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If I'm a Bucs fan, I like the confidence the guy is showing by wanting to atone for last week.
But covering the Bucs as I have (living near Tampa) over the past several years, I can tell you that this guy is strictly a cover-2 safety. The defense they are running now is not at all suited for him and he is a liability. Last week was no accident.
So, I hope Trent, AVP, and the WRs take him up on his "challenge," because if they do, they'll make plenty of big plays.
But covering the Bucs as I have (living near Tampa) over the past several years, I can tell you that this guy is strictly a cover-2 safety. The defense they are running now is not at all suited for him and he is a liability. Last week was no accident.
So, I hope Trent, AVP, and the WRs take him up on his "challenge," because if they do, they'll make plenty of big plays.
Bucs' Piscitelli knows he has target on his chest
By ROY CUMMINGS
rcummings@tampatrib.com
If there is one trait that Bucs safety Sabby Piscitelli has an abundance of, it is confidence.
His teammates will tell you he is as self-assured as any player walking their locker room, and it doesn't appear as though the struggles he had Sunday against the Cowboys have changed him much.
More than simply admitting to a couple of mistakes in coverage, Piscitelli seemingly challenged the Bills to test him with the same kind of pump fake that he bit so hard on against the Cowboys last week.
"I think as an offense that would be smart," Piscitelli said when asked if he thought Bills quarterback Trent Edwards would try to lure him into a mistake the way Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo did. "I hope (they do).
"I mean, as a defensive back you always have to have a short memory. But at the same time (when you make a mistake) you open up the opportunity to make more plays."
It was Piscitelli's desire to make a play that got him, and ultimately the Bucs, into trouble last week. On second-and-10 from the Dallas 20 early in the fourth quarter, Piscitelli bit on a Romo pump fake and got yanked out of position.
The immediate result was an 80-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Crayton that sealed the Bucs' fate in what proved to be a 34-21 opening-day loss. The long-term result figures to be right along the lines of what Piscitelli wants.
"They're going to challenge us now," Bucs defensive coordinator Jim Bates said of the fallout from that play and the three other big ones the Bucs gave up in losing to Dallas. "Those guys all have a target on their chests now."
Elbert Mack, the Bucs' cornerback whose missed tackle resulted in Miles Austin scoring on a 42-yard pass play near the end of the first half, is used to having a target on his chest.
Though he is only in his second season he is a player opposing defenses often pick on because he's the Bucs' third corner. Like Piscitelli, he expects the Bills to challenge him this week.
"Why wouldn't they?" he said. "I mean, if we saw a weaknesses in their secondary we'd do the same thing to them. But we're ready. Everything that happened last week is very correctable.
"I mean, my technique was just very sloppy on that play. And I can't blame it on first-game jitters because I played last year. I let the game take control of me instead of me taking control of the game."
Bucs coach Raheem Morris, who spent all of last year and the previous year coaching the likes of Piscitelli and Mack as the Bucs' secondary coach, agreed with Mack, saying the secondary problems are mostly correctable.
He said poor communication led to the 66-yard touchdown pass that Romo threw to Roy Williams, while another long pass to Crayton was simply the result of "a dynamic player" making a good play against a sound defense.
"It wasn't a matter of what went wrong," Morris said. "I mean, you have those days. In the opener last year against New Orleans we gave up (337) yards passing and all the articles were about the demise of the secondary.
"But then we wound up finishing (fourth in passing defense). So we'll be fine. When you play dynamic offenses like that, that stuff's going to happen. That's just how some games are played."
Hoping for an opportunity to prove you've learned from your mistakes is part of the game too, Morris said, so he understands Piscitelli's desire to be challenged by Trent Edwards, Terrell Owens and the Bills this week.
"I don't know what the Bills are going to do, but from a secondary standpoint, every time you make a mistake in the secondary, you create an opportunity for yourself.
"So if I'm Sabby, I'm fired up. If I'm E-Mack, I'm fired up. It's a personal issue with (them). You've got to stand up or step out. It's your turn. So we look at that as a nice challenge."
By ROY CUMMINGS
rcummings@tampatrib.com
If there is one trait that Bucs safety Sabby Piscitelli has an abundance of, it is confidence.
His teammates will tell you he is as self-assured as any player walking their locker room, and it doesn't appear as though the struggles he had Sunday against the Cowboys have changed him much.
More than simply admitting to a couple of mistakes in coverage, Piscitelli seemingly challenged the Bills to test him with the same kind of pump fake that he bit so hard on against the Cowboys last week.
"I think as an offense that would be smart," Piscitelli said when asked if he thought Bills quarterback Trent Edwards would try to lure him into a mistake the way Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo did. "I hope (they do).
"I mean, as a defensive back you always have to have a short memory. But at the same time (when you make a mistake) you open up the opportunity to make more plays."
It was Piscitelli's desire to make a play that got him, and ultimately the Bucs, into trouble last week. On second-and-10 from the Dallas 20 early in the fourth quarter, Piscitelli bit on a Romo pump fake and got yanked out of position.
The immediate result was an 80-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Crayton that sealed the Bucs' fate in what proved to be a 34-21 opening-day loss. The long-term result figures to be right along the lines of what Piscitelli wants.
"They're going to challenge us now," Bucs defensive coordinator Jim Bates said of the fallout from that play and the three other big ones the Bucs gave up in losing to Dallas. "Those guys all have a target on their chests now."
Elbert Mack, the Bucs' cornerback whose missed tackle resulted in Miles Austin scoring on a 42-yard pass play near the end of the first half, is used to having a target on his chest.
Though he is only in his second season he is a player opposing defenses often pick on because he's the Bucs' third corner. Like Piscitelli, he expects the Bills to challenge him this week.
"Why wouldn't they?" he said. "I mean, if we saw a weaknesses in their secondary we'd do the same thing to them. But we're ready. Everything that happened last week is very correctable.
"I mean, my technique was just very sloppy on that play. And I can't blame it on first-game jitters because I played last year. I let the game take control of me instead of me taking control of the game."
Bucs coach Raheem Morris, who spent all of last year and the previous year coaching the likes of Piscitelli and Mack as the Bucs' secondary coach, agreed with Mack, saying the secondary problems are mostly correctable.
He said poor communication led to the 66-yard touchdown pass that Romo threw to Roy Williams, while another long pass to Crayton was simply the result of "a dynamic player" making a good play against a sound defense.
"It wasn't a matter of what went wrong," Morris said. "I mean, you have those days. In the opener last year against New Orleans we gave up (337) yards passing and all the articles were about the demise of the secondary.
"But then we wound up finishing (fourth in passing defense). So we'll be fine. When you play dynamic offenses like that, that stuff's going to happen. That's just how some games are played."
Hoping for an opportunity to prove you've learned from your mistakes is part of the game too, Morris said, so he understands Piscitelli's desire to be challenged by Trent Edwards, Terrell Owens and the Bills this week.
"I don't know what the Bills are going to do, but from a secondary standpoint, every time you make a mistake in the secondary, you create an opportunity for yourself.
"So if I'm Sabby, I'm fired up. If I'm E-Mack, I'm fired up. It's a personal issue with (them). You've got to stand up or step out. It's your turn. So we look at that as a nice challenge."
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