The Buccaneers' offense will face an esteemed cast of characters in Week Six as T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Cameron Heyward come to town. Watt leads the Steelers with 4.5 sacks, while Highsmith has contributed 3.0 and Heyward 1.0 plus five quarterback hits. The surly crew feeds off of Watt's game-wrecking plays and relentless motor. Watt sets the tone and the future Hall of Famer and perennial All-Pro quickly dips underneath blockers and has a lethal push-pull that keeps tackles off-balance. On Sunday, Bucs' right tackle Luke Goedeke will see a heavy dose of the nine-time AFC Defensive Player of the Week.
"He has power, he has speed," said Goedeke on Watt's elite skillset. "He has finetuned the details that he keys in on and that can be overlooked by defenders, but he is glued into them. He has a high motor, great pass rusher, great against the run, great recognition and is the complete D-end. There is a reason he will be in the Hall of Fame. He has a flash rip that is really good. If you overset, he likes to do a spin move or a pull inside that he likes as well. He is great at timing the cadence too and he will watch TV copies and get the QB's cadence down, so we have to be on top of that this week."
Watt finishes plays and possesses sensational initial pop and the savvy rusher quickly slips past blockers at the top of the rush with an instinctive feel. He single-handedly throws off offensive schemes and lives in the backfield when single blocked. Watt became the second-fastest player in league annals to reach 100 sacks and he will be the emphasis for the Bucs' offense in Week Six.
Heyward, touted as one of the best interior defensive linemen in the game, has achieved consistency throughout his tenure. He has a deadly bull rush and long-arm move in his repertoire and the ageless wonder wrecks double teams. Tackles can only anchor for so long against his bull and Heyward makes them pay. He epitomizes the toughness of being a Steeler, along with Highsmith. The latter quickly diagnoses and can win on the inside and outside. Highsmith can beat tackles to the corner with a top-flight closing kick and has a timely inside spin.
This week for Tampa Bay, communication will be paramount along the line at creating continuity and for successfully passing off twists/stunts. Being on the same page, or as Tristan Wirfs dubs it, "sitting on a sting," will be pivotal for the Bucs' offensive line in the outcome of the game.
"They are a gritty outfit," noted Wirfs. "I remember watching the Pittsburgh Steelers growing up and Cam Heyward when I was growing up. We keep saying it is going to be a physical matchup. We obviously want to run the ball, but they have big strong guys inside and they have quick twitchy guys on the edge, but I think it is definitely going to be a really physical game. I have only played them one time and it was the infamous clip where Tom was yelling at us on the sideline…They have been putting the twist game on tape over the past couple of weeks and we know those are coming, so sitting on a string is going to be big for us."
