How does an elite All-Pro caliber tackle fall to 27? I gather you are talking about Anton Harrison.
I thought it was evidently clear that when mentioning an elite, all-pro caliber tackle; that I was referring to Wirfs.
Hence, my statement “not a fan of MOVING an elite, all-pro caliber tackle”.
The obvious now being stated and moving along…yes, I was referring to passing on Anton.
The Bucs gambled with a lot of veteran signings but they ended up being burned as the younger players out played those vets as the 2022 season marched on. The Bucs went into the 2022 off season very complacent which didn't make sense to me at the time and it showed up late in the season when the Bucs depth was shown to not be up to the task.
This off season the Bucs were more aggressive in upgrading their pass rush and moving Winfield to safety full time which will help with INTs. Also the renewed focus of stopping the run with signing of Gaines. Throw in Ryan Neal who can play safety or nickel in a pinch and the Bucs defense is back to what they are capable of in terms of scheme versatility.
Leverett only started 10 games last year. Goedeke started the first 7 and was awful. So overall the LG position was far worse than a "B". Also not sure how you think Mason was better than Cappa as he was a slight downgrade.Hainsey was actually an upgrade in Pass Pro over Jensen. No question.
Cappa was a JAG and Mason was an upgrade there.
But, seriously, just stop with this whole "Leverett / Marpet was a wash" nonsense.
IMO, the bigger problem was passing on a LT that fell to us in the draft. Not a fan of moving an elite, All-Pro caliber tackle.
Could've had our bookends for the next decade.
Instead, we're most likely looking at a Mauch/Goedeke right side of the line.
Why would you put quote marks around something I never said? I lumped the guards together, you're the one trying to compare them individually based on which side they play, which is irrelevant.
Marpet was an A and Cappa was a C. Last year I would grade Mason and Leverett as B's. That is a wash.
All this offensive line talk goes back to one of my beefs about Licht: he drafts linemen when they are desperately needed to start-not before. Hainsey is the only guy that I think bucks that trend.
“It’s no surprise that turnovers were down last season when teams averaged 121.1 yards per game on the ground against the Bucs and a healthy 4.5 yards per attempt. Those were the worst numbers as a unit in the four years that Bowles has been calling defensive plays. “
Interior offensive line is a bigger problem right now than it was Week 17 last season. Best guys are running with the twos.
Interior offensive line is a bigger problem right now than it was Week 17 last season. Best guys are running with the twos.
And no Scotty Miller!
"Last year, the Bucs had the No. 2 third-down offense in the NFL, converting on 47 percent of their opportunities and, as Bowles said, moving down the field consistently. This year, they’ve taken a major step back, ranking 22nd now and converting just 38 percent of the time.
In 2020, Brady had a 110.4 passer rating on third downs, and in 2021, he was at 110.9, third-best in the NFL behind Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers and Arizona’s Kyler Murray. This year his rating is 85.1, which ranks him 20th out of 36 quarterbacks with more than 20 third-down snaps.
Your instinct is to say the Bucs’ lack of run game sets up longer third downs that are harder to convert, but that’s just barely the case. Tampa Bay’s average yards to gain on third down this year is 6.3, and last year’s was 6.2, so the difference is all of three inches."
Part of the problem is that when Evans is covered well, the Bucs don’t know who to turn to on third downs. Evans had 20 conversions on 26 third-down pass targets last year, and Gronkowski (10/18) and Brown (11/18) were both better than 50 percent when targeted. This year, the most common target on third downs is Perriman, who has two conversions in nine tries. Brady has tried everywhere, including Godwin (3/8), Cameron Brate (2/6), Russell Gage (1/5), and Miller (1/4). None found consistent success."
and because this analyst said that the running game was NOT the reason for poor 3rd down conversions (ie 3rd downs were not much longer), he apparently felt compelled to point out a few thing about that running game:
" They’re last in the league, averaging 67.5 rushing yards per game, but their team average of 3.07 is well behind the Rams, who are the next-worst with 3.36 per carry.To find an NFL team with a yards-per-carry average that low over an entire season, you have to go all the way back to 2000"
"The Bucs are easily the NFL’s worst red-zone run team, where every yard matters most, rushing for 12 yards on 18 carries. That’s 0.67 yards per carry, a full yard worse than any other NFL team. Everything tightens up in the red zone, but the league average is 2.69 yards per carry, and the Bucs are nowhere near that. Fournette has 12 rushes for 11 yards, and White has three rushes for 1 yard, which suggests the problem, again, is blocking-related as much as anything."
and it was not just that the offense was having problems in the red zone
We’ll talk about the Bucs’ red-zone scoring issues, but one way to avoid those is to simply score from outside the red zone. The Bucs had 13 touchdown passes from outside the opposing 20 in 2020, and 11 last season (six from 40 yards and longer). This year’s Bucs: Just one passing touchdown has been longer than 13 yards, Brady’s 28-yard throw to Breshad Perriman in the fourth quarter against the Saints in Week 2.
That’s it. More than a third of the way through the season, the Bucs have one touchdown pass longer than 13 yards. Carson Wentz and the Commanders have six. Geno Smith and the Seahawks have eight. Josh Allen and the Bills have a league-best 11.
Oh can we foreshadow 2023 season too?
how about Bowles handling of the QB competition and lack of reps to the guy you knew would start when you signed him?
bucs start out slow because of it and then pivot to trask then after he isn’t the answer go back to mayfield and finish 4-13
in the end I guess that isn’t as bad if we can nab Caleb but this train wreck we should all see coming
Oh can we foreshadow 2023 season too?
how about Bowles handling of the QB competition and lack of reps to the guy you knew would start when you signed him?
bucs start out slow because of it and then pivot to trask then after he isn’t the answer go back to mayfield and finish 4-13
in the end I guess that isn’t as bad if we can nab Caleb but this train wreck we should all see coming
IIRC THERE WAS A THREAD HERE EARLY ON WHERE A POSTER WAS SUGGESTING THAT LICHT WASNT REBUILDING THE TEAM WHICH MUSTVE NEANT HE SAW THE TEAM AS A SUPER BOWL TEAM
the red board!
1) Why not go to the Superbowl? The NFC teams with the best odds are the Eagles, SF and then Detroit. QBs - Hurts, Purdy and Goff. Apparently, a stud QB is not required to be a contender in the NFC. In the CBS QB power rating Hurts is #3, Purdy #12 and Goff #13 and I think that's generous for those last two. Are the Bucs a contender? In the sense that almost every NFC team is a contender except the Cardinals. The Eagles are above the rest probably, but that's one team and stuff happens. Teams falter. See Exhibit A: 2022 Buccaneers I don't see a bunch of teams in the NFC that scare me. You have Lions and Bears supposedly being Superbowl contenders. Come on. That's all you got, NFC? It's a free for all this year in the NFC and in that sense the Bucs are contenders to go to the Super Bowl. The Bucs may go down in flames this year, or they may not, but at the start they have no plans to do anything besides get to the Superbowl.
2) If they are rebuilding, why is Baker Mayfield going to be the starting QB? He's on a short one-year rental contract. They could have signed him for two years or more. They didn't. There's no reason for a rebuilding team to start a veteran journeyman QB unless you are trying to win now. You have a young Kyle Trask who is under contract for two years. He's played well in the preseason. He's had plenty of time on the sidelines. Start him, maybe he'll grow into a quality QB with experience. No reason at all to start Mayfield unless your goal is to compete this year, and you want a veteran leader.
3) Todd Bowles is on the hot seat. You don't rebuild with a coach on the hot seat. You fire that coach and get a new coach to build with. Bowles' timeline extends to the day after the season is over when he hopes not to be a participant in the annual Black Monday event.
3) The Bucs are rebuilding only in the sense that every team is rebuilding every year. They are reshuffling the O-line, they brought in draft picks and UDFAs. They have a new OC. Welcome to life in the NFL. Go check on most of the NFL teams and they are going through similar transitions. The Bucs are not going through more transition than the average NFL team. That's always been my point. I've been clear about that. The only reason for the narrative of a rebuilding year is because Brady is gone and so that whole aura and mystique is gone. The Brady Era is gone.
4) Most of the team however remains. Check the number of players still on the team from last year when the final 53 is announced for Week 1. The Bucs will probably be in the top ten for most players retained. The Bucs retained almost all of their top core players based on the top 10 salaries from last year. William Gholston? Lavonte David? Really, that's rebuilding? I guess what's old is new again.
There are definitely some changes on the offensive side especially, but to what end? When you say a team is rebuilding, you are implying that they are sacrificing the present success to improve their chances of future success. The Bucs aren't doing that, rightly or wrongly. You might want them to do that, but they aren't doing it. They are trying to win this year, and they are basically in the same boat every NFC team (besides Arizona). They do have a chance to get to the Super Bowl. They're taking their best shot.
The Bucs are not going through more transition than the average NFL team. That's always been my point. I've been clear about that.
Who in the blue hell do you think you're fooling with this? You spent all offseason listing all of the players coming back, with a large number of those players now gone. Your argument has shifted from very little turnover to average turnover.
My point was that there would be as few or fewer changes than in a typical year.
There has already been more roster turnover than last season, and we haven't even seen final cuts.
NFC teams the Bucs play this year: Eagles, Lions, Bears, Vikings, 49ers, Falcons, Panthers, Saints. The Eagles, as I said, are significantly better or so it would seem. We play the 49ers out there so that's probably a loss. Other than those two who really scares you in the NFC? Thats one or two teams on top, one on the bottom and everybody else including the Bucs jumbled up in the middle. Stuff happens to those good teams sometimes that brings them back to the pack. I'm not predicting anything. I'm just saying the Bucs are in the mix like pretty much everybody else in the NFC. You tell me, Donkey, what teams in the NFC scare you?1) Why not go to the Superbowl?
Right?!?!
Like, for real!
You tell me, Donkey, what teams in the NFC scare you?
None.
We’re going to the Superbowl.
I mean, why not us?
