Tom Brady, The Run Game & The NFC Championship
January 23rd, 2021
Tom Brady starred in one of the great games of this century, the AFC Championship of the 2018 season. The Belicheats won a thriller, 37-31, and it was a unique game in Brady’s career.
He handed off a whopping 48 times, and that yielded a punishing 176 yards and four touchdowns. But leaning on the run game wasn’t enough to keep Brady from needing 46 pass attempts to secure a win in Kansas City.
That’s 94 snaps, and it’s a great example of why Joe expects the Bucs to work hard to establish the run against the Packers on Sunday and lean on it when they can. Because there’s a darn good chance Brady airing it out successfully will not be good enough to win.
Prior to 2018, in Brady’s previous three AFC Championship games, the Belicheats had zero run game and it was all Brady carrying the offense. Before that, it was Brady taking a backseat to LeGarrette Blount going wild on the Colts, 30 carries for 148 yards and three TDs in the 2014 AFC finale.
Brady has a heavy hand in the crafting the Tampa Bay offensive gameplan, as well as in making gameday decisions. So will he lean towards staying patient with the run? Perhaps more patient than Bucs fans would like?
Forgetting about the Packers’ soft run defense for a moment, Joe suspects Brady will be super eager to get that run game going.
January 23rd, 2021 at 7:25 pm
Go Bucs
January 23rd, 2021 at 7:31 pm
This. It would be great if Bucs get 200+ yards rushing tomorrow.
January 23rd, 2021 at 7:31 pm
In Tom we trust!!
January 23rd, 2021 at 8:11 pm
Whatever it takes to get that W.
January 23rd, 2021 at 8:13 pm
Brady has the experience. Do it his way.
January 23rd, 2021 at 8:13 pm
You do what defenses give you and what individual matchups allow. With that said, most importantly, you have to be unpredictable, e.g. do not run on every first down, even when you try to establish the run.
January 23rd, 2021 at 8:18 pm
Let’s F’n do it!!! Unleash the Kraken!! Go Bucs!!
January 23rd, 2021 at 8:50 pm
If they run successfully SB in Tampa
January 23rd, 2021 at 8:53 pm
Got to give them a chance because I’ve seen a lot of stupid sh!t with these coaches. RoJo might of had 1,200 yards before he got injured if he was given the number of carries he should of had.
January 23rd, 2021 at 9:37 pm
Glad to see y’all finally coming around about the run game! … You HAVE TO be able to run in the playoffs!! On first down! … If you can continually get 3 or 5 yards from a first down run the defense has to defend the run or pass on second…. I would attack just the way they did in the saints game but with a lot more Rojo to punish them and make them hurt in that cold an slow them down!! ….. Then take shots on the 2nd and shorts and if they miss you can run on 3rd in a 4 we set to spread the defense or pass again!! … Being able to run the ball on first down sets up EVERYTHING! You can control the game and make the defense not know WTH to do!!
January 23rd, 2021 at 10:15 pm
Run or pass or lots of both. I don’t care, as long as the Bucs bring home a win.
January 23rd, 2021 at 10:24 pm
You must be willing to run in all four downs if you really want the run game to work. Too many times we’ve predictably ran on 1st down and passed on 3rd and short an it hasn’t worked out. Here and there it has but there are times we should run in order to put the fear of us running in them. 3rd and short we should run to impose our will on them because they will stack the line to stop it. What better way to take out their heart than being able to impose our will and they can do nothing to stop it!
January 24th, 2021 at 8:48 pm
Every possession is 2nd and long, limits a lot of options. Not a fan of it.