Buccaneers Players, Coaches Showing Championship Spirit in 2021
In case you aren't aware: The Bucs roster has been dealing with adversity in the form of major injuries since opening week.
The entire secondary has yet to play one snap with all its starters on the field. The quartet of Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski, Mike Evans, and Chris Godwin have been on the field together for a grand total of eight quarters. Jason Pierre-Paul has been hurt all year long and Lavonte David and Leonard Fournette were recently placed on short-term IR.
"At this point, it’s just kind of like another day at the office," said Carlton Davis III. "We’ve had so many guys interchange at the corner spot and at the safety spot. I think we are just kind of used to it now. We’ve just got to have that ‘next man up’ mentality like we’ve had all season.”
Now, the coaching staff is dealing with its own issues. Head coach Bruce Arians and wide receivers coach Kevin Garver are out after testing positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. Arians is expected to miss the Bucs' Week 17 contest against the Jets.
While it's clearly not something you want to hear, the Bucs are more than battle-tested when it comes to the "next man up" mentality. It's pretty much a way of life by now, so they know what needs to happen in order to ensure there's no funny business in MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
"Everybody did a great job of adjusting, obviously, with the staff that we have," interim head coach Harold Goodwin told reporters Wednesday. "Missing B.A. (Head Coach Bruce Arians) is not a problem, alright, because all the coaches know what to do."
One of the talking points surrounding the Bucs entering 2021 was the continuity among the players and coaching staff. All 22 starters and several key players returned to the team and all but one coach returned.
And that continuity is proving itself to be even more valuable with the recent developments. Especially when it comes to Goodwin.
"I don't ride the golf cart, but a lot of things he does, says, sees, I see the same thing, so it makes it an easier transition for me," said Goodwin. "My job is just to follow protocol as far as the things he wants done, how he wants them done and just make sure I follow through with them."
Sure, Tampa Bay isn't the only team dealing with injuries and COVID-19, but they are the only defending Super Bowl champion dealing with them. And the amount of issues they've dealt with in key spots are enough to derail any team, no matter who else is on the roster or the coaching staff.
Yet, the Bucs keep winning.
This type of resilience is what championship teams are made of. It's what builds locker rooms. Make no mistake, it will carry over into the coming years and will be the standard the new players and coaches have to align themselves with, which will certainly help sustain the Bucs' winning ways in the future.
"From day one [it’s been] next man up, and B.A. (Bruce Arians) always tells the team that," said Goodwin. "Everybody in this room, or the locker room, team meeting, whatever, you're capable because you're here for a reason. We always say 'the next man up' so when one man goes down another guy has got to rise to the occasion, and for a player, a competitor, you want to do well. And so far, so good, knock on wood, we've had those guys step in and do a nice job."
But right now, what's most important is the fact that all of this is going to make the Bucs a better team when they get their players and coaches back.
And that in itself is scary enough to think about, so, just imagine what it'll feel like when it actually happens.
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