Expanding The Playbook
December 31st, 2020
It drove Joe nuts when Joe would hear lazy TV commentators say that well into the season, park-violating, home-invading, NFLPA-ignoring, down-forgetting, handshake-stiffing, jet-ski-losing, biscuit-baking Bucs quarterback Tom Brady was still learning his new teammates.
As Joe’s good friend, the late great “Big Dog,” Steve Duemig of Tampa Bay sports radio fame, would say, “BULLS(P)IT!”
You didn’t see Kyler Murray struggle with DeAndre Hopkins. You didn’t see Joe Burrow struggle. You didn’t see Teddy Bridgewater struggle. You sure as hell didn’t see Justin Herbert struggle.
However ,yesterday, Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians seemed to hint that maybe really was a factor. Not so much struggling but the offense may have been too vanilla. Once everyone was on the same page (remember, furniture-tossing, bicycle-throwing Antonio Brown joined the team midseason), Arians and Brady were able to unwrap more complex elements of the offense and start expanding the gameplan.
Then the offense began to click.
“I think everybody knowing each other a little more and more each week [has helped],” Arian said. “There’s not a lot of new things, dressing things up [and] making them look different – everybody’s kind of on the same page now, so there’s no miscommunication at all. ‘I thought he was going deep, no I’m breaking in on this coverage.’ I think everybody’s on the same page and it’s really showing.”
If you think about it, the offense began to sputter when Brown joined the team. It certainly changed.
So Brown may not have been the midseason culprit, per se, but he had to learn the playbook and his new teammates (though he did have experience with Brady).
Well, if a team is going to get hot, late December is just about the perfect timing.
December 31st, 2020 at 5:27 am
Open your Eyes…
And you will see why…
This is no surprise…
I called it in July….
Bucs will fly…
#TheDriveTo11Dash5
December 31st, 2020 at 5:39 am
Anyone else find all the adjectives Joe insists on using before the use of Tom Brady’s name tiresome and now entering obnoxious territory? Do you think he might just appreciate being called Tom Brady? Or should we always say, “JoeBucs blogging, post censoring, thin-skinned, third-person referring, old and secretly bitter (maybe jealous?) Bucs fan blog authoring author JOE…” before referring to our illustrious blog authors?
The archives are here for all to read. Joe doesn’t use the adjectives on roughly half the posts. When Joe’s in the mood, Joe does. Nobody’s bitter or jealous. A) Brady’s better than the last QB. B) Brady’s a legend. C) Joe’s not thin-skinned; Joe is, however, responsive and eager to not be misrepresented. D) Post-censoring is done automatically via dozens of filters and sometimes intentionally for myriad reasons. This is not a free speech zone. –Joe
December 31st, 2020 at 5:40 am
Factteller, what are you talking about? Sounds like you are still recovering from that one to many last night.
December 31st, 2020 at 6:55 am
Boy
Look at all these bandwagon fans coming outta the woods now…..
You guys weren’t here suffering through all these years as longtime loyal bucs fans
Don’t come here when things are sweet now……just go away now
December 31st, 2020 at 7:20 am
I’m here because of TB-12, Gronk and the way in which they go about the business of winning. Your lucky to have a GM with balls.
December 31st, 2020 at 7:25 am
Rear view mirror coaching
December 31st, 2020 at 7:25 am
With all due respect, Joe, the QBs you listed have 1 (*maybe* 2) receivers who were viewed as game-changers (100 yds/game). It shouldn’t take long to get in sync with 1 (or 2) receivers. Brady started the season with half a dozen receivers who would fit that description. Then throw in Gronk, who hadn’t played in over a year. For the first month (or two), his speed/cutting wasn’t the same as Brady remembered.
That being said, I don’t think it should have taken 12-15 games (even with AB added to the confusion) for the offense to start clicking. But I can see why it might not have been as easy as with the QBs you mentioned.
December 31st, 2020 at 7:25 am
Anthem … I get your point, but some commenters create new handles every other day so you never know who’s really commenting.
As an aside, I remember going to the Bucs playoff game at RayJay back in 2002 (season ticket holders got some priority), and thinking that I didn’t recognize a single soul around us. Apparently a lot of season ticket-holders who had gotten tickets sold them for a handsome profit. Missed a great victory & what could end up being a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Lots of folks show up late to the party.