Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way regarding Bucs right tackle Luke Goedeke Friday night. I was wrong.I was in charge of writing Pewter Report’s Most Disappointing Bucs feature and I had Goedeke on the list.

In fact, I led off with Goedeke. I wrote the article, and it most certainly bears my name. So in the interest of taking responsibility, I will once again say I was wrong because I was.

Watching live, I saw his matchup (Steelers edge rusher Nick Herbig) get to the quarterback twice on the night, and any night you give up two sacks is usually a recipe for ending up on a Most Disappointing list. But upon further review, the truth is Luke Goedeke had a heck of a game. And the Bucs should be encouraged by his performance. I know I was.

The Sacks Luke Goedeke Allowed

Let’s talk about the sacks. On the night, one might claim that Luke Goedeke allowed two sacks. But the truth isn’t what it seems on this one.

Some ppls minds are already made⬆️so this will do nothing 2 change them. 1st sack was NOT on him. The TE (82) is running a split block coming across the back of the line. His delay off the snap had him run into RT and cause him 2 lose the outside. No RT is recovering from that pic.twitter.com/nqffF8s1Sk

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) August 12, 2023

Watching Goedeke closely on this rep, you will see the Bucs’ right tackle was done in by his tight end Dominique Dafney. Dafney’s responsibility for this play is to run a split block in an effort to sell the run fake for the play action. That means he is supposed to move behind the offensive line to the quarterback’s blind side to help take on the backside trail defender (again, on the run concept, they are faking). But Dafney is way too slow off the snap. This causes Goedeke to run into him as Goedeke attempts to get out in front of Herbig’s wide rush.

The result is a sack. But there is no world where Goedeke, or any other tackle for that matter, could have prevented that from happening. As for the second sack, the opinions differ a bit.

And here it is. The RB definitely hurt Goedeke more than he helped. Still think I would put this one in the “L” column for Goedeke as I think that inside move by Herbig was going to win no matter what. https://t.co/NhwJtRCz3u pic.twitter.com/iUn80rcGnb

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) August 12, 2023

There is some blame to be laid at the feet of running back Patrick Laird, who didn’t get a great chip and ultimately helped fuel Herbig’s inside move with extra momentum. But on this sack, I would still hang it on Goedeke. Herbig is an explosive athlete, and Goedeke has to be able to protect the outside. He did that very well throughout the night.

Bucs RT Luke Goedeke and QB Kyle Trask – Photo By: Cliff Welch/PR

However, part of what made him effective at protecting the outside was a bit of cheating with some oversets. Herbig figured that out and set him up with this inside counter.

Take Laird out of the equation, and Goedeke still loses this rep and is most likely a sack. With shorter arms, Goedeke does not have the same luxury as Bucs left tackle Tristan Wirfs and many other tackles throughout the league of being able to use his limbs to protect the outside arc. He has to do it by beating rushers to their spots.

In doing so, he will leave some enticing inside lanes for opponents to try and take advantage of. This will be one of the most interesting things I will be looking for in game two of the preseason against the New York Jets’ vaunted pass rush.

What Bucs RT Luke Goedeke Did Well Against The Steelers

We have focused on two plays out of 47. A player’s game grade can swing some in two plays, but the other 45 don’t just go out the window because they didn’t stand out. And there was some really good tape that Goedeke showed in this game.

He showed plenty of strength and some of the attitude fans have come to love about center Ryan Jensen in the above play, straight throwing Marcus Golden out of the club. And who doesn’t like seeing an offensive lineman drive a pass rusher into the ground?

For most of the night, Goedeke kept his quarterbacks clean. This helped the Bucs’ passers go a combined 24-of-36 for 273 yards with a touchdown and an interception with six explosive pass plays. They were able to generate those plays because although Goedeke maybe allowed one sack, he shut down his side for most of the night.

He did have some trouble with Herbig on a few reps. But no lineman (outside of maybe Tristan Wirfs and a few others) will win every rep. That’s a solid day’s work for an offensive tackle.

Bucs RT Luke Goedeke – Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

So, I will happily admit that my live evaluation of Luke Goedeke last night was wrong. And for those of you who shared that opinion of mine, you may want to reconsider your opinion as well. There is nothing wrong with admitting one is wrong after considering new information.

There will always be a subset of our population that only want to confirm priors and have difficulty changing their opinions based on new information. For those of you who had negative priors on Goedeke, I understand this will not change your mind.

And this is not a “Luke Goedeke will be a good right tackle” assertion. His NFL tape still has far more bad than good, and that needs to be taken into consideration. But Friday night, he took a step forward in his quest to prove his doubters wrong – in only his second game ever at right tackle in the NFL.

The Bucs should feel good about that. And if you are a Bucs fan, you should too.