“The Moment Wasn’t Too Big For Him”

October 10th, 2020

Yes, there was a silver lining or two to the Buccaneers’ groin-stomp loss on Thursday night before the eyes of the nation.

With all the Tampa Bay injuries at receiver, it was time for rookie fifth-round pick receiver Tyler Johnson to step up in a big way.

And he did just that.

Late in the first quarter, Johnson grabbed a Tom Brady pass in zone coverage and proceeded to break three tackles and rack up 20 yards after the catch (YAC) before getting tackled at the 8 yard line. It was very Chris Godwin-like.

Johnson finished with four catches for 4 catches for 61 yards, including a strong sideline effort fighting for a first down. He came up just short, but it also was a Godwin-style effort.

Joe asked Bucco Bruce Arians yesterday if the film shows reveals that Johnson could be battling for a No. 3 receiver role when the Bucs’ receiving corps eventually gets healthy.

Arians said Johnson isn’t quite there yet, but he’s on the rise.

“I think he’s getting better and better. He’s not at Scotty [Miller’s] level right now. Scotty does some things and we’ve got to get him the ball some more; he was open [Thursday]. Tyler’s getting better and better and I really like where his progress is right now having missed so much time [in training camp].”

Former NFL safety Solomon Wilcots was a huge Johnson guy prior to the NFL Draft and was crowing about his guy Friday morning on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “The moment wasn’t too big for him,” Wilcots excitedly said about Johnson’s breakthough game.

Joe felt the same way. Impressive stuff from Johnson in prime time against a good defense.

29 Responses to ““The Moment Wasn’t Too Big For Him””

  1. Casual Observer Says:

    I thought Johnson was amazingly good – especially for a rookie. Another nice pick.

  2. Goforthwface30 Says:

    So, yeah, I’m curious – what WAS the deal with Scotty? Is his hip/groin more of an issue than we know or what? 0 catches, 0 yards, zero everything is absurd. Mike Evans looks really slow/hampered right now because he’s completely banged – up so to me Scotty was THE guy in a way against the bears and yet he was anonymous and that seems to be what Scotty is. The kind of guy that’ll give you 5 catches for 70 yards one and does jack crap the next. We need to pump the brakes on Scotty Miller being some sort of white Tyreek Hill or something. Tyler Johnson is clearly the future number 3, only a matter of time

  3. Kobe Faker Says:

    “TJ is our best crossing pattern receiver

    He uses his body position very well and seems to be able to catch in traffic and contact

    He can run all of OJ routes

    TJ is the modern slot possession. This is Bradys outlet hit receiver

    Why wasnt TJ targeted in the 2nd half?

    Forget Hudsen, Gronk, Brate targets

    TJ should be the most targeted possession receiver

    Like Kobe has stated before the season

    Our Oline with Dope Smith and the playcalling of Leftover will be the demise of the 2020 season”

    Kobe Faker

  4. Rayjay1122 Says:

    TJ18 > Watson

  5. Pelbuc Says:

    Nice to know but the season is over bc of consistently bad coaching and typical undisciplined play. When was the last time we saw a Bucs team play a solid 60 minutes in all 3 phases of the game?

  6. Alaskan Abdominal Snowman Says:

    He did nice, since Godwin has been out I forgot WRs could break tackles. Heck of a catch and run.

  7. HomerSimpsonRocks Says:

    He looked good.

  8. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    After a slew of late round WR misses…..we now have Watson, Miller & TJ…….looks like we are stacked at WR going forward……time to work more on the trenches…..

  9. Gettinthebucs Says:

    I know it’s early but I’m thinking of the possibilities. If this kid turns out to be a stud we might not have to pay godwin. That’s going to turn into at least a 2nd round pick with what he’ll be paid in free agency.

  10. Coburn Says:

    He’s like a Godwin light. Also thought the same when I saw him get that yac

    Actually when he caught that sideline route I thought man.. good to finally see them hit that one… Johnson had a strong cut back to the ball unlike watson

  11. DoooshLaRue Says:

    I’m glad he’s Godwin-like instead of Evans-esque.

    I know, I know…….

  12. AlabamaBucsFan Says:

    Tyler Johnson definitely showed what he can do last night. Not quite as fast as Godwin but definitely has show he knows how to run routes. He has great hands and was one of the best in college for football IQ.

  13. Will Says:

    He was open on the final play. The catch would’ve been a first down and where he was on the field might even have ended up being tackled in FG range. Brady tried to force it to Brate because he didn’t know the down. Either way it didn’t have to come to that. I think we lost the game when we didn’t go for it on 4th and 1 from the 7. No risk it no biscuit right. I didn’t agree with the earlier 4th down call but figured if you did it then you have to do it from the 7yd line. Run the little screen to Evans that we ran for TD in the other game or even give that same look and give to Jones behind Cappa and Whirfs. Notice I didn’t say behind Smith. I’m done with that guy just as it seems like Brady was after the look he shot him when he got sacked.

  14. lambeau Says:

    What a fabulous group–for TJ to be WR 5 is an embarrassment of riches for which God is finding heartbreaking ways to punish Bucs’ fans.

  15. Joe in Michigan Says:

    To the Bucs fans who wanted to see more of Tyler Johnson: good call.

    To the Bucs fans who wanted to see more of Tanner Hudson: be careful what you wish for. If a TE is slow, he should at least be able to block (and the Bucs ALREADY have Brate to fill the slow/can’t block role).

  16. Coburn Says:

    Eh I actually felt o saw Tanner open least A few times but pressure was there. I feel like he’s a bit brate like. Not the fastest and can’t block well but somehow finds the open spot

  17. Joe in Michigan Says:

    Coburn: I can agree with that. Probably more of a problem of poor coaching than Hudson’s fault, expecting him to block a DE one-on-one in the final possession.

  18. Coburn Says:

    Yeah I thought that was really dumb. I was shouting what the? Don’t they realize he’s not much of a blocker?

  19. Coburn Says:

    Was about as much of a head scratcher where I saw Barret covering way down field and Davis was almost like the safety over top. Was wondering what kind of coverage schee that was lol

  20. OldConfusedBiscuit Says:

    I wish the moment wasn’t too big for the head coach.

  21. Anonymous Says:

    Keep working young man keep working!!

  22. SOEbuc Says:

    That looked exactly like a badass play from his college highlights. Very promising with time.

  23. Anonymous Says:

    No it’s not the Gods …it’s NE12!!!

  24. Will Says:

    Coburn that was the 3rd and 9 play I believe where Barret was covering the back out of the back field. Horrible scheme Barrett should be rushing the passer.

  25. FactTeller Says:

    Target Mazimization: [Of Course how Def dictates]
    (But in this unspoken pecking order)

    ME13
    CGod
    TJ18
    Scooter
    Brate
    Gronk
    KV30
    JWatt
    RoJo
    THud
    Fournette/McCoy

    Go Bucs!!
    #facts

  26. Bush's Coke Spoon Says:

    @FactTeller

    Brate over Gronk against the zone, but I’d rather throw to Gronk if he’s man-covered, I think. Bigger and stronger.

  27. SOEbuc Says:

    I’m watching Tanner Hudson closely, also. He had some good looks. He was open by a mile if Tom’s GD deep ball wasnt so strong. Damn you Tom.

  28. FactTeller Says:

    @BCS

    I can respect that…

  29. m0j0 Says:

    Showed why the Bucs were so high on him. Definitely on the rise!