Things do not get any easier for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers coming to town. Buccaneers linebacker Devin White was asked about the team’s plan to get pressure on Rodgers, and he had a simple message for defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, “unleash me.”
“I told Coach Bowles today to ‘unleash me, let me go, let me do everything you need to get a win,'” White explained during his press conference. “That’s all that is important to me. I don’t really care if I have five sacks or five pressures. Let me disrupt Aaron Rodgers this week. Let me be a part of that game. But even if we don’t, we got two of the best edge rushers in the game, so I’m confident with Shaq [Barrett] and JPP [Jason Pierre-Paul] on the outside, getting to him make him throw some wobbly passes so we can get interceptions.”
White has yet to record a sack so far this season and is coming off a combined seven tackles the last two games. The linebacker had 91 tackles and 2.5 sacks during his rookie season. White is pleading for more opportunities to blitz against the Packers, and it will be interesting to see if the Bucs take him up on his request.
The Bucs Have Confidence in Rakeem Nunez-Roches Who Will Fill-in for Vita Vea
The Buccaneers will be challenged against a great Packers offense in their first game without defensive tackle Vita Vea. While the Bucs are disappointed in Vea’s season-ending injury, Jason Pierre-Paul views it as an opportunity for the entire defense to step up, especially Rakeem Nunez-Roches.
“I think he has the perfect opportunity to show what he’s got,” Pierre-Paul explained, per Buccaneers.com. “Obviously, he’s never been in a situation like this before and I’m actually excited for him. I’m sad that Vita’s gone, but at the same time, he gets to show the world and showcase his talent. Nacho, he’s actually a good player, too. He just hasn’t had the playing time so you could see. I’m actually waiting for Nacho to get out there and see what he can do.”
Bruce Arians on the Additional Time Off: ‘We Did a Bunch of Self-Scouting’
Even with a great performance, the Bucs defense will need some help from the offense to keep up with Rodgers. Since the Buccaneers played on Thursday night, it gave the team a few extra days between games. Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians noted the team used the additional time to self-scout, and it is no surprise that decreasing penalties continue to be the focal point heading into Week 6.
“We did a bunch of self-scouting,” Arians noted, per Buccaneers.com. “There’s a lot of good things. The biggest negative thing is there are games where we have too many self-inflicted penalties and put ourselves behind the chains. Does it happen every week? No. But when they happen, they happen in bunches and we have to correct that. I think offensively things [have gone] really, really well up until last week with the red zone. We’re still running the ball well – third-down conversion could be better, but they’re going to be better if we don’t get in third-and-long all the time.”
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‘Unleash Me’: Buccaneers Star Sends Strong Message to Team