Strong Competition No Excuse For Poor Play
October 26th, 2022
Hard to grade.
Can someone please remind failing Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich that the NFL is full of good players?
Now Joe understands Luke Goedeke is not a popular man among Bucs fans these days. The rookie left guard is having a tough time transitioning from right tackle in the MAC to left guard in the NFL.
(Donovan Smith once explained to Joe just how difficult that is, flipping from one side of the line to the other. And Goedeke’s learning a new position on top of it.) Unfortunately for Goedeke, he had little room for a learning curve this season.
Goedeke is starting on a team with Super Bowl aspirations protecting the greatest quarterback whoever lived who isn’t mobile. High standards right away.
Joe hears from Bucs people whenever Goedeke struggles, “Look who he’s going up against.” Well, welcome to the NFL, son, where even the worst of players are some of the best in the world.
(Exhibit-A: Somewhere, Kenyatta Walker prowls the streets wearing a Super Bowl.)
Leftwich was peddling this nonsense yesterday when discussing the play of guards Nick Leverett and Goedeke in the embarrassing loss to the Stinking Panthers.
“The tough part is it was two different types of snap counts,” Leftwich said of the difficulty he had grading his two left guards. “The snap counts sort of makes it tough, but they both graded out okay.
“They [were] just playing against a really good guy that had his hand in the ground – anytime you’re facing those types of guys, it makes it tough for any guard. ‘95’ (Panthers DL Derrick Brown) makes it tough for anybody who he’s in front of.”
Um, Byron. If somehow the Bucs back into a division title and a home playoff game, what are the chances Goedeke or Leverett will be facing someone like, oh, say kneeling Akeem Spence or some other stiff of a defensive tackle?
Unlikely, right? So is the Bucs offensive coordinator going to hug Goedeke/Leverett and pat them on the helmet and say how proud he is they are trying while they are getting manhandled by Micah Parsons or DeMarcus Lawrence on stunts and Tom Brady can barely stay on two feet?
Joe’s tired of the Bucs giving guys a pass because the dudes they are facing across the line of scrimmage happens to be good at his job.
It’s the NFL, that’s the way it is supposed to be each week!
Goedeke has to sink or swim on his own, and learn he no longer has an exhibition game on the schedule like Akron.
The Bucs are hours from their eighth game of the season. This is not a developmental team. No one, not a rookie or a 10-year vet, should be granted a pass for failing to fulfill assignments because his opponent is good.
October 26th, 2022 at 12:15 am
Licht made the decision last Spring that he was not going to trade for 2 O-Line proven players to replace the two who left . He knew ,again last spring , that he was going to go with rookie draft picks……
October 26th, 2022 at 12:17 am
Shaq Mason is no rookie.
Joe is pretty confident that Licht and the Bucs thought putting a rookie guard between Donovan Smith and Ryan Jensen the Bucs could get by and instead of having the best offensive line in the NFL, maybe have the 10th best.
Instead, Jensen got hurt and those plans went up in smoke.
October 26th, 2022 at 12:33 am
Yea I think some of this oline stuff falls on Licht…if this team wins and Geodeke looks good…Licht will get credit for being a genius. So he should get blame but oline is far from our problem right now. Our entire team is overrated.
Devin white, Russell gage, Rudolph, Hicks, Delaney, McCollum, Miller, Perryman, should be on the trading block like yesterday
October 26th, 2022 at 12:42 am
The media today made several good points about how poorly the offense is playing and BL had an excuse for every one of them. Pissed me off as most were exactly correct. BL is so arrogant its unreal.
October 26th, 2022 at 12:51 am
I saw a PFF A$$hat on twitter say we should trade Wirfs because of what happened to the Texans when they went all in on Tunsil.
Do these dudes even think what they talk about?
Yes trade the best O lineman this team has and one of the best in the league because THINK OF THE DRAFT CAPITAL FOR THE FUTURE. THE NUMBER 20 SOMETHING PICK.
October 26th, 2022 at 12:55 am
Hey Joe’s do you think JPP is going to get a lot of reps and sack Brady multiple times?
October 26th, 2022 at 12:56 am
“Somewhere, Kenyatta Walker prowls the streets wearing a Super Bowl ring he earned.”
—
Well he won’t have any problem holding onto it.
October 26th, 2022 at 1:07 am
Well the idea of playing Goedeke is that he’s going to get better as the year goes along. I don’t get the lynch mob going after the kid. He’s not been awful, at least not in the passing game, and the run game – on 1st down or in 3rd or 4th and short, doesn’t move regardless of it’s running behind him or not.
Reminds me of how everyone here wanted to Smith out of town for years. Now this last weekend Smith had his worst game in a long time, and I’d say Wirfs isn’t the best RT in the game this year. Mason has been only slightly better than Goedeke, and Hainsey has actually been better than expected. If four of out 5 offensive lineman are playing worse than you hoped… maybe you look at coaching.
Then again, losing the entire middle of your offensive line is a HUGE adjustment, and those things can take a while to come together.
October 26th, 2022 at 1:36 am
Fire Leftwhich and Armstrong
October 26th, 2022 at 1:48 am
No idea how much they will use him.
October 26th, 2022 at 1:49 am
Nice!
October 26th, 2022 at 1:51 am
Wirfs is having a helluva year so far. He may be the best tackle in the game right now, left or right. Think he’s given up like three pressures in like 300 dropbacks which is just insane.
Yeah, Joe saw that clown suggest the Bucs trade Wirfs for two first-round picks. At this rate, Wirfs might be a Hall of Fame player. But yeah, trade him! smh
October 26th, 2022 at 2:05 am
Bowles Blunder number 147
October 26th, 2022 at 6:27 am
It is my thought that the kneeling thingy had been totally debunked!
October 26th, 2022 at 6:47 am
Tyler Johnson released from the Texans yesterday.
October 26th, 2022 at 6:55 am
“Goedeke is starting on a team with Super Bowl aspirations ….”
No. “Goedeke is starting on a team THAT HAD Super Bowl aspirations,” and they were a joke in hindsight. Let’s take a vacation during camp. Let’s lose the C during camp and play a 2nd year. Let’s get rid of our two vets on Defense. Let’s replace a SB winning coach with a career assistant and loser. Let’s keep an OC sho struggled last year. Let’s replace the best TE in history with a cadaver. Let’s replace a LG with a rookie.
Huh. I wonder why this team is a LOSER!
October 26th, 2022 at 6:59 am
Kenyatta Walker = Ken Not A Blocker. Let’s hope Goedeke turns out a lot better
October 26th, 2022 at 7:35 am
The time to grade the players was during training camp. We’re into week seven, and Leftwich doesn’t know which guard should be starting yet? Just goes to show what a piss poor coach he is, and the O line coach. Bowles is to blame for letting the line shuffling to continue. Pick one already! What a joke this is.
October 26th, 2022 at 7:36 am
Resign Tyler Johnson…..can’t hurt..
I think the problem isn’t just Goedeke….it’s the combination of Goedeke & Hainsey……
If Jensen returns, I think you’ll see some improvement with the entire line….
October 26th, 2022 at 9:18 am
As much as I think the LG is bad, it’s not his fault. He is young, not strong, not polished. He is a rookie. He shouldn’t be out there. The coaches keep putting him out there to get someone killed. That’s coaching. Like McCulomn. Rookie. They weren’t putting him out there until we had injuries. Imagine if they put him out there all year. It would have been bad.
October 26th, 2022 at 9:23 am
I’m giving Goedeke a pass for his rookie year. She never should have been thrown in to begin with. This is JL’s folly, and hopefully they’ll put him on the bench and go with Leveritt. He’s a good kid and will have a heck of a future… Just not this year.
October 26th, 2022 at 9:23 am
*he
October 26th, 2022 at 9:23 am
Crazy thing is. The rookie that do well. We beg to see more. But they can’t stay on the feild. Otten, before brate injury. Ko and Hall. It’s like “Florida Man” is running the team. Wait… I love typing that in google… You Florida folk. Lol.
October 26th, 2022 at 10:06 am
Yup been saying all year- the Bucs could have replaced 1 of the o lineman with a rookie and been just fine. But having to replace 2 of them, who play next to each other, has become a massive problem.
The other problem- is Leftwich. The line isn’t strong enough to simply impose their will AKA they can’t just line up and Telegraph their going to run the ball and expect to be successful, yet that’s all Leftwich does.
He sucks as a coordinator. Simple as that.
Also, Tyler Johnson > Julio Jones
October 27th, 2022 at 12:35 pm
Resign Tyler Johnson and cut Scotty Miller.
If you stick your tongue out at Scotty he falls over.
I know Tyler is not all pro but he was better than Scotty when running slants.
October 27th, 2022 at 1:43 pm
Seems as if it is what Brady wanted, but I never understood why they kept bringing in washed up wide receivers instead of addressing both offensive and defensive lines. Rudolph, Julio, and Beasly??? What a joke.
October 27th, 2022 at 1:48 pm
Also, don’t understand what happened to Miller. He made some great plays during the 2020 SB run. Since then, nothing.