Irresponsible Offensive Gameplan
December 31st, 2023
“Don’t blame me!”
Did Byron Leftwich crawl through the fence near the Glazer Shed to get back into One Buc Palace? Today’s offensive gameplan was like a Leftwich special.
Joe has maintained that the most irresponsible gameplan Joe’s ever seen was last year at Pittsburgh. Leftwich decided rather than attack the decimated Steelers secondary, which had dudes off the street playing due to injuries, he would slam the ball right into the teeth of the tough Steelers defense.
The results were predictable.
Today, Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales’ gameplan almost reminded Joe of Leftwich. Almost.
The slimy Saints had been ripped apart through the air the past couple of weeks. Yet on the first two possessions, Canales terribly regressed back to October when he thought Rachaad White was Mike Alstott.
Passing the ball is why the Bucs offense exploded against Green Bay and Jacksonville.
Today, Canales decided to get the ball to lesser players like Cade Otton (three first half targets), Chase Edmonds (two first half targets), Trey Palmer and Deven Thompkins.
Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, one of the best receiving duos in the NFL, got a grand total of three targets in the first half. In other words, as many targets as Cade Otton.
Outrageous!
And given that Evans’s kryptonite, Marshon Lattimore, was out injured, this game screamed “Mike Evans’ big game.” Maybe someone didn’t tip off Canalas that Lattimore wasn’t suited up?
The Bucs trailed early 17-0 and it just got worse. The boobirds were loud at 17 and later at 20. But Canales continued to feed White the ball up the middle, apparently oblivious to the need to score and score quickly.
The fans had every right to boo.
Joe pins this game directly on Canales. He had to see, he had to know his offense lit up the past two weeks because he finally unleashed the offense, targeted Godwin and threw on first downs.
Today? Canales regressed to his gameplans in October where Godwin was ignored and Canales called White’s number more than a teenager calls her steady boyfriend.
Speaking of Otton, who is the football savant that drew up a play in the first quarter where White would run at Cam Jordan and the primary blocker on the play was Otton?
Really? Otton vs. Jordan? Seriously? And some wonder why that run lost yards.
With a chance to beat the slimy Saints and lock up the NFC South, the Bucs fell flat on their faces. This one is directly on poor planning.
Here Joe thought Canales was adapting and growing as a top-shelf offensive coordinator. He just took steps backward.
December 31st, 2023 at 4:44 pm
Is Todd still Coach of the Year?
December 31st, 2023 at 4:44 pm
Flew in for the game….very disappointing gameplan. Todd Bowles blueprint written all over it. Left Mike Evans and Chris Godwin completely out of gameplan till the end. Why do we want to lose football games?
December 31st, 2023 at 4:45 pm
An article was written here suggestinga HC position for Canales Joe.
Short memory perhaps????
December 31st, 2023 at 4:47 pm
That picture should be Bowles. How can it not be clear to anyone that he oversees the offens. Same as lefty for the most part. Play not to lose.
Cept when your job is on the line. Bowls will always be a play not to lose coach and the team has now bought in.
He should have been fired a LOOOOONG time ago!
Anyone who can not win with Brady and even our stacked roster this year needs to be institutionalized.
December 31st, 2023 at 4:49 pm
I’m actually quite surprised….I thought Canales was starting to learn.
Nope
December 31st, 2023 at 4:50 pm
We were tricked….
December 31st, 2023 at 4:51 pm
Zzbucs, this site is bi-polar.
December 31st, 2023 at 4:53 pm
@Show me….
You are so right my friend!!
December 31st, 2023 at 4:53 pm
Root for the Panthers so the Glazers will wise up and make a coaching change!!!!!!!!!!
December 31st, 2023 at 4:54 pm
This OC seems clueless to what less than sober fans already know. He’s had 16 games to figure it out and get comfortable. 16 games to learn how to use 2 guys you’re paying a combined 38 million for. 16 games to learn your running back is elite at catching passes and below average at rushing.
Just when you thought he figured it out, he’s showing up to the final exams and bombing the test.
December 31st, 2023 at 4:59 pm
Thanks for the article Joes! Unfortunately I think this will be the team that shows up to the playoffs….. if they get in. Also, I’m so thankful I did I buy tickets. Seriously considering since the last two I went to ME13 went off. Chicago this year and Carolina last year.
December 31st, 2023 at 5:01 pm
Wait, with the Falcons losing aren’t we in danger of losing Canales and Mayfield in the offseason?🙄🤪
December 31st, 2023 at 5:04 pm
“ Joe pins this game directly on Canales.”
I just typed ‘Canales’ and was auto-corrected as ‘Cancelled’.
No kidding!!!
His game plan was not only irresponsible, it was down right embarrassing.
Hated it.
I kept rightly speaking into existence during the game, “Hey Canales, run it up the middle again for no gain!”
And f….cking BOOM!
He complied.
His stubbornness just cost Bowles is guaranteed reprieve, Baker his guaranteed extension, Evans his guaranteed $30MM per year for three years…and Bucs fan’s dignity for the next week.
Damn it.
I just hate, hate, hate the smug stubbornness.
Fix it right damned now before slicing our throats next week.
December 31st, 2023 at 5:06 pm
Yup. Canales completely failed this team today, and was 100% the biggest reason we lost today.
Unbelievable’s 5 Biggest Culprits for Todays Loss:
#1 – Dave Canales
#2 – Todd Bowles
#3 – Offensive and defensive lines
#4 – Baker Mayfield
#5 – The entire secondary, including Antoine Winfield who probably just destroyed his chance at getting DPOY
December 31st, 2023 at 5:08 pm
F this team. They fooled me again. I couldn’t care less if they win or lose next week. I know who they really are again. God damn loser coaches.
December 31st, 2023 at 5:09 pm
Unbelievable you nailed it.
December 31st, 2023 at 5:11 pm
These coaches make me sick!!
December 31st, 2023 at 5:16 pm
Win streak was a mirage
The first half was so horrific that it’s hard to believe they only lost by 10
Baker was Winston-like.
I don’t know where you go off a game like this
Do or die next week I guess
Regardless of next week, I have to imagine the front office is considering coaching options for next year
December 31st, 2023 at 5:20 pm
I still can’t be convinced that offensive gameplan wasn’t heavily influenced by Bowles. If not then Canales certainly deserves a lot of blame!
December 31st, 2023 at 5:24 pm
And I had all but accepted that, against all my protestations and prognostications, bowles would be allowed to smother our Bucs with his stink of failure and complacency for another season. Hopefully the Glazers have learned their lesson. We still likely beat the Panthers and get to the playoffs where we likely get walloped but the Eagles/ Cowboys. We will never be a winning franchise with bowles at the helm. He MUST be fired. How many more times do we have to bang our heads on the wall??
And I always hear everyone saying bowles is “hands off” with the offense. But when everyone and their mothers know your football philosophy (that of the 70s – 3 yards and a cloud of dust, defense and turnovers to win), you don’t need to spell it out. Especially after you hire an OC with no experience. You don’t need to tell him what plays to call. You don’t need to draw up the offensive game plan. People act like he has no opinion on anything on the offensive side of the ball which is ridiculous. Canales knows the expectation which is fine with him because it plays into his philosophy as well.
The fact the Otton & Edmonds got 36% of the targets today is UNACCEPTABLE!! I repeat, for the 1000th time, Otton is JAG. Nothing special, doesn’t excel in any one area. Tell me what did the rest of the league think of Edmonds before this season? There are only so many plays and targets to go around in a game and the ratio of them we waste on scrubs (not even mentioning Thompkins & Moore) is infuriating. If Ko played today, he likely would’ve gotten 3 targets. Evans, Godwin, and White should get 75-80% of the targets EVERY GAME. And if we lose that way, so be it. At least we go out playing to our strengths. Today they accounted for 39% of targets. Thirty f’n nine?!?! Vs 36% for Otton & Edmonds? That’s just mind numbingly stupid. Does Cousins worry about targeting Jefferson too much? Does Stafford worry about targeting Kupp too much? At this point I can only hope some other team is dumb enough to give Canales a HC job. Maybe the saints lol
#FIREbowles #NOconfidence
December 31st, 2023 at 5:29 pm
What’s the common denominator? Bowles had influence over both offensive plans…
December 31st, 2023 at 5:33 pm
Z Buc, Show me , Yes we are bi polar fans!! Almost all the Bucs fans here know that this team wins when the offense passes to set up the run! We, as fans, get sucked in when the Bucs do that. Pass to set up the run! And win games doing just that! TB, and for job security purposes too, DC insist on running to set up the pass game. Even when they lose more often than not doing that. This, more often than not this season and last season, has been a formula for 3rd and long. We have been able to overcome this situation this year sometimes (Not last season, and not today though!) But you really can’t sustain overcoming 3rd and longs!! Really!!!
The other thing that drives us nuts is not getting ME13 and CG14 into the game early. When we do, the Bucs usually win and vice versa.
When our coaches game plan this way ,we usually win . When they don’t, we usually lose. We as fans see this. The coaches watch and actually study the film. They see this too.
We get sucked in when the team game plans to play action and pass early to set up the run using our best receivers because they usually win doing this! And we want to run them out of town when they game plan to run to setup the pass because they usually lose doing this.
December 31st, 2023 at 5:40 pm
Well crap. No coach of the year for Bowles, no HC gig for Canales, and Mayfield can go back up Aidan O’Connell next year. Fire everybody and start from scratch!
December 31st, 2023 at 5:55 pm
Starts with Bowles. Then canales. Bowles had 3 timeouts left after the 1st half. He also had WR n TE running wide open again. Like every game this season. Then baker went back to his old self. Baker can be above good at times then he pulls a Winston. He’s not consistent. Hasn’t bin his hole career.
December 31st, 2023 at 6:05 pm
Canales said he was gonna keep running the ball between the tackles on first and second down hoping it would eventually work. Albert Einstein would call Canales insane. Joe would called him a failed offensive coordinator
December 31st, 2023 at 6:52 pm
JBF article (29 Dec 2023) ‘Dave Canales > Byron Leftwich’ … Joe could sit here all morning and explain why Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales is better than his predecessor Byron Leftwich.
JBF article (31 Dec 2023) ‘Irresponsible Offensive Gameplan’ … ‘Today, Canales decided to get the ball to lesser players like Cade Otton (three first half targets), Chase Edmonds (two first half targets), Trey Palmer and Deven Thompkins. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, one of the best receiving duos in the NFL, got a grand total of three targets in the first half. In other words, as many targets as Cade Otton. Outrageous!’
Interesting what a difference 2 days and 1 game can make. Kinda like the poll that was taken before today’s game asking ‘Will the Bucs beat the Saints?’ …
YES … 75.2%
NO … 13.39%
NOT SURE … 11.38%
Three fourths of those who responded were convinced we were going to whoop the Saints today. And yet reading through the game comments and after-game comments, it sure does seem like fans’ attitudes get swayed pretty easily. The media’s too. All it took was ONE bad game.
December 31st, 2023 at 7:08 pm
Every OC is going to look bad when you get horrific QB play like Baker showed today.
December 31st, 2023 at 7:10 pm
“Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, one of the best receiving duos in the NFL, got a grand total of three targets in the first half. In other words, as many targets as Cade Otton. Outrageous!’”
I’m going to guess that Canales isn’t the one telling Baker to not target Evans and Godwin.
But I could be wrong.
December 31st, 2023 at 7:57 pm
I abstained from the poll. I was really hoping Baker could keep his streak going.
But I couldn’t get the thought of the Saints pass rush and his susceptibility to batted balls out my head. But i never imagined this coaching staff was so inept that they would kill the clock with failed running play after running play. Little urgency to get the ball to Mike and Chris until the final ten minute. Gameplan seemed to have Timid Todd’s blueprint on it. Canales killed any notion that he Would be innovative.
December 31st, 2023 at 9:39 pm
I can’t hang this all on the game plan. Two ridiculous fumbles, two picks. We didn’t play with any fire any urgency until the fourth quarter. The players in classic Bucs fashion came out for a big game and laid an egg. This loss was about execution and desire both of which the Bucs lacked
December 31st, 2023 at 10:10 pm
Joe, that wasn’t the primary playcall on the play. Baker switched the call at the line. It was a bad check, and it was yet another play from Baker that took the play clock all the way down and choreographed the snap to the defenders. He’s done it all season.
January 2nd, 2024 at 5:59 am
They are who we thought they were?
They all came out looking just like First round draft picks!…Looked just like…O. J. Howard, Vernon Hargreaves…JTS, and Devin White as themselves…
Jaymiss was seen eating a W…
Pathetic performance by pretty much everyone but Mean Gene Deckerhoff.
Go Bucs!
January 2nd, 2024 at 6:07 am
BTW that Otten blocked play has failed miserably on numerous occasions when Otten has been the blocking TE. Erase that one Canales or get a TE who can block. That one should have been put in the trash biin months ago!
There is stuborn and there is stupid… Thats fine untill you are both!
Go Bucs!