The Bucs offense seems to be subscribing to a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality on certain third downs lately. In third-and-medium situations – say three to seven yards – outside of the red zone Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Liam Coen has been deploying a specific concept to considerably positive results. And last week against the Falcons it almost resulted in an explosive play that probably would have gone for a touchdown in Atlanta’s 31-26 win at Tampa Bay.

“Players Not Plays”

Bucs WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: USA Today

Players not plays.

This is a mantra Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen has preached since arriving in Tampa Bay. One of his best players is wide receiver Chris Godwin. Among Godwin’s many strengths are his football IQ to identify coverages and leverage as well as his hands to make difficult catches.

Among receivers with at least 16 targets this year, he ranks third in catch rate at 83.3%. It makes sense that in must-have it situations like third down, Coen would want to lean on those strengths to help keep drives alive. And over the past four weeks Coen has found a way to do just that.

Big part of Liam Coen’s offense is the choice route. They have used it a good bit on 3rd and medium to great success with Godwin. It is one area I am expecting Jalen McMillan to pick up a good portion of the slack, but it will require him and Baker to read things out the same. pic.twitter.com/NRB8x9PPpC

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) October 26, 2024

Making The Defense Wrong

The key to these successful plays is due to several factors. One, the Bucs use 3×1 bunch alignments to create stress on the communication of the defense. If the defense is running man coverage, it requires quick pass-offs, especially when the Bucs use motion just prior to – or at – the snap. Similar issues can present themselves in zones and match concepts.

Second, Tampa Bay stretches the defense vertically by sending the two non-Chris Godwin receivers/tight ends on vertical routes. One runs the outside on a fade/go/corner. The other receiver pushes both vertically as well as laterally by running a slant/cross/seam. This spreads out the coverage and creates more space for Godwin to operate within underneath.

The “Choice” Is His

Bucs WRs Sterling Shepard and Chris Godwin and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

That leaves Chris Godwin to go to work with a lot of freedom to read the defense and do what’s best in the moment. This is the pivotal choice route Liam Coen has implemented in the Bucs’ offense.

If Godwin reads two zone defenders sitting on him but they are deep in their drops due to the vertical routes then he can choose to sit in between them. If it’s a single zone defender or man coverage with outside leverage then he can cross/slant to the inside.

If that defender has inside leverage, then Godwin can break out towards the sideline. Any variation of the defense can be wrong if Godwin makes the right choice and he and quarterback Baker Mayfield read the play the same way. Most of the time that’s been the case. And most of the time, the Bucs convert on third downs running this choice route out of the 3×1 bunch.

Same Concept – Different Player

Bucs TE Cade Otton – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

With Chris Godwin out for the season I expected the Bucs to still utilize the concept. Yes, it is “players, not plays” and Godwin is no longer in the lineup. But he’s not the only player who can read a defense and has good hands.

I suspected that Liam Coen would transfer his role to Jalen McMillan, as I noted in the tweet above, as McMillan is the primary receiver to take on Godwin’s “F” receiver role, but Coen went in a different direction this past Sunday.

Turns out they decided to go to Otton underneath from these bunch looks on 3rd down. I like it. https://t.co/oje0M6fLmL pic.twitter.com/VWuY2IMlhi

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) October 28, 2024

Tight end Cade Otton has proven to be able to make some difficult catches, as evidenced by his gutsy performance late in Tampa Bay’s week seven loss to the Ravens. He has also proven over his first three years in the NFL to be a smart operator in zone coverage, finding space and understanding leverage. He is a natural fit for the role in these critical situations and he proved to be up for the task on Sunday, as the video below will document.

Soooo Close To An Explosive…

I go into more depth on this 3×1 bunch concept that is essentially Liam Coen’s cheat code on third down in an All-22 Breakdown video on the PewterReportTV YouTube channel. The video illustrates when it has been deployed and how it’s continued use led to a mistake by the Falcons defense that would have been a multi-week payoff for Coen and the Bucs offense if rookie Jalen McMillan had ran the proper route.

You can find the video by clicking here, or watching below.