Tag: vita vea

Buccaneers DT Vita Vea becomes heaviest player to catch an NFL touchdown pass

The Buccaneers created an interesting bit of NFL history with Jameis Winston’s one-yard touchdown pass to defensive tackle Vita Vea.

Through their previous two games, the Falcons had played some impressive defense. At the Week 9 bye, head coach Dan Quinn re-jiggered his defenive play-calling staff, giving linebacker coach Jeff Ulbrich first- and second-down play-calling duties, and giving assistant head coach/defensive backs coach Raheem Morris third-down responsibilities. In crushing wins over the Panthers and Saints, Atlanta didn’t allow a touchdown, picked off four passes, added 11 sacks to their team total, and both wins were on the road.

This run of success did not continue against the Buccaneers in the first half on Sunday. Not only did Jameis Winston throw two touchdown passes to receiver Chris Godwin; there was also this tremendous one-yard touchdown pass to defensive tackle Vita Vea.

Sooo… this was on second-and-goal, so I guess we have to blame Ulbrich for not picking up the F-Drag responsibility. Not that this was expected, per se.

Actually, the play was historic. Per Pro Football Reference, (via Football Perspective’s Twitter account), no player heavier than  the 347-pound Vea has ever caught a touchdown pass in NFL history.

That’s Ravens Hall of Fame offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden, Bengals four-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Willie Anderson, and ex-Bears defensive tackle William “The Refrigerator” Perry. We would concur with the suspicion regarding Perry’s listed weight, but one must go with what one has.

We would also quibble with the omission of former Chiefs defensive tackle Dontari Poe, who was credited with a one-yard rushing touchdown against the Raiders in 2016. We would call this a touchdown reception — and an impressive schematic conceit, as Poe was the fourth option in a red-zone diamond formation on a catch from Alex Smith.

Even so, Poe — who currently plays for the Panthers — is listed at 346 pounds, so Vea’s record would stand by one pound, nonetheless.

‘Good Morning Football’ calls Vita Vea one of the best players we’re not talking about

See what the folks over on “Good Morning Football” had to say about Buccaneers nose tackle Vita Vea.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally got the proverbial monkey off their back last Sunday when they defeated the Arizona Cardinals and put an end to their four-game skid.

The Bucs entered their Week 10 contest just 2-6 after going 1-4 during a brutal five-game road trip away from Raymond James Stadium. Now, back in the friendly confines of their home stadium, the Bucs will look to keep the momentum going in Week 11 when Drew Brees and the division-leading New Orleans Saints come to town.

The Bucs secondary will have its work cut out for them as the team parted ways with cornerback and former first-round pick Vernon Hargreaves yesterday. Fortunately, for Tampa Bay, they still have the league’s best rush defense, giving up just 77.8 yards per game.

One of the big reasons they’ve been so great up front has been the play of second-year man Vita Vea. He not only played defense in their win over the Cardinals, but he saw some action on the offensive side of the ball, too.

And, according to NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football,” Vea is one of the best players in the NFL we aren’t talking about.

Take a look.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Vea get some more looks on offense. I think Bucs fans everywhere would like to see a little Refrigerator Perry action at some point.

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