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Bucs coach Todd Bowles was in such a good mood after the Bucs’ win last night he even let his sarcasm show.
Of course, the talk in the locker room and at the podium in the bowels of Lincoln’s Tomb was Anthony Nelson. The veteran outside linebacker has his first start of the season and he easily has his best game in the NFL and got his first pick since high school.
Bowles was ecstatic at the podium talking about Nelson.
> “He’s a good ballplayer,” Bowles said. “We talk about him all of the time. He is a very aggressive player. He is a very smart player. He hasn’t fallen for a bootleg yet.
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> “He has great anticipation when he batted the ball up. He is a very good athlete. He can catch the ball very well. He had a heck of a ballgame.
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> “Once he catches the ball, there is no one who is going to catch him for one yard.”
Well, if Nelson really cannot be stopped in gaining a yard, perhaps he needs to be involved in the Bucs’ goal line offense.
Joe is happy for Nelson, a good guy who has been around a while. He’s one of the few backups who re-sign with the same team that drafted him. Usually, those guys find greener pastures (and salaries) elsewhere.
Bowles is right. Nelson is smart and he does hustle. His issue is he gets taken out by physical teams too often. Aside from that, he always seems to have an impact when he plays.
He’s never had an impact like he had yesterday (sacks, pick-six, forced fumble).