Two Receivers Half As Good As Chris Godwin Could Make Up Lost Numbers
December 3rd, 2024
Struggling to replace.
Yesterday in his day-after presser, Bucs coach Todd Bowles was asked about the Nos. 3-5 receivers and how they may or may not make up for the loss of Chris Godwin.
Joe thinks that perhaps Bowles misunderstood the question about those receivers making up Godwin’s production.
Bowles explained none of them are Godwin.
“Well, they’re not going to be Chris Godwin,” Bowles said. “I think [quarterback Baker Mayfield is] very comfortable with them because when Mike [Evans] was hurt as well, they got more comfortable early in the season.
“That’s paying dividends right now. We’re not asking them to be Chris, we changed some of the routes for them so they can be themselves and we’re comfortable with them helping us out going forward.”
No, Joe doesn’t think the coaches were asking Trey Palmer, Sterling Shepard and/or Jalen McMillan to be Godwin. None can or ever will.
However (and this is stat geeky baseball philosophy here), all the Bucs needed was for receivers to raise their games to a point that maybe two could have half of Godwin’s numbers each. Two receivers who get half of Godwin’s production would make up for his loss, assuming they caught balls at the same rate as Godwin.
Since Godwin was hurt in Week 7, tight end Cade Otton improved to the point he’s a top-third tight end in the NFL in receiving. So if two of the three receivers down the depth chart could only raise their games a little to go along with Otton’s improvement, that could add up to replace Godwin’s production.
That hasn’t happened. Shepard has sort of played better. But Palmer has damn near become a ghost and McMillan on Sunday made his first big play in weeks.
It’s a good thing Mike Evans is back.
December 3rd, 2024 at 7:19 am
Jalen McMillan had a great camp….not sure what happened. He showed so much promise, now he’s lucky to be #4.
December 3rd, 2024 at 7:21 am
With Mike back, Otton to needs to step up like he did when Mike was out, that will help a lot.
December 3rd, 2024 at 7:25 am
The season may have well been decided when Bowles left Godwin in an unwinnable game. The losses after Godwin went down are proof of his value. Baker’s numbers haven’t been the same either. This offense thrives with a slot like Godwin, or L.A.s Pacua. Thanks to Todd we don’t have that anymore. I see Godwin being resigned, but if this offense stays the same, Bucs should look for that next guy in the next draft. McMillen, and Palmer aren’t good enough.
December 3rd, 2024 at 7:27 am
Yes every pass catcher not named Mike Evans needs to play better but Baker needs to throw better passes to those targets also🚩☠️🏈💯‼️
December 3rd, 2024 at 7:34 am
The physicality of the league happened to thin, frail McMillian!!! He needs to toughen up to make the leap from the Pac 12 to the NFL
December 3rd, 2024 at 7:39 am
Some rookies don’t well the first year. Jmac may be one.
December 3rd, 2024 at 7:55 am
Simple put, Outside of Mike Evans, Baker doesn’t trust any of the other WRs…
December 3rd, 2024 at 8:20 am
lol… if you DONT throw the ball to the # 3-5 WR’s then their stats and effectiveness will be ZERO.
It has been driving me CRAZY these past few games with Evans injured and Godwin out that the OC/HC have NOT demanded that the backup WR’s step up.
Nope the HC has done the opposite and crippled his own offense by not throwing the ball to the backup WR’s !
What’s the point of having them on the roster, what’s the point of telling the other team that there is no way in hell we are going to throw the ball their way.
Grrrr… this is a grinding, stomach turning depressing season.
Bowles has the imagination of a cow looking over a barbed wire fence
December 3rd, 2024 at 8:44 am
McMillan is too thin he will need to get more physical, Palmer is a 4th wr at best still need to take deep shots
December 3rd, 2024 at 8:45 am
How about knocking off the anti-Bowles BS for once? You yahoos look and sound clueless. CG14 stayed in that game cos he thought there was a (slim) chance the Bucs could pull it out. Plus, ME13 was hurt. Nope, it was good ole Harbaugh putting on quite a classic example of deliberate cheating and dirty hits. I was so angry and disgusted, I almost gave up on pro ball and the Bucs. If the Ravens make it to the playoffs, I hope they get smeared into the ground. Coen needs to step up HIS game. He’s got guys who can catch that ball. White and Otton are two right there. The big problem are all the ###### injuries. It’s ridiculous!
December 3rd, 2024 at 8:52 am
How is Godwin doing in his recovery? And what are Licht’s plans to re-sign him?
December 3rd, 2024 at 8:54 am
orlbucfan,
You are right about the dirty, illegal hip drop tackle on Chris Godwin. Almost nothing has been said on this site or elsewhere about a tackle designed to injure.
December 3rd, 2024 at 8:59 am
Palmer is a the world’s smallest offensive lineman at this point.
December 3rd, 2024 at 9:04 am
The loss of Godwin combined with the AWFUL defense combined with Todd Bowles
flawed philosophy = A bitterly disappointing season.
December 3rd, 2024 at 9:14 am
The Bucs have 3 RB’s that can make up for Godwin’s receiving numbers – they are all better receivers than the nos 3-5 receivers.
December 3rd, 2024 at 9:24 am
Glad Mike is back. Baker did seem to favor Shepard more in the last game and he is playing pretty well. True, Otton has improved. He has always been that guy that all of sudden comes out of nowhere to save the play. We are seeing more of that.
I think Todd may have heard the question wrong and wanted to boost Chris up at the same time. Making sure everyone including sports media knows how valuable he is, while being on IR.
December 3rd, 2024 at 9:27 am
what happened to the crossing patterns to use Palmer’s speed or even the threat of a downfield pass to him? Why have speed if you are not going to use it?
December 3rd, 2024 at 9:33 am
McMillen still has a chance to be a very good WR. Going to need an entire off-season in the weight room though. The difference between him and Evans is obvious. Deer in the headlights vs. physically dominate.
December 3rd, 2024 at 9:35 am
Palmer’s speed is negated by his inability to hang onto the football. If he can’t do it in practice they’ll never trust him on game day.
December 3rd, 2024 at 10:39 am
McMillan has a bright future. He has been battling injuries. Hard to critique our top 5 offense, but we simply do not throw deep.
December 3rd, 2024 at 11:37 am
It’s hard to knock off the Anti-Bowles BS because all of us have watched his defense stink up the joint, outside of a few games for over 3yrs now. How many games have we watched our team get blown out? How many times has a rookie, a 2nd string or even a third string QB came in & lit us up? How many games have we seen poor clock management & situational football? How many times must we watch his soft a$$ zone schemes allow teams to march up & down the field? It would be one thing if our defense was loaded up with rookies & second year players, but it is not. This defense has almost no rookies & only a couple 2nd year players, yet game after game we see wide a$$ open receivers & confused and out of position defenders. Poor communication & complex defense must be synonymous with, nobody understands what your trying to accomplish with these schemes!
December 3rd, 2024 at 11:40 am
I don’t understand why Rakim doesn’t get more opportunities. McMillan, Sheppard and Trey are all so small and seem to get thrown around more easily.
December 3rd, 2024 at 1:37 pm
15 gets Baker picked everytime he goes his way
10 trey palmer deserves another shot
why no bombs? lots of 30yrd passes but no bombs since Brady
what happened to long passes to Evans like against the Rams in the playoffs?
We miss Godwin a ton
December 3rd, 2024 at 1:55 pm
Don’t be so quick to dismiss McMillan – the kid has been injured off and on all season, but his college tape was so good – and he has all the physical abilities you’d want. What I don’t get is why McMillan isn’t playing the slot exclusively – and instead they seem to mostly be using Shepard in that role when he’s been struggling. I don’t mind Shepard as a depth guy, but he’s clearly lost a step – if McMillan is healthy, he should be playing inside, not outside. I thought that was why the Bucs drafted him, and they should be featuring him in that role.
December 3rd, 2024 at 2:49 pm
unleash rakim jarrett please. u need to start trusting someone and that dude has the juice. we wont win a playoff game without another viable reciever. cant be te aor rb. play jarrett and start feeding dude. he needs more opportunities.
December 3rd, 2024 at 3:15 pm
J-Mac and Palmer have both mostly been invisible. Does Palmer even get more than 1 target per game? And Shepard plays hard but is inconsistent.
Baker also hasn’t been great at delivering them good passes either (He was much better weeks 1 – 6 compared to now). But that just shows you how clutch Evans and Godwin are, and how much better they are at hauling in passes that aren’t perfect.
December 3rd, 2024 at 6:09 pm
I can’t complain about this offense, it’s good except there isn’t any attempt to drive the ball downfield. As you see when you go deep there is a 50/50 chance of a pass interference call. Evans must be on a route count as they aren’t sending him down the sidelines where he has always been money in the bank.
There has to be a play or 2 a game to get Palmer one on one and throw it down the field.
December 3rd, 2024 at 7:17 pm
Everyone needs to read what Shane 247 wrote. Again, I mean. How can anyone defend Todd Bowles after reading this. It’s completely accurate. I like Todd, but I always vote, “Little Confidence”. What pisses me off is how the vote changes depending on a win or loss. Except for this past win. That was bad. I gave Joe big credit for writing about just that the next day and even having a “Vote” about it with the word, “disgusted” as part of the vote. Perfect! But again, read Shane 247, it sums up Todd perfectly. I think the only thing he didn’t mention was D Lineman playing nickleback!
December 3rd, 2024 at 9:03 pm
Shouldn’t have let David Moore get away in the offseason. He was a legit#3. Even a #2 if need be. He was awesome in the playoffs last year
December 5th, 2024 at 1:08 am
My question is why are we not at least targeting these guys? We all know Baker trusts Shepard. Not sure why. The rest of these guys with the exception of the occasional Miller target are not even getting targets. Miller catches his when he is not asked to make a circus catch yet he is all but forgotten. The others? Palmer has dropped a few and so has Jarrett. McMillan? Are these guys not open? Is it Coen? Does Baker not like throwing to them. We supposedly did all this “self scouting” during the bye week. I can’t tell…
Go Bucs!