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Bucs rookie CBs quickly catching on

 
WILL VRAGOVIC   |   Times Tampa Bay Buccaneers new offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Todd Monken speaks to reporters at One Buccaneer Place on Thursday Jan. 28, 2016. "I'm so excited to be here I can't see straight," Monken said.
WILL VRAGOVIC | Times Tampa Bay Buccaneers new offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Todd Monken speaks to reporters at One Buccaneer Place on Thursday Jan. 28, 2016. "I'm so excited to be here I can't see straight," Monken said.
Published May 26, 2018

TAMPA — If the first few days of organized team activities are any indication, the Bucs secondary could be much improved.

Completions may be down, interceptions should be up.

"A lot of interceptions,'' coach Dirk Koetter said Thursday after practice. "I think they might have broken the One Buc (Place) interception record today. Too many, but good for the defense. Good job for those guys.''

Credit the addition of second-round cornerbacks M.J. Stewart and Carlton Davis.

"They look like they belong,'' said receiver Mike Evans.

At 6 feet 1, 205 pounds, Davis gives the Bucs a different body type in the secondary. His length will be an asset covering bigger NFC South receivers Julio Jones of Atlanta, Michael Thomas of New Orleans and Devin Funchess of Carolina.

Said Koetter: "Carlton is off to a very fast start."

Davis is in a battle with Vernon Hargreaves to start at right cornerback. Both will play, with Hargreaves moving inside in the slot when the Bucs go to five defensive backs.

One player who is impressed with the rookie talent in the secondary is second-year safety Justin Evans.

"As far as knowing their information when we're in the meeting rooms — they get called on and have to go up to the board and draw defenses and stuff, it was much better than I was at this time when I was here last year, so that's really impressive,'' Evans said. "Then of course on the field, they're here for a reason so they obviously can make plays and they've been making plays. They've been doing good, all of them."

The pass rush and pass coverage go hand in hand, but if you assume the Bucs won't be the worst team in the league with 22 sacks again, they should they should top the 13 interceptions, which tied for 15th in the NFL in 2017.

Let's YAC about Evans

Only three players in NFL history have posted 1,000-yard receiving seasons in each of his first four years seasons: Randy Moss, A.J. Green and Evans.

But by Evans' standards, 2017 was "probably my second-worst year," he said. He finished with 71 catches for 1,001 yards and five touchdowns. He gained only 115 yards after the catch, an NFL-worst average of 1.62 yards. No player with more catches had a lower YAC average last season.

"I don't know what it was,'' Evans said. "I guess my awareness wasn't what it should have been. I guess I've got to work at it more in practice and get more reps at it.

"I have a lot of attention. I've been getting a lot of attention (from defenses) the past few years. There's kind of nowhere for me to go after I get it. I've got to get into the habit of trying to break more tackles when I get it because I'm a big, strong athletic guy and I can do it. There's a lot of attention my way, so I've just got to get better at that.''

Gerald McCoy's rookie school

Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy has always been generous with his time, staying after practice to work with younger players. That should be a real added benefit for first-round pick Vita Vea.

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"That's my M.O.'' McCoy said. "You're only as strong as your weakest link. If you have no weak links, how strong can you be? That's my philosophy. Any young guy that comes in, I have mandatory extra. It's not allowed to do extra now (during OTAs), but when we can, it's mandatory.

"I don't give you an option. 'I'm getting better and so are you. You're already behind the 8-ball because we're vets and we've been doing this. Now you're coming in and learning a new brand of football, how the NFL game goes.

"I didn't have that," McCoy said. "I didn't get that. I always told myself, if I had the opportunity once I get to that point, I'm not going to be that guy where I do what I do and then walk off. No. Let me teach you something. I want everyone to be successful.

"It wasn't just my dream to be the NFL. Everybody who comes in this building, it's their dream to play in the NFL. So I want you to be successful as possible. You only get it for a short period.''

Monken takes charge

Bucs offensive coordinator Todd Monken will have a bigger imprint on the offense this season. He's already writing all the practice scripts, installing the offense and calling plays during OTAs. That will continue into training camp and the preseason.

Monken's duties free up Koetter to focus on the entire team. Monken also is working more closely with quarterback Jameis Winston, who's getting used to how Monken calls plays.

"I have a lot more interaction,'' Monken said. "I've been in there almost every day with those guys. Dirk wanted me to be in there some with those guys just to give them a different perspective. They've been around him for three years, so where ever I fit in there with a different perspective or have something else to say, I try to piece my way in there without stepping on (quarterbacks coach) Mike (Bajakian).''

Contact Rick Stroud at rstroud@tampabay.com and @NFLStroud

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