No Need To Be A Superhero
December 20th, 2019
Key in game tomorrow.
In some ways, Joe cannot blame him.
In recent years, the Bucs defense was so horrible you just wanted to throw rocks at cars racing down U.S. 19, too often. Mr. Entertainment, America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, believed he had to put the team on his back and rack up 50 points a game just so he could outscore his own defense.
And that often got him into trouble.
And with the Bucs down three of their top four starting receivers tomorrow, and possibly for the season, offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich was asked if Tampa Bay must find a way to reign Jameis in from trying to be a superhero again and wind up hurting the team.
Leftwich didn’t seem to think this would be an issue.
“He’s just got to play,” Leftwich said. “I mean [if] you lose Mike [Evans] and you lose Chris [Godwin] – who are you kidding, right? You are losing two of the best on the planet. So, we have an awareness of that. Then, Scotty [Miller] is down, so our room changed quick.
“A lot has changed on us in seven or eight days. This is the league. This is what we prepare for. We always speak, ‘Next guy up.’ I tell you guys all the time, I really believe in that. It’s my job as the coach to try to put these guys in position to do what they can do well, so hopefully they can make plays on [Saturday].
“We are going to work our tails off this week, but once we get to the game, you’ve got to have all of the confidence in the world in these guys that they can go out and make some plays. We’ll see what happens.”
Joe thinks the issue is more on Leftwich than it is on Jameis.
Leftwich has yet to call a game in which either of the Bucs’ two talented tight ends were consistently used in the passing game.
So Joe’s questions are, can Leftwich scheme a way to get Justin Watson and Breshad Perriman open? And more importantly, can Leftwich demonstrate he can craft a gameplan that utilizes two of the more talented tight ends in the game?
December 20th, 2019 at 9:24 am
12 personal would seem to be a grouping that would be our best bet…
December 20th, 2019 at 9:25 am
can’t wait to see what Schnell can do
December 20th, 2019 at 9:25 am
If it were me….I’d run 2wr, 2te, 1rb sets all day…….and dump it to the RB often….
December 20th, 2019 at 9:27 am
Quite trying to make excuses, they’re NFL receivers. Yes, they are not as talented as ME13 or CG12 but tell me a team that’s had the luxury of playing with two of the top 5 WR in the league. Others teams make it work on a weekly basis, it’s up to Winston to make the correct read and not turn the ball over. Like I said previously if Winston can play this week like he has the last several (I’m not saying 450/4/1, but a solid turnover free game) he will earn his mega deal if he implodes that would say without a superstar cast he cannot succeed against a quality opponent.
December 20th, 2019 at 9:47 am
The next 2 games will be a referendum on this OLine.
Can they create running lanes?
Texans and Falcons will be going after Jameis, knowing he has less talent at receiver. Expect alot of blitzing on obvious passing downs.
December 20th, 2019 at 10:00 am
The Bucs have no chance in this game even with Drew Brees barking signals. Winston will get his deal regardless of the outcome.
December 20th, 2019 at 10:07 am
Perimeter Blocker Says:
December 20th, 2019 at 9:24 am
12 personal would seem to be a grouping that would be our best bet
_____________
One would think Brate and Howard are more capable of lining up and knowing routes of the WRs than most of our WRs do.
I can imagine coming out in a 12 or 13 personnel grouping and then running hurry up and splitting those TEs out wide and forcing the Texans to do things they don’t wanna do.
December 20th, 2019 at 10:17 am
Brandon
Exactly. You cant run what they expect all game. Its a game of wits. I expect a couple early deep balls to keep the defense honest. Lets hope Jameis can duplocate some of the road deep ball magic at home.
December 20th, 2019 at 10:41 am
Get RoJo the ball in space. I would expect 8+ catches for RoJo Saturday.
December 20th, 2019 at 10:45 am
joe
how can you say the issue is more on BL?…..BL calls the plays….JW is responsible for executing it…..if BL calls a play designed for OJ and JW throws it to watson for an INT or in-completion, who’s fault is that?
last week you asked BL: The heat is on you now, Leftwich. Are you up to the task?
he answered that vs the lions…..everyone got involved….
stop questioning BL!!!!!!!!
he’s proven time and time again that he’s the best OC we’ve had since gruden…..BL has engineered a top10 offense with no run game and a QB that leads the league in INTs…..
BL is not an ISSUE……BL is the least of our problems when it comes to the offense….
GO BUCS!!!!!
December 20th, 2019 at 10:46 am
I agree Joe.
If Cam Brate and OJ Howard do not have big games not only will the Bucs loose this game, but they will probably need to look at trading one of them this offseason.
December 20th, 2019 at 10:55 am
i say just be the bucs….dont change….next man up…..
we are creating an identity…..
if we lose, it’ll be because the texans are a better and healthier team…..
plain and simple…..
GO BUCS!!!!!!
December 20th, 2019 at 11:01 am
Blamming turn overs on JW just because defense was bad, is incomplete at the very least, thats one of the problems…….There are some others that are just on him,, innacuracy for example……Just can´t stand why everybody have to get polarized…..Is black or white, when on this case is 99% GREY!!!!!
December 20th, 2019 at 11:06 am
lol….
OJ and brate are good but they aint kelce and gronk….lol…
we cant expect them to be something they’re not….
stick with the game plan….next man up….
GO BUCS!!!!
December 20th, 2019 at 11:21 am
So..just a question…if Jameis throws three picks, missing open TE’s, Rec. whomever, are we going to blame that on Byron? Heck no. Yes, Byron is designing a game plan to utilize our weapons. But it isn’t Byrons problem to execute…it is the players. Sounds like some are already trying to make a smooth ride for Jameis if he looks like Hyde Jameis. If he doesn’t make mistakes and we lose, that isn’t on Jameis. But if he puts the D in bad positions and throws pick sixes, sorry Jameis apologists, but at that point it is on him.
December 20th, 2019 at 11:35 am
If Jameis was a superhero he’d be called Captain Turnover.
December 20th, 2019 at 11:42 am
I might of picked up Brate if I didn’t have Mark Andrews. Him and Jameis are buds on the field and besties in the red zone.
December 20th, 2019 at 11:43 am
The gameplans for last 2 games (Colts & Lions) appear to be a significant departure from what BA & BL had Jameis doing earlier in the season. Might’ve been because of weaknesses that they saw in both defenses, or because they’re more willing to take chances now that the playoffs are out of reach. Could also be however because the TEAM as a whole is playing better football. (I vote for the latter).
Jameis was 35-for-49 for 474 yds in the Colts game, throwing for 4 TDs with 3 INTs. He spread the ball around to 7 receivers. If you just look at passes for 10 yards or more, Jameis completed 12 short passes that went for 178 yards (almost 15 yards per SHORT pass) and he completed 5 deep passes that went for 132 yards (over 26 yards per pass). That’s a TOTAL of 310 of his 474 yards on JUST passes that went for 10 yards or over. Obviously the Colts gave up a LOT of YAC.
Jameis was 28-for-42 for 458 yds in the Lions game, throwing for 4 TDs with 1 INT. He spread the ball around to 10 receivers. Again, if you look at passes for 10 yards of more, Jameis completed 10 short passes that went for 168 yards (almost 17 yards per pass) and he completed 7 deep passes that went for a whopping 222 yards (over 31 yards per pass). That’s a TOTAL of 390 of his 458 yards on JUST 17 passes that went for 10 yards or over. Obviously the Lions were susceptible to the deep pass AND gave up a LOT of YAC on the short passes.
Colts’ pass defense ranks 21st in the NFL, while the Lions’ pass defense ranks 31st. Houston’s pass defense ranks 28th in the NFL. Expect to see similar gameplans?
December 20th, 2019 at 12:19 pm
mark2001
i agree….
imo, joe is trying to grease the excuse wheel….
as both of us have mentioned above, its executions…..
GO BUCS!!!!!
December 20th, 2019 at 12:49 pm
You have an all-pro level TE that has been barely been used this year…
I still think the Bucs need to line him up outside and let him use that size, and his better than Mike Evans speed and see what happens. If OJ ever got one-on-one outside on a corner, Winston just throws a jump ball. You’d expect OJ to win that every time.
December 20th, 2019 at 1:26 pm
Imagine all the too many men on the field penalties we’d get if Leftowhich put out 12 and 13 men personnel groups
December 20th, 2019 at 1:37 pm
I predict the Texans will blanket Perriman and dare Winstom use the other guys to beat them.
December 20th, 2019 at 2:15 pm
I reject this notion that BL isn’t calling plays that use TEs. It’s a false narrative that keeps getting perpetuated.
Watch the game. Watch the TEs running routes. They are out there. There have been multiple games where Jameis overlooks wide-open TEs to try and force things downfield.
The OC calls the plays. The QB has to execute the plays.
December 20th, 2019 at 2:20 pm
Anonymous…why wouldn’t they blanket Perriman? Agree.
It will be up to the other guys to execute and get open. And for Jameis to not lose the game by forcing the ball.
We might not win…but that is our best chance.
December 20th, 2019 at 2:34 pm
Anonymous … Bucs were deadly in the Colts & Lions games using the short stuff. Expect to see more of the same against the Texans, with a periodic deep pass to Perriman thrown in to keep the defense honest.
Daring Jameis to beat them using primarily OJ, Brate & our RBs is a fool’s errand. Bucs still have LOTS of weapons. Just a matter of employing them correctly.
December 20th, 2019 at 3:11 pm
Jameis has already shown us he can cope without his top duo…7 different pass catchers in week 13, 8 in week 15, and 11 in week 16. He’s spread it around alot, despite injured pro bowlers and no support from the run game
December 20th, 2019 at 4:21 pm
To me this will show us just how good this team really is. Forget the offense for a second. Good teams win a game like this getting contributions in other areas.
Get this defense to step up and give us a big takeaway or something. How about Special Teams step up and make an impact? We saw them pop some balls out earlier. Well, we need em to do it this game. Or how bout we block one or get a return?…..Step up.
On offense yeah we need replacement receivers and TEs to step up. How about the RBs do something too? Our RBs have contributed next to nothing all season. Time to step it up.
And yes, the coaching has gotta be sharp and have it figured out. Ultimate test for our playcalls. I’m confident we gonna see a good game.
GO BUCS!
December 20th, 2019 at 5:24 pm
Sorry, I cleared my cookies and posted as Anonymous.
December 20th, 2019 at 7:53 pm
I’d like to see screens to OJ and Rojo mixed in with quick passes and slants to Watson and Schnell and some seam routes to Brate, OJ and Hudson.
Mix in a few deep shots to Perriman and Watson and OJ.
But I really think the screen passes to Rojo can be super effective.
Would also be nice to see some commitment to running the ball.
December 20th, 2019 at 9:04 pm
Unbelievable…….haha it almost sounds like you are asking Byron to run a completely different offense……but I think most would agree with you. That’s why I agree with Joe’s take that it’s more on coaching then it is Jameis.
December 20th, 2019 at 10:59 pm
If Leftwich is serious about “next guy up” and having all the “confidence in the world”, then he is setting Jameis up to fail perfectly.
This game will expose Leftwich much more so than Jameis, but I am betting Winston will get all the blame and then the cries will begin that Jameis only looked good because of Evans & Godwin.