Excitement?
July 18th, 2014
Josh McCown must succeed for the Bucs to have an exciting offense.
Joe knows Tampa Bay fans are starving for something to get them worked up, aside from the start of the football season, which actually begins in seven days when training camp starts. Wins would be a big start.
For decades, no, for the entire history of the franchise, a high-powered offense was only something fans saw from opposing teams. It seemed for reasons not quite clear, the Bucs’ have been allergic to quality quarterbacks and scoreboard-charged offenses.
Enter Jeff Tedford, a noted college offensive guru who has never stepped on a sideline of an NFL field. There is a lot of hope, but regular readers know what Joe thinks about that word.
Trying to see through both the hope and reality, ESPN Bucs blogger Pat Yasinskas tries to determine if Tedford’s offense will ignite the passion in Bucs fans.
3. Jeff Tedford’s offense is going to bring excitement to Tampa Bay.
Our take: Fact.
Justify it: For the most part, the Bucs have been very quiet about what Tedford’s offense will look like. Several players have used the phrase “up tempo” to describe it. That would be a nice twist for an offense that’s been boring in recent years. This offense has enough tools to be potent if Tedford can put things together the right way. Doug Martin gives the team a solid runner and Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans will be one of the league’s biggest receiving tandems. But the real key will be quarterback Josh McCown. If he can thrive in Tedford’s offense, this team suddenly can be good.
Joe cannot go where Yasinskas has gone, yet. Joe has yet to see a powerful, exciting offense where the quarterback struggles.
For Joe, it is a leap of faith to anoint Josh McCown as a leader of a high-powered offense based on just five starts. Joe gets what Bucs coaches tell him about McCown, but just as much, Joe remembers too many backups who had a fantastic handful of games only to flop when given the reigns of an offense full-time.
Intangibles are great but they mean nothing on 3rd-and-9.
Do the names Scott Mitchell and/or Rob Johnson ring a bell?
Then there is wide receiver Mike Evans. Yeah, Joe likes the concept of the “Dunkaneers,” but the NFL is much more than playing jumpball. There seems to be a lot of pressure being put on Evans’ shoulders for a rookie.
In all, Joe can’t yet swallow that the Bucs will be among the best offensive teams this season with so many questions marks. For Joe, an exciting offense is one that hums. There is a lot that has to happen on the field for Joe to start to believe.
July 18th, 2014 at 1:13 pm
Aaaaand our offensive line is suspect, at best.
July 18th, 2014 at 1:15 pm
Joe, I agree. Weak O line at the guard positions and a new career backup as the starting QB equals bottom third in offense. This is at best an 8-8 team in a very overratded division. (Please don’t try to tell me how good the Panthers and Falcons are. They stink.)
July 18th, 2014 at 1:29 pm
I’d settle for average offense. Dont need exciting, just a competent strategy that you wouldn’t see from a peewee league team.
July 18th, 2014 at 1:30 pm
Digital Bob beat me to it. Joe didn’t even mention the O line….
July 18th, 2014 at 1:44 pm
I think Tedford will do just fine in his first year as a pro offensive coordinator, just like Olson and Sully. The element of surprise seems to be a huge advantage for first year offensive coordinators, the years after that is the real question mark. And like I’ve said before, we dont need a miracle from McCown, all we need is above average play from him. The O line I think will cause us some problems this year, but If we really do implement the spread up tempo offense, it might not be as bad as we all think. Nothing helps O line protection more than quick pop passes. Can’t wait to see new offense in action.
July 18th, 2014 at 2:10 pm
Worst case Scenario Glennon takes over after McCown blows it. I don’t think that will happen but if it does Glennon would be fine. Either one of these guys will be fine. If you take the stale, predictable play calling along with injuries and dropped passes away Glennon would not have to hear about him leading the last placed offense. I really think fans put to much on individual players when one side of the ball is not seeing good results. That kid had no control or freedom to run the offense when he was up there he was a puppet so you can’t blame him for the play calling. Once the ball leaves his hands and bounces off the hands of the receiver you can’t blame him for that, and you can’t blame him for other players injuries. Take all that away and add in a little freedom with decision making at the line and he has a DAMN good rookie year. I am not a MGM member, but I do look at more than just the stats. Either one of these guys should play above the league average with creative play calling and the team should easily be above average combining that with Lovies D. That why I’m stoked for this season to start no more false hope things are looking up. GO BUCS!!!!!
July 18th, 2014 at 2:13 pm
“Nothing helps O line protection more than quick pop passes. Can’t wait to see new offense in action.” @Andrew 1- I’m right with you.
McCown played with a mediocre o-line last year. He was successful. History shows the possibilities are there. Gannon not “The Cannon.”
Yes, you can bring up all the other years he was not good. Blah, Blah, Blah. That is your opinion. This is mine. I’m not trying to change anyone. And I don’t want to be change. I share my opinion you can share yours. I will wear my sunglasses and you can bring your umbrella. Blah, Blah, Blah…lol
July 18th, 2014 at 2:15 pm
With a stout defense, our offense doesn’t have to be Top 10. Or even Top 20.
Need an example?
The 2013 Carolina Panthers.
Their offense was weak.
July 18th, 2014 at 2:26 pm
“That kid had no control or freedom to run the offense when he was up there he was a puppet so you can’t blame him for the play calling.”
@Kevin – Schiano’s puppet indeed.
I’m expecting a different Glennon in preseason too. The coaching staff should be a plus for him too.
July 18th, 2014 at 2:28 pm
I looked up an interesting stat from the Bears that corresponds to this “exciting offense” subject. It appears it may not matter how “exciting” the Bucs offense may be. McCown and company just has to be efficient, which he/they are very capable of doing. I said the other day, he just needs to be maybe slightly above average. When Lovie’s Bears won 10 or more games (’05, ’06, ’10 & ’12) the Bears offense in yards gained ranked 29th, 15th, 30th and 28th, respectively. The Bears made the playoffs (in a very tough NFCN division) each of those years except ’12. Of course this was due to the Bears D, just as the Bucs’ D should be expected to be pretty darn good.
This is one of those worthwhile stats I think (unlike, say the 19-9 stat that is thrown around, lol). I think Bucs fans can get very excited about this one.
July 18th, 2014 at 2:30 pm
Lot’s of things have to come together. Lot’s.
But….
I do think we will be struggling more with assignments and new players together on the O-Line rather than a talent issue. We do get hung up in the name game somewhat. Collins, EDS and Meredith all have starting experience and Dotson is solid. It’s the LG quandary that is sending shock waves through the fan base.
Evans, Sims and ASJ can all contribute and won’t individually have to carry the team the first year. Martin, VJax, Wright and Myers do until we make defenses
respect the new talent.
If Tedford can keep it simple enough for McCown but still keep the plays mixed up, we can start out average and end the season better.
Let’s be patient because it can’t be any worse than last season.
July 18th, 2014 at 2:32 pm
weak o-line concerns me the most. McCown I am also skeptical on, but he will have similar tools to what he had in Chicago last year.
Mike Evans- I’m not worried about him at all. He’s not being put into a position where he will have too much pressure on him. V-Jax is still the #1, and we have so many different weapons to throw and hand the ball too.
This offense might be exciting for the first time in a long long time.
July 18th, 2014 at 2:32 pm
Joe is right.the prove is in the pudding.
July 18th, 2014 at 3:55 pm
A lot of things have to go right for that to happen. Here’s hoping.
July 18th, 2014 at 5:05 pm
According to some in past comments Glennon was a dink and dunk QB last year. Now it will be acceptable if McCown can only accomplish the same thing.
July 18th, 2014 at 5:31 pm
SR says McCown & Tedford’s offense is going to take the league by storm this year, based on what he’s seen in practices. I love this site compared to his, but I respect his opinion more than Joe’s on this subject. I love when someone makes a bold prediction, based on first-hand knowledge & viewing.
July 18th, 2014 at 6:03 pm
“Let’s be patient because it can’t be any worse than last season.” @ Biff- Thank God the NIGHTMARE is over!
July 18th, 2014 at 8:12 pm
The only way it will be a nightmare will be if Glennon sees the field! As long as Josh does not get hurt that won’t happen. Remember Josh started playing a new offense last year and just look what he accomplished behind a so so OL. On the other side Glennon had a slow release and had problems reading the defense, had no anticipation, and other than VJax, he held the ball to see his receiver get open, which resulted in very little yardage and poor percentages on third down. Hope we can trade him away soon. Our other backups at QB are better than he is.
July 18th, 2014 at 9:27 pm
I’m not going to rehash all the reasons why MG8 deserves a further look after his rookie entry season under less than ideal surroundings and circumstances. Both sides of the argument have been made over and over. I’m happy to have both QB’s on the team.
July 18th, 2014 at 11:03 pm
@Owlykat: Again, your ranting & raving about MG8 is off-the-charts stupid. You’re comparing a second-year QB with a guy who has been in the league for over a decade. smdh. For you to root for him to be off the roster is probably the worst part about your terrible point of view. Understand, you are hoping that a player on our roster does not contribute. What do you think that says to others about you being a “fan”?
July 19th, 2014 at 6:47 am
Kenyatta Walker was another bust out of Florida.
July 19th, 2014 at 11:10 am
I think as long as we’re not going 3 and out the entire game and if we can turn fg(s) into td(s) then we’ll be excited.
I want to be a total homer, trust me. I want nothing more than to say my bucs are playing AWESOME this yr but I can’t, not yet.
My biggest concern above all are the coordinators (believe it or not). Frazier isn’t the best coach and his teams certainly don’t perform like top ten anything. I would have preferred Norv Turner over Tedford. Not completely sold his game will translate to the nfl. Fingers crossed for a chip Kelly-esk rival in Tampa.