Tag: YaYa Diaby

Bucs’ Yaya Diaby named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 18

Yaya Diaby had a week to remember, and for his performance, the NFL named him their NFC Defensive Player of the Week.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense has struggled to find consistency in 2024. Some players, like Calijah Kancey, Vita Vea, and Yaya Diaby, have shown growth and flash moments. All three had good weeks in Week 18 against the Saints, but one stood out above the rest.

Yaya Diaby had a week to remember, and for his performance, the NFL named him their NFC Defensive Player of the Week.

 

Per the Bucs’ press release on the award, Diaby became “. . .1-of-4 players this season with four-or-more tackles for loss and four-plus quarterback hits in a single game, joining Aidan Hutchinson (Week 2), Trey Hendrickson (Week 9) and Nick Bosa (Week 17).”

The defense has been better since their Week 11 bye, and Diaby has played a critical part in that. They still have a long way to go and will be tested in the Wild Card against the Commanders in Jayden Daniels.

A repeat performance from Yaya Diaby wouldn’t hurt.

5 key takeaways from the Bucs 28-13 win over the Raiders

The Bucs are 7-6, there are some things that fans should keep their eyes on as we are closing in on the home stretch of the regular season.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers walked into Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders needing a huge win. This is not because the Raiders are in the midst of a mid-season rebuild but because a win would put this Buccaneers team over .500 for the first time since they fell to 4-4 following their second loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

While the boxscore displays what appears to be a lopsided 28-13 victory, pushing the Bucs to 7-6, there are some things that fans should keep their eyes on as we are closing in on the home stretch of the regular season. Here are five key takeaways from the Buccaneers Week 14 win.

Live and Die by Baker Mayfield

For all of the great things that Bucs QB Baker Mayfield brings to the table, there is also an erratic counterpart, ala a modern-day Brett Favre. Mayfield’s 3329 passing yards and 28 TDs are each, respectively, the third-most in the NFL. His 13 interceptions put him right behind the leader in interceptions, the Falcons’ Kirk Cousin- who has 15. You can argue that a lot of this has to do with Chris Godwin not being available, as Mayfield and Godwin had a top-tier connection.

To put into context just how good that connection was, Godwin had only played in seven games this season and was the team’s leader in receiving yards until Week 14. Godwin’s 50 receptions are currently still the second-most on the team behind TE Cade Otton’s 57. Both sides of the coin, mixed in with his personality, make Mayfield one of the most polarizing players in the league. He is both fun and frustrating to watch, oftentimes within the same game.

With a defense that is still trying to find its way and navigating injuries, the Buccaneers are a lot more reliant on its quarterback play than some other teams in the NFL.

Increased defensive-line snaps

It’s been observed week in and week out that Todd Bowles plays his defensive line with some odd rotations, namely keeping Yaya Diaby, Vita Vea, and Calijah Kancey on what appears to be snap count restrictions. Sunday’s contest saw upticks to 79% for Diaby and 70% for Vea, and a 66% snap count for Kancey. The Bucs are now a Top 10 team in total sacks with 35 on the year, and Diaby’s 52 pressures have him with the eighth-most in the NFL.

As the Buccaneers’ defense battles injuries in its secondary, it’s imperative for Bowles to continue to increase the snap counts for his best defensive linemen into pressuring quarterbacks to make quicker decisions to help his younger and less experienced set of defensive backs.

 Liam Coen’s unconventional passing offensive success

Piggy-backing off of Mayfield, the carousel in the backfield, and one true, reliable target at wide receiver, the Buccaneers offense is Among the top three in yards per game at 379.2 and fifth in points per game, averaging 27.9. For all of the questions surrounding this Bucs offense, offensive coordinator Liam Coen has displayed an innate ability to generate a lot of yards and a lot of points on a regular basis. Against the Raiders, Mayfield had seven different targets, with five of those seven having more than three targets each.

Evans is always going to draw attention from opposing defenses, and Otton is toeing the line between a mid-tier and top-tier tight end. Outside of that, which receivers are stepping up? This is where Coen’s playcalling is standing out. With such a youthful and unproven wide receiver room outside of Evans, no single player needs to play with the weight on their shoulders of needing to step up and have a huge game. Jalen McMillian saw seven targets for the second time this season and logged two touchdowns against the Raiders, however he had just five total targets in the previous two games combined.

Playing in rotational roles is clearly proving successful as the Buccaneers offense continues rolling.

The defense is tightening up

Yes, they played the 25th-ranked offense, but you play who you are scheduled to play. Bowles’s defense held the Raiders to under 100 rushing yards and under 200 passing yards with a depleted linebacking group, losing Antoine Winfield without Jordan Whitehead and Mike Edwards, just to name a few.

Just a week prior, they gave up a lot more to the Carolina Panthers, but divisional games are meant to be closer and more difficult; that should not be a tell-tale sign- unless you’re allowing a quarterback to have a career day in his 13th year. Despite having three turnovers on offense, holding the Raiders offense to under 300 total yards and only 13 points is noteworthy.

Anyone can get an “A”; it’s keeping it that’s the hard part

“It’s one thing getting to first place. It’s a whole other thing staying there,” coach Bowles said after Sunday’s game, as the Buccaneers took over first place in the NFC South. It was a tale of two halves for the Buccaneers offense, but the defense, which has been a liability at times this season, remained grounded and held up their end of the deal.

With four tough games remaining on their schedule, including two division games, the Buccaneers are eyeing their fourth-straight division title, but it won’t be easy, especially not having a tiebreaker over the Falcons. The Bucs’ remaining opponents have a combined record over 21-30, while the Falcons are 15-37, with only the Washington Commanders, the only team remaining that has more than four wins through Week 14 of the season.

5 key takeaways from the Bucs lopsided 30-7 win over the Giants

The Bucs came to East Rutherford, New Jersey, desperate for a win, as they had lost their previous four games before last week’s bye.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came to East Rutherford, New Jersey, desperate for a win, as they had lost their previous four games before last week’s bye.

Not only did the Todd Bowles team come out of the bye week looking refreshed, they made a statement on all sides of the ball, improving to 5-6 on the year and keeping their playoff hopes alive. Here are five key takeaways from today’s 30-7 win over the Giants.

Bucky Irving is RB1

The Buccaneers are known around the league as a team that struggles to run the football. Part of the issue is the running back by committee approach that Liam Coen runs. It’s impossible for any of the Bucs RBs to become “the hot hand” and get something going on the ground when they are constantly being rotated out (this is also covered later on the defensive side). Bucky Irving has been the clear-cut RB1 for the Buccaneers for the last handful of games, and it seems like the only ones that cannot see that are on the Bucs sideline. Totaling only 12 of the team’s 28 designed carries, Irving led the backfield with 87 yards- an average of 7.3 yards per carry. Irving tied Mike Evans with six receptions for the team lead, not only effective on the ground, netting 64 receiving yards. It was understood how dangerous Rachaad White was catching passes out the back. However, Irving has proven to be just as, if not better, at being a pass-catching back than White.

Keep your best players on the field

Throughout the season, namely the four-game losing streak, Bowles was rarely keeping his best defensive line players on the field at the same time. All too often, Vita Vea, Calijah Kancey, and Yaya Diaby were around the mid-60 % of defensive snaps played, which is unacceptable for your star players, who are healthy, to see snap counts that low. This game proved to be different, and while the official snap counts are not out, it was a noticeable effort to keep their best players on the field, and it made a distinct difference, registering four sacks of Tommy DeVito.

Mike Evans opens up the offense

Needless to say, one of the best Buccaneers players in the history of the franchise is a good player. However, it was extremely apparent as Mayfield was able to effectively spread the ball around. Mayfield connected with 11 different players, completing 24 of 30 for 294 yards on the day. The Giants have the best-passing defense that they have faced in the last five games in terms of yards allowed, which begs the question, was it a mistake not to try and trade for another well-established wide receiver when Evans went down?

Playing with urgency

The Buccaneers never let up off the gas throughout the game, no matter what the score was, which is proving to be the recipe for success. Against the Falcons in their Week 5 OT loss, it was a winnable game had the playcalling been more urgent rather than designed screen passes. The controversy of not going for two and not attempting to win against the Kansas City Chiefs in regulation. Not having anyone to catch passes that were not a running back or Cade Otton over that four-game stretch showed that this team has the talent to play with and beat the best that the NFL has to offer. However, they just seem to go on cruise control at the wrong time. Today was not the case and should be the blueprint for the Bucs for the remainder of the season, as they are on the bubble of making the playoffs.

Outcoaching bad coaches

Bowles is not a bad coach. He may be too conservative and make calls that those of us who are not on the sidelines question, but he is not a bad coach. Brian Daboll is not a good coach, and Bowles stepped up and outcoached the Giants. Mistakes are going to happen, as no team, player, or coach is perfect, but continuing to play with urgency and Bowles stepping up and outcoaching the remaining six coaches that the team plays against to close out the regular season is something that needs to happen.

Todd Bowles sees one area the Bucs defense needs to improve after their Bye Week

Todd Bowles has identified the issue he hopes the team can address after the Bye Week.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense has been a disaster this year. I am not going to mince words; it has been awful. The hard things for a defense to achieve have been an issue just as much as the small things.

Mastering those small things, though, could make the big things easier. Todd Bowles has identified the issue he hopes the team can address after the Bye Week.

“We definitely have to tackle better. We have spurts where we play well. [In] the second half, I didn’t think we tackled better at all. Again, coaches and players – we have our coaches, we have our players – we have to get out of this jam. We got ourselves in it, we have to get out of it. We show good spots and then we make an error and it comes up. . .”

Todd Bowles needs the defense, the unit he leads and specializes in, to be better. Plain and simple, this defense is a hindrance to a great offense that can score 30+ points a game but struggles not to give up more.

Perhaps tackling is the key, but we will have to wait and see if that fixes things.

5 key takeways from the Bucs 23-20 loss to the 49ers

In a game that was not nearly as close as the scoreboard would indicate, here are 5 key takeaways as the Bucs continue to look for answers.

In what was sort of a midseason battle of attrition of under-performing teams between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers, the Buccaneers once again fell short, this time in regulation as Jake Moody hit a game-winning FG as the clock expired.

In a game that was not nearly as close as the scoreboard would indicate, here are 5 key takeaways as the Buccaneers continue to look for answers following their fourth-straight loss.

The Buccaneers are not built for close games

Close games are traditionally won by out-coaching your opposition. Todd Bowles is unable to do that and has proven it time and time again. Whether it is poor clock management or just simply playing without a killer instinct and playing to win, Bowles is overstaying his welcome among fans. Offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who would be the front-runner to take over the team should the Buccaneers make the unlikely midseason move at head coach, has continued to show flashes of great calling, followed by headscratchers. On the season, the Buccaneers

Bucky Irvin should be RB1 from now on

Of that headscratcher, as mentioned above, decisions would be why the Buccaneers have not named rookie RB Bucky Irving the clear-cut RB1 after routinely out-gaining Rachaad White on running plays. White is dynamic in the passing game; however, splitting nearly 50% of carries every week is less than ideal as Irving is not only the team leader in rushing yards but out-gains White by over a yard per carry, which is a lot considering how close the Buccaneers games have been as of late.

Defense is poorly indescribable

Injuries be damned. Players get hurt weekly, and there is no excuse for how poor this Buccaneers defense is, especially with the number of self-inflicted wounds we see weekly. That falls back on coaching. Bowles continued odd-man substitutions rarely allow for his best players to be on the field at the same time, namely on the defensive line. In last week’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Yaya Diaby, Vita Vea, and Calijah Kancey all saw more than 55% of defensive snaps, which was the highest for all three players all season. Antoine Winfield Jr. has to put 120% effort into every play, not to account for a lack of talent but for a lack of effort from his teammates, which is a recipe for disaster as the season progresses.

The lack of depth at WR should’ve been addressed

The NFL trade deadline came and went, and all the while, the Buccaneers were missing superstar WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. This left Mayfield solely to rely on a young and unproven wide receiver corps, as Jason Licht and the Bucs front office chose to stand pat and not make a move. TE Cade Otton has emerged as Mayfield’s favorite–and most reliable– target over the last several weeks; outside of Otton and the Bucs running backs being utilized in the passing game, it’s become a total crapshoot if and when someone else will step up. Luckily for the Buccaneers, Mayfield continues to toe the line as an outlier in the MVP conversation. Evans will likely return following the bye, which should help open up the offense more.

Bucs playoff hopes dwindling

Per The Athletic, the Buccaneers entered Week 10 with only a 21% chance of making the playoffs, and with another NFC loss to a team in the Wild Card picture, that only makes things harder. Five of the remaining seven games are against fellow NFC teams, making each a must-win bout. As the Bucs enter the bye week, they will look to address some of the problems in hopes of shoring up the defense. In Week 12, the Buccaneers will play against the New York Giants, who have been a mess all season, with the caveat that Bowles has never won a game following a Bye Week.

The pass rush needs to be better to help the Bucs secondary

Todd Bowles recognizes that the pass rush has not been of much help to the secondary and discusses the changes they need to make.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers secondary has been struggling all year but in recent weeks they have been exposed in ways that hadn’t been yet. The worst of it is Kirk Cousins who passed for over 800 yards in two matchups combined in Week 5 and Week 8.

They now deal with the Chiefs led by Pat Mahomes and an offense that hasn’t played like an undefeated one. That may change if Mahomes can demonstrate dominance against them.

Todd Bowles recognizes that the pass rush has not been of much help to the secondary and discusses the changes they need to make to help each group out.

“I think our edge guys have to be better at getting chipped and still understanding how to pressure the quarterback other than letting the chips knock them off their game a little bit and getting a little frustrated trying to force things. We have to do a better job of gaining it, we have to better job of learning when to get off the chip blocks.”

Yaya Diaby, Logan Hall, and Vita Vea have had some mild success rushing the passer but they need more. C.J. Brewer had two sacks on Sunday against the Falcons but that isn’t a reliable source. Brewer getting two sacks should be accompanied by 3-4 from others on defense instead.

Ravens vs. Buccaneers: Top photos from Baltimore’s 41-31 win on Monday Night Football

We’re looking at the top photos from the Baltimore Ravens 41-31 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night in Week 7

The Ravens started the game down 10-0, then scored 41 unanswered points, jumping out to a massive lead before allowing 21 late points to the Buccaneers in the fourth quarter. Even with the defensive letdown, Baltimore’s performance won’t overshadow Lamar Jackson’s five-touchdown pass performance, as the Ravens moved to 5-2 on the season with a 41-31 win over Tampa at Raymond James Stadium.

Baltimore amassed 508 yards of total offense but had a dominant performance ruined as the defense allowed over 430 yards of offense for Tampa.

With preparation for the Browns in Week 8 set to begin, here’s an instant analysis of the big win on Monday Night Football.

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Major Saints injury could impact game against Bucs in Week 6

As it turns out, the Saints will have a problem of their own to solve first with the quarterback position.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are coming off one of their worst defensive performances of the year against the Atlanta Falcons. They gave up over 500 passing yards to Kirk Cousins, who had folks concerned about what Derek Carr and the Saint’s explosive offense could do to them.

As it turns out, the Saints will have to solve their own problem at the quarterback position first.

Derek Carr suffered an oblique injury on Monday against the Kansas City Chiefs. He left the game, and Jake Haener stepped up in his absence to only pass for seven yards.

The news now points to the Saints starting rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler who they drafted in April. Rattler has a live arm and could poise to be a problem if the Bucs defense doesn’t sure things up and get after him with pressure. Yaya Diaby, Vita Vea, and Lavonte David should be up to the task, but regardless, this Carr injury will impact this matchup.

Bucs defense among the leagues best in a critical category

Through the first four weeks, the Bucs have generated 77 pressures, earning a top-five spot in the league.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense has largely been talked about due to the play of the secondary, with the emergence of CB Zyon McCollum and the play of S Christian Izien while Antoine Winfield Jr. remains sidelined with a foot injury. Through the first four weeks, the Bucs have generated 77 pressures, earning a top-five spot in the league.

Yaya Diaby’s 21 pressures not only lead the Bucs but also tie him with Micah Parsons for fourth-most in the NFL. While registering a sack is the ultimate goal, it doesn’t tell the full story. Pressuring opposing quarterbacks into moving around the pocket only creates more opportunities for mistakes. As fans saw during Sunday’s victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, Jalen Hurts was never able to get comfortable in the backfield, as the Bucs generated 26 pressures on the day.

Through four games this season, the Atlanta Falcons’ 26th-ranked pass-blocking offensive line has allowed 45 pressures on Kirk Cousins. For context, the Bucs’ offensive line has allowed eight fewer pressures, with 37. Expect Todd Bowles to exploit matchups on Thursday as the Falcons’ running game has a setback with RB Bijan Robinson not playing at 100% with a hamstring injury.

Eagles limp into bye week after a 33-16 loss to the Buccaneers in Week 4

The Philadelphia Eagles suffered a disastrous 33-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

With A.J. Brown (hamstring), DeVonta Smith (concussion), and Lane Johnson (concussion) out with injuries, the Eagles didn’t have enough depth in key positions. They suffered a disastrous 33-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Jalen Hurts was sacked six times on the afternoon, and the star quarterback committed another turnover (fumble), as Philadelphia could not sustain any offensive consistency without the big three in the lineup.

Saquon Barkley had ten carries for 84 yards (8.4 avg). Still, with the Eagles playing from behind all afternoon, the running back was unable to get the Philadelphia offense over the hump against a motivated Tampa defense.

An Eagles defense that shut New Orleans down in Week 3 was gashed to 445 total yards for the Buccaneers offense, including 111 rushing yards and a twelve-minute advantage in time of possession.

Baker Mayfield was on fire early, and even after an inefficient second half, he still was 30-40 passing for 347 yards, two touchdowns, and a 100.2 rating.

Philadelphia (2-2) will now have a week off, during which questions about Sirianni’s job security and the Eagles’ playoff hopes will dominate the airwaves.

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