Bright spots for Tampa Bay Buccaneers
As expected, it was a lean year for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2014. In his first year as head coach of the Bucs, Lovie Smith manged only two wins all year, tied for the fewest total in the NFL. Even though the wins were few and far between in Tampa Bay this season, let us take a look at some of the positives for this franchise moving forward.
Mike Evans is a stud: The Buccaneers hit a home run in the first round when they selected this red-shirt sophomore receiver from Texas A&M. The seventh overall pick in the 2014 draft got off to a decent, but unspectacular start in the first two months of the season, mainly due to Tampa Bay’s struggles at quarterback.
However, the month of November saw Evans reel off three consecutive games of at least 100 yards receiving and one touchdown. The last rookie receiver to go on such a prodigious streak was future Hall of Famer Randy Moss in 1998. The six-foot-five inch Evans finished his first season with 68 receptions for 1,051 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Consistency from Gerald McCoy: While Tampa Bay finished 25th in the NFL in points allowed, it was through no fault of their Pro-Bowl defensive tackle. Earning his third consecutive Pro-Bowl berth, McCoy is living up to his lofty draft status as he was the third player chosen in the 2010 draft.
Battling through hand and knee injuries this year, McCoy toughed it out and managed to record 8.5 sacks in 13 games played. Thanks to his cat-like quickness at the point of attack and his relentless motor, McCoy is the first Buccaneers’ player to make three consecutive Pro-Bowl teams since Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber both accomplished the feat from 2004-06.
Logan Mankins trade: Shortly before the season began, the Bucs traded their young tight end Tim Wright to the New England Patriots in exchange for veteran offensive lineman Logan Mankins. Rarely does a trade like this benefit both teams, but in this case, that’s exactly what ended up happening.
New England added depth to their tight end position after the unfortunate legal issues with former Patriot Aaron Hernandez. Meanwhile, the Bucs added an infusion of talent along their offensive line after the departure of Pro-Bowl guard Davin Joseph. Wright went on to catch six touchdown passes for New England this year while Mankins started all 16 games for the Buccaneers.
Development of Bobby Rainey: With injuries and ineffectiveness continuing to plague the entire Tampa Bay backfield, running back Bobby Rainey was able to pick up the slack somewhat. Rainey enjoyed career highs in yards per carry average (4.3), receptions (33), and receiving yards (315). Rainey’s production as a pass receiver came as a pleasant surprise to the Bucs as the team was likely counting on rookie third-round pick Charles Sims to help out in that department.
Unfortunately for Sims, he was only healthy for eight games this past season as a severe ankle injury has slowed his progress. In addition, Rainey’s 406 rushing yards gave Tampa Bay some relief as starting tailback Doug Martin suffered through another miserable season. By no means was it a banner year for Rainey, but he contributed whenever his number was called.
First overall pick: Anytime a team suffers through this bad of a season, they are due for a high pick in the subsequent NFL draft. This seems about as good a year as any to hold the top pick as Tampa Bay has two franchise caliber quarterbacks to choose from. If the Bucs can correctly choose between Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, then Tampa Bay’s rebuilding project may not be as lengthy of a process as we originally thought.