Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Five Bounce-Back Candidates for the Buccaneers

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Buccaneers had a tough outing in week four against the Broncos. Which players are primed for a rebound week on Monday night football?

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Getting through Denver Broncos’ week feels like a breath of fresh air. Since the day that the schedule came out Buccaneers’ fans (and probably players too) have been dreading their week four match-up with the Super Bowl champion Broncos and their all-time great defense. Like a booster shot at the doctor’s office the Bucs closed their eyes and got the painful experience over with.

Now the team looks to rebound against the NFC champion Carolina Panthers and to have success they’ll need to get better games from a handful of critical players that fell short against Denver. Let’s take a look at five of these players.

Disclaimer: You might notice that there aren’t any defenders on this list. The defense actually did a decent job against the Broncos considering the circumstances. Guys like William Gholston and Clinton McDonald played pretty well, and it’s unlikely that the guys who did play poorly are able to bounce-back this week. So for today we’ll be -mostly- focusing on the offense.

Sep 18, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Charles Sims (34) is tackled by Arizona Cardinals strong safety Tony Jefferson (22) and outside linebacker Deone Bucannon (20) during the second half at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeat the Buccaneers 40-7. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

5) Charles Sims

With Doug Martin out another week the Buccaneers will again turn to third-year running back Charles Sims to lead their rushing attack. While Sims has thrived in his limited role he’s struggled as a lead back, particularly last week.

Sims finished the game with 15 carries for 28 yards and a painful 1.8 yard per carry average. He also had a fumble, and only registered two catches for seven yards. The Bucs have suggested that Jacquizz Rodgers will see increased snaps this week, lessening the load on Sims, but make no mistake about it: Sims needs to bounce back if the Bucs want to win. Against a defense as talented as the Panthers the Bucs cannot make it easy for them by being one-dimensional. 50 more passes from Jameis Winston will only result in more turnovers and more empty drives, so it’s critical that Charles Sims gets back on track.

Carolina’s excellent front seven will make things difficult on the Buccaneer running game as they always do, so Sims will need plenty of help from his offensive line.

Sep 25, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Adam Humphries (11) runs with the ball against the Los Angeles Rams during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

4) Adam Humphries

After two consecutive weeks of positive play, Adam Humphries had a tough afternoon against the Denver Broncos. It was expected that Humphries may see a lot of volume versus Denver thanks to blanket coverage of Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans on the outside, but Hump didn’t deliver. The Bucs’ starting slot receiver saw just four targets all game and had finished the game with a single catch for four yards.

It was a shockingly quiet game from Humphries, but he’s in a good position to rebound this week against a vulnerable Panthers’ secondary. With Vincent Jackson already having one foot in the retirement home Humphries has become Jameis Winston’s second most reliable target and put together a tremendous nine catch, 100 yard game just two weeks ago.

The Bucs shouldn’t need quite that level of production this week, but they’ll look for Hump to convert some key third downs and continue to pick up chunk yards on screens. Mike Evans will demand double coverage against the downtrodden Panthers secondary so Humphries will have plenty of room to work with.

Oct 2, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Denver Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe (95) pressures Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

3) Jameis Winston

No player on the Bucs had a more disappointing week against the Broncos than quarterback Jameis Winston. The Bucs have come to expect quality play from their quarterback each and every week and Winston simply didn’t deliver. True, it was against an all-time great defense and his teammates weren’t particularly sharp either, and Winston deserves some slack cut for that. But teammates can’t be blamed for poor accuracy and decision-making which Winston displayed throughout the game.

This week is a big one for Winston. The 2nd year quarterback struggled in both meetings versus the Panthers last season and hasn’t yet proven that he can dissect an elite defense. The Panthers were just shredded last week by Matt Ryan to the tune of 500 yards, and while the transitive property doesn’t apply in the NFL, there’s no excuse for Winston not to be much, much better this week than he was last.

Look for Winston to get back to being his usual gun-slinging self on Monday night.

Sep 25, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Roberto Aguayo (19) kicks off the ball against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

2) Roberto Aguayo

Alright, so maybe this is wishful thinking. The struggles of Aguayo have been absolutely gut-wrenching and agonizing for any viewer of the Bucs this season.

Against the Rams ,the Bucs lost for the very reason they drafted Aguayo: points left on the field from missed kicks. Against Denver, Aguayo didn’t have much of an opportunity to bounce back thanks to the ineptitude of the offense. Carolina should be a different story and Aguayo will get the chance in front of a national audience to reverse the narrative that’s begun to build against him.

Sep 25, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) makes a catch in the second half against the Los Angeles Rams at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

1) Mike Evans: Like the rest of the Bucs’ offense, Mike Evans had a tough game on Sunday. Aside from Donovan Smith and Demar Dotson, no Buc had a tougher draw than Evans who faced off with All-Pro cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Chris Harris. Evans finished with just five catches for 59 yards, easily his worst outing of the season and his first without a touchdown.

This week Evans gets a much friendlier match-up in the Panthers who gave up 300 yards receiving to Julio Jones last week. The Panthers very clearly made a mistake by letting go of Josh Norman who seemed to have Evans’ number last season. With Norman out of the picture, Evans is in a great position to bounce back both from last weeks dud and last seasons struggles against the Panthers.

Defeating the Panthers in their own stadium on Monday night football will be no easy task, even if Cam Newton ends up sitting with a concussion. The Bucs will need their defense to get healthy (McCoy, Ayers), and for their offense to find the rhythm they had against the Atlanta Falcons. If they can get rebound games from Jameis Winston and the other four on this list then Bucs fans may just get treated to an upset win from their team.

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