Tristan Wirfs Looked Human
November 29th, 2023
Playing hurt?
Joe is just going to chalk it up to Tristan Wirfs playing with a bum foot.
How else do you explain how a rock of stability like Wirfs is suddenly allowing not just pressure, but sacks over the past two games?
At right tackle, Wirfs was one of the most dominant forces Joe has ever seen. In most games this year, after Wirfs moved to left tackle, Wirfs didn’t play much differently.
But in the last couple of games, woof.
Hey, the guy is human.
Jeff Kerr of CBS, while admitting that Wirfs is likely 100 hurt, believes Wirfs won’t be the model of perfection at left tackle like he was at right tackle.
Tristan Wirfs isn’t the same player at left tackle: Sore ankle or not, this isn’t been the dominant Wirfs the league is accustomed to seeing. Wirfs allowed two sacks and four pressures on Sunday, a pressure rate per dropback allowed of 10.5%. This is the most sacks Wirfs has ever given up in a season (again, at a new position) and the highest pressure rate allowed (3.0%) since his rookie year in 2020. Long-term, Wirfs will be fine, but the numbers won’t be as dominating from left side as the right.
A counter here would be that Wirfs is raw as red meat at left tackle. Sure, he now has 11 games under his belt but even he would admit he’s still getting used to playing on the left side.
Let’s see how Wirfs is doing the second half of 2024 after he’s had some 30 games at left tackle.
November 29th, 2023 at 5:54 am
Not a bit worried about Wirfs, still the best player on the team. The dude has an injured ankle he is playing through.
November 29th, 2023 at 6:11 am
Proof that even great players crumble when exposed to the stench of failure for too long
November 29th, 2023 at 6:28 am
Year 1 of the switch he is just fine, even though the ankle injury is slowing him down. Year 2 and he will look even better.
November 29th, 2023 at 6:29 am
100%…Wirfs is not healthy, and yet hurt he’s still our best option at OT, and for that matter still our best lineman.
It’s funny, experts will say-it time and time again, that football is won in the trenches, those team that make the NFC/AFC Championship games are built well on both sides of their line. I knew our line was bad during that 2014/15 season just because we had Garrett Gilkey skipping balls off the ground back to the QB, but anything outside of that you start to blame talent, or a lack of vision, or pocket awareness. Thank you Tom Brady for 2022, where we saw him very human throughout most of the season because our interior just couldn’t recover from losing Jensen, Marpet and Cappa, lets not forget Stinnie as well. If we upgrade at Center, Hainsey will give us good depth at the interior Oline. Solid OT depth appears impossible.
November 29th, 2023 at 6:50 am
Wirfs shouldn’t be out there playing right now, just like Donnie Smith shouldn’t have been out there last season because he was obviously also playing injured. Bucs lack of depth, in virtually every position group, is incredibly obvious.
THIS is what a rebuild looks like. NOT a retooling; a rebuild. But I’ve got a hunch this year will look like sweet success compared to what next year will look like. Minimal draft picks, no money, most likely a new coaching staff and a better-than-average chance that several veterans will either run for greener pastures elsewhere OR be released to create CAP space. No wonder BA bailed out last March.
November 29th, 2023 at 7:10 am
1. Tristan without a doubt is hurt. He’s been favoring that ankle because he just don’t allow guys to bulldozer him into the qb at ease. That’s a red flag. He’ll never admit it but com on folks the same thing happened to him in the 2021 season when he got hurt playing right tackle.
2. DSmith got steamrolled n beast mode hurt n and when 100% healthy. Let’s not compare him with Tristan cause u talking apples n oranges.
3. BA bailed out cause his wife been begging him to bail out ever since she beg him not to jump back in after unretiring in 2020.
November 29th, 2023 at 7:10 am
That dude is the very LAST player I worry about on this team. He’s playing hurt for God sakes. What a moronic take from Jeff Kerr.
November 29th, 2023 at 7:25 am
GIVE HARBAUGH TOTAL CONTROL-WINNER IN YEAR ONE
November 29th, 2023 at 7:38 am
DMatt … Wasn’t comparing D Smith to Wirfs. Merely said ‘Donnie Smith shouldn’t have been out there last season because he was obviously also playing injured’.
I don’t know if BA’s wife was begging him to bail out or not, but obviously his decision was a last minute one (end of March?). For all any of us know, he might’ve discussed this whole thing in detail with the Glazers & Licht prior to bailing out, in recognition that the Bucs would be facing at least a 2-3 year ‘drought’ (and rebuild?). I’m not even convinced that Tom Brady’s ‘unretirement’ had anything to do with BA or impacted his own decision to pass the reins.
November 29th, 2023 at 7:43 am
He can’t plant on one leg until the ankle heals, get off his back!!!!!!
He is our best player by far and away on either side of the ball
November 29th, 2023 at 7:59 am
They’re all hurt by playing under toilet bowl
November 29th, 2023 at 8:04 am
He’s the last one to worry about he’ll be fine
November 29th, 2023 at 8:05 am
“but the numbers won’t be as dominating from left side as the right.”
Wow dude just decided his career over a few game sample. Pick a few other games earlier in the year and it’s a different story. Such a stupid take lol
November 29th, 2023 at 8:14 am
Definitely the bad ankle.
But com’on Joe, a good Offensive Coordinator would adjust to the injury…
Rolling the pocket to the right, use a running back to shore up the block… or for gods sake, use a tight end to double team the right side blocks.
November 29th, 2023 at 8:18 am
What? Wirfs has absolutely dominated this year until.he got hurt vs the 49ers. What does he have 2/3 sacks given up since he got hurt. I swear they will publish anything these days. One bad game and this dude out here writing that he won’t be as dominate lol. And I would say some of the sacks as a whole on Sunday were all on baker. He held that ball all day long back there because of his own injury. I thought we were gonna see baker roll out way more often. I never see that. Never see plays designed to get him out of the pocket.
November 29th, 2023 at 8:50 am
This is BS. It’s his first season on the left side. He was ranked as the top performing LT by several outlets until 2 weeks ago when he hurt his ankle. Prior to that injury he hadn’t allowed a sack all season. That is some silly click-bait by Jeff Kerr.
November 29th, 2023 at 8:59 am
Wirfs should have never been moved to LT, I said he could get hurt because the motor skills are different from RT to LT. He will figure it out , but the Bucs should have gotten a vet LT. Guess they can decide next year when the whole team is blown up. In the meantime it would be a good idea if the OC would gameplan to take some pressure off of Wirfs.
November 29th, 2023 at 9:18 am
This is a horsesh%t take by the analyst, show me his numbers just a few weeks ago before the injury, he was top ranked in pass blocking, but now he plays through an injury and he will never be as good, so many quick over reaction, feeble minds in the sports media world
November 29th, 2023 at 9:25 am
If there is something I am not worries about is Tristan Wirfs, he changed position looked great and this game was not good, and their is a reason, he is injured….And he is still playing, nothing but respect for the Big T.
I am worried about so many more subjects than that!!
November 29th, 2023 at 9:39 am
Move him back to RT and draft a left handed QB. (Just kidding. He will be a HOF LT).
November 29th, 2023 at 10:00 am
he was dominant at LT until he got injured. Tons of articles and talking heads were talking about how great he was doing. That quad injury in the bills game….he has had some issues since then….then the foot thing . He will be fine.
November 29th, 2023 at 10:08 am
Wirfs is excellent at left tackle when healthy. He is getting beat lately because he may have a high ankle sprain and just can’t move like he’s accustomed to.
November 29th, 2023 at 10:30 am
I watched him every play I could and he just wasn’t very fluid in his movement as he has been. There is no doubt the injury was really bothering him. It’s his foot, one of the two anchors he had on his body to the ground. You can’t push very well with a bad foot and your lateral movement would also be affected. Hopefully he heals well and is back to his old self soon.
November 29th, 2023 at 2:50 pm
Joe, did Beckles and My Momma say that Wirfs could have trouble with his ankles during preseason?
November 29th, 2023 at 4:55 pm
Always was a stupid move. A lot of the best edge rushers are facing the right tackle nowadays (Hunter, Bosa, etc.). Why even risk it when you need a right tackle just as much as you need a left one? Evidence of some old-school meathead philosophy.
November 29th, 2023 at 5:38 pm
Wirfs easily had the worst game of his career, and it came after he was injured the previous week. A pretty obvious correlation – although Baker didn’t help be holding on the ball forever and taking sacks.