Matt Cassel Dishes On Tom Brady
November 9th, 2022
Breaking down Tom Brady and Bucs.
A former backup to Tom Brady senses there isn’t just one thing wrong with the Bucs offense, a lot is wrong.
And when you add that up, it’s a steep uphill climb.
Former Brady backup Matt Cassel appeared on Kay Adams’ show Monday, “Up and Adams,” and broke down the Bucs offense.
Obviously, he sees like everyone else the Bucs don’t have a run game. Joe got the impression Cassel is not a believer in Playoff Lenny or Rachaad White when he said “the offensive line has been pretty stable all year.”
Cassel did not mention any Bucs running back by name. But he did add that no threat of a run game puts a ton of pressure on the quarterback. “It becomes tough to put together sustained drives,” Cassel said.
As for the passing game, Cassel said earlier in the year when the Bucs had banged up receivers and there was a revolving door at receiver, he could understand why Brady wasn’t his sharpest. Now? Cassel said you cannot use injuries as an excuse.
“It has to be frustrating,” Cassel said when Adams asked how he may be handling this strange season. “He’s used to winning.”
What’s the biggest difference between the Bucs last year and this year? No Bucco Bruce Arians, that’s all there is to it.
You can see the full segment of Cassel talking about Brady and the Bucs below.
Cassel on Brady turning point 📈 https://t.co/coWxj1cy6f
— Kay Adams (@heykayadams) November 7, 2022
November 9th, 2022 at 5:44 am
Matt Cassel … ‘offensive line has been pretty stable all year.’
I like Cassel’s analysis (it’s not just 1 thing), but it sounds like he gave the OLine a pass; I wouldn’t. Run blocking has been erratic at best, and too often guys aren’t winning their 1-on-1’s. Once the play is called, it all starts in the trenches.
Of course, there’s the rub: play design & play calling precedes execution. BL is kinda like bringing in backyard BBQer to cook your meal when you needed a bonafide chef for the evening soiree. He’s too ‘mechanical’ about using the run game, and I’m convinced that it’ll never work for him.
I’m wondering now if the Bucs’ coaching staff is still struggling with the remnants of ‘how BA used to do it’. Seems like I remember him saying that they essentially ‘game planned by committee’. When you have an OC, plus TWO run game coordinators, plus a RB coach (and a plethora of others like Joe Gilbert) AND Tom Brady all involved in the ‘planning’ part, odds are pretty high that COMPROMISES are made. As Dr Phil used to say … ‘And how’s that working for you?’
November 9th, 2022 at 6:15 am
Clueless Todd and Bumbling Byron will have none of this! They’ve already got 15 “beautiful” 1st down running plays ready to go this weekend in Germany! Everyone knows 1st down is for running plays, ONLY!
November 9th, 2022 at 7:23 am
You can’t have this poor of an offense without the QB sharing some of the blame.
Brady has been very quick to throw balls in the dirt…..just doesn’t look comfortable….
That being said….the playcalling is atrocious…….the blocking poor…..receivers not getting separation…..dropped balls & untimely penalties. Failure in the red zone….
Other than that….we’re cooking with gas!!!
November 9th, 2022 at 7:28 am
Good teams with good running games use at least three different backs during a game. With the Chiefs you never know who’s going to get the most snaps from week, to week including their 7th round rookie who looks better then R. White. This makes it hard on a defense, they’re always guessing, and have to also account for a wicked air attack. Defenses don’t have to guess who, or where the Bucs will be running the ball. It’s Lenny going up the middle usually on first down. It’s Lenny, early, and late running basically the same play. Very easy to defend. We have no change of pace back, or real threat of a back taking a short pass to the house. Very easy to defend. This will never change with the current coaching staff, and a G.M. who clearly can’t draft a good RB.
November 9th, 2022 at 7:43 am
Hodad. The Chiefs running backs had 14 yards total rushing last game.
November 9th, 2022 at 7:57 am
Why run ? Get up big passing then run use pass to set up run
November 9th, 2022 at 7:58 am
The Bengals ran over the Panthers. Mixon had a field day. We couldn’t do jack against the Panthers.
November 9th, 2022 at 8:07 am
To break it down to simplicity. Nothing unexpected. Bucs run when everyone knows they’re going to run and they pass on obvious passing downs. The O line doesn’t get any push but it’s hard to judge them when they’re blocking a loaded box. If you notice on passing downs even when the line holds up they’re giving up a middle push so Brady can’t step up to throw resulting in him throwing off his back foot. Not his game. Mahomes can do this now and Rogers used to be able to but it’s catching up to him with age. Brady’s game is O line push the outside rushers past him while he steps up past them and throws. That’s gone. No room to step up.
November 9th, 2022 at 8:11 am
Side note: The roll out pass was successful the last two years. I don’t remember seeing it this year.
November 9th, 2022 at 8:14 am
Hicks really made a difference in the Rams Game. so let’s hope we can build off that ?
Scotty Miller and Cade Otten, with Brady, won that game for us. Cade Otten lost his Mom this year, but I am sure she would have been very proud of him!
We will be the favorite team, as far as the German Fans are concerned. This is because Tom Brady is famous worldwide, not just here in Tampa. Plus, we are a Florida Team. When Germans come to America on vacation, they come to Florida, not Washington State, so we will be the favorite team, as far as the German Fans are concerned.
November 9th, 2022 at 8:30 am
When you have the opposing defense mic’d up saying what’s coming before it happens you have to make a change but the bucs are dragging their feet they need to get rid of leftwich he is too predictable to win games. He keeps saying I have to call it better but it’s basically the same thing every game. 8 games in if you haven’t figured it out by now you probably are not going to bucs need to change it up and leftwich seems incapable and incompetent.
November 9th, 2022 at 8:55 am
For all those wanting to can Leftwich AND Bowles, be careful what you wish for. Byron isn’t a good OC from my perspective (evidence our 18.0 PPG scoring & #25 ranking), but Todd is a very good DC (evidence our 18.2 PPG allowed & #5 ranking). Not sure that the offense could get much worse without BL, but this defense would be hard-pressed to perform at its’ current level without Bowles.
I can only assume that Bowles has basically stayed ‘hands off’ the Bucs’ offense. Back when Bowles became Jets HC in 2015, they finished with a 10-6 record with Ryan Fitzpatrick as their QB. The Jets had a 41.7% run-pass ratio that year. The next year it was also 41.7%, then increased to 43.4% in 2017, then decreased a little to 42.2% in 2018. IOW, Todd’s run-pass ratio stayed quite consistent over his 4 years there at 42.3% .
Compare that 42.3% to what the Bucs are doing at present: 30.8% run-pass ratio. That’s not Todd Bowles. Heck, that’s not even Bruce Arians. That’s Byron Leftwich not knowing how to plan & use a running game.
Our problem though seems to be that we have no real head coach. We seem to have two coordinators each doing their own thing. One’s doing OK, but the other’s floundering. That’s the kiss of death IMO. BA didn’t do Todd Bowles any favors by saddling him with BL. The stories of BA’s Red Pen have gained a lot more credibility in my eyes since he retired.
November 9th, 2022 at 9:05 am
@Kentucky Buc
Bootlegs and waggles are diminished when the QB doesn’t have the same level of confidence in his protection as he did in 2020 or 2021. It’s why Brady on most play action plays is 7 yards deep after the feigned handoff because a rollout will kind of put him in the path of the pass rushers he’s not trying to get obliterated by. Also, there’s little acknowledgement in the lack of trust Brady has behind our 5 guys, which is evidenced by the lightening fast release, but the release also throws off the timing of certain WR routes. It’s been evident in every game, where there are passes thrown in the dirt or passes where Brady may be leading a WR who doesn’t look like he’s seperating and that’s because if its a 3 second rhythm route and ball is out in 2.58 seconds because Brady feels or has felt the heat it sort of throws the timing off and why we look out of sync, is because we are. Part of the problem, is Brady & Leftwich are still trying to run this offense as if it were 2020 or 2021 and it’s big part of why our offense looks the way it does. Or am I the only one that remembers slow starts and speedy offensive series with next to no production being a problem since 2019?
November 9th, 2022 at 9:05 am
DR. Playing from behind skews those numbers although I’m sure the Jets were playing from behind a lot also. Ratio means nothing. Predictability is the problem.
November 9th, 2022 at 9:08 am
Chris@Apple … ‘Hicks really made a difference in the Rams Game. so let’s hope we can build off that?’
During the game I wouldn’t have agreed with you, but afterwards I’m in total agreement. Hicks doesn’t even show up on the stats’ sheets … 0 tackles, 0 pressures, 0 sacks, 0 TFLs, everything’s 0. He was on the field for 33 def snaps, but not a single stat to show for it. However, Vea had a monster game in his 35 def snaps … 2 sacks, 3 QB Hits, 1 QB Hurry, 2 TFLs, 3 solo tackles. Obviously there’s something going on there, vey similar to how Vea used to perform better when Suh was on the team.
Question now becomes … ‘Can Hicks stay healthy?’ His very presence seems to have made a huge difference in our run defense. It also allowed us to set up a much more optimum DLine rotation: Vea (35 snaps), Hicks (33 snaps), Gholston (17 snaps), RNR (22 snaps). Neither O’Connor nor Senat got any def snaps, unlike in our recent games.
November 9th, 2022 at 9:08 am
Dooley. All that you said comes from inabilty to step up . He’s arm throwing and throwing off the back foot. I know what my eyes tell me. Been watching this guy since Michigan.
November 9th, 2022 at 9:19 am
Kentucky Buc … I agree with what you’re saying, just trying to point out that I believe Todd Bowles, more than likely, would be running the ball MORE if he had his way. Looks like he’s chosen, for whatever reason, not to push it & allow BL to do his thing. IOW I don’t think he’s using his HC hat to influence what the offense is doing. Four years of Jets’ history tells me otherwise.
And yes, we have been playing from behind in many cases, but I don’t think that’s the driving factor in why the running game is being used so little. BL doesn’t trust it, and hasn’t since we got past the first couple of games. He’s opted for the pass on 3rd-and-short considerably more than he’s called for the run. And since defenses have figured that out (by our formations if nothing else), it’s made defending the pass on 3rd down that much easier for them. Maybe that’s why we’re floundering at a 36% 3rd down conversion rate (ranked 23rd in the NFL).
November 9th, 2022 at 9:24 am
One thing that I notice is Brady is throwing off his back foot a lot. He’s not stepping into throws. He doesn’t trust the line.
November 9th, 2022 at 9:31 am
DR. Good analysis. The predictability is a killer. In previous years the Line allowed the Bucs to out athlete teams and Gronk and AB bailed them out . Bucs don’t have that guy right now to take some heat off Godwin and Evans. That middle pressure is speeding up Brady’s clock throwing off timing on some routes . I agree with Dooley on that point. Out of sync. I don’t think the running game improves until the passing game does. Run off the pass not pass off the run game. A little creativity would help.
November 9th, 2022 at 9:55 am
Who are we kidding? When Godwin was injured in the playoffs and after AB went AWOL, and if I’m not mistaken Evans was banged up, our only weapon was Gronk. That moment in time exposed this offensive of its weaknesses and from that point forward it has sucked. Fournette never was an every down back IMO. He has good days but primarily he’s a 20 carry 80 yard back that’s effective with a balanced offense which this has not been since Godwin’s injury last year. It’s as if teams went back and watched that tape on how to lock down this offense. The Bucs coaches didn’t get out in front of this and didn’t make any adjustments in the off-season and here we are with an inept offensive plan. Whether it’s personnel or plan or both it’s anyone’s guess but I’m convinced defenses have figured out how to stop the offense and the coaches and/or front office are to blame for not learning from last year’s lessons.
November 9th, 2022 at 10:00 am
Using Scotty seemed to help. He’s that guy
November 9th, 2022 at 10:49 am
A lot of our trouble with the passing game is no yards after catch. Why no yards after catch? Because our receivers get no seperation. They are literally getting tackled as they are catching the ball. On a side note, Kay Adams looked hotter on GMF
November 9th, 2022 at 12:53 pm
Cassel has about as much credibility to me as little Chrissie “I can’t believe they batted down another pass” Simms.
November 9th, 2022 at 3:03 pm
Someone in critical condition can be classified as stable that doesn’t mean they are going to get up and run a marathon. Stable doesn’t mean they can block as a unit. As for the running backs it is evident that playoff Lenny is becoming no vision Lenny. There is yardage he can pick up but he seems like he is trying to hit a home run on every rush or he sees he can’t go anywhere and doesn’t really pound the ball up inside. White should get a lot more snaps as he has a little make you miss in him. As for Brady, if the receivers will catch the ball we might be a little more successful.
November 9th, 2022 at 3:22 pm
I don’t understand the “brady hasn’t looked sharp” analysis. It’s BS. Brady has not once been the problem, IMO.
November 9th, 2022 at 4:03 pm
“What’s the biggest difference between the Bucs last year and this year? No Bucco Bruce Arians,” BINGO!!
November 9th, 2022 at 4:21 pm
More play action would give TB12 just that extra split second to find on open man and give the receivers and extra amount of time to get separation. Teams that play tight man on our receivers know that their DL is going to force TB12 to get rid if the ball quick and throw short. Our soft zone D leaves the opps QB an easy 6-8 yd gain. Tighten up boys now we have Hicks back to help VV get at their QB.
November 9th, 2022 at 6:02 pm
I disagree with BA being the biggest difference. I would say it’s a tie between BA and the offensive line. The entire interior has been changed and there have been injuries along the line. That has been a big part of the running problem. As for Lenny, he looks like he’s just turning his legs and getting nowhere, reminds me of Michael Pittman. White looks great in his limited opportunities
November 9th, 2022 at 7:46 pm
Well, Cassel is right. The o-line has been stable. Stably unable to open holes for the run game or protect Brady consistently.
November 10th, 2022 at 11:57 pm
It’s time to have Bowles run the Defense full time and bring BA back to tun this team.