Anleitungen » Mike Smith spoke to the media ahead of Sunday’s matchup

The Buccaneers have moved on from their week one win over the New Orleans Saints Buccaneers Chandler Catanzaro Jersey , which means the team is in full preparation mode for their game against the defending champs. The Eagles will visit Raymond James Stadium this weekend and both teams will have an opportunity to get to 2-0. There were many positives to take away from Sunday’s win for the Bucs, but there were negatives as well, mostly on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive coordinator Mike Smith spoke to the media on Wednesday afternoon and acknowledged that his defense still has a wayto go. “When you have your first game of the season, you usually have a lot of work to do. Not all the time, but a majority of the time,” Smith said. “I thought that there were periods of that game that we played solid defense. We did some things very well, in terms of taking the ball away, scoring on defense and defending the run.” After the first three Saints drives, many fans were calling for Smith to be fired on the spot, but the takeaways his defense created, turned out to be what decided the game. Without those two forced fumbles, Tampa Bay is likely to be on the other end of the stick. “Taking the ball away in the NFL is the number one indicator of whether you are going to win or lose. When you score on defense, there is a good chance you’re going to win the game,” Smith said. News broke on Wednesday morning that Vernon Hargreaves will miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury suffered in Sunday’s win. With Grimes also dealing with a groin injury, rookies M.J. Stewart and Carlton Davis, will now become full time starters. Smith is confident in their ability moving forward. “Those young guys [Stewart and Davis] that we drafted last year in April Cheap Mike Evans Jersey , we knew that they were going to have to come in and contribute. We didn’t think that it was going to be week one and week two, but they have a good understanding of what needs to be done in the secondary,” Smith said. “They are resilient guys, their tough guys and that’s what you have to be when you play DB in this league.”While preparing for the Eagles, the Buccaneers have turned to Vinny Curry and Beau Allen for a little insight on their former team.“They are a great resource for us. They know a bunch of guys on that team,” Smith said. “They have been able to give us some information and we think that will help us going forward. It’s going to be an emotional game for those guys as well, and we want them to be even keeled as much as possible.” There is no secret that Doug Pederson is one of the more aggressive play callers in the entire NFL. We saw it all last season and once again in week one, when he called the “Philly Special.” When facing these types of teams, Smith emphasized the importance of being on top of your game.“You have to really have good eye discipline. They are probably one of the league leaders in going for it on fourth down and again, when you have to defend four downs instead of three downs, it completely changes the dynamic of the game,” Smith said. “He [Pederson] will also go for it on two point plays and we got some experience there as well in game one in terms of ‘hey we are defending two yards guys we have to get it done.’ We didn’t get it done last week and we have to be able to do it this week.”It’ll certainly be interesting to see how the Buccaneers and Mike Smith combat the RPO’s and the aggressive play calling of the Eagles. The defense must be better this Sunday if Tampa has aspirations of starting 2-0 for the first time since 2010. You can’t do it anymore. You can’t defend the play of Jameis Winston. In a must win situation Winston threw four interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. In just thirteen quarters of play, Winston has eleven turnover.Can’t win with ‘em. Can’t coach with ‘em. Can’t do it.The comeback bid of Fitzmagic which saw eighteen points in the fourth quarter was squashed by a Randy Bullock 44-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Bengals a 37-34 win over the Bucs.Let’s Pick Six.Six Topics Suitable For Conversation1.) Jameis Has To Stay On The Bench. No, Ryan Fitzpatrick isn’t the long term answer Cheap Vernon Hargreaves III Jersey , but it’s appearing more and more likely that Jameis Winston isn’t either. I’ve been a long time Winston defender and apologist, but he keeps putting this team in bad situations with his poor decision making. As soon as he was benched and Fitz hit the field, there was immediate results and the come back was on. Fitz hit Mike Evans on a 72-yard touchdown - the longest reception of Evans’ career. That is something Winston hasn’t done and can’t do with any type of consistency. Fitz has to remain the starter moving forward if the Bucs have a chance to reach the postseason. Even Winston’s body language in his post game presser was that of someone who was just dejected and defeated. If he doesn’t believe in himself anymore, how are his teammates and coaches expected to?2.) DeSean Jackson Isn’t - And Shouldn’t - Go Anywhere* Now, you notice that asterisk. That is predicated on Dirk Koetter keeping Fitz under center moving forward. The happiest player on the field when Fitz entered the game had to be Jackson. After a morning of trade rumors and speculation, Winston finally connected with DJax on a 60-yard touchdown, but we all know that’s the outlier, not the norm. With Fitz, it’s the norm. If the Bucs are truly in “win now” mode as they claim is the reason they won’t move Jackson, then Jackson’s value skyrockets with Fitz heaving the ball.3.) Have A Day, Peyton Barber. Barber was fed early and often, resulting in a season high nineteen carries and a season high 85 yards. If the Bucs can continue to keep that style of run game going and make this a more two-dimensional offense, they can be even scarier. Something Fitz didn’t have in those first three games was any semblance of a run game. Looks like that’s on the cusp of changing.4.) Hats Off To The Defense Once Again. It was a rough start. The Bucs allowed 307 yards to the Bengals in the first half. After halftime, the defense allowed only 95 total yards to the Bengals including forcing four consecutive 3-and-outs. That’s what kept the Bucs in this game. Even though Winston would give the ball right back, the defense kept them close enough for a near miracle comeback. Duffner is making the right moves and right adjustments. We’ve seen vast improvements the last two weeks. Things will only continue to trend upwards the longer Duffer implements his style.5.) Jason Pierre-Paul Is The Best Acquisition This Team Has Made In Over A Decade. With his second multi-sack game and his sixth consecutive game with a sack - tying Simeon Rice for the most consecutive games in team history to record a sack - JPP has shown his worth and then some. He is two sacks away from breaking the double-digit sack curse and there are nine games left. He’s a leader, he’s a game changer Kwon Alexander Jersey , and he’s worth every penny he’s making this season and every season beyond. Kudos to Jason Licht for making that move.6.) The Bucs Must Beat The Panthers. There is little to no chance this team will be able to reach the postseason (yes, the postseason - they’re still very much in it) if they can’t beat a red hot Panthers team. It would make them 2-1 in the division and give them another conference win which will come up big later on. If there was ever a must win, it’s this coming week in Carolina.Six Numbers To Consider154.9 - Ryan Fitzpatrick’s passer rating after entering at the end of the third quarter47.7 - Jameis Winston’s passer rating in the first three quarters38% - Bengals’ third down efficiency4 - Missed extra points by Chandler Catanzaro this season24 - Career touchdowns of 60+ yards for DJax, most in NFL history576 - Bucs total yards vs. Bengals, a franchise record for most in a gameSix Best Tweets (In No Particular Order)Six Top Performers6.) DeSean Jackson - 68 yards on three receptions including a 60-yard touchdown to get the Bucs on the board5.) Adam Humphries - One of the best catches by a Buc this season early in the game. Humph finished with a team high seven receptions.4.) Carlton Davis - Tall order for a rookie to cover A.J. Green, but Davis was very impressive in that role. Showing some strong potential moving forward.3.) Jason Pierre-Paul - Game. Wrecker. JPP finished with two sacks, giving him eight on the season.2.) Ryan Fitzpatrick - Barely over one quarter of play, Fitz went 11/15 for 194 yards, two touchdowns, and a two-point conversion. Leave him in.1.) Mike Evans - Six receptions, 179 yards, and a touchdown. His 72-yard touchdown from Fitz was a personal best and ignited the offense’s comeback attempt.Six Super Bowl Bets1.) Los Angeles Rams - No stopping them2.) New England Patriots - Still trust them in January far more than an Andy Reid team3.) New Orleans Saints - Lost week one, since then they’ve been fire4.) Kansas City Chiefs - They are so much fun to watch, but still waiting for the bottom to fall out5.) Pittsburgh Steelers - They’re clicking - and they don’t even need Le’Veon24.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers - The most befuddling team in the NFL, bar none.Six Final WordsSome Tough Decisions Looming Up Ahead