Offense Sluggish So Far
August 22nd, 2022
Attention-grabbing numbers.
Preseason NFL games can be confusing and misleading.
Confusing in the sense that it confuses Joe why the hell they are even played. Misleading because trends in preseason don’t always carry over to the regular season. So Joe doesn’t know if any serious thought about the Bucs offense through two make-believe games makes any sense.
Just looking at guys the past two games who should also be on the field when the real bullets begin flying in Dallas in Week 1, the Bucs offense is rather sluggish. Oh, Blaine Gabbert has been fine, but do we really expect him to play after today’s return of tampering Tommy?
The longest run so far is Rachaad White’s 12-yard carry. Playoff Lenny looked very sharp on Saturday and he had a 10-yard gain. Giovani Bernard had an eight-yard gain.
Receiver Tyler Johnson carried over his strong training camp into the preseason games. He has catches of 22 and 17 yards. White also has a 17-yard catch.
That’s about it for guys who Joe expects to get significant snaps against the Cowboys. The offense from the first- and second-teamers has been pedestrian through two preseason games.
A lot of this has to do with guys not playing. Mike Evans hasn’t played. Nor Chris Godwin. Nor Julio Jones. Nor Russell Gage. And Brady has been vacationing on a personal leave of absence.
But this is something to keep an eye on when the Bucs go to Indianapolis on Saturday. And certainly for the following week in Dallas when the season opens.
August 22nd, 2022 at 12:24 am
The MASTERMIND is diligently planning on which side of the center to run on the first play against dem Boys.
Gotta exploit their weaknesses.
That, and choosing the coolest hat and shirt combo.
Gotsta look good for 2nd and 9 baby!
August 22nd, 2022 at 12:49 am
Leftwich has got to be the most disrespected coach in Bucs history. I’m a diehard Bucs fan, but our fanbase got Tom Brady and just got arrogant AF. Leftwich is the most successful OC in Bucs history. It’s not even close, and yet all people do is complain about him. It as if we was this franchise that’s always had this high octane offense, and then all of a sudden BL came and destroyed it. Please show me a more accomplished OC in team history. If you can’t, then please SHUTUP!
August 22nd, 2022 at 12:55 am
Maniac:
Name another OC to have two different quarterbacks throw for 5,000 yards in a season?
Answer: There isn’t any.
But Joe also sides with many other Bucs fans who are dumbfounded at Leftwich’s fetish for running up the middle.
August 22nd, 2022 at 1:04 am
Leftwich is a good OC, but please don’t act like he’s some master schemer. His offense is a volume based offense. It lacks creativity, and is utterly predictable. We finally caught up with the rest of league and utilized motion in our offense to great success! We’re now incorporating PA, but not nearly enough when we have the best PA QB in the NFL. I saw a stat that Cooper Kupp was matched up against a LB 54% of the time. That’s elite scheming to have the best WR in the league in a matchup against a LB.
When we didn’t have big horses at the skill positions, we looked clueless. You look at the Packers they have lesser talent running wide open. That’s elite scheming. Leftwich has been calling first down runs up the middle since his time in AZ. Leftwich is a good OC, but let’s not pretend he’s Bill Walsh. He did earn a shot at a HC position last year.
August 22nd, 2022 at 1:56 am
I’m a football guy. Been a football my whole life. I’m an OC. No where near BL level, but pretty decent at my level. The first thing I was taught, the more talent you have, the more simple you keep it.
Let’s not forgot, BL lead a unit that put up some serious numbers with Jones/Barber as the RBs, Perriman and Watson as his #3 and #4 for a whole season, and Brate as his tight end. Dude is pretty good at what he does.
August 22nd, 2022 at 2:40 am
Hopefully Tom can talk Ali out of retirement for one more season
August 22nd, 2022 at 6:38 am
Whats great is the passive aggressiveness at play here. Tampering two timing traitor tommy. Feelings hurt so bad. So sad. Yet we still dont know the real reason for being away
Remember the former guy. Yah the crotch grabber who then lied to the organization and fans and blamed the victim for making up the story . But his boyz confirmed he was drunk out mind and story not true and all came out. He was gone from the team for how many weeks. After the college you know what . But yah no hard feelings there. Of course not , and he was still americas qb. Still is and Still worshipped here by same who call the goat the opposite . Ih but there just nicknames. Even the victim involved , the same above commented he would be proud if she was his daughter for swindling americas qb for money cause i guess it didnt really happen now.
Pretty amazing to me. Does that sound about right ? But yah this is great…continue. Probably wont even make it out from mod😂
August 22nd, 2022 at 6:58 am
Leftwich’s play calling is way too dull. Run it up the middle! Looking back to last season, it looked like Brady took over the play calling when the ‘O’ was stalled. Then the Bucs started moving the ball. With Brady at qb, I could be a good OC!
August 22nd, 2022 at 7:14 am
James, I agree with you. I just hope it was dumbed down for Gabbert & Trask. If I see another out pattern to the right I will throw the remote through the TV, neither of those two Qb’s can make that pass. Of course they are sluggish, they have NO QB!!!
August 22nd, 2022 at 7:15 am
It’s preseason, vanilla offense is all the rage in pre-season.
What might be concerning is that Bucs had three games and half of a Super Bowl that looked as bad as this pres-season last season.
I hope BL has some good game plans this season, but it doesn’t look look like it when you look at last year. Brady made it happen without BL giving him much help. Maybe he can do it again.
August 22nd, 2022 at 8:09 am
I believe you really handcuff a young QB like Trask when you have unsuccessful runs on 1st downs…….
Give the kid some screens, play action on 1st…..
It seems like every time a downfield pass is completed….we go to the run on the next play, killing the momentum.
August 22nd, 2022 at 8:19 am
Some of that run up the middle is on the backs. They have the option to cut it back , bounce it off tackle or bounce it outside on that option run that starts up the middle.
August 22nd, 2022 at 8:30 am
Trask is not an NFL caliber player, and he has played over 90% of the snaps so I am not concerned about the offensive struggles.
August 22nd, 2022 at 8:38 am
We run a duo gap run scheme, and backload the willingness to show it to run pass plays that conflict defenders who’ve been reacting to duo gap run plays. The play call isn’t as simple as “run up the middle” as some of you make it sound because the blocking scheme is deployed to allow the RB space to go with/against the grain after taking the hand off and using their vision and cutting ability to find open space. Allows our IOL to either work on double teams or get to the second level and occupy backers. Also hinges on having a TE that can handle blocking an edge rusher which is often paired with a the pulling guard to often be responsible for cleaning up the DB(S/CB) that’ll overhang play side on certain runs. Leftwich isn’t the ball carrier ducking his head and just driving straight forward and schematically his run play calls give RBs more freedom than that. Which lines up with drafting RBs like Vaughn & White, especially the latter.
August 22nd, 2022 at 9:15 am
Normally, stats in the preseason are a total waste.
But this preseason, we can see the difference between our Brady-led offense and our pedestrian Non-Brady-led offense.
A stark difference it is too.
August 22nd, 2022 at 9:16 am
HELLO!
We have not been watching the Bucs offense
Stupid preseason scrimmages
August 22nd, 2022 at 9:58 am
Dooley great post, you are 100% but it’s not so much the play versus the predictability of when they are called. Lenny is a big man to be stopping and cutting to the outside, that has ACL written all over it.
August 22nd, 2022 at 10:17 am
@Listnfrmafar
I disagree, Lenny has faired quite well in the duo scheme and even running the ball this past Saturday he was .5 yard short of his 4.5 yard per run average from 2021. What makes Lenny special in the application of the scheme is that he’s the perfect back to get to the second level and I’ll take him in a in-play Oklahoma drill against an LB/DB because he’s running through arm tackles. Perfect example would be that signature run he had against GB in the 2020 playoffs where he bounced outside after getting nothing in the A-B gaps, made a guy miss and barged into the endzone. IIRC it was the same exact run play he scored his 4th TD on against the Colts, but Lenny broke to the left. Duo blocking also makes it easier to mask our screens out of the backfield and set that PA pass up.
August 22nd, 2022 at 10:44 am
If we get an offensive line our offense will be fine
August 22nd, 2022 at 12:24 pm
Dooley, don’t disagree he is a monster when he hits the open field and yes he has had many runs he’s diverted to the outside but unlike a Vaughn or L. Bell, he does not have that stop, look find a hole and bounce move. He hits the hole and like you said he breaks the arm tackles then takes it outside. He lacks a little vision. There were guys like Sanders, LT, Dorsett that perfected that, I see Lenny as more of a Williams, Campbell, Payton, Lynch style run over people first.
August 22nd, 2022 at 3:24 pm
The stupidest thing about Leftwich always running up the middle on 1st down, is that instead of setting up a playaction pass with all those super predictable runs, when he decides to throw on 1st down, he’ll most of the time go to shotgun. So there’s literally no benefit to all those runs, he’s not setting anything up, he’s just being ultra predictable for no apparently reason.
Also, I don’t really mind the runs up the middle in general, just mix up the order. I’m not saying you have to run less, I’m just saying, been saying for years, change up the order to be slightly less predictable. Also use playaction, not shotgun, when you want to throw on 1st, you dope.