Young Buccaneers 'Have Been Doing Great' Says Head Coach, Todd Bowles
Two weeks ago, mentioning the playoffs when discussing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was met with scoffs and sarcastic praise for leading the NFL's least-impressive division thus far.
Now, after back-to-back wins over the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks, things are looking better.
Not great, at 5-5, but better.
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And while the team full of champions, legends, and veterans has seemingly gotten things going in the right direction, there's a new class of impact players wearing pewter these past couple of weeks.
Their names consist of rookies like running back Rachaad White and tight end Cade Otton, and re-emerging young talents like receiver Scotty Miller.
And they aren't the only ones.
"Those guys have been doing great," said Bucs head coach Todd Bowles about his rookie class. "Jason (Licht) and them do a great job of identifying guys that are mentally tough and mentally smart enough and the game's not too big for them. They just love to play football and it doesn't always come in the form of maybe the most talented players, but the guys that come in are ready to play right now. They do a great job of studying, as well as understanding what they need to do on the field and those guys have come through big for us."
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As it turns out, some of these rookies couldn't have chosen a better time to turn their play up a notch.
With veteran tight end Cameron Brate recovering from an injury suffered in the Buccaneers' loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Otton was able to pick up some slack and caught the game-winning touchdown against the Rams.
Then, this past week, with running back Leonard Fournette a near non-participant due to passport issues, White prepared to carry a heavier workload and did just that in a strong win overseas.
And now, Fournette is dealing with a hip injury.
The injury may not require him to miss time, but if it does Tampa Bay will be happy to have a capable rookie ready to step up.
Stick with BucsGameday and the Locked On Bucs podcast for more coverage on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the season.
