tampa Bay got their fourth win of the season leaning on some of the lesser experienced, and even less celebrated members of its roster.
Alstott sees this all as growth toward being the team we all thought they could be before the season began.
And if those contributors continue to perform along with the veterans who are getting healthy and up to speed, the Super Bowl champion thinks the Bucs are ready to take that next step as the second half of the season gets started, this weekend.
Listen to the full conversation with Alstott on the Locked On Bucs podcast.
Stick with BucsGameday for more coverage on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the season.
