Offensive Arsenal
July 12th, 2019
Strong season critical.
A follicly-challenged spreadsheeter strongly believes if the Bucs offense cannot carry this team past the potholes left from a question-mark-laden defense, there will be a very specific finger to point.
And that finger, types Billy Barnwell of BSPN, will be directly pointed at the currently horrible Bucs running attack.
Barnwell came out firing in his column ranking all NFL teams based on their “offensive arsenals.” His is sure the Bucs willfully ignoring upgrading a rotten running game could come back to bite the team hard.
Barnwell all but typed the running backs are so poor they could drag down the entire team.
14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2018 rank: No. 15 | 2017: No. 10How high can you make it with the league’s worst running back corps? Nobody seems to be very excited about a Bucs backfield paced by Peyton Barber, although it’s too early to give up on Ronald Jones after Tampa took him in the second round a year ago. With a league-average running back room, the Bucs would be in the top five of these rankings.
They’ve made it to No. 14 because Tampa’s receiving corps could be devastating. Mike Evans posted his best season in 2018, averaging more than 11 yards per target and playing all 16 games for the second time in five tries. Chris Godwin added more volume at the expense of the now-departed DeSean Jackson, although he fumbled four times on 59 touches. The Colts are the only team whose one-two punch at tight end currently tops Tampa’s combo of O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate. There’s not much in the cupboard beyond those four unless Breshad Perriman’s minibreakout from Cleveland sticks or Jones delivers on the promise he showed in school.
Here is one reason why Joe is so concerned about a lack of a running game: As it currently stands, defenses aren’t even going to waste their time defending the Bucs’ [limp] running attack. What is there that should make a defensive coach lose any sleep?
Just about every defensive coordinator says his goal each game is to try to make an opposing offense one-dimensional. As it current stands, the Bucs will be one dimensional before they leave the locker room.
If the Bucs only had one guy who posed even a shred of a threat to do damage on the ground, this could be a lethal offense.
And people wonder why Bucs fans pine for Melvin Gordon or Duke Johnson.
July 12th, 2019 at 12:23 pm
Another problem is the lack of the qb to be able to hit the deep ball on the take it to the house plays!!!!! Sure he can just chuck it up the the wr/te has to fight for it, or come back to it, only to fall down with no yac!!!!!!!!!! But other teams do not respect jw3 deep strike ability!!!!!! Then there is the overrated O-line that this year is the second highest paid in in the league!!!!!!!!!!! The Bucs are surely not getting their money worth then!!!!!!! And remember that this O-line has an uncanny timming of getting penalized at the worst time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The finger pointing will happen!!!!!! The excuses will come fast and early on!!!!!! And some sheep will even question all the trash that was talked by ole coach stale biscuit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2019 will reveal anwers to the sheep, that the “real” fans already know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 12th, 2019 at 12:29 pm
Been drafting pretty instead of ugly
July 12th, 2019 at 12:32 pm
I’d love to see a Patriots-like run game… can pound when needed and lots of creativity in the passing game. But, just with the talent we have I’d love to see any D feel great about trying to defend a one dimensional offense featuring Evans, Brate, Godwin and OJ. In that scenario your RB is primarily an extra blocker/keep them honest option… and you can “run” via some WR screens out of trips whenever the D runs out of DBs to cover these guys. Forget about 8 in the box… there might only be 4 and I’m willing to bet Barber and our OL can run on that.
July 12th, 2019 at 12:33 pm
we need duke….
GO BUCS!!!!
July 12th, 2019 at 12:33 pm
So many people keep talking about what the team was last year under a different coaching staff and for some reason dont understand why it’s not common sense. No one I ever saw overrated our o line, the run game has been average to below average many years but they still managed to have a highly rated offense last year. We have some of the dumbest fans on earth because they think there are winning teams out there with loaded rosters and they have zero holes. Every roster has weaknesses which is why the chargers got exposed so easily. Coaches mask deficiencies not ignore them. This will be a promising season with hope like tony dungy had when he came.
July 12th, 2019 at 12:55 pm
realist
so i guess you’re off the “smitty was forced to run a 43 for GMC” theory and on the “winston is trash” theory…lol…
you’ve made excuse after excuse….
dirk and smitty failed….BA will expose them!!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
July 12th, 2019 at 12:59 pm
Race to 10 … Excellent points all around. Fact is that no one knows AT THIS POINT what we have in our OLine, our RBs or even our QB. What we ALSO don’t know is what the roster will look like come Sept 8th. I’m still of the opinion that there’ll be some quality veteran OLinemen AND RBs released prior to Game 1. Bucs can be in a salary Cap position to add 1-2 OLinemen and probably 1 RB before season start. But depending on how players take to this new staff’s coaching & how they develop, we may not have to. All this SPECULATION at this point is pretty much worthless.
Liked what you said about coaches masking deficiencies. So true, right up to the point where you have too many weaknesses to mask. It’s at that point that you get ‘exposed’ just like the Chargers did. I’m convinced that this pending defensive roster will be significantly stronger (better talent AND better leadership) than what we’ve put on the field for many years. Only time will tell, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see our defense shave at least 7 PPG off of what we allowed last year (29 PPG down to 22 PPG or less). IF our offense can be at least as productive as they were last year (almost 25 PPG) we SHOULD at least break even (8-8) on the season and maybe do as well as 10-6. LOTS of IFs in there however. Just have to let it play out.
July 12th, 2019 at 1:09 pm
Bucs fans pining for Melvin or Duke have fallin off the rocking chair. Where to start:
1. Passing league.
2. HC with high % of passing
3. We drafted a second round RB last year. Maybe lose his rookie jitters with a
good staff and blow up.
4. NO MONEY!!!
July 12th, 2019 at 1:19 pm
After 6 Jason Licht drafts our backs are barber and jones……..
Glazers give me Jason job. I can guarantee i will do better at half the price.
July 12th, 2019 at 1:33 pm
Joe—
“A follicly-challenged spreadsheeter…”
Literally brought on a belly laugh! That’s the funniest damned thing you’ve ever written. THOSE four words artfully string together just made this Friday afternoon better. I thank you!
July 12th, 2019 at 1:34 pm
strung
July 12th, 2019 at 1:43 pm
^^Not on offense but no chance we get Claiborne either.^^ Our cuts need to go to the oline pre-TC cuts. Pick the best ones and some camp meat for the right side.
July 12th, 2019 at 1:48 pm
The simpletons always take the easy route. Instead of tackling the crux of the problem and going after a crappy run blocking O-line, it’s just easier and lazy to blame it solely on the RB’s. So instead of blocking defenders and opening some running lanes we need a running back that can shed gang tackling 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage? Or He|| even block for himself. Where in this universe does that even make sense? The HOF RB Terrell Davis has said had it not been for his great run blocking O-line, he would not have had such success. After the combine this season on national tv, he said, if he had to run behind TB’s O-line he would probably not had as much success. That say’s a lot, and I trust his perspective over a bunch of pencil pushers.
July 12th, 2019 at 2:15 pm
Barnwell *hates* Joe. 🙂
July 12th, 2019 at 2:18 pm
in James Winston’s first season with the Bucs, Doug Martin rushed for over 1,400+ YARDS!
Jameis Winston led us to… wait for it… SIX WINS.
SIX WINS with a RB rushing for over 1,400+ YARDS and over 1,600+ total yards from scrimmage.
SIX WIINS.
6. Lousy. Wins.
I don’t want to hear these excuses about Winston and a lack of a running game. He had one and still couldn’t win consistently. Oh… I know… it has to be the Defense’s fault!
It’s always someone else’s fault but Winston’s.
July 12th, 2019 at 2:37 pm
There is a very simple solution to this that I am surprised no one has suggested……and that is to hand the ball off to Evans, Godwin, Brate or OJ…..since our Oline isn’t the problem.
July 12th, 2019 at 2:37 pm
Here is why I am excited about 2019 without going all over the specific players and coaches.
Raceto10 and D.R. both brought up excellent points about players and coaches. In all honesty this team is loaded with question marks.
And so one could say…yeah but it’s the Bucs we already know how Buc question marks end….or….
One could say the Bucs are not the first question mark laden team BA has taken over and he has largely succeeded everytime. So which past will win out…BA’s successful record or the Bucs dismal history?
You get to pick either. It’s YOUR choice. You’re still a great fan if the scars have just been too much for you….but still I invite you to jump in and swim in the pool of optimism. I can only guarantee another month or so of carefree swimming. Then the truth starts to set in and we’ll see reality.
And we’ll have our answer to who has been correct this preseason. The optimists or the crushed. I do not use “crushed” as an insult. Anybody here who has been crushed by the weight of the failure of the Bucs has every right…but again you can choose to join we cockeyed optimists if you wish.
July 12th, 2019 at 2:38 pm
BucsBandit dude you got issues and you’re basically obsessed with our franchise QB.
July 12th, 2019 at 2:39 pm
BUCO–WHAT IS STALE?”WELL THAT WOULD BE YOUR CONTINUOUS INSULTS TO OUR NEW COACH.”Thanks for your first paragraph Defense Rules.I agree with your spot on remarks.
July 12th, 2019 at 2:54 pm
Jean Lafitte … ‘HOF RB Terrell Davis has said had it not been for his great run blocking O-line, he would not have had such success’. Ooooh, opened an old wound there Jean. I still can’t figure out for the life of me why Terrell Davis was elected to the HOF. His stats are quite good, but LOTS of other RBs who didn’t get into the HOF were much better IMO. Davis was a 6th Rnd pick of the Broncos in 1995 and only played 7 seasons. That equated to only 78 games played in. Gained 7600 yds rushing in those 7 yrs plus another 1280 receiving. He ended up ‘touching the ball’ an average of 260 times per year (a tad over 16 times per game).
Good stats no doubt, but lots of other RBs I think plugged away a lot longer behind much worse OLines yet put up even better overall numbers. Warrick Dunn for instance, just to use an ex-Buc. Drafted 1st Rnd in 1997 by the Bucs and played 12 seasons (6 with the Bucs, 6 with Atlanta). That equated to playing in 181 games total. Gained 10,967 yds rushing and another 4,339 receiving for a total of well over 15,000 yds. Had 3,179 touches in those 12 yrs (265 touches per yr average or an average of 16.6 times per game). Not in the HOF … yet.
July 12th, 2019 at 2:56 pm
2015 was the first time the Bucs ever finished top 5 in total offense. Lovie was fired because the defense completely collapsed the 2nd half of the season. The next season Doug ran for 400 yards and Jameis won 9 games.
July 12th, 2019 at 3:19 pm
Projecting the future from cobbled together cherry picked stats from different seasons and coaches is a fools game…SMF’n head
July 12th, 2019 at 3:35 pm
New scheme new system new coaching new players new era new team.
The concerns are legitimate but is totally bogus to label this offense as “one dimensional before leaving the lockerroom” before they even get a chance to play a game.
Things are never that black and white in sports and anybody buying into it is a fool. If it was all that simple like you say Conner(pit) & Eckler(sd) would have put up lousy numbers last year Blount(Det) & Fournette(Jax) would not have been horsespit either…….Then there is my good friends Steven Ridley & Alf Morris whose numbers tell a nice little tale…………Some of yall wanna label and dismiss players because of what they did on Dirk’s team yet history prooves that mindset to be niave. I mean dang, a Bucs fan above all others should know what a new team can do for a player. We’ve only had 100 or so home grown examples bite us in our own ass……….Y’all keep whining about Dirks under prepared mentally thin team…….I’ll look at the future and thank my lucky stars that the new team these guys are on is Bruce’s team in Tampa Bay…….Y’all can jump on the bandwagon later.
July 12th, 2019 at 3:36 pm
We will find out pretty quick if was a lack of coaching/scheme or talent
July 12th, 2019 at 3:37 pm
And kudos to Joe. I’ll admitt you tilted me hard with this little diddy you wrote up. I’m guessing that’s what you were trying to do.
July 12th, 2019 at 3:40 pm
“A follicly-challenged spreadsheeter …”
Good one!
Sadly though, it diminishes his credibility.
There’s old saying in the ape world: “Never trust a balding human, especially one with a combover.”
I tend to agree.
Sorry Barnwell …
July 12th, 2019 at 3:41 pm
BTW….What type of fan talks crap about our HC before he even gets to manage a single game? What an absolute stain you are dude.
July 12th, 2019 at 3:48 pm
BucsBandit
Jameis ain’t perfect, but it was the defense fault. Defense wins championships.
July 12th, 2019 at 3:56 pm
Billy Barnwell may be folically challenged but he sounds like a true genius when he talks about the ,#1 rated Los Angeles Rams and their great new RB.
Indignant Chiefs fans are likely yelling about Todd Gurley and Cooper Kupp right about now, and indeed, there are reasons to be worried about two of the Rams’ stars. Kupp is returning from a torn ACL and should be active for Week 1, but it’s impossible to say whether he will be the same guy who was on pace for 1,132 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns before blowing out his knee.
Gurley is a scarier proposition. The reports suggesting he is suffering from arthritis in his knee seem to be accurate, and everything the Rams have done and said suggests that the days of Gurley taking 90-plus percent of the offensive snaps are over. Los Angeles is enthused about third-round pick Darrell Henderson, and ESPN college football guru Bill Connelly raved about Henderson’s explosiveness before the draft, but Gurley was the best running back in football when healthy over the past two years. It’s tough to imagine the Rams will get that sort of volume and efficiency from a combination of Henderson and an arthritic Gurley in 2019.
With that being said, this isn’t a binary problem. Gurley probably isn’t going to average nearly 23 touches per game or average five touchdowns per month like he did from 2017-2018, but he could still be a very useful running back in the range of 15-18 touches per week. That’s less exciting for fantasy football, but it’s probably better for the Rams, especially if Henderson delivers on the preseason hype. There’s not much at tight end here, but when you think about just how deep the Rams are at wide receiver with Kupp, Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods, even 85% of the old Gurley is enough to propel the Rams to the top of the weaponry charts.
July 12th, 2019 at 3:58 pm
Defense Rules great point about Terell Davis. A great story can be said about his predecessor too, Clinton Portis. Portis benefited from the same great OL and put up phenomenal numbers. Then he was traded to Washington and his production took a nosedive. He was never able to replicate the production he had in Denver…..but Why?
Did he lost his talent? Was their magic in Denver?
Maybe…….Or maybe it has something to do with what you always preach about teamwork. maybe Washington was not as good as a team…………..There’s tons and tons more examples similar to Portis too.
July 12th, 2019 at 4:02 pm
Ghost it sounds like you wanna be a Rams fan.
Don’t worry well let you on the bandwagon later when the Bucs get good. But you should know that cheaters can only sit by the bathrooms and our bandwagon is a ship & them bathrooms get pretty ripe bro.
July 12th, 2019 at 4:46 pm
Joe, heard the latest Ira Kaufman podcast and both Lee and Steve completely slammed ROJO actiing like Arians is nuts for saying he is better than Koetter would have us to believe . I get the take that he is just trying to get this guys confidence up but I heard Arians on a competitors podcast saying “he can catch the ball” and he didnt say it matter of fact he said he has seen him catch numerous passes in shorts. Ok when the pads come on we will see but why do we think that Koetter was the ultimate talent evaluator???? Koetter also protected Mesean Jackson throwing Jameis effectively under the bus. We also know Koetter hates screen passes (one of the most effective plays in the league when executed). Koetter might have had a run game had he stayed the course but wait Jaquez Rogers was the next Jim Brown so we are to believe.
July 12th, 2019 at 4:54 pm
Ghost—
Good Lord man. I know you grabbed your screen name in jest…and yes, I too wish we drafted Henderson. But your bit is getting old. This website is about the BUCS not the Rams. Not interested in their issues, their history or if Henderson is an over or an under when it comes to loading the toilet paper that seemingly wipes your ass!
Give up the Ghost, Bro! Not relevant anymore.
July 12th, 2019 at 5:01 pm
Yeah, Ghost …
What Todd says!
Why don’t you make like a tree and … get outta here!
Biff
July 12th, 2019 at 7:37 pm
Rojo will catch a ton of passes this season. and ill bet someone 100 dollars that is miller makes the team Jameis hits him for a bomb first try and proves that Djax was slowing up on his routes just to make Jameis look inaccurate.
Can you pull up some fancy nexgen stats joe showing deseans speed from the snap down the field in Philly and washington comparred to his time with the Bucs? I’d bet another hundred it shows him running faster yhis season is philly than he did for the bucs the last two seasons.
July 12th, 2019 at 9:36 pm
Honestly I think we should pick up ajayi. I think hes gonna come back from his injury with a chip on his shoulder n make philly regret not resigning him
July 12th, 2019 at 9:40 pm
This will be Joe’s new rallying cry: The RB position…Howard is calling it now.
Joes 1st campaign – Bucs need QB
Joes 2nd campaign – Bucs need DE
Of course he was right on both counts. Bucs got Winston (dodged Manziel) and let Michael Bennet walk for no good reason and still haven’t righted that grievous wrong
July 13th, 2019 at 1:25 am
“… the Bucs’ [limp] running attack. What is there that should make a defensive coach lose any sleep?””
.
.
Maybe anticipating our [limp-wristed] cheerleader attack will keep him awake.
July 13th, 2019 at 2:22 am
Another website had a trade scenario between the Bucs and Chargers that had us sending Vernon Hargreaves and a 6th rounder for Gordon. We would be extremely fortunate if the Chargers were dumb enough to make that trade.
July 13th, 2019 at 5:50 pm
I’m not counting them out in any aspect, just yet. New sheriff, new deputies and all new playbook. Koetter’s big problem was his game plan was too predictable. I think it’s more about the offensive line and their ability to adapt. A marginal running back will shine behind a great O line. I’m hopeful and cautiously optimistic. Peyton Barber has the goods. He just needs good plays and guys that can block. So I’m not in agreement with any of these BS predictions. The past is the past. The King is dead and buried in Atlanta.