Trusting Chris Godwin
December 7th, 2021
Bucs WR Chris Godwin
Chris Godwin has regained the trust of the farm animal. If he ever lost it.
There is chatter among the non-traditional NFL media (podcasts, non-fishwrap sites) that 17-game-loathing, salad-bar-hating, park-violating, home-invading, NFLPA-ignoring, down-forgetting, handshake-stiffing, jet-ski-losing, biscuit-baking, tequila-shooting, smartphone-phobic, waffle-grilling, trophy-throwing, roller-coaster-scared, numbers-rules-peeved, helmet-tossing, football-punting, Bucs-Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady trusts foot-rubbing, car-littering, film guru Rob Gronkowski and furniture-tossing, bicycle-throwing, fake-V-card-flashing Antonio Brown a great deal. And this is why the Bucs offense seems stuck in second gear when those two miss games.
This seems very weird to Joe if not a copout.
The Bucs offense for years hummed without Brown and was rather good before Gronk came to Tampa. So you have a likely Hall of Fame receiver (Mike Evans) and a Pro Bowl receiver (Chris Godwin) and you can’t make that work? With the all-time greatest quarterback? That simply does not compute.
Now there was a time Joe thought maybe, just maybe, Brady was starting to shy away from Godwin. Last year after Godwin had a broken finger, he had a case of the dropsies. His game against WTF in the playoffs was not his shining moment.
Brady seemed to get over it by the time the NFC title game came around as Godwin, as usual, was clutch.
And earlier this year when Godwin had a stretch of the dropsies, it also seemed as if Brady wasn’t targeting Godwin so much. Or perhaps that was just distributing the ball?
Well, if Brady had any trust issues with Godwin, that narrative was blown to hell on Sunday. Godwin had 17 targets and 15 catches. So what does this tell Joe? Brady wouldn’t throw to Godwin 17 times if he had trust issues.
So much for the national perspective on many respected podcasts and sites that Brady only trusts Gronk and Brown.
Joe sure hopes Buffalo employs off-coverage on Godwin.
Chris Godwin Route Chart (Week 13)
In the Seams
🔸 13 receptions (most in a game over last 6 seasons)WR Screens
🔸 5 receptions (most in a game this season)Against Off Coverage
🔸 12 receptions (T-2nd most in a game since 2016)#TBvsATL | #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/Y6IjvJMMRo— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) December 6, 2021
December 7th, 2021 at 10:43 am
As much as I want to bring Godwin back I’m kind of wondering if he might cost too much for thema now. They’re probably gonna have to give him $15-20 million a year now & they’re gonna have a bunch of FAs to resign. Got Brady, Gronkowski, JPP, Fournette, Bernard then depending on Suh & Antonio. I’m kind of wondering if they hang onto Antonio just in case they can’t bring Godwin back. Especially when he won’t cost as much & they could let Jones & OJ walk & resign Fournette & Bernard & then put Vaughn with them. They just drafted him & put Brate with Gronkowski. Unless they do let Antonio walk & give Darden, Johnson & Miller more opportunities. They should use Bernard more so they don’t wear Fournette out, too! They should definitely go sign a FA CB next year, too!
December 7th, 2021 at 11:02 am
On one end around handoff play toward end of game , godwin got first down on tough running. You could see brady find him quickly and looked like he wanted to give a hug
Yes godwin fumbles and has dropsies at times but probably best all around receiver blocking and catching on the team.
And i am a huge evans fan
Good to see brady use again as go to. He is definitely the guy brady will throw a jump ball too (along with gronk)
December 7th, 2021 at 11:08 am
am i the only one who thinks they use the quick screen to godwin a little too much?
December 7th, 2021 at 11:11 am
Excellent hands, one of the elite downfield blocking WRs in the NFL, and a quality chain mover. That being said, he becomes a more prominent weapon once Gronk is on that field.
December 7th, 2021 at 11:14 am
I believe the reason Brady needs Gronk & AB on the field is that having them gives him the best chance for an open receiver……and, Brady is avoiding hits and sacks at all costs……
Get the ball out quickly to whoever is open….even if it’s Fournette.
December 7th, 2021 at 11:20 am
I don’t know if you’d call it a trust issue. I think Brady knows he’s got good hands to receive the ball when he throws to Evans, Gronk, Godwin, and AB. It’s just a matter of the time he has to throw the ball and the receiver that runs the best route. He knows Gronk will be where he’s supposed to be. We also know AB runs precise routes. So, he may tend to throw to those two more than Evans and Godwin (Godwin will obviously get more targets when AB is not playing). But it’s not a matter of trusting them to catch the ball.
December 7th, 2021 at 11:57 am
As good as they are pretty much shut out during the colts game definitely need ab for the superbowl run he finds the open space like no one on the team.
December 7th, 2021 at 12:15 pm
The fact that he had 14 catches against the wretched falcons doesn’t change the narrative. If Brady had his druthers, he’d only throw to gronk and that cretin. Go look at the games where brown and gronk played together. Look at the targets. The media didn’t create this story. You don’t need to worry about it much longer because Godwin is as good as gone. Brady doesn’t trust Evans. The bills are the last halfway decent team they’ll face. That’ll tell much more
December 7th, 2021 at 12:51 pm
I love watching Chris Godwin, but also realize he is probably as good as gone next year.
December 7th, 2021 at 12:52 pm
pay that man his money and move on.. godwin buc for life!!
December 7th, 2021 at 12:53 pm
sorry tony but youre an idiot.. dont you want to draft and grrom players? hes a great kiid and unbelievable player..
December 7th, 2021 at 1:33 pm
Evans is a great receiver. Godwin is better. Pay the man. Godwin is our Jerry Rice. You don’t let talent like that walk out the door. You build a team around them. Trask has to have players he can depend on when Brady retires. I have no doubt that Godwin was a factor in Brady’s decision to come to Tampa. Maybe Brady stays a little longer if he has weapons that he loves.
December 7th, 2021 at 11:42 pm
It appeared to me that on more than one play the Falcons doubled Evans and Gronk tieing up four defenders on two receivers and leaving single coverage on Godwin. That’s like stealing! I still think some teams are sleeping on Godwin. Probably not so much after last week. But with him in the slot it’s just hard to chuck him at the line or double him. I suspect Buffalo will try and play tight coverage on all the receivers and blitz Brady especially up the gut. Hopefully our line comes to play on Sunday cause if they do I expect Brady to carve them up and maybe get a lot of chunk plays. Oh and we talk about the Hall of Famers on the the offense, Brady Evans, Gronk. If Godwin stays healthy and plays say 10 years I have no doubt he will be in the Hall one day too. He is the best receiver on this team right now and I think is a top 5 receiver in the league.
December 8th, 2021 at 12:34 am
Pay him look at texas signed away corey seager from my dodgers it hurts
December 8th, 2021 at 12:44 am
Yo Kyle of course I want them to keep him & of course I’m hoping they pay him to keep him. I don’t want them to let him go. I wanted them to draft Godwin when he was coming out of Penn St. I’d love to see Darden, Miller & Johnson get more of a chance, too! But no dude I’m not an idiot.