Easy To See Why Bucs Are A Favorite To Repeat
July 19th, 2021
More numbers on Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians
Depending on where you go and who you talk to and what you read or listen to, folks believe two teams will win the Super Bowl in Los Angeles come February.
Either the Kansas City Chiefs or the Bucs.
The folks picking the Chiefs? Joe wonders what the hell were they doing last February. Did they forget to pay their cable/satellite bill or have an internet outage?
Well, the Bucs media relations crew sent out a year-in-review packet loaded with all sorts of goodies. And you don’t have to be a nuclear physicist by looking at the graphic below to conclude the Bucs are damn exceptional.
Stats provided by Bucs media relations.
That’s pretty impressive. In 9 of the 11 categories, the Bucs are in the NFL’s top-10. In 5 of 11, they’re in top-5.
Yeah, the rushing totals were not good but with the passing attack the Bucs have, who cares? If the Bucs start to run more, they are cheating themselves. The passing game is so loaded it’s irresponsible not to expose teams through the air.
Don’t give Joe this “balanced” nonsense, you play to your strength. And the Bucs have historic weapons and a quarterback legend.
Joe’s other thought on the poor rushing yardage — who was tonguing the Vince Lombardi Trophy while floating down the Hillsborough River with it in a glorified drunken regatta for millionaires?
July 19th, 2021 at 5:45 am
First of all, you need balance or at least some threat of a run so that the opposing defense is guessing.
Second, i wouldn’t worry about the rush offense. The regular season average of 94.9 is low and good for 28th place, but in a lot of the games, at least initially, the Bucs were playing from behind and abandoned the run in an effort to catch up. All due to the new offense trying to get in sync.
Look at the postseason rush offense – 122.5 average. In the regular season Seattle was number 12 rush offense with 123.2 average. So the Bucs are up there.
Take into account that the Bucs don’t try to run as much, as they are mostly a passing team, and you will see the rush is all right.
July 19th, 2021 at 6:24 am
We got some areas we can get better… no doubt … we still have to earn each and everyone win, it will be a dog fight every game day….
July 19th, 2021 at 6:39 am
I somewhat agree on the rushing stats although we can improve without hurting the pass game.
We absolutely need to improve the pass defense and I think we will.
And, by the way…passing to Gio is passing. Nothing says that he can’t have a few long gains.
July 19th, 2021 at 8:09 am
@Joe …”The folks picking the Chiefs? Joe wonders what the hell were they doing last February.”
Don’t know what the Chiefs were doing last Feb Joe, but it’s quite obvious what they were doing after that: beefing up their OLine in an attempt to ensure that last Feb doesn’t happen again. Smart move on their part, IF they even make it to the Super Bowl.
AFC has some very tough teams, and more than likely they’ve ALL made improvements. Bills (13-3), Steelers (12-4), Ravens (11-5), Browns (11-5), Titans (11-5), Colts (11-5) and Chiefs (14-2) all had records that were at least as good as ours. Dolphins were pretty good too (10-6), and we get to play 3 of them this year (Dolphins, Bills, Colts).
NFC isn’t quite as stacked, but there are a few teams like the Packers (13-3), Seahawks (12-4) and Rams (10-6) that are legit contenders. Several others with solid defenses may be on the rise if their offenses can improve (like Giants, Washington, Bears, Cards). And that doesn’t even count the Saints (12-4) who still have a very formidable defense & foundation for a good offense. We get to play a few of those teams too this season.
Best approach every year is to ASSUME NOTHING. Sounds to me like that’s the road BA is choosing to pursue once training camp starts by his ‘We have to get back to basics’ approach. Thankfully he’s not buying into the hype.
July 19th, 2021 at 8:29 am
The game has changed dramatically over the years. Growing up in Wisconsin during the Packer/Vince Lombardi Era the game was built around the run game. Now the NFL is built around the passing game. Jim Taylor/ Paul Hornung pounding the rock set up the occasional pass. But now defensive lineman are both bigger and faster than back then. Same for linebackers. To consistently move down the field now requires a strong passing game which helps set up the run. Obviously it is great to be good at both, but teams with excellent pass attacks and a respectable defense are usually playoff teams. A decent run game is a nice bonus to have.
July 19th, 2021 at 8:31 am
Do not overlook the 49ers
July 19th, 2021 at 10:20 am
Wait I thought we were the #1 rushing team that’s why we won this year. It had absolutely nothing to do with Brady.
July 19th, 2021 at 10:59 am
There’s nothing wrong with having balance in our run/pass game. Certainly not 50/50, but we have a stable of power RBs that can chew up yardage and help create PA. Brady and the Bucs were much better when using PA. I would very much like to see the run game have more influence, especially if Lenny (#7? So weird) can prove he can take care of business during the regular season like he did in the post season.
July 19th, 2021 at 11:06 am
Instead of the Bucs receiving everybody else’s best shot, they should worry about receiving the Bucs best shot.
July 19th, 2021 at 11:53 am
GOOD BUT MISLEADING
You need to remove the learning curve games. How did the Bucs rank through the last 8 games? That’s where they’ll pick up.
July 19th, 2021 at 12:59 pm
starting the season, there isn’t a team in the league that is anywhere near as stacked as we are. we basically dont even have a player that an opposing coordinator can design a plan around to attack a weak spot. it’s incredible! but, as with anything else, the games are played for a reason, but if we control what we can control, the ego, the complacency, etc. and dont let the bucs beat the bucs, we should repeat. but it also takes a little luck, and remaining healthy or geting healthy in time for the playoffs. But I absolutely can’t wait to see what happens. LET’S GO BUCS!
July 19th, 2021 at 1:52 pm
It seriously does feel like a dream when thinking about this team.
I’m not afraid of any team right now.
Our QB is top 3 in the league by EVERYONE.
Might be #1 on Offense and Defense at some point this year which is crazy to even think. What’s even better is both at the same time. I wonder if a team in NFL history has ever accomplished that?
Now I DO think we will lose a game because the ball simply bounces funny sometimes and you CANNOT control the refs. But at least we should be on the receiving end of a lot of calls as the Super Bowl champs and of course Brady.
Can’t wait to see him roll out of the pocket this year.
July 19th, 2021 at 9:38 pm
Joe I can see your already hyped up about the upcoming season. Remember the offense worked better when motion and play action were incorporated into the offense. You’ll always get more yards through the air, but a functional running game makes the pass even more dangerous. GO BUCS!
July 19th, 2021 at 10:33 pm
Youngbucs: #1 in Defending the Rush!
July 20th, 2021 at 12:25 pm
I just had a premonition. Brady gets 4 game suspension for secret tare, then rampages through the league with Revenge Tour 2. Then retires at 45 with twice the rings of Montana. They’ll be making movies about him for centuries.
July 20th, 2021 at 7:41 pm
Historically, RB YPC does not increase or decrease YPA on play action. Simply having a fair amount of run plays in your game plan each week opens up things for play action. Wether your RBs average 50 ypg or 120 ypg doesn’t effect success rate. Obviously if it’s 3rd and 3 when you run PA your more likely to convert than on a 3rd and 8 so obviously it’s beneficial to have an efficient run game but it doesn’t directly effect PA success rate. Also this is one of those times where the numbers don’t tell the tale. We have a top 10 backfield without question, maybe top 5