The Key To The Highway
May 25th, 2024
BY IRA KAUFMAN
Liam Coen has a lot on his plate as he prepares for his first season as Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator. May I suggest a first course?
Re-introduce Chris Godwin to the end zone.
Godwin has been a very solid No. 2 wide receiver behind Mike Evans after entering the league as a third-round draft choice in 2017. He has posted four 1,000-yard seasons, including a current 3-year streak, and he made a quick recovery from an ACL-MCL tear late in 2021. He’s been an outstanding representative for the organization and reigns as one of the best draft picks of the Jason Licht era.
Chris Godwin
Yet, there’s a problem.
Whether it’s Tom Brady or Baker Mayfield under center, a player of Godwin’s stature should be catching more touchdown passes. A lot more.
This is a relatively new issue, but it has evolved into a major problem. From 2018-21, Godwin averaged seven TD receptions. But in the past two seasons combined, he has reached the end zone only five times.
He reached bottom in 2023, when he ran for one score and registered only two TD catches. Coen is too smart not to notice. While Evans matched his uniform number with 13 TD receptions, sharing the league lead, Godwin needed a Google map to find the end zone.
“It’s about players, not plays,” Coen says. “If we can put them in position to be successful, usually good things happen.”
After years of thriving in the slot, doing all the dirty work that endeared him to Buc Nation, Godwin was moved primarily to the outside. Why? It made no sense.
Do we ask Al Pacino to sing? Anybody want to see Jerry Seinfeld try to breakdance? Was Wayne Gretzky ever moved to defense?
It’s not the first time the Bucs messed with a good thing. In 2017, Ali Marpet was shifted from guard to center. One year later, the Bucs made Ryan Jensen the highest-paid center in the league and moved Marpet back to guard. Remember Antoine Winfield moving to nickel cornerback in 2022?
There’s no way rookie Trey Palmer should have more TD catches than Chris Godwin.
Godwin should be seeing red about how he was utilized — or not utilized — in the red zone last fall. He caught only 5-of-16 passes Mayfield sent his way inside the 20, scoring once. Inside the 10-yard line, he latched onto 2-of-11 targets.
That can’t happen again.
It was a sharp break from the past, when Godwin did some of his best work with less field to work with. In 2022, Brady’s final year in Tampa, Godwin caught 10-of-15 targets in the red zone, scoring three times. He was even more productive before he was injured in 2021, grabbing 20-of-25 targets inside the 20, with five scores.
Notice a pattern?
In 2020, he caught 8-of-9 and scored six times. In 2019, he caught 8-of-12, with four TDs, and in 2018, just his second year in the league, Godwin scored six times in the red zone.
“We’re not doing a good enough job scoring in the red zone,” Godwin said last season. “That’s a crucial area for us. We have to be way better.”
The Bucs were not an opportunistic team last season inside the 20. They ranked near the bottom of the league in red zone TD percentage and Coen is determined to do better. He can travel in a lot of directions to fix the problem, but getting Chris Godwin back on track is the key to the highway.
Ira Kaufman Talks Two Uncharacteristic Todd Bowles Messages, Hype Debate, Tristan Wirfs, And More
May 25th, 2024 at 9:53 am
When you have less end zone scoring it is the fault of coaching and not the players, especially with the Caliber of Godwin and Evans.
May 25th, 2024 at 10:14 am
A true and proper head coach would not tolerate such abysmal TD production or red zone performance by his offense. Blame the OC if you want, but it’s really an issue with the person who is accountable for wins and mostly losses.
May 25th, 2024 at 10:22 am
The Bucs need a taller QB who can actually see open receivers in the red zone.
May 25th, 2024 at 10:27 am
I am SO glad that you wrote about this, Ira. People are talking about trading Chris. That would be a catastrophe.
May 25th, 2024 at 10:51 am
“It’s about players, not plays,” Coen says. “If we can put them in position to be successful, usually good things happen.”
This quote has me excited about Coen. Since Bruce’s departure it has been nothing but square pegs in round holes…e.g. running White up the gut, putting Godwin outside, moving rookie OL out of their natural position/side, no pre-snap motion with a struggling OL, etc. The OCs claim they were simplifying for players, but in reality they seem to have been simplifying for themselves because they did NOT seem to be able to evaluate player’s strengths and “put them in a position to be successful.”
On that note, it will be interesting to watch Canales this yr. IMO, he is a better horse whisperer than jockey. He can prepare a horse (qb), but didn’t seem capable of adapting and managing the race (adjusting to defenses). I feel Baker jumpstarted Canales’s career as much as he “revived” Bakers
May 25th, 2024 at 11:13 am
It’s no coincidence that both our run game and our red zone offense fell off a cliff in 2022… the same year our offensive line lost 3 starters.
Hopefully, with Barton starting and Mauch entering year 2, we’ve addressed at least 2/3 of that issue.
May 25th, 2024 at 11:50 am
Crickett Baker..there’s a very real chance you might see that disaster in 2025 when they don’t re-sign Godwin.
May 25th, 2024 at 12:04 pm
Ira … ‘He (Godwin in 2023) caught only 5-of-16 passes Mayfield sent his way inside the 20, scoring once. Inside the 10-yard line, he latched onto 2-of-11 targets.’
Let’s see, 2 commenters blame coaching (and 1 specifically the HC), another 2 say it’s the players & another focused on the OLine. No one blamed Chris. I’m kinda wondering if maybe it’s a combination of all of the above?
Your stats Ira tell me that Godwin was 5-of-16 from the 20 yard line. That’s abysmal. Chris was tagged with 5 dropped passes total last season (3.8% & tied for most in his career), so I’d guess there’s a decent possibility that he dropped 1 or 2 of those inside the 20. So some of that was likely Chris’ fault. Hey, it happens; part of the game.
Another stat though that can be found on Pro-Football-Reference is what they term Rating … Passer rating on passes when targeted. That rating for QBs who’ve thrown to Chris starting in 2018 are … 106.6 (Jameis), 114.8 (Jameis), 131.1 (Brady), 109.1 (Brady), 97.2 (Brady) and (tada) 83.6 (Mayfield). That’s a pretty dramatic change over the 6-year period. So ya, some of it probably is on the QB. And I wouldn’t doubt that our OLine troubles played into that somewhere too.
As for coaching, I seriously doubt that Bowles either designs passing plays or calls for passing plays. I’d think that the change in Chris’ role (more outside; less slot) was probably the biggest factor of all. Sounds like Coen must think the same thing, since he’s said Godwin will be playing more slot this year.
May 25th, 2024 at 12:38 pm
To many times we tried to punch it in on the ground when we got inside the twenty. Bucs did not take enough shots in the endzone. They wasted to many downs with runs to no where.
May 25th, 2024 at 12:39 pm
“That rating for QBs who’ve thrown to Chris starting in 2018 are … 106.6 (Jameis), 114.8 (Jameis), 131.1 (Brady), 109.1 (Brady), 97.2 (Brady) and (tada) 83.6 (Mayfield). That’s a pretty dramatic change over the 6-year period“
Outside or inside, Godwin has the most reliable hands on the team and that’s no slight to Mike Evans, but Godwin has been our volume guys for the last 5 yrs
May 25th, 2024 at 1:00 pm
Godwin is our best WR when used properly and definitely our most sure-handed and yes that is a slight to mIKE eVANS.
May 25th, 2024 at 1:43 pm
Defense Rules Says:
“No one blamed Chris.”
DR – Chris is a stand up dude. He would have been the first to put it all on himself if warranted….
But notice his verbiage with 3 words highlighted- “WE’RE not doing a good enough job scoring in the red zone,” Godwin said last season. “That’s a crucial area for US. WE have to be way better.”
I think if Chris dropped TDs last year he would have been say I instead of we.
Yea – our redzone offense was not great in 2023. Good Luck Panthers…..
May 25th, 2024 at 3:30 pm
Really, our offense was kinda weird last year. Baker and Evans were the only thing good about it. I’m hoping Cohen can make it a lot less predictable. I’m also hoping Mauch can step up a bit and Graham can perform as advertised. People keep telling me J-Mas is very much like Godwin. TBH Godwin didn’t seem comfortable last year. Fresh season ahead. Fresh start. Go BUCS.
May 25th, 2024 at 3:37 pm
If you are the leader of an underperforming team with specific defects that are repeatedly and continuously made, the best leaders engage until a solution is demonstrated. And repeated.
That does not happen with the Bucs since BA stepped down.
May 26th, 2024 at 8:50 am
The move outside made a significant difference – but the WR room was so thin there just weren’t that many options. Chris also seemed ‘off’. Brady used to say he had the best hands on the team. Didn’t look that way last season. Let’s see how things go with him back in the slot. AND in a contract year. Word around One Buc is he’s in great shape.