Don’t Be Surprised If…
September 2nd, 2022
“Don’t forget about me!”
Could an old man (by NFL standards) actually put together back-to-back seasons leading the NFL in passing? One plugged-in NFL reporter doesn’t think it is so crazy.
Dan Graziano of BSPN wrote a column where he chose surprises and not-so-surprising elements for each NFL team. With the Bucs, Graziano thinks there is a real chance Brady leads the league again in passing because the Bucs’ internal shot-callers are not freaking out about the offensive line like some fans are.
Don’t be surprised if … Tom Brady throws for 5,000 yards again.
What I’m hearing: The internal concern over the Bucs’ offensive line issues, Brady’s training camp absence, the changes on the coaching staff, etc., don’t match the external concern. The Bucs believe Brady is in the right frame of mind to start the season and that the guys they will line up in front of him Week 1 are good enough to keep him protected.
If both of those things are true, and if Chris Godwin comes back early in the season as they expect him to, Brady should continue to do what he has done since he got to Tampa. There are some questions on defense, but if they can keep him protected, Brady should be the least of the Bucs’ problems.
The key, of course, is the offensive line. If Robert Hainsey is as competent (good?) as the shot-callers believe him to be and can stay healthy at center, and Luke Goedeke progresses at left guard like the Bucs think he can, this offense could be just as good as last year.
Health is paramount. The Bucs have little margin for error with injuries up front.
How wild would it be if Brady threw for 5,000 yards (again) at the age of 45?
September 2nd, 2022 at 4:46 am
It sure would beat him getting pummeled and us having to
Watch Blaine Gabbert lead the rest of the way.
September 2nd, 2022 at 5:09 am
Color me skeptical. Too many questions as to pass protection, WR health, and capabilities at TE.
September 2nd, 2022 at 6:31 am
No one ever considers the fact Brady has a super computer for a brain. Add to that his preparation is other-worldly and he has, oh, 20+ years diagnosing defenses before the snap ever occurs…he’ll know precisely where to go with the ball and get it out of his hands in 2.5 s comes in average.
The line just has to be serviceable. The tight ends just have to run the proper routes and be able to catch the ball better than, let’s say, Tyler Johnson. The receivers are the best to ever be assembled on one roster and the depth there is impressive.
My question is, will Brady throw for more than 6,000 yards this year?
I wouldn’t bet against it.
The cold, hard fact is Tommy needs that 8th ring to feel complete and finally get Giselle off his a$$…because the Sports Illustrated cover shot with him tucking his thumbs and extending his 8 digits, each sporting a Super Bowl ring, is what REALLY drives Tom (Aaron Rodgers who?!). He’ll be able to tell Giselle, “Okay, next year…no football, honey-bunches.”
Until…he starts considering how lonely his thumbs are.
Those thumbs will haunt him!
Two more Super Bowls remain to win.
“Umm, Giselle? About that Costa Rica vacation we scheduled…”
September 2nd, 2022 at 6:31 am
2.5 seconds. That’s the average time right?
The o line will look better than it is.
September 2nd, 2022 at 6:31 am
2.5 seconds on average…
September 2nd, 2022 at 6:35 am
You would think lining up Hjicks, Vea across from Goedeke, Hainsey and/or Leveritt will make them more than just adequate come week 1.
September 2nd, 2022 at 6:39 am
Well we all thought he was going to get killed in 2020 and they ended up being one of the best lines we ever put together. If they struggle in the beginning Tom has to rely on his backs as much as possible until defenses HAVE to take in account for them because he tends to keep his eyes down field. He doesn’t dump off passes here like he did in NE. Given time this line will gel
September 2nd, 2022 at 6:46 am
To answer your last question, if Brady does that at the age of 45 (and w/ 3 new IOL) we open up a new club section at RayJay and call it the “45 Club”….ain’t no one else ever getting into that club!
September 2nd, 2022 at 7:33 am
If Brady was worried, the Bucs would have already made some moves.
September 2nd, 2022 at 7:42 am
Roger’s will probably still get MVP, the AP loves that choke.
September 2nd, 2022 at 7:51 am
Word is that Jensen is walking around on that knee although it was heavily wrapped. Funny business going on somewhere. If it’s too swollen to get an accurate evaluation on it then you wouldn’t be allowed to walk on it.
September 2nd, 2022 at 7:56 am
I’m surprised we haven’t bought in a depth piece (at least) on the Oline yet…..we lost 2 starters…..that in itself exposes depth……
Bucs may think all of their backups are better than every Olineman that was cut.
September 2nd, 2022 at 9:22 am
2.5 seconds from a shot gun formation and Brady is good to go. Not as sure about the run game. Need to think pass on first downs and use the run as change up. Tired of off tackle runs every first down over and over again.
September 2nd, 2022 at 9:54 am
Wait for the G-hag to stomp her hooves again. That’ll really get Tom in the right frame of mind to beat the Rams. Can’t someone cast her in a movie or something, distract her from Tom’s football career for a few months? I hear Netflix is considering a remake of “My Friend Flicka.” She’d be perfect for that.
September 2nd, 2022 at 11:13 am
This OL is a big concern and everyone knows it. I attended a season ticket holders event this week, and Tom was asked about the OL. He seemed fine with RT, RG,LT. He sounded like he accepted the fact that Hainsey is the guy this year, but he said LG was still in question. Bowles and Licht were sitting right there when he said it. Bowles and Licht might be excited about Goedeke at LG, but Tommy boy is certainly not, and he had no problem with letting them know it. Why would Tom feel comfortable with Goedke. He watched the film. He saw the guy getting bulldozed play after play. He sees the guy in practice everyday. Leverett is even worse than Goedeke. We need to make a move at LG.
Teams know that the offense will try to get the ball out quickly. They will try to disrupt the routes and throw off the receivers route and force Tom to hold the ball longer. Teams won’t have to blitz to get pressure. They could just rush 4 and play coverage. That’s been an effective strategy against us in the past. Tom hinted in the press conference that there might be a change in scheme to compensate for the weak OL. Let’s hope so.
Watching the first team offense against the Colts, I noticed on that deep out throw to Julio that Tom drop was much further in the shotgun than I’ve seen. It was strange because Tom is so meticulous in how far he drops back. Was it to compensate for the weakness in the OL. Either way, that scared me because it means that Tom will have to make tougher throws. Also, I’m worried that our offense might move the ball fine, but will stall on third down. We’re gonna depend on YAC, but we don’t have the receivers other than Godwin or Gage that can consistently get YAC. One the third down throw to Brate, he was so damn slow and couldn’t break tackles. If it were Gronk, he would easily picked up the first down. I wanna see more of Otton.
September 2nd, 2022 at 11:16 am
They need to bring in another o-lineman or 3.
Zero depth there right now, and Hainsey appears to be at least somewhat brittle.
September 2nd, 2022 at 11:35 am
Brady may struggle with consistency this year but it won’t be the O-Line – his mind is clearly elsewhere based on the last presser. Could be problems and eventually we all do slow down so the mental aspect distractions cannot help that. Let’s hope he stays married and keeps winning but there are a ton of distractions this year it seems.
September 2nd, 2022 at 1:53 pm
Thanks Bucsfan13.
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:03 pm
Tommy Boy gets the ball out within 2.5 seconds or so on average, but bear in mind that late-developing routes will be much more challenging to execute, not to mention that opposing teams will pack more DBs in the second level as they anticipate dink and dunk. The latter can be exploited with a TE like Gronk, but barring an unforeseen trade, that’s not an option this season.
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:21 pm
@Passing Thru. You’re absolutely right. Defenses aren’t dumb. They will anticipate short passes and cloud the short/intermediate areas. Leftwich will need to actually scheme people open this year. We cannot expect our man to beat their man. It’s always been a flawed strategy. There was a stat that showed Cooper Kupp, widely seen as the best WR in the league, was matched up against a LB on 21% of his routes! That’s elite scheming by McVay. Tom did a lot of pre-snap stuff in NE to get favorable matchups. I wonder if he will be allowed more freedom at the line.
I remember the game against Washington last year. Their DL was getting good interior pressure, and it was check down city the whole game until Brady hit Evans on a deep shot. I’m hoping that Washington game isn’t the future of what this offense will become. We actually had our whole starting OL in that game, and Washington still got interior pressure. The A gap will be open for business this year.
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:59 pm
Trade for a guard at this point its getting stupid..
I love Jason n spytec…but let’s be 💯..
Godeke not ready..
Depth is not there..
And you’ll probably draft a kicker with the pick so..trade trade n trade
September 2nd, 2022 at 7:09 pm
JB, are you a psychologist???