The Bucs are off to a good start when it comes to scoring points this year, as their average of 39.5 points per game is tops in the NFL. Even if you take out the two defensive touchdowns by Mike Edwards, the Bucs offense is still averaging 33 points, which puts them at third.

And yet despite all the points, it still feels as if the offense has left some opportunities on the table through two games. They’ve turned the ball over five times and have been sacked on three occasions as well. 20 penalties, the second worst total in the league, haven’t helped either.

Situational football is where the Bucs need to improve before their bout with the Rams.

Bucs QB Tom Brady and OC Byron Leftwich – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“I think converting third downs, having better first and second downs so we aren’t in third-and-longs,” offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich said.  “And just executing what’s there. I think we’ve missed some layups, and what I mean by that is layups that aren’t the big plays – just the simple plays.

“We missed a bunch of simple plays here and there. It comes to bite you sometimes and that pushes you into third-and-long situations. So, we just need to clean that type of stuff up. Do we feel as though we left a lot out there the first two games? Yes, but it means nothing going into this game.”

Quarterback Tom Brady is off to a tremendous start. His nine touchdown passes leads the NFL, and he’s quickly building a case to win another MVP. But Brady also recognizes the Bucs offense hasn’t executed as well as it should.

“I think just consistency [and] attention to detail,” Brady said on Thursday. “We’ve worked hard at it, but we’ve got to keep communicating. The only way to do it is communicate, go out and execute it. Then learn from it and work hard to improve it. You have to figure out what the problems are in order to solve them. I think we’re learning things every day. I don’t think we are ever a finished product.

“Football is a very challenging game in that there is so much coordination that needs to happen between a lot of people. What may seem like a really simple thing of a throw from a quarterback to receiver actually requires great blocking schemes and a great design so that other people are getting open.”

Tampa Bay faces their biggest challenge of the season this week as they head to Los Angeles. If there’s a time to clean up any part of the offense, it needs to happen quickly.

“This week is really challenging because they’ve got good players in the secondary, they have a good front and we lost to them last year,” Brady said. ‘They’re one of the top-rated defenses in the league. They have one of the greatest defensive players of all-time. Everything about this week is challenging. Really good defense, really good offense, we’ve got a long way to travel. It’s a big game for both of us.”