Tom Brady Vs. Dallas Secondary
January 14th, 2023
Possible big night Monday?
Joe has been reading breakdowns of Monday night’s game between the Bucs and the Cowboys that say the Bucs could take advantage of a shaky Dallas secondary provided failing offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich has an epiphany and decides to exploit matchups.
Yes, Dallas corner Trevon Diggs is good. But it’s not like Mike Evans hasn’t had success against him.
A guy Joe respects a bunch is Greg Cosell of NFL Films. He co-hosts NFL Matchup and Joe really likes his decades of smart film study. In the video below, Cosell demonstrates how well Tom Brady reads defenses. Yeah, at 45, Brady still has it.
Then Cosell spoke more about Diggs and the Cowboys secondary.
Cosell said rarely is Diggs ordered to match up against one receiver the entire game. Cosell noted games against the Vikings where Diggs tailed Justin Jefferson and against the Eagles where Diggs matched up with A.J. Brown.
“Diggs is not necessarily a matchup corner,” Cosell explained. “He predominantly plays on the right.
“He’s matched up a couple of times this year. Jefferson, A.J. Brown. He did not match up to Evans. Did not travel with him in that game.”
In a 40-3 blowout of the Vikings in Minneapolis in Week 11, Diggs took out Jefferson, who had only 38 yards. Now Joe doesn’t know what game (or both) Cosell referred to about Diggs matching up on Brown, but Brown had a mixed bag in the two games the Cowboys and Eagles played.
In a 26-17 Eagles win in Week 6, Brown had a meh game, five catches on eight targets for 67 yards, but he did have a touchdown. Diggs had no passes defended.
In a 40-34 Dallas win in Week 16, Brown blew up with 103 yards on six catches and eight targets. Diggs did not have a pass defended.
Cosell didn’t seem to think the Cowboys will matchup Diggs on Evans because Dallas may need help from Diggs on the left side at times.
“They’ve got issues at left corner,” Cosell said. “They don’t really know who their left corner is right now.”
As Joe stated, provided someone gets through to Leftwich and he goes after matchups, the Bucs offense may be in good shape.
Of course, we’re talking Leftwich here. So Joe has virtually no faith. But, there is hope.
Monday Night! #GoBucs vs #DallasCowboys ! Tom Brady will look to take advantage of favorable 1-on-1 matchups on the outside vs Dallas depleted secondary. @gregcosell breaks down how Brady & the Bucs offense create & recognize favorable matchups.@DariusJButler | @PlaybooKFoley pic.twitter.com/LcdEfcX2V0
— NFL Matchup on ESPN (@NFLMatchup) January 14, 2023
January 14th, 2023 at 10:06 am
NFL Matchup, regardless of what matchup being studied, is worthy of everyone’s regular use from your DVR.
January 14th, 2023 at 10:10 am
What’s wrong with Todd Bowls telling Leftwich to exploit matchups? If Leftwich doesn’t listen than both of them should be fired
January 14th, 2023 at 10:12 am
Nice read BUT lefty is going to RUN the ball in 1st & 2nd down 90% of the time!
January 14th, 2023 at 10:17 am
PREACH ON IT, Allen Lofton
January 14th, 2023 at 10:19 am
Line. If the O line holds up Brady will dice the Boys secondary. Beginning and end of it.
January 14th, 2023 at 10:25 am
Allen, they should both be fired regardless of the outcome of this game. But the onl way that will happen if is Dallas wins by at least two scores.
January 14th, 2023 at 10:48 am
We didn’t do this against Pittsburgh and their depleted secondary. Because our coaching staff sucks.
January 14th, 2023 at 11:10 am
Emphatically agree, Kentucky. If we screw around, get lucky and win, it will be because our O-line gave Brady just enough time to hit some intermediate throws, and if we’re super lucky, he’ll have enough time to hit a few deep throws.
ALL depends on our O-line, IMO!!!
GO BUCS!!! Please mess up and win.
January 14th, 2023 at 11:34 am
Why would leftwich stop doing what’s not working now?
January 14th, 2023 at 11:36 am
Diggs got hammered across the helmet by Mike. Diggs doesn’t matchup well with a big, physicalWR. Mike will smack him around some more on Monday.
January 14th, 2023 at 12:02 pm
I trust Mike Evans a billion times more than I trust Leftwich.
January 14th, 2023 at 12:14 pm
Match-ups, what do you think this is fantasy football??? We don’t do match-ups or stats, they take time and be to hard to figor out.
January 14th, 2023 at 12:28 pm
Dan Quinn is a much better defensive coordinator, so I do not expect Evans to be as wide open as he was against Carolina.
I like our screen game to Rasheed White if we can catch them on a blitz.
I agree with the poster who said if our Line protects Brady, Tom will dice up the Cowboys.
January 14th, 2023 at 12:28 pm
Dan Quinn is a much better defensive coordinator, so I do not expect Evans to be as wide open as he was against Carolina.
I like our screen game to Rasheed White if we can catch them on a blitz.
I agree with the poster who said if our Line protects Brady, Tom will dice up the Cowboys.
January 14th, 2023 at 12:33 pm
Time for a switcheroo
Need to get Devin Thompkins the ball to pressure the defense
Need to get Ko Kieft the ball and let him go Mark Alstott on those DB’s
That will force the defense to respect all eligible receivers and loosen up the coverage on ME -CG
January 14th, 2023 at 12:36 pm
Crack is wack
January 14th, 2023 at 12:39 pm
Mark Alstott ain’t no Earvin Campbell.
January 14th, 2023 at 2:10 pm
We’re all assuming the O-line will give Brady time to find open receivers…..I have this feeling that the Cowboys will be blitzing nonstop all night long.
January 14th, 2023 at 2:16 pm
No, Anthem, I’m NOT assuming he will have enough time, which is the key to the game. I’m just hoping he has enough time!!
And if them Boyz go all blitzy-blitzy on us, sooner or later, Brady will make them pay. I hope.
January 14th, 2023 at 2:23 pm
It isn’t so much that Leftwich chooses to not exploit match-ups, he simply lacks the field of vision to see or process them. He has a very narrow mindset during games, and is not capable of multi-tasking or processing many variables at once. So I started feeling that Leftwich is not the real problem, because Leftwich objectively is not capable of performing. Sort of like blaming your cat for not figuring out an algebra problem. The problem lies with those who have kept him installed for so long in the face of these obvious limitations.
January 14th, 2023 at 2:33 pm
DD
Bullseye
January 14th, 2023 at 2:43 pm
DungyDance for VP of Buccaneers Human Resources. Absolutely nailed it.
January 14th, 2023 at 3:59 pm
The Bowzo plan is in. Only Dallas can help us now. If Dallas does not Blunder we are done for next year … No Brady and all Bowzo. Oh Well back to the head bags.
January 14th, 2023 at 4:49 pm
Agree, DungyDance. And who does that point to? Licht and Bowles.
January 14th, 2023 at 7:01 pm
Time for the Glazers to put pressure on Jason to get the Coaching staff to change their ways. We need to exploit Their secondary and to go no huddle to keep the D line on the field and not give them time to make adjustments. Will Leftwurst be able to do that?
January 14th, 2023 at 9:01 pm
Doesn’t matter #11 is all they need and he’s ready
January 15th, 2023 at 2:29 am
The more we clamor for what’s right, the more entrenched LeftwurstBlowes becomes. It’s useless. They will come out with a hybrid game plan that is a blend of the Steelers failure and the Browns failure. To prove that it’s all about a block here and a block there.
Stupid is as stupid does, Forrest.