Red Zone Offense A Red Flag
September 30th, 2011
One reason Mike Williams has been somewhat quiet this season is the Bucs' red zone offense is awful.
OK, in the opening weeks of the season, the Bucs appeared to be sleepwalking through the first half of games. That was rectified when the Bucs defense took the Dixie Chicks for an alley beating from the first series of the game and never let up.
Check.
Also, entering the game, the Bucs were 31st against the run, which was simply unacceptable. Against the Dixie Chicks and Michael Turner, the Bucs held the Atlanta ground game to a mere 30 yards.
Check.
Now, how about the red zone offense.
Partially due to quarterback Josh Freeman’s interceptions in the red zone the Bucs’ red zone offense is currently second-worst in the NFL, notes Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune.
The Bucs enter Monday night’s against the Colts ranked 31st in the league in offensive red-zone efficiency, having scored just three touchdowns in 11 red-zone possessions.
Freeman’s red-zone mistakes are obviously part of the problem. But as his comments to Van Pelt prior to their meeting on Tuesday indicate, he’s well aware of his personal contributions.
“Two turnovers in the red zone, that’s just unacceptable,” Freeman said. “That’s something you really don’t anticipate doing or expect to do at anytime. And we talk about it all the time.”
There are simple ways to resolve this ailment:
The first would be to pound LeGarrette Blount early and often. The more he runs the ball, the more the Dolts and other teams will stack the box, and by simple arithmetic, less bodies will be available to cover receivers.
Also, have Freeman roll out. The dude is virtually lethal on his feet. Having Freeman roll out and tuck the ball, he could just fall forward and gain a yard. Again, Freeman on a roll out would be a magnet for linebackers which, of course, opens up the defense. Joe Montana made a career of such moves.
It’s heartening to see the Bucs improving as the NFL season grows. It’s a good sign. Once Freeman is on track, this could be a scary team.
September 30th, 2011 at 8:23 am
Joe, I know you don’t allow re-posts, but my sentiments exactly in a post yesterday on whether Freeman has regressed that seemed to have gotten lost amid some useless banter about online ads.
September 30th, 2011 at 8:48 am
It’s clear the Bucs still don’t trust Legarrette in short-yardage situations.
September 30th, 2011 at 8:51 am
The only problem this team has is Olson and his ridiculous play calling. Demote him and you solve all your offensive problems. I know Freeman is having a few issues but the play calling or lack off play calling is creating many of the problems. If I’m not mistaken isn’t Freemans completion percentage up? A couple better throws and a few better set up of plays and Freeman is lights out. Olson is stopping this kid and this offense from being elite.
September 30th, 2011 at 8:54 am
Brad:
Yes, but Raheem acknowledged in an interview Joe posted earlier this week that the Bucs were calling for shorter, high-percentage passes in order to try to get the ball rolling because Freeman’s accuracy hasn’t been sharp.
September 30th, 2011 at 8:58 am
brad, olson isn’t the one that’s slow on his reads and forcing the ball into double coverage. freeman has been pressing instead of taking what the defense is giving him, especialy in the red zone. that has nothing to do with play calling.
September 30th, 2011 at 9:24 am
Didn’t someone post, at one point, that opposing teams are noticing that the Bucs playbook is essentially unchanged from last year and that they’re running pretty much the same plays?
In the middle of the field, when the playbook is wide open, it’s probably difficult to guess what’s coming. At the goal line, when the playbook is much more limited, I imagine that defenses are easily clued into what’s coming next based on formation and personnel groupings.
Olson might want to consider drawing up some new goal-to-go plays.
September 30th, 2011 at 9:28 am
How long have you really been a fan? Olson is the best OC we have had in decades, if not ever. Even the vaulted Jon Gruden did not accomplish so much in such a short time.
You bolded statements say it all. If FREEMAN plays better, they are elite. Even Freeman admits this is true.
See, I’m not entirely sure about that.
I agree on pounding the ball early and often, I just don’t know if Blount should get the lion’s share of the carries in the first quarter or so. To me, I think you pound early with the biggest, hardest hitting and least productive runners. Their purpose is to hit the line hard and often…wear them down.
And then you use Blount…once hte line is worn down a bit. That’s when he’ll be most productive.
That makes the most sense to me, and yet the Bucs have not done it in years. And they have not had a productive running game in years.
September 30th, 2011 at 9:29 am
Have Freeman roll out… Yeah, Joe. That sounds good on the surface. But isn’t that exactly what they did on one of the two INTs in the red zone? Roll Freeman out? Sure, they had him roll left, yeah he probably could have tucked it and ran, so Stocker was actually open against a LB just a few yards to the left… but Free chose to throw it to the back of the end zone, didn’t see the coverage and got picked. It still requires Freeman making better decisions with the ball when he has it.
September 30th, 2011 at 10:03 am
btw, Aaron Curry is on the trading block from the Seahawks for a low-round pick. LB with 5.5 sacks and 146 combined tackles in the last 3 years. Also in that 3 years he had 4 forced fumbles.
Really, it’s only 2 years and 3 games.
He’s only 25, but his contract has a $5 mill base. It could be he could be useful. And we certainly have cap room.
September 30th, 2011 at 11:07 am
pete, teams dont put 1st round picks on the block after 3 years if they’re worth a sh!t. curry has been a pretty big bust. think quincy black, only black wasn’t a top ten pick. classic workout warriors.
September 30th, 2011 at 11:37 am
Besides changing of the structure of their defensive, Pete Carroll seems to just be getting rid of any players that aren’t his. I believe, they also tried Curry as a pass-rushing defensive end in third-down situations last year.
September 30th, 2011 at 1:31 pm
They need to keep Blount in on passing downs in the Redzone!! We are so predictable when our “3rd Down” back Insurance Graham comes in pass!!pass!! draw Graham can’t break a tackle= FG.
Whenever Olson or Raheem, which ever is making the call, realize the would be better off having Blount in on all three downs and taking the good with bad. I truly believe this offense will blow up.
September 30th, 2011 at 2:05 pm
My only issue with the red zone playcalling would be to mix in a QB draw every now and then. Other than that, to call out Olsen for the red zone issues is ridiculous. Olsen didn’t illegally shift to nullify a Mike Williams TD catch. Nor did he throw the 2 picks or commit a hold that brought us into 3rd and long situations.
Freeman simply needs to be more of a running threat in the red zone because no one will stop him if he runs down hill and only needs to get 3-4 yards in a goal-to-go situation. I think if anything, its Freeman who is trying to be too cute. Just run ’em over Free!!!
September 30th, 2011 at 2:52 pm
Cracks me up, how often poor playcalling is misstaken for poor execution!
September 30th, 2011 at 3:46 pm
OAR, you hit the nail on the head buddy. The players execute, all of a sudden the OC is a genius….if the players don’t execute…our play calling sucks. The reason Mike Williams doesn’t have the numbers this year is because HE’S NOT GETTING OPEN. The reason Freeman is seeming to be off this year is NO ONE IS GETTING OPEN AND THE TIMING OF THE PATTERNS IS OFF. You don’t think Freeman is looking for Williams to get him the ball???!! C’mon! You know better than that. Williams needs to find a way to come up with some new moves that are gonna shake the opposing corners. When Tom Brady is able to throw his balls to receivers before they make their cut on timing routes he has a field day. If his receivers are blanketed or he’s under duress he can look bad too. I’m not saying I haven’t seen some bad throws from Josh this year…I have, BUT I think the blame should be shared with the receivers. Those guys have to start winning battles. So far Preston Parker is the only one to do so on a consistent basis and Freeman looked pretty darn good getting the ball to him.
September 30th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
Bobby
Couldn’t agree more! Not having the offseason(OTAs, minincamps, etc) to address those things(timing, new line coaches, etc) hurt us for sure. Hopefully, they will start ironing out those few wrinkles!