Countdown: Top 30 Buccaneers Mysteries Of 2014 – No. 28
February 3rd, 2015
In many ways, Tampa Bay’s 2014 season was more bizarre than the MRSA-infected, quarterback-gone-mental, Fire-Schiano-billboards campaign of 2013.
There were plenty of real Bucs mysteries last year, and Joe’s revisiting the most interesting of the bunch.
No. 28 – Eight consecutive runs in red zone vs. Rams.
Joe still has cranial lumps from the aftermath of the Bucs running on 3rd-and-7 from the 9-yard-line against the Rams in Week 2. That highlighted eight consecutive red-zone runs that afternoon.
No, the red zone runs weren’t working so well, and the 3rd-and-7 call was the final play of the third quarter with the Bucs leading 14-13. The subsequent short field goal was blocked.
The mysterious stretch came after Josh McCown threw one of his famous Pop Warner interceptions in the red zone. But Lovie Smith says he never lost faith in McCown. Yeah, right.
And former playcaller Marcus Arroyo said the Bucs were just taking what the defense gave them. Sure you were, Marcus.
Remember the data on teams running on 3rd-and-7 in the red zone? It doesn’t happen.
What compounds this mystery is Lovie spent much of the rest of the season frustrated by the Bucs not running the ball enough, as if he had no say in the offense.
No. 29 — Leaky Sean Glennon
No. 30 – Jorvorskie Lane
February 3rd, 2015 at 11:04 am
Another game that for one strange reason or another we let slip away…thankfully.
February 3rd, 2015 at 11:10 am
Brandon..thankfully is right.
Now all eyes are Tampa bay for the next 3 months…
February 3rd, 2015 at 11:11 am
And I need glasses…I can’t see the keyboard or the screen half the time. I have to sit far away to type. Good thing I have long arms. 🙂
Now all eyes are ON Tampa Bay for the next 3 months…
February 3rd, 2015 at 11:24 am
Run….Run….Pass…Punt. Don’t want to put to many points up on em’. Worst play calling the Bucs have had in a long time. Hopefully we see an improvement in that department next year.
February 3rd, 2015 at 11:30 am
For the regulars here you all know that Im a knuckle dragging trade down guy in this instance. As I have said before I will support either QB if we select him because my loyalty lies with the Franchise not a player or a position. That being said the Winston Groupies that believe he is ready to start on day one are just ludicrous.
NFL.com has weaknesses for Winston:
WEAKNESSES Decision making not consistent with his football intelligence. Will throw into impossible windows rather than taking safe throw underneath. Elongated windup and release allows instinctive defenders to close on throws. Was too easily baited into dangerous throws. Struggled with intermediate passing game in 2014, completing 56.8 percent of his passes with FBS-leading 11 interceptions in that range. Still learning nuances of position and how to move and hold defenders with his eyes. Would sleepwalk through first half of many games. Inconsistent footwork and weight transfer caused balls to sail. Prone to emotional outbursts on field. Quality of decision-making drops off substantially when pocket becomes turbulent and he’s forced to leave it. Lacks athleticism to extend plays for very long outside of the pocket. Off-the-field character and ability to lead on NFL level are his primary obstacles, according to NFL evaluators.
WEAKNESS’ Mariota:
WEAKNESSES: The Ducks’ innovative offense simplifies QB decisions and this is roughly the same scheme Mariota played in high school. As such, some of the basics like taking the ball from under center and scanning downfield while dropping back are skills Mariota hasn’t been asked to master yet.
Overly reliant on his first read, and occasionally commits the cardinal sin of throwing late across his body. Accuracy can be an issue, as Mariota misses too many open receivers, including high-percentage underneath passes.
COMPARES TO: Colin Kaepernick, 49ers — Inconsistent accuracy is one of several reasons why Mariota most closely resembles Kaepernick among current NFL quarterbacks. Because of their extraordinary acceleration, each is a true dual-threat. Further, both adept at sliding laterally to create wider throwing lanes and using their velocity to zip passes through them. Neither Kaepernick nor Mariota, however, consistently throw their receivers open, only sporadically providing teammates run-after-the-catch opportunities.
…………………………………………..
BOTH have on field concerns obviously. Off Field we all know about.
Trade down and take Scherff or Peat. Or just go ahead and pull the trigger on Williams
February 3rd, 2015 at 11:35 am
Until this team moves on from the stigma of ‘Buc Ball” tony dungy defense will win, qbs just play keeper, we will never be up with the times.
This league is evolving faster than lovie can possibly keep up with. Look at all the adjustments in hte super bowl alone. THose 2 teams are the best coached teams in the league.
Read peter kings article yesterday, and it goes into the detail of all the gameday changes the coaching staffs made.
Lovie just stairs into the replay booth, and i never see him ‘coaching’. This is not good, dude is a straight dud
February 3rd, 2015 at 11:52 am
gatrbuc17…oh let’s not post the strengths though….
February 3rd, 2015 at 11:54 am
@ Gatrbuc 17
I agree with you 100% Trading down for more picks and more good players is very definetly the best and smartest thing to do for a team that has won 6 games in the last 2 years
February 3rd, 2015 at 12:13 pm
Seems to me #28 and # 30 are pretty much the same. Not quite, but close.
Playcalling.
February 3rd, 2015 at 12:38 pm
@87………….
To my knowledge neither of their strengths that were in question. Just their weakness’ Im not a Jameis hater or a Mariota fan boy. I just dont have a great deal of faith in Either QB. Definitely not enough to use the No. 1 overall on but then again I dont get paid to scout.
February 3rd, 2015 at 12:48 pm
To me the number one mystery is how Lovie keeps his job.
February 3rd, 2015 at 6:16 pm
Great post Gatrbuc17 and I agree. I don’t think either of these two guys are No. 1 worthy. If only Chip Kelly is really in love with Mariota as everyone says he is.
Would love to get my hands on an NFL ready Nick Foles.
As for Joe, I wonder if he is going to help his preference for a No. 1 2014 draft picks rehab bill.
February 3rd, 2015 at 8:41 pm
LMFFAO….these articles can not be putting Lovie in a good light…not that he was already in a good light already.
February 3rd, 2015 at 8:50 pm
The Rams game really set the table for the rest of the season. Going into that game there was still thought that the Bucs could be a competitive club. The Bucs were a 5 point favorite against a Ram team that was beat up by a bad Vike teanm in St Louis the week before and they were going with a 3rd string qb. The team laid a complete egg. Special teams were pathetic; that TE Stocker basically did an Ole’ on that blocked FG that occured after the Bucs ran the ball on the 3rd and 7. If the Bucs were serious about winning they would have benched McNown after the end zone pick. Bucs should have won the game, if they did who knows how the season would have unfolded? As it is I am glad they lost in retrospect though in the stands that day in RJS I was adamant that Stocker was throwing the damned game! But it is better for Tampa to pick 1st with the 2-14 record then picking 8th or 9th at 6-10 like the Falcons or 5th with a 4-12 record like the Skins who are on paper as bad as the Bucs.
BTW trade down fans: listening to a podcast from Ron and Ian of their talk with Greg Gabriel and he says Lovie is really an anti-violence type of guy and it could lead to Tampa taking Winston off of the board. The next few weeks will be telling according to the guy; the Bucs can not afford to make a mistake with the #1 overall and they will pull the trigger if they are sold on a Mariota or a Winston if he gets Lovie’s seal of approval….. Interesting takes from the guy; he does warn tampa to stay away from Cutler if he is available as he tends to get coaches fired….
February 3rd, 2015 at 9:21 pm
Mysteries 1-27, Who in their right mind hired Lovie and gave him personnel making power?
February 4th, 2015 at 12:25 am
gatrbuc, if you want to have a little fun, go search for the weaknesses in the pre-draft scouting reports on peyton manning. he was an immobile guy without ryan leaf arm strength, and there was a feeling that he had hit his ceiling as a QB. it’s necessary to look at bad tape and potentially negative personality traits to get the whole picture, but ultimately you have to decide whether those weaknesses truly define or limit the prospect. i’m not saying either prospect is peyton manning, just that every player who enters the NFL has a scary looking “weaknesses” section in their scouting report
February 4th, 2015 at 12:26 am
“he does warn tampa to stay away from Cutler if he is available as he tends to get coaches fired….”
i think we could use a guy like jay cutler for one season
February 4th, 2015 at 12:27 am
(y’know, until he pushes lovie out of town again)
February 4th, 2015 at 10:36 am
Maybe their intentions were to tank the season from the beginning lol
February 9th, 2015 at 11:32 am
[…] an offensive coordinator No. 26 — Putrid punting No. 27 — Defending three-step drops No. 28 – Eight consecutive red zone runs versus Rams No. 29 — Leaky Sean Glennon No. 30 – Jorvorskie […]