Passing Game Even Better
April 14th, 2021
Another toy to play with.
Joe isn’t trying to get people to throw rocks at their computers by typing the following, but the Bucs offense with furniture-tossing, bicycle-throwing Antonio Brown was just fine.
If the Bucs have a luxury, it’s new running back Giovani Bernard.
Joe gets why there was a sect of fans who thought this team could not succeed without a running back deft at catching the ball. But it’s alright, man.
Take Warren Sharp, for example. The noted handicapper and stat head pumped out stats this week that showed park-violating, home-invading, NFLPA-ignoring, down-forgetting, handshake-stiffing, jet-ski-losing, biscuit-baking, tequila-shooting, smartphone-phobic, waffle-grilling, trophy-throwing, roller-coaster-scared, Bucs-Super-Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady was wretched throwing to running backs last season.
Tom Brady’s RB target rate on early downs by year:
2017: 29% (#3)
2018: 33% (#1)
2019: 27% (#5)
2020: 15% (#31)and efficiency ranks of those targets:
2017: #12
2018: #10
2019: #5
2020: #29 https://t.co/tCqYaK0EO9— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) April 12, 2021
And yet the Bucs won the Super Bowl! And yet the Bucs had the second-best scoring offense in the NFL last season! And yet the Bucs averaged 30 points a game and scored at least 30 in each of their four playoff games!
The sky was not nor is falling! This isn’t Dirk Koetter’s Bucs. It’s fine. Really. Enjoy life. Relax.
The signing of Bernard just brings the Bucs one step away from a perfect offense.
Wake up, AB, before the train leaves the station!
April 14th, 2021 at 8:06 am
Gadzooks! These stats mean things will only get better
April 14th, 2021 at 8:32 am
Its preparation knowing that the other 31 teams are looking at film.
1. We showed how to stop a high flying offense
2. This gives us flexibility in offensive game planning.
If they cover the deep ball, you run (short passes to the RB count) them out of it.
April 14th, 2021 at 8:34 am
1000% agree
Cant wait
April 14th, 2021 at 8:34 am
Joe–what are you thinking? The playoff run was totally nerve-wracking! Just because it worked out in the end doesn’t mean the Bucs shouldn’t fulfill their potential to become a juggernaut. In New Orleans at the end of the 3rd Q when Jared Cook fumbled the Saints were leading and had an 83% chance of winning! The Green Bay game nearly gave me a heart attack! I prefer to brees to victory.
April 14th, 2021 at 8:37 am
Defense in nfc south better draft dbs and linebackers who can cover
April 14th, 2021 at 8:39 am
“Tom Brady was wretched throwing to running backs last season.”
Oh – so its Brady’s fault our RBs have issues catching the ball and thus could not be trusted. – LOL
Guarantee that 97% of all balls actually thrown to Bucs RBs last season were right where they needed to be……
YES – we won the Super Bowl without a decent catch passing RB on the roster – which just means that the 2021 offense should be even better and more efficient with Bernard added to the mix on 3rd and obvious passing downs……
April 14th, 2021 at 8:42 am
pass catching – LOL
April 14th, 2021 at 8:44 am
Bucs had some dead spells offensively at times. Bad quarters etc… More options the better.
April 14th, 2021 at 8:53 am
Sure was. Most playoffs are — remember? LOL 🙂
Scoring 30 or more points in every playoff game, well, an offense that does that is doing something right.
April 14th, 2021 at 8:55 am
Only improvement if Gio is in on early downs. Things should improve on 3rd down.
April 14th, 2021 at 9:03 am
I might be crazy but I feel like this offense has much more in it. I think they have a 50+ game in them.
April 14th, 2021 at 9:26 am
What other teams QB started the season without playing one snap with any of the players on the team except a TE that sat out a year and a few pitches to AB. New team, new coaches, new system at the age of 43. Has any of you done your job 20 years and then cast into a totally different element or position? Scarey feeling. Of course there will be a learning curve but to go on and watch the whole team gel and win the SB, that’s uncanny. Watch the SB again and the dump off passes to Fournett, it was surgical. That’s what was missing in 2020, it’s now going to be a huge game changer for the O this year, 30 pts/game minimum.
April 14th, 2021 at 9:49 am
“Joe gets why there was a sect of fans who thought this team could not succeed without a running back deft at catching the ball.”
False. No one ever said they couldn’t succeed, merely pointing out the obvious fact that the only weakness they had last year was how terrible the running backs were at catching the ball. Do you really not remember how many drives stalled out and ended in punts because Rojo and Lenny just flat out couldnt secure the catch? Because I remember. Yeah sure you can stick your head in the sand and say “the offense was great and they won the SB!” Which is true but that doesnt mean we shouldn’t have improved it.
Btw you said the other day that throwing short passes to RB’s was “anti Arians” and that is just wrong. David Johnson had 80 catches for 800+ yards under Arians so it’s clearly part of his philosophy offensively.
April 14th, 2021 at 10:09 am
You clearly don’t read the comments on JoeBucsFan.com. 🙂
April 14th, 2021 at 10:15 am
So the game plan is going to be to put a guy on the field on first down that hasn’t run above 3.4 YPC the past two seasons? Brilliant.
April 14th, 2021 at 10:29 am
Any and all YPC averages have to be taken with a grain of salt. He had to run behind terrible o lines.
April 14th, 2021 at 10:54 am
Honestly Joe, not sure where you’re going with this. What are you trying to say because I’m having a hard time reading between your lines on this…. What is your “real issue” with this upgrade? THE clearest weekness on Offense has now been addressed and apparently it’s living in your head. What is this, the 3rd article in 2 days where you have stated that we were fine right where we were without this upgrade? I’m with the crowd that sees the CLEAR need at the position. Two days in a row? Not seeing your point in this so I gotta ask, where’s your beef?
Why do believe we should have stayed As Is Joe? You haven’t explained…
April 14th, 2021 at 11:00 am
Unless your true concern is the money needed to bring back AB. Is that it?
April 14th, 2021 at 11:08 am
^ knowing this Joe I’d say he’s probably bummed out that since no longer have any needs at RB and we wont be selecting his man crush Travis Etienne even if he’s there to be taken at 32.
April 14th, 2021 at 11:19 am
Joe has never written about being against signing Giovani. Why make things up? If Giovani helps get the Bucs a third Super Bowl win, all the better. Sure, Joe likes Etienne. Is that a mortal sin of some sort Joe is unaware of?
Not exactly sure what your issue is here?
April 14th, 2021 at 1:11 pm
Well, I didn’t say that you had an issue with Giovani and as far as I can tell neither have you. What’s not clear is your what seems clear on upgrading to a “true” receiving running with just decent hands much less excellent… We did not have that until this pick up. I’m not sure why the miss direction from you and your not making sense because you haven’t said exactly why you have written for 2 days that we don’t really need the upgrade.
Not my words. Yours. Personal I’m just asking you why you see it that way. You can deflect and not answer. I guess it doesn’t matter what you or I think about it to the head office but I was just truly curious why you don’t seem to be behind filling the position.
Again, is it that you are concerned about not resigning AB or? Because it isn’t clear what you’re trying to say about it. It’s not a jab. I’m just curious why you feel that way. Please don’t say you don’t because for two days, that has been your sentiment. Heck maybe you don’t feel like he’s the right guy and maybe you’d be right about it. Who knows.
But please give a straight answer.
GO BUCS!!!
April 14th, 2021 at 1:42 pm
Right Joe, while you haven’t come right out and said that you don’t like the signing or think Gio isn’t a good player, you keep making a point to diminish the importance of adding a legitimate receiving back to this offense when it was literally the offenses only weakness last year.
Whether consciously or subconsciously some part of you seems to be against the notion that it was an area of the team that needed to be upgraded. And I cant help but think that has something to do with you being hot in the pants for Etienne and knowing pretty much for certain that wont happen.
April 14th, 2021 at 3:15 pm
Read somewhere that he averaged 8.4 yards each time he touched the ball with the Bengals. I would expect that average to increase with Brady and the Bucs. He caught 79% of his targets on bad teams. We should have no problem sustaining drives. Oh yeah, he’s solid in pass protection as well.
April 14th, 2021 at 7:21 pm
Saw a stat that the Buc’s three running backs on the team dropped 17 balls last year which were the most in the NFL.
April 15th, 2021 at 12:00 pm
LISTNFRMAFAR that’s exactly why Brady should’ve been league MVP not Mr. Discount Double Check, look at me I’m on Jeopardy! Aarogant Rogers! He he did more with an entirely new team of guys he had no experience with except the ones he brought in. He had to deal with the doinks from our rbs, to throw a perfect pass to them only to see it doink off their hands missing yards and points. If this dude hits 8.4 yards every time he catches the ball, more power to the Bucs. Lenny and ROJO just gonna have to have their feelings hurt!