Liam Coen’s Other Top Priority
February 16th, 2024
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BY IRA KAUFMAN
Liam Coen needs to be on point from the start.
The new offensive coordinator of the Buccaneers has to find a way to get this attack thriving early on. Byron Leftwich couldn’t do it in 2022. Dave Canales struggled with lethargic starts last season.
Now it’s Coen’s turn to lighten the burden on an overworked defense that did its job for most of 2023.
Fast starts lead to fat production. Need proof? Here are the leaders in first-quarter scoring last season: Dallas, Detroit, Baltimore, San Francisco and Miami. It should come as no surprise that those are exactly the same five teams that topped the league in scoring offense.
The Cowboys led the NFL in points, followed by the Dolphins, 49ers, Ravens and Lions.
And there were the Bucs, sitting 26th in first-quarter scoring and No. 20 in overall scoring.
A two-year problem for Todd Bowles.
The bottom 10 clubs in first-quarter scoring were the Giants, Panthers, Commanders, Patriots, Vikings, Jets, Bucs, Steelers, Titans and Jaguars. Jacksonville is the only team from that slow-starting group to finish better than 20th in overall points scored.
Sense a pattern here?
“We didn’t start fast and that was kind of our problem all year,” Baker Mayfield said after the playoff loss at Detroit, where the Bucs scored three points in the opening 15 minutes.
It has taken way too long for Tampa Bay’s offense to get untracked in the past two seasons. Different coordinators, different quarterbacks. Same slow starts.
The 2023 Bucs were blanked in the opening quarter eight times in 17 games last season. A big fat zero.. There were six games when Tampa Bay was limited to just a field goal in the first 15 minutes. Yes, there were only three touchdowns — a 40-yard pass to Mike Evans against Atlanta, a 3-yard flip to Cade Otton at Houston and Rachaad White’s 1-yard run vs. Carolina.
Dave Canales tried to offer an explanation for the early futility.
“We’re learning each other right now,” he said in the early going. “Baker is still learning how to throw to Mike, Chris (Godwin) and all the young guys. That whole component is a part of it. We’d love to come out and start ripping it from the first quarter on. I love the fact that guys respond and then we kind of move forward.”
Not really, if a learning curve can explain why the Bucs failed to score an opening-quarter TD in the first five games, it shouldn’t be a factor late in the season. But guess what? The Bucs also went the final five games without scoring a first-quarter touchdown.
These slow starts didn’t begin with Canales calling plays and Mayfield trying to execute them. In 2022, with Tom Brady taking every snap, the Bucs ranked 27th in first-quarter scoring.
It didn’t have to be that way.
In 2021, the Bucs ranked third. In 2020, they were 12th. In 2019, with Jameis Winston under center, Tampa Bay was No. 3 once again.
Bucs could use a specific Jameis Winston flashback, writes Ira.
What caused a fast-starting attack to go into slumber mode? The absence of Bruce Arians seems like a good place to start when analyzing slow starts.
Without Arians as a major force in setting the offensive tone, Tampa Bay’s attack hasn’t demonstrated the same aggressive stance from the start. You can’t blame this defense for feeling a bit abandoned when the games kicks off.
There were 12 games last season when Buc opponents scored 10 points or less in the opening half. In those other five games, Tampa Bay went 0-5, primarily because the Buc offense struggled to keep pace.
When Coen takes a deep dive into those 2023 game films, he’ll realize that quicker starts are a top priority for his side of the ball. Once again, Arians won’t be a major factor.
While Arians remains only a phone call away, this is Coen’s baby now. The hand that rocks the cradle needs to orchestrate a big-boy offense from the get-go.
Yes, that warranty is on EVERY new vehicle!
Ira drives a 2020 Ford Escape (cherry red).
February 16th, 2024 at 5:47 pm
We didnt do much in ’20/’21 EITHER
February 16th, 2024 at 6:13 pm
Ira, I thing I have an explanation. First, Leftwich was trying to run Bowles run first chop chop away yardard to move down the field with a Brady lead Arians pass no risk it no biscuit offensive personnel. Canales was just trying to learn the OC position and Bowles had to tweak a few things like, put Stinnie in for a better run blocker. I think Coen no what he has, what he wants and a good idea of the plays he thinks will work best with the Bucs offense personnel In other words he’s kan experienced OC and play caller. I am not a GM or HC this is just my opinion
February 16th, 2024 at 6:30 pm
Why would Coach Bowles interfere with Leftwich’s play calling but not Canales. Leftwich failed on his own accord. Coach Bowles had nothing to do with play calling. He fired Leftwich because he was so ineffective.
February 16th, 2024 at 6:40 pm
OL interior!
February 16th, 2024 at 7:05 pm
Great article Ira, you nailed it right on the head.
February 16th, 2024 at 7:45 pm
Frustrating as heck to watch.
February 16th, 2024 at 9:26 pm
Murph Says:
Why would Coach Bowles interfere with Leftwich’s play calling but not Canales.
————————————————————————-
Why would Leftwich whose only experience was in running the No-Risk-it-No-Biscuit offense suddenly change it so radically?
Maybe Bowles saw the results of interfering with Leftwich’s play calling and had a realization that he should let the OC do his job?
February 16th, 2024 at 9:36 pm
I don’t know why anyone would be confused about the ‘difference’ (as in major decline) with the Bucs offense if comparing the “Arians years” vs the “Bowles years”.
It all starts up front folks….
Once we lost Marpet, Jensen, Cappa and especially Gronk (arguably the best TE in the game’s history) and also AB – what did you think was gonna happen???
February 17th, 2024 at 2:14 am
Bowles defenses always start slow. So do his offenses.
The reason for Bucs slow starts is the head coach.
February 17th, 2024 at 2:57 am
Pickgrin we didn’t have Brady, brown or Gronk in 2019 and the offense was top 10 and Gronk didn’t have big numbers in 2020 until the Super Bowl, Ira is completely right and IMO Arians ran a tight ship and practices and camp were a lot harder while under Bowles everything is lax and the players don’t work as hard and are not held accountable for loafing. Arians cut players for loafing remember Vernon Hargreaves
February 17th, 2024 at 5:11 am
Proudbucsfan Says:
“under Bowles everything is lax and the players don’t work as hard and are not held accountable…”
That sounds more like opinion (shaded by a dislike of Bowles) rather than fact.
Yes no Gronk or Brady in 2019 but having Marpet, Jensen and Cappa up front (which we didn’t in ’22 and ’23) was the main point.
February 17th, 2024 at 5:28 am
Tell it like it is Ira!
Our offense has been suffering from slow starts for a long time. BA not calling plays is the obvious reason. Even if he swears he was not calling plays for Leftnut he did have “the big red pen”. We now we have a no risk it offense and “rested” defense and lose games. Would help if Todd could get some TOs and a short field or two as in get some stops on 3rd down early in games.
Go Bucs!
February 17th, 2024 at 7:48 am
The early series’ are all scripted…….planned ahead….obviously, we haven’t done a very good job with that….perhaps we should just wing it……couldn’t be worse.
It also seems like we waste some opportunities by trying to “establish” the run……that never seems to work well. How about let’s “establish” the pass first.
February 17th, 2024 at 8:03 am
4 quarters of football is required by our offense.
LFG!!!!
February 17th, 2024 at 9:07 am
Not to mention we didn’t score a td on a opening drive all year long says alot
February 17th, 2024 at 10:28 am
I think a lot of Leftwich play calls was really on Brady, not Bowles. You have to remember Brady didn’t have a line. Marpet retired, Jensen got hurt. Brady was the fastest to throw the ball for a reason. Only when opposing teams went to a prevent defense did Brady start going downfield, otherwise it was dink and dunk. The problem may not have been leftwich. Everyone including me wanted play action and more motion, but hindsight says it may have caused less time for Brady to get rid of the ball.
February 17th, 2024 at 12:38 pm
Slowdown.
Slowles.
February 17th, 2024 at 12:52 pm
Slowzo
February 18th, 2024 at 2:08 am
OLine for Leftwich made impact (Marpet, Cappa, Jensen) GONE!! Leftwich’s philosophy was never gonna be successful with no interior containment. I wish new OC success… But interior OL better open consistent rush lanes then get to 2nd level for Rachaad White. Then Godwin can be used to his All Pro potential