The Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers face one another this weekend in Tampa Bay. The Cardinals have lost two straight, and the Bucs four in a row. Tampa is favored by 4.5 points.
It will be the third time in the last four seasons the teams have played each other, but they traditionally haven’t been frequent opponents in the current division setup.
To get ready for the game, I connected with Bucs Wire managing editor Colin Liotta to get some insight to Tampa Bay from someone who covers the team.
Continue on to read what he had to say.
The Bucs coaching staff is full of former Cardinals coaches. How have Bruce Arians and his staff done? Does BA still have it?
It’s hard to compare Arians’ start in Tampa Bay with what he did in Arizona, namely because he isn’t the one calling the plays on offense. The Bucs were hoping, when they hired Arians to replace Dirk Koetter, that the quarterback guru would be the one on the headset with Jameis Winston. Instead, Arians handed off play-calling duties to first-time offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich. The offense has shown flashes of brilliance this year but has also been stagnant at times. On the defensive side of the ball, Todd Bowles has turned this Bucs rush defense into the league’s best, but the secondary is woeful. I’d say the jury is still out on Arians. Let’s see how this team performs in the second half of the season before we jump to any conclusions.
Can you explain the huge variance between the Bucs’ pass defense and run defense? Did the Seahawks and their 145 rushing yards expose the run defense? How much success can David Johnson and Kenyan Drake have?
It’s really hard to reconcile the two. The rush defense is the best in the NFL right now, giving up just 78.1 yards per game, almost five fewer than the team in second, the Baltimore Ravens (83.0). The secondary, meanwhile, is last in the league, and inexperience is a big reason. Last week in their loss to the Seattle Seahawks, rookie cornerback Jamel Dean gave up three of Russell Wilson’s five touchdown passes. While the Seahawks did get big yards against Tampa Bay’s strong rush, 59 of those yards came on a run by Seahawks running back Chris Carson. I don’t think it’s a sign of things to come, and I’d say the Cardinals running backs will have to face the wrath of a defense looking to have a bounce-back game.
Has Jameis Winston been more good or bad this season? His stats suggest he has been both.
You hit the nail on the head. The story of Winston’s career in Tampa Bay has been great games followed by pure duds. He’s had 22 fumbles since entering the league in 2015, and he turned the ball over 10 times in two games this season. He played well against the Seahawks last week, but at this point, you know what you are going to get with him as a quarterback. The Buccaneers will likely look to start over at the position at the end of the season, whether through the draft or free agency.
Who are the players and matchups to watch for the Bucs? Which matchups are most excited for, and which ones worry you the most?
Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans against Cards cornerback Patrick Peterson is the matchup I’m most excited about. Evans has been a monster this year, putting up great numbers in losing games. In fact, the Bucs are just 1-8 all-time when Evans has 150-plus receiving yards in a game. It’s hard to fathom. Winston will look to Evans early and often – because who wouldn’t – but the secondary of the Cardinals also has to watch out for receiver Chris Godwin and tight end O.J. Howard, who returns after missing the last two games with a hamstring injury.
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