First of all… It’s great to be 1 and 0. And it was really nice to win going away… no last minute heart palpitations.
The Good
Our offensive system under Coach Cohen is so good to see. His motions and running game are right out of McVay’s playbook. We even ran a trap… which I haven’t seen us run in years. No… we didn’t have a great running day, but the plays and the potential are there. It looks completely different than it has over the last 5 years. We actually had running lanes on almost 10 plays.
The passing concepts and routes were exceptional. The routes on the McMillan TD play were beautifully schemed We schemed Evans, Godwin, and McMillan open many times. Welcome to offensive football in the 2020s.
As I said it in the preseason… we will go as far as our offense can take us this year.
The Bad
Our defense did fine and did their part in getting us a win. But it was against an inferior offense. Daniels is scary to watch and can escape anything, but his passing game leaves a lot to be desired. He’ll get there. It was nice we got to play him early. He had plenty of opportunities in the passing game, but couldn’t take advantage.
Our 4 man pass rush wasn’t good enough. As I hoped we would, we played smart and conservative in the first half by not giving Washington any help. But we weren’t able to get consistent pressure with our front 4. In the second half we went back to more of a 5 man rush, which took away escape lanes for Daniels. It was a good second half change-up, but that 5 man rush will get eaten up by better QBs… as we’ve seen over the last few years.
While watching other games I saw teams like Pitts, Indy, Houston, Detriot, LA… even Washington, getting huge pressure with just 4 rushers. It gives a defense so many options and makes coverage life easier. This will continue to worry me throughout the season. And again, I fear it will be our eventual downfall.
Injuries and our lack of depth at key positions is going to be tested. Corner and Dline was already concern before injuries. Izien did an admiral job stepping in, but that cannot be our solution. Teams will take advantage of him at outside corner. I did like Greg Gaines work. He was very active. Probably better than Logan in the first place.
we will go as far as our offense can take us this year.
Yep and with the injuries on D we definitely need the offense early.
Well, the pass rush and depth in secondary is something that will not be corrected this year. We knew when the roster was constructed in the offseason that these were issues
these two issues will likely show their ugly head against superior opponents but for now let’s enjoy the win
37-20; offense having their way
couldn’t ask for a better start realistically performance wise
let’s shock the world with a win in Detroit this week!
@badabingbucs - I like that Detroit played in a very physical and emotional game last night. It’s hard to play at that level back to back weeks.
Maybe, but our defensive injuries were significant in all the wrong places. D-line & secondary are depleted.@badabingbucs - I like that Detroit played in a very physical and emotional game last night. It’s hard to play at that level back to back weeks.
Offense was MUCH better - scheme fit & play calling were killer against The Football Team, but that defense is nowhere near Detroit’s level. Run game is still psycho. Saw Cody Mauch being consistently pushed into the backfield, so running through the RG spot will requires hitting that hole hard. Bucky hit on some timing/misdirection & even a couple up the middle. But when The Football Team was looking for the run - they stopped it - right up till that last drive. The Tampa heat & humidity (aka, home field advantage) was brutal and helped soften that defense up…won’t have that in the dome.
it will be a tough game, but I think our one shot is Liam’s playcalling and Mayfield continuing to be able to point guard with Mike, Chris & JMac…
@white-tiger - oh yes. Detroit is going to be tough and I doubt we have an answer on defense for them even if we were healthy.
Mauch had a tough game. Wirfs had some bad plays. Being the highest paid offensive linemen in the league he needs to dominate. Lions will be a test for where we are right now.
JTS is going to be a handful if he is playing motivated like this.
Izien is going to prove to be money as depth along with Merriweather and Thomas. This is why stacking DB depth is important. I hope the Buca can re-sign Keenan Isaac back as he is the best pure boundary CB behind Dean and McCollum.
I didn't even notice that L. Hall was out of the game. Not sure why PR keeps calling him a key piece.
This offense is nearly unstoppable if they can run the ball respectably and play action off of it. Who are you going to stop between Palmer, McMillan, Evans or Godwin? Throw in the dump off passes and screen game with White and Irviing and teams are going to be stretched trying to defend the entire field. I anticipate Coen is going to keep the pressure on defenses trying to guess which way the Bucs go on offense on each down.
Dennis is slowly coming on and has earned his roster spot but I think we want to see if he can be more than that.
I totally agree about the Logan Hall comments. To me… Greg Gaines is an upgrade. And that’s not saying much. But Gaines is very active. JTS has his moments, as he always has. He was very quiet in the first half on Sunday, and that’s when we were trying to rely on our 4 man pass rush. Yaya got some penetration and that led to JTS’s sack.
Izien is very good depth, but not someone you want to have to depend on for long stretches. He gives us everything he can, but his ceiling isn’t the highest.
I love our offensive system, but we will also still see some tough days ahead. Our line needs to play better. Wirfs and Goedeke looked rusty, which is slightly understandable after not seeing any preseason action. Mauch appears to be our weak link. We will see how things look against the Lions front this week. Baker may face a ton of pressure. Cohen’s play calls could slow down their pass rush with traps and screens, but we will have a tough time with 3rd and long. I love our athletes… Evans, Godwin, McMillan, Rashard, Bucky, etc…
Dennis is starting to flash. But he hasn’t played enough to really see how consistent he can be. Britt looked slow against Washington.
Concerning to me: The Washington Defensive line was able at times to put pressure on Baker. Washington was dead last in allowing points and yards last year. Washington is nowhere close to being the defensive team the Bucs will face in the Lions.
We miss Kancey. I think our CB's are going get exposed this year. Dean takes way too many plays off and luckily Commanders couldn't cash in on his loafing. Pass rush did really do much against an OK OL. That's a problem.
Baker played pretty well, as well as Evans and Godwin. Mauch is still hit or miss on a snap by snap per basis. Goedeke, Barton, and Wirfs were rock solid to me Sunday. Offense will have to carry us to a winning record this year.
Legit concern. Now, if Goedeke is out for this game due to concussion, Baker may need to be on roller skates….Concerning to me: The Washington Defensive line was able at times to put pressure on Baker. Washington was dead last in allowing points and yards last year. Washington is nowhere close to being the defensive team the Bucs will face in the Lions.
Gonna map out the entire lions offense today from week 1 as that is what I think we need to stop. If we can hold them to 20 we win. There was a specific play the rams safety last week read regarding the hi-lo concept i referred to last year and he picked it off jumping the dig route on the hi
Legit concern. Now, if Goedeke is out for this game due to concussion, Baker may need to be on roller skates….Concerning to me: The Washington Defensive line was able at times to put pressure on Baker. Washington was dead last in allowing points and yards last year. Washington is nowhere close to being the defensive team the Bucs will face in the Lions.
”Calijah Kancey, safety Antoine Winfield Jr, right tackle Luke Goedeke and defensive back Josh Hayes have all been ruled out for Sunday’s game.”
Gonna map out the entire lions offense today from week 1 as that is what I think we need to stop. If we can hold them to 20 we win. There was a specific play the rams safety last week read regarding the hi-lo concept i referred to last year and he picked it off jumping the dig route on the hi
Wow, hold the Lions to 20, that's a big ask. IMHO the Lions are going to fire at will vs the Bucs weakened defense. The Bucs offense will find the going more difficult vs the Lions defense, they are definitely not the Redskins. Lion 34 - Bucs 23. I hope I'm wrong, but that's what I see happening on Sunday. I just hope our division opponents lose as well. All three are facing some good teams this week.
