Tag: barnwell espn

Bill Barnwell likes the Bucs’ offensive weapons heading into 2020

A new cast of characters has helped the Buccaneers climb the standings in Bill Barnwell’s latest piece.

If there was a Lombardi Trophy for winning the offseason, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be crowned champs of 2020. Not only did the team sign six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady to take over under center, they also swung a trade with the Patriots to bring along his favorite tight end Rob Gronkowski, who ended his one-year retirement to reunite Brady in Tampa.

The pair will be joining an offense that already features two Pro Bowl wideouts in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Plus, tight end O.J. Howard seems poised for a big year playing alongside Brady.

Bill Barnwell over at ESPN loves the look of this Bucs offense, and ranked them fourth on his list of best offensive weapons heading into 2020.

Here is Barnwell’s reasoning:

“While a drop in possessions is likely to drag down their cumulative numbers, the Bucs have a strong case for sporting the NFL’s best receiving corps. They have the best one-two punch at wide receiver in the game with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin — who solved his fumble problems and emerged as a great second option. The only downside is that Tampa Bay didn’t really replace third wideout Breshad Perriman, who was one of the league’s most productive wideouts in December after Evans and Godwin went down injured.

“No team is deeper at tight end with O.J. Howard, Cameron Brate and now Rob Gronkowski. Even if we only see the guy whose numbers declined in 2018, Gronk posted a 47-682-3 line and finished 11th among tight ends in fantasy football. With a year to rest his ailing back, he has more red zone upside than that line would suggest.”

Barnwell also turns his attention to the Bucs’ backfield, suggesting a veteran running back may be needed to give this team some further insurance on offense.

“As was the case a year ago, though, the Buccaneers have the worst group of running backs in football. Ronald Jones improved after a dismal rookie campaign, but his issues with fumbles and pass protection make it difficult to expect Bruce Arians to give the 2018 second-rounder significant volume. The only players of note behind Jones are rookie third-rounder Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Dare Ogunbowale. This is a team crying out for a veteran back such as Devonta Freeman, Lamar Miller or LeSean McCoy.”

The Buccaneers found themselves at No. 14 on Barnwell’s list last season, so they’ve made a tremendous jump up the rankings. The pressure is on to deliver in 2020.

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Bill Barnwell gives Bruce Arians’ return to the NFL a stunning impact grade

Find out what ESPN’s Bill Barnwell had to say about Bruce Arians returning to the NFL to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this year.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got off to a rough start this season, going 2-6 after falling to the Seattle Seahawks in overtime back in Week 9. That game marked the last in a five-game stretch away from home for the Bucs, which also saw them travel to cities like Los Angeles and London during that time.

But the team turned it around in the second half, finishing the year 7-9. It was an up-and-down first year for head coach Bruce Arians, who came out of retirement to coach this Bucs squad, but it’s clear this team is heading in the right direction.

So, just how big of an impact did Arians’ return have on the league? According to ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, not much. In his rankings of the 30 best and worst deals and trades of 2019, Barnwell had Arians’ return at No. 24, giving his impact on the league a D+ grade.

Here’s Barnwell’s reasoning:

“The Cardinals could have stood in Arians’ way and demanded a more significant return for letting their former coach out of retirement, but they ended up agreeing to swap late-round picks. Neither of the players drafted took a regular-season snap. Arians’ Bucs improved as expected, but those upgrades were all on defense, where Tampa Bay improved from 32nd in defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA) to fifth. Arians’ offense actually fell from 12th in DVOA to 21st, and while Jameis Winston became the first quarterback with 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in NFL history, he also became the first quarterback with 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in NFL history.”

I’m not sure why Barnwell repeats that Winston stat twice. He failed to mention that Winston also became just the eighth quarterback in NFL history to throw for 5,000 yards in a season, and the first Bucs quarterback to do so. Give credit where credit is due.

Back to that Arians grade, though. While the coach, and Bucs, ultimately didn’t have much of an affect on the NFL this year, there’s no question that the two-time NFL Coach of the Year has brought a winning swagger to Tampa Bay that’s been missing in years past. Also, he was able to convince Todd Bowles to join his staff. That, in itself, deserves an A+.

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Bill Barnwell calls Shaq Barrett’s breakout season something ‘nobody saw coming’

See what Bill Barnwell of ESPN had to say about the breakout year of Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Shaq Barrett.

It’s hard to believe, but there are just two games left in the 2019 regular season.

It feels like just yesterday we were talking about the hiring of Bruce Arians, the Bucs’ upcoming draft and the release of veteran Gerald McCoy. An offseason with such big moves led to some big expectations for this team entering the season, namely for quarterback Jameis Winston.

While Winston has had his ups and downs this season, one Bucs player who has been a revelation is linebacker Shaq Barrett, who joined Tampa Bay on a one-year deal during the offseason.

Barrett currently leads the NFL with 16.5 sacks, which is also with Warren Sapp for the Bucs’ single-season record. Barrett’s breakout season was one of the 15 surprises that ESPN’s Bill Barnwell says “nobody saw coming” at the beginning of the season.

Here’s part of what Barnwell had to say about Barrett after stating how surprised he was that the NFL sack leader would be a Broncos castoff.

“I did not see the Shaq Barrett season coming. An undrafted free agent in 2014, he showed some promise when he debuted the following season, racking up 5.5 sacks and 12 knockdowns while playing 45% of the defensive snaps. Buried behind DeMarcus Ware, Von Miller and Shane Ray, Barrett finally got a chance to start in 2017 and disappointed… It seemed like Barrett might have been a flash in a pan when he followed a run of nine sacks in four games to start the season by picking up just 1.5 sacks over the following four. That has not been the case. He has responded with five sacks and 14 knockdowns over his past four games.”

Barnwell goes on to talk about Barrett’s pending free agency and what we can expect in terms of a deal between him and the Bucs.

“Barrett isn’t going to get [Von] Miller’s six-year, $114.5 million contract this offseason, but as Bruce Arians admittedly recently, Barrett ‘ain’t going anywhere.’ The Bucs could use their franchise and transition tags to keep Barrett and Jameis Winston in-house for the short term, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they negotiated a multiyear deal with their star pass-rusher.”

Barrett, himself, sounds like he wants to return to the Bucs next year if they can strike a deal. It’s in both parties’ best interest to get a deal done. Barrett has flourished in this Todd Bowles system and the Bucs have an emerging superstar to play alongside Devin White.

It’s a win-win situation for both sides.

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ESPN’s Bill Barnwell names Vita Vea to his 2019 All-Underrated team

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell named Tampa Bay Buccaneers nose tackle Vita Vea to his 2019 All-Underrated team.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took down the Atlanta Falcons yesterday 35-22 for their fourth win of the season (their third on the road).

The star of the game was no doubt Bucs wide receiver Chris Godwin, who finished the day with seven receptions for 184 yards and two touchdowns, bringing his season total to 1,071 yards. It’s the first 1,000-yard season of Godwin’s young career.

But, let’s not forget about the stellar day from nose tackle Vita Vea, who finished with a sack and touchdown reception in the win.

Today, Bill Barnwell of ESPN named Vea to his 2019 All-Underrated team, and in part of his assessment of the big man, Barnwell points out how one old school coach would’ve loved the nose tackle.

Take a look.

“Vea made headlines Sunday for catching a touchdown pass during Tampa’s 35-22 win in Atlanta, but there’s more to the former first-round pick than a soft set of hands… The former Washington standout added a sack and two passes defensed to his totals against the Falcons, although he’s admittedly still a work in progress as a pass-rusher, where his limited wingspan may play against him. Vea is more realistically an example of the old George Young/Bill Parcells “Planet Theory” approach to the draft, where you recognize that there are only so many 300-plus pound human beings with truly elite athleticism on the planet and draft them when you see them. Vea, who was a change-of-pace running back in high school, is the sort of player Parcells would have loved. He’s quickly growing into a rare difference-maker for the Bucs’ defense.”

Vea has been a beast for the Bucs this season, and his pairing with Ndamukong Suh has made the Bucs’ rush defense one of the best in the NFL.

Tampa Bay will take to the road again in Week 13, this time staying in-state as they travel to Jacksonville to face the 4-7 Jaguars. Despite their big win against the Falcons, the Buccaneers currently find themselves as underdogs against the Jags.

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