Instead of some bold predictions Womens Peyton Barber Jersey , the Bucs need a bold win against the Browns. The Bucs have played some pretty bad football over the last three games, but if they are able to pull these off, it will be the remedy they need to get back to their winning ways of 2018. 1. The Buccaneers have their best defensive performance of the season. (Alex)Call me crazy, but I think the Buccaneers defense dominates this game from start to finish. When people get fired, eyes begin to open and the players now know they are playing for their jobs for the rest of the season. You can’t continue to fire coaches. Eventually, it has to come back to the players and the firing of Mike Smith will shine a light on who isn’t producing as a player.I dont’ expect a shutout. Hell, the Browns will probably rattle off a couple of touchdowns. But I do expect a defense that flies to the ball and forces turnovers. Do I dare say I expect a defensive touchdown as well?Well, maybe im a little to bold with that last part, but I’m confident in Duffner to employ a physical type of defense this weekend. Bucs BOLD defensive stat predictions: 2 INT, 4 Sacks, 1 FF2. Peyton Barber goes over 100+ yards on the ground and scores a touchdown in consecutive weeks. (Alex)The Cleveland Browns have a young and improving defense, but they are ranked 29th in the league in defending the run, allowing an average of 138.2 YPG on the ground. Peyton Barber is coming off of his best game of the season in which he ran for 82 yards on just 13 carries. The Buccaneers need to do everything they can to keep their defense off the field and I think establishing the run is going to be a huge part of the game plan come Sunday. Barber finds his groove and goes for 115 and a touchdown on 20+ carries. 3. Duke Johnson Jr. leads the team in yards from scrimmage. (Evan)Tampa Bay is pretty good against the run, but they are really bad against pass-catching backs. Through five games, the Bucs have allowed opposing backs to record a 31/333/2 line when it comes to catching balls out of the backfield. This includes two 100-yard performances by Alvin Kamara and Tarik Cohen.Referring to the latter, the Bears were more than comfortable playing Cohen - a backup - over their own starter in Jordan Howard based off of the matchup. It paid dividends as the Bears dismantled the Bucs in Chicago. I expect Cleveland to do the exact same with Johnson Jr. this week. Even if Carlos Hyde were still around, this feels like a DJJ game and I think he (DJJ) still would’ve seen more action. This prediction may come as a surprise considering how poorly the Bucs’ secondary has performed, but the defense as a whole has been terrible all season long. Todd Haley is no slouch as an offensive coordinator and he will exploit this Tampa Bay weakness this weekend. 4. Kwon Alexander has multiple sacks. (Evan)Kwon has recorded just one sack in the last 22 games. Whether it be scheme, injury, or just ineffectiveness, it’s an alarming stat for a player that took down the quarterback six times in his first 23 games. That will change this weekend against the Browns.First off, with linebackers coach Mark Duffner taking over the defense, he knows what he has in Lavonte David and Alexander. He knows that both players are extremely athletic and can sack the quarterback. Secondly, with Gerald McCoy and Vinny Curry already ruled out, the Bucs will have to find a pass rush somewhere other than the defensive line. Third, the Browns may be without their starting center which would make it harder to identify potential blitzers.Alexander also hasn’t been the beacon of consistency in 2018. It would be a major confidence booster - not that he really needs it - to have him come out and fly around in his first game with Duffner as DC.Want another stat that makes this an even bolder prediction? Alexander has never recorded multiple sacks in a game during his entire career.5. Chris Godwin catches two touchdowns. (Evan)All eyes - mainly Denzel Ward’s - will be on Mike Evans, which should leave plenty of room for Godwin to operate underneath.The good thing about Godwin, however, is that he can make plays all over the field. He can beat you on all types of routes. The Bucs will take advantage of the Browns’ aggressive defense this week by utilizing quick passes to Godwin and DeSean Jackson. Tampa Bay should be able to move the ball William Gholston Jersey , which plays right into Godwin’s hands. This is because all four of his touchdown receptions have come inside the 10-yard line. He is becoming a major red zone threat with each passing week and that will culminate in a two-touchdown performance on Sunday. It would be the first time in his career catching multiple scores. For the Bucs’ sake, let’s hope that happens.Monken calls plays, Tampa Bay has flawless offensive performance Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter likes calling plays, and has done it his whole career. But his offense was widely criticized last year for being predictable and inefficient; specifically, his insistence on running the ball early in first quarters and on first downs, one of Koetter’s tenets, actually helped to put the Bucs in huge holes early in games, forcing them to become one dimensional and pass to catch up late in games. This is because passing is far more efficient than running and statistically leads to less punts and more points, and the Bucs’ running game wasn’t good; this gave their opponents a huge advantage as they passed early instead and opened leads while the Bucs continued to put themselves in 3rd and long situations that are difficult to convert. Unfortunately, the Bucs also had the worst defense in the league, leaving the offense stuck fighting a war that was impossible to win. Tampa Bay limped to a 5-11 record. But those alleged issues with his play calling didn’t just hurt the Bucs last year - it hurt them the year before, too. In fact, under Dirk Koetter’s play calling in 2016 and 2017 nobody rushed more on first downs early in games than the Bucs, almost 66% of the time, despite the fact that the passing game yielded more than twice the yardage on average than the running game and a much higher success rate.Coming into the 2018 season Dirk Koetter was on the hot seat; the Bucs tried to overhaul their defensive line in an effort to improve the defense, and fans wondered what changes the Bucs might make to their offense. But if there were going to have any success they would need to change how they approached games. Specifically, they needed throw, and throw early and often. The question was whether Koetter was willing to set aside his ego and turn play calling over to his offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who was previously the head coach of Southern Miss. It’s not that anyone thought or knew Monken was better than Koetter at calling plays, or even good at it, just that it was obvious Koetter was not, or that he was too resistant to change.So it was a pleasant surprise when it was announced that Monken would call plays in the preseason. While it was a gamble for Koetter, it was also a big admission, and one that could not have been easy to make. It paid off in a good way during the preseason, and the Bucs’ offense, and especially their quarterbacks, played lights-out football. It was obvious to everyone watching what needed to happen.But could Koetter let it go? It was reportedly a hard decision for him; once you go, you can’t go back, and it was one of the things he enjoyed most about coaching. He kept it a secret right up until kick-off today and even then Womens Ronde Barber Jersey , he had a copy of the play sheet in his hands.But the announcers for Fox Sports confirmed that Monken was indeed calling plays (from the booth), and his debut could not have gone any better. Fitzpatrick was incredible, with several deep bombs on the money. Monken mixed up the pass and the run, and at halftime the Bucs were cruising along at an unbelievable 9.6 yards per play. They had eight plays of 20+ yards. They weren’t just creating scoring opportunities, they were converting them as well, going two for three in the red zone with touchdowns, and had 31 points, a franchise record for one half. The second half was more of the same, and the Bucs finished with 48 points, tied for a franchise record, and 8.5 yards per play. Ryan Fitzpatrick finished 21-28 for 417 yards and four touchdowns, a 14.9 yards per attempt average. That average should be the highest of his entire thirteen-year career. The offense’s 8.5 yards per play is the team’s highest since 2012 and the second-highest going back to 2000. Of the 4,352 total regular season NFL games since 2000, 8.5 yards per play would rank in the top 50.Even the offensive line looked really good, and didn’t allow a sack. The whole thing was glorious. Amazing. It was the inside of Marcellus Wallace’s briefcase. Bask in it’s glow.But it was so good, it’s also unsustainable. That’s okay! This game was one for the record books. And they did it versus what was a top ten defense last season.But we still have to acknowledge that the Bucs’ defensive performance was just as equally bad. Perhaps forcing a fumble is a skill, but once the ball is on the ground, it’s 50/50, pure luck. The Bucs recovered both of the Saints’ fumbles. A few unlucky bounces and the Bucs could have easily wasted this offensive performance. About the only thing that went wrong for the Bucs was kicker Chandler Catanzaro’s miss that would have iced the game with a three-score lead. The Saints scored 16 points in the final quarter, and Tampa is now 1-0 in one-score games in 2018. The Bucs also finished only converting two of their four red zone opportunities into touchdowns, while the Saints converted four of five.Despite trying to bring this game into some grounded perspective, it is now impossible for Koetter to go back to calling plays next week. As Monken called them up, Koetter would mark them off on his play sheet, so he’s still clearly very much involved. But unless the offense falters several games in a row it appears to be Monken’s responsibility going forward.Bucs Nation will have more on exactly what Monken did to attack the Saints’ defense in film review, but for now, let’s celebrate!