Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Vernon Hargreaves has a special birthday present he's bringing home to his mother, Jackie -- a game ball from his interception against the Cincinnati Bengals on Friday night.
Hargreaves picked off Andy Dalton at the goal line for a touchdown-saving interception in the first quarter. And he did it doing exactly what head coach Dirk Koetter told him to focus on this offseason: by being aggressive."I just took a chance," said Hargreaves, Vincent Jackson Jerseysthe 11th overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft. "There wasn’t a lot of space behind him, so I took a chance. I was being aggressive, and I happened to make the play.”
"They came out, they had tight splits, Doug Martin JerseysI figured it may be something outside," Hargreaves said. "I just took a chance and it happened to work out for me."
Hargreaves also had a key pass breakup on third down that forced the Bengals to settle for a field goal, turning in one of the finest defensive performances of any Bucs player in their preseason opener.
Hargreaves is hoping he'll get his hands on more balls this year, Gerald McCoy Jerseysespecially after an up-and-down rookie season. He was tested week after week, Jameis Winston Jerseysfacing a never-ending gauntlet of receivers that included Julio Jones, Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree and Brandin Cooks. Plus, Lavonte David Jerseysthere are the two he sees in practice every day: Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson.
