Bucs Offense Improved Since Week 1, Too
January 12th, 2025
Details growth of Bucs offense.
Joe has mentioned this on the “Ira Kaufman Podcast” and he’s mentioned it a couple of times on this here website.
Joe’s worn out hearing about how Commandos quarterback Jayden Daniels is so much better now than when he faced the Bucs in Week 1 and as a result, Daniels is going to roast the Bucs like a Thanksgiving turkey.
Hey, Joe agrees Daniels is a better quarterback. But guess who else is better? The Bucs offense.
Like Washington, the Bucs, too, had a brand new offensive coordinator. And, like Washington, too, the Bucs were also breaking in a rookie. That would be Bucky Irving. He had only nine carries in Week 1. He should double that tonight.
So the suggestion that Daniels will be unstoppable tonight because he’s improved since Week 1 is just a one-way outlook. The Bucs have a better offense too.
“The offense has come together as the season has come along,” Bucs right tackle Luke Goedeke said to Joe last week. “I think our offense has developed.”
Yes, the whole offense. Everyone is now good with Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen’s offense. And both receiver Jalen McMillan and Bucky are two of the best rookies in the NFL now. Yeah, along with Daniels.
“Numbers speak for themselves,” Goedeke said of the Bucs’ run game, No. 4 in the NFL. “We have communication up front [on the line which has improved]. Just all 11 guys are trusting the process and doing their job.
“Bucky, Rachaad [White] and Tuck [Sean Tucker] are really running hard. We knew what we were capable of [with the run game]. It was just a matter of [Coen] setting us up and putting us in the right position.”
And the Bucs’ offense is much better than Week 1. Two new starters, left guard Ben Bredeson and center Graham Barton, have had their rough patches smoothed out and as a result, the offensive line is a solid unit.
“You have bumps and bruises but we are healthy,” Goedeke said of the line. “You develop more continuity along the whole offensive line [over time]. That only helps.
“You get more confidence. You’ve seen everything that someone could possibly throw at you [by Week 18]. That just helps.”
How good does Goedeke think the Bucs offensive line is?
“Offensive line, I would put it up against any line in the NFL.”
So when you hear all the pregame shows today rattle off the tired and copied lines that the Bucs defense will struggle because Daniels has grown as a quarterback since facing the Bucs in September, remember the Bucs also have an offense that has grown and matured in that same time frame as well.
The Bucs, with a running attack that was finding its footing back in Week 1 ran for 112 yards against the Commandos that day. And Baker Mayfield threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns, too.
January 12th, 2025 at 1:37 am
Hey Joe any chance you could run a story on how Bucky got his nickname. I learned his real name is Mar Keise and a friend told me he left U of Min bc during their games the loud speaker refused to call him Bucky even though he asked him too. So he left and went to Oregon who wisely referred to him Bucky. Any truth to that?
Either way love the dude. One of my favorite Bucs. It’s GameDay! LFG Men. Show the world what we Bucs fans all know!!!!
January 12th, 2025 at 2:35 am
Thankfully the defense has carried the team.
January 12th, 2025 at 2:50 am
Thankfully we have KJ Britt?
What?
January 12th, 2025 at 2:55 am
Excellent points Joe. Haven’t heard much about the Bucs offense evolving as the season has gone on. I looked at the Commanders roster and it looks like they’ve got two other rookies making solid contributions to their games this year. Nothing like the Bucs rookie class. Of course Daniels is a QB which is huge but TB’s offense has had three rookies make significant contributions this year. Way more so than they did in game one.
January 12th, 2025 at 4:26 am
It’s like they said, Baker Mayfield is a gammer and he’s bringing a bunch of studs with him!!!!!!!
January 12th, 2025 at 5:42 am
Well said, Joe.
The Bucs rookies have really strengthened along with our team and we have had a lot of injuries. We had two hurricanes on top of it all. Godwin out, Mike out a few games. And the Bucs got through it all and here we are. Sports media forgets about the Bucs every single time. Look where the over-hyping of Cousins got them…
January 12th, 2025 at 7:22 am
Bucs 37 commanders 27
January 12th, 2025 at 7:38 am
Irving’s father called him “Bucky” because he had “buck teeth” as a young child. Since then, Bucky has corrected the buck teeth but still prefers this name over Mar Keise.
January 12th, 2025 at 7:39 am
This has been my argument all week long any commanders fan will say jd is definitely better…my clap back bucky ran 9 times he’s definitely getting 20 carries tonight and McMillan is more dangerous than week 1 1 catch for 32yds and a score…then they wanna say you have no godwin which is true but we have a way to win this game
January 12th, 2025 at 8:00 am
The first week of the season, the Bucs Oline and run game was 2023. No way the Bucs don’t win this game.