Dud Of An Offense
December 27th, 2022
Sad results.
Dating back to the Dirk Koetter regime, the Bucs were built for throwing downfield. Koetter often talked about explosive plays, and Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Mr. Entertainment, Jameis Winston, and to a lesser degree, Cam Brate, delivered.
That went up a few notches when Super Bowl-winning coach Bucco Bruce Arians arrived in 2019. After adding Tom Brady and Antonio Brown and foot-rubbing Rob Gronkowski and Playoff Lenny the next year, the Bucs became all about explosive plays.
Just nine months after Arians stepped aside, the Bucs are a laughing stock for explosive plays.
The Bucs went from one of the more dangerous offensive units, a bomb waiting to explode, to a wet firecracker.
Jenna Laine of ESPN offers up the details.
Not as explosive: The Bucs have only 78 explosive plays — run plays of 12 or more yards and pass plays of 16-plus yards — this season, which ranks last in the league. They were fourth last season with 136 and had 119 through Week 16. Brady has hit only 62 pass plays of 16 or more yards. This time last year, he had 92.
But yeah, failing Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich says he’s all about points and winning. He’s striking out worse than Carlos Peña.
You have Tom Brady, Mike Evans, Julio Jones, and Chris Godwin and you are last in the league in explosive plays? Justin Fields and the horrible Bears are better? The brutal Broncos and washed Russell Wilson with an offensive-background head coach who just got launched have more explosive plays?
Complete and total mismanagement by Leftwich.
December 27th, 2022 at 9:04 am
Leftwich needs to be gone
December 27th, 2022 at 9:07 am
I am convinced Bowles has mandated the change in philosophy.
December 27th, 2022 at 9:12 am
Let’s be fair Miller has stone stands , Julio has been invisible and Evans can’t get open consistently add in the line which can’t protect. , there’s enough team speed. They are slow ofence. It’s a pretty simple to see why they’re is a drop off
December 27th, 2022 at 9:12 am
The playbook has been appreviated and when the Bucs have been in the red zone most of the time they have come away with field goals. There has been a tendency to telegraph the short yardage run plays. As soon as Fournette is in the game, defensive coordinators know he will get the ball.
The 3 consecutive runs when JJ Watt single handedly stopped them from getting 1 yard is what has happened all year. There is a stubborn mindset in the coaching staff that the running game has to be relied on. These coaches are too predictable in the calls and do the Bucs ever step outside these ancient plays to do a play that is off tendency? Not really.
As long as Todd Bowles wants to run the ball with average to bad offensive lineman that get beat one on one then the miserable offense will continue.
For 30 minutes in the first half vs Bengals, the Bucs used lots of motion and play action and it worked and then in the second half they sat on the ball and reverted back to Dungy ball. Coaches like Bowles belong in the defensive coordinator role where they are not involved in the offensive game plan.
How Jason Licht and the Glazers can continue to let this coach run an offense that isn’t even as clever as most college offenses is coaching malpractice and a lack of management oversight.
December 27th, 2022 at 9:14 am
This is too much for poor Joe to process – but the greatest QB of all time came back knowing who the OC was and what his philosophy was.
So argue with TB about BL.
The problem for anyone who knows football is the OL sucks. It can’t protect long enough for deep routes to get open and it can’t run block so opposing defenses do not have to respect it. Brady’s numbers under pressure are terrible – and they have been for years.
December 27th, 2022 at 9:14 am
We have a make-shift Oline and a statue QB. You can’t take the time to throw deep with that. What do you expect?
December 27th, 2022 at 9:14 am
This offense is reminiscent of the Shaun King/Dilfer days
December 27th, 2022 at 9:16 am
Is no one else seeing what I see?
Say what you want about Leftwich, but he’s not the one checking down to a running back or drag route 1.5 seconds after the snap on every freaking play. He’s not the one missing wide open receivers on almost all mid-range and deep routes. He’s not the one getting happy feet in the pocket, causing him to be inaccurate. He’s not the one unwilling to take a hit in order to allow to allow a deep route to develop.
Look, I LOVE Tom Brady. I love his career and what he’s done for my favorite team. But he’s really fallen off this year, and it seems like all the writers here at JBF think that if we had a different offensive coordinator we’d be scoring 30 points a game again. It’s simply not true. The players play and the coaches stand on the sidelines.
Leftwich is the same OC that led league-leading offenses the last three years, and physical capability is not a requirement of his job. Physical capability IS a part of Brady’s job, and it seems he’s lost some of his.
Here’s what I thought was interesting: When we were getting whitewashed by the 49ers, why didn’t they put Trask in in the fourth quarter? Is it possible someone in management or coaching doesn’t want to deal with the politics if Trask actually looked better than Brady?
In my entire football-watching life, when an offense has looked as ineffective as ours, the coach benches the quarterback for a spark. I honestly think the Bucs are afraid to do that because of the media storm, despite the fact that I think it’s probably the best thing for the team.
Anyway, it would be nice to come to JBF and not see five effing articles a day blaming the wrong person for all the Bucs’ troubles.
December 27th, 2022 at 9:20 am
I listened t TJ Reeves post game podcast and someone needs to explain to him and a few others how bad our offense is.
December 27th, 2022 at 9:21 am
Did you read Bowles’s comment about why he didn’t challenge the catch? He said the refs told him they saw it and it was a catch. Can you fire an NFL coach for not understanding how replay works??? Of all his moronic comments this year, this just might be the worst yet.
December 27th, 2022 at 9:32 am
A few factors:
1. DC stuck in HC body. Bowles said it 2 weeks ago when Joe asked why he doesn’t run no-huddle more often. “It would tire out the defense.” Bowles still measures his success on defense at the peril of the offense.
2. OL whoas. Two new Gs. Lost Center. Rookie Guard is a bust. Smith is a head case.
3. Outdated. Bowles is old school Parcels disciple. If you haven’t noticed, those guys aren’t doing so well anymore. The game has evolved passed them.
December 27th, 2022 at 9:37 am
Left one out Joe, the Colts have a better O with Matt Ryan, Nick Foles and Sam somebody
Oh and they canned the coach weeks ago, who was the OC too…..
December 27th, 2022 at 9:40 am
The Bowzo Prevent Game Plan. It is a planned DUD no accident. The Dead Horse that we continue to beat in to a pulp.
December 27th, 2022 at 9:43 am
Leftwich Led no Offense anywhere BRUCE LED THE OFFENSE
LEFTWICH is a gopher
Bowles is a Joke Proven in NY and now here
Blame injuries EVERY TEAM HAS THEM 49ers beat us with a 3rd QB
Blame Brady Hahah we won because he started calling plays in hurry up
COACHING and being a player are two different things CANT be both Can’t be BUDDIES
December 27th, 2022 at 9:43 am
Running a draw on 3rd and 3 was criminal.
December 27th, 2022 at 9:44 am
Question????
WHY DO NFL TEAMS keep trying failed coaches? Lovie, Bowles ect.
December 27th, 2022 at 9:45 am
Fire the entire staff and relieve BA of his duties also, since it appears he has zero influence anyway. Pathetic waste of offensive talent. Much worse than the Dungy era of offense.
December 27th, 2022 at 9:49 am
We be doin what we be doin .
December 27th, 2022 at 9:54 am
Lets talk about the plays that were called/scheme well but the players didn’t execute…. Drops, bad throws, holding penalties seems to be all on coaching but wins and good play go to Brady
Naw bruh. Brady has declined and so goes the rest of them. Any pass over 10 yards has potential to picked off or missed fire. You can’t coach that
Tired of hearing about the coaching faults when it’s apparent the players are weak. Literally
December 27th, 2022 at 9:59 am
Before OT vs Cardinals, Bucs threw deep 6 times and were 0-6 with 2 interceptions.
If you’re the Coach, are you going to continue to call those plays?
Well, one might ask why they’re not successful, especially when they have been in the past.
I’d guess it has to do with Brady feeling uncomfortable with his pass protection and therefore hurrying throws or not being in rhythm with his receivers.
The hurry up offense makes Brady more comfortable and the offense more productive.
So, the Coaches need to ask themselves, “who ya gonna believe? Me or your own eyes?”
December 27th, 2022 at 10:11 am
Every other team has figured out all six of the plays in the Bucs playbook. They have figured them out by who the player personnel are.
Even Brady can’t play against teams that the offensive advantage is missing.
December 27th, 2022 at 10:16 am
Pay Attention
It all comes down to the offensive line. Because they are so injured and the backups are playing so poorly, Brady has not had time to let plays develop.
Instead, he has to throw the ball to where the pass-catchers are supposed to be.
Normally, he has time to let plays develop and adjust, but right now he has to throw or be sacked constantly.
This is throwing all of the timing off. It is also why Brady had to check down so much.
And the offensive line is why the run game is bad too.
Leftwich, to be fair, is trying to figure out how to get things working with this piece-mail oline…but it is so bad nothing works. He runs the ball so much because it is the safest thing to do to keep Brady upright.
December 27th, 2022 at 10:16 am
I think its Bowles and Brady, Bowles conservative game plan and Brady is dumping the ball off so quick and missing guys. I love Brady but the eye test doesnt lie and our O line is falling apart too.
December 27th, 2022 at 10:17 am
If this is coming from Bowles, he should have seen it in the first 4 games and adjusted……if it’s not coming from Bowles…..Lefwich should have been canned by now.
If we can’t win out……and win a home playoff game….they both deserve to get fired.
I still believe Brady will be back with a different OC..
He has Jensen, Evans, Godwin, Gage & a good defense……
December 27th, 2022 at 10:19 am
For this reason…I feel for Leftwich…but I still want him gone.
Bowels, as ead coach, should be breathing life into the team, but he is failing miserably.
December 27th, 2022 at 10:25 am
Just how Bowles likes it. Todd still coaching in the 90s.
December 27th, 2022 at 10:30 am
There seems to be a lot going on that helps to explain a lot. O line has lost Jensen, Marpet, Stinnie, Wirfs, Wells and Smith. We are down to Walton and no one else. That’s where the trouble seems to start. Brady is not what he used to be. Leftwich seems to be designing his offense around playcalling designed to keep Brady from getting hurt. Bowles can’t handle head coaching role and Arians is useless and wasted payroll. Can anyone tell me what he is supposed to be offering to help this team other than using expletives to defend theses coaches? Put it all together and you have what we have. And we haven’t even touched upon the defensive issues.
December 27th, 2022 at 11:03 am
No matter who the offensive coordinator is or will be, the Bucs offense will always stink as long as Bowles is the head coach. PERIOD.
December 27th, 2022 at 11:08 am
This is on Bowles as much as Leftwich. I have to wonder if they practice throwing downfield as much as they used to. There has to be a reason why the consistency and confidence has been lost — missed throws and some dropped balls. Given the run mandate from Bowles, I’m guessing that’s what they practice.
December 27th, 2022 at 11:10 am
I think Brady’s shoulder, finger(s) and knee is effed up. Mums the word from both Bowles and Leftwich. This is why Brady is eager to hug Leftwich and say “I love you” three times. Bowles and Leftwich are boldly taking it for the team.
That’s my theory, anyway.
Otherwise I just can’t reconcile why our offense is so bad.
December 27th, 2022 at 12:02 pm
Joe, are you a rabid environmentalists?? Asking, because you diligently re-cycle articles over and over and over and over and over and over…
December 27th, 2022 at 12:50 pm
Until the OL is improved, explosive plays mean getting Brady sacked and hurt. You can have 10 receivers. But QB needs time to throw. RB needs the block to run. GM should replace one or two OLs at the beginning of the season. It is misleading to say OL is B- because Brady had to get rid of the ball in 2 seconds.
December 27th, 2022 at 1:26 pm
Joe’s take on the articles is originally from Joe.
If you don’t like Joe offering opinions on some articles, then Joe guesses your browsing history is strictly limited to 19th century news delivery models and zero sports radio as well.
December 27th, 2022 at 2:53 pm
I keep holding to the belief that next week they’ll open up the real “playoff” play book and shock the world ! 2012 Superbowl winning Giants had 9 regular season wins and good defense and opportunistic offense. Bowls vision for Bucs ?
December 27th, 2022 at 3:54 pm
Leftwich – here is a new word for you to learn – “misdirection”. Just might help.
December 27th, 2022 at 8:41 pm
Maybe Brady is trying to escape the Clown Show intact. Get rid of the ball asap.
December 28th, 2022 at 10:39 am
“When we were getting whitewashed by the 49ers, why didn’t they put Trask in in the fourth quarter?”
In other words, despite your multi-paragraph excuse defending the coaches, even you believe it is the coaches, LOL. Because this literally is a coaching decision.