When Is Enough Enough?

November 24th, 2020

Lost longball

Joe gets it when a coach likes to do something he has nearly perfected from a lifetime of experience. But sometimes you have to use your head.

After last night’s giveaway loss to the Rams, official NFL NextGen Stats (via NFL Network) show that Brady is an eye-raking 3-for-30 on his most recent passes traveling 20 or more yards.

Stevie Wonder can see this is bad. Actually, it is horrible.

Has Brady lost magic in his arm for throwing long? He is 43, remember. Are receivers that far off the page? Are receivers running awful routes? Is Brady pulling the trigger too early or too late?

So 3-of-30? That’s 10 percent. And by Joe’s count, Brady is on a 1-for-17 clip. That’s not even six percent. That’s turrible!

(Jameis got killed on his alleged long ball inaccuracy. He completed 44 percent last year on passes over 20 yards. Compared to 6 percent, that is Hall of Fame material.)

A 6 percent completion percentage on passes over 20 yards would get many quarterbacks benched, or at least the offensive coordinator would be ordered to rarely call a play for a long pass.

Not the Bucs.

No, Joe is not calling for Brady to be benched. That’s asinine. But why keep going to the well expecting a guy to complete a task he has demonstrated of late to be inept at performing?

What’s wrong? There can be any number of reasons. But this just in: It. Is. Not. Working.

In the immortal words of Chucky, “Knock it off!”

Brady is damn good at short and intermediate passes. Why deviate from that? Because Ben Roethlisberger threw long 15 years ago? Because Jameis did it last year? Because Carson Palmer did it seven years ago?

None of those guys were 43 and even Jameis on his bad days wasn’t completing long passes at a 6 percent clip. Six percent!

Stick with the Belicheat offense. Dink and dunk if you have to. A short completion, or any completion, is better than constantly calling Brady’s number to be Doug Williams only to see a valuable down be tossed away.

Quit forcing something that doesn’t work!

70 Responses to “When Is Enough Enough?”

  1. Sketch813 Says:

    Agreed. How about more crossing routes 10-15 yards down the field. Bucs need to get at least 10 wins to make playoffs.

  2. chris L Says:

    i have no issue with his arm. he isnt floating them but why are we calling deep shots. this team calls plays as if where the globe trotters. you cant win football games trying to be an all star team. this coaching staff is inept. i am so done with arians. i want a real nfl coach to take this team over. one that preaches hard nose football and runs the ball.

  3. Jim Says:

    If you can’t do it, don’t do it. Anybody wish we still had Fitzpatrick for back-up? Just wondering…

  4. Nick2 Says:

    Exactly we stayed in that game with the short to medium passes marching down the field, we had plenty of time to do that once again. If there had been 45 seconds i get it but hell we had over 2 minutes to just chuck it like that was not a good call.

  5. 813bucboi Says:

    the cross routes and rbs are open….

    problem is rbs cant catch and brady for some reason continues to throw deep with godwin open underneath…..

    2min drill it was no reason for brady to throw deep….we had time…

    brady lost the game….then pouted like a little girl after the game….man up brady…you lost the game…take your lost like a man and come back better next week…..

    GO BUCS!!!!

  6. 941bucsfan Says:

    Alot of bucs fans dont want to admit.. and I know its tough. But Brady is washed. In todays age you need a QB who can extend drives outside the pocket, pick up a crucial 5 yd run on 3rd and 5. Brady cant throw the deep ball anymore even though guys are WIDE OPEN, brady has no intentions on hanging in the pocket sometimes for a half a second longer. Some people once said with a better QB bucs would win 4 more games EASILY. Key word “Easily”. If it wasnt for succop and aaron rodgers shyyttnn the bed, and a non pass interference call in the giants the game, the bucs would be looking at 4-6 right now… and thats real. No matter how u look at it… sorry folks, this has first round playoff exit written all over it. Its superbowl or bust

  7. Casual Observer Says:

    So many teams kill the Bucs with short to medium passes. Bridgewater hit on 13 consecutive such passes and Goff was pretty close. Two observations about that.
    1. Why don’t Brady and receivers concentrate on that aspect? No one is better at threading the needle on short passes than Tom. Focus on that – and only rarely go long.
    2. Why doesn’t the defense quickly adjust to the short passing scheme?

    I don’t get it. But it seems to me that many posters here get it better that our coaches.

  8. Sport Says:

    Brady, receivers and coaches have looked out of sync for far too long this year. There is no room for excuses and way too much room for improvement at this point of the season.

    Such poor play and we still had a chance to win.

    Newsflash, when a QB gets pressured and hit it affects how they play. Goff’s comment after the game about his receivers ‘having fun out there tonight’ was a brutal truth.

    I hope this team responds appropriately.

    In BA I Trust!

  9. Augsut 1976 Buc Says:

    Stick with the Belicheat offense. Dink and dunk if you have to. A short completion, or any completion, is better than constantly calling Brady’s number to be Doug Williams only to see a valuable down be tossed away.

    Quit forcing something that doesn’t work!

    Totally agree Joe! ,
    With teams are dinking and dunking on the Bucs, why aren’t the Bucs doing the same? Isn’y the object to win, not just have your way. Brady is a surgeon dinking and dunking, and has 6 rings playing that way. Why fix something that is not broke. Football is way more simple than they are making it.

    My neighbor Wolfgang sez “The Bucs snatched Defeat from the Jaws of Victory”

    GO BUCS!!!! KEEP IT SIMPLE!!!!!!IT IS A KIDS GAME!!!!!!!

  10. LVMYBUCS Says:

    BINGO BINGO BINGO JOE!!!!! Call/create a play book that complements your players skills set. How hard is that to figure out Geeeez

  11. LVMYBUCS Says:

    Augsut 1976 Buc Says:
    November 24th, 2020 at 9:22 am

    Yes Yes Yes dink and dunk

  12. Marine Buc Says:

    I agree 100% Joe.

    I know this will be an unpopular opinion – but I am not impressed with OC B. Leftwich.

    Football 101 – where are the screen passes? Draws? Have we even run a reverse? Anything to slow down the Rams fast and over aggressive defense?

    Nope. Just keep launching deep balls that get picked, dropped or just fall incomplete.

    Embarrassment…

  13. Sleepy903 Says:

    I think his arm is wearing down. He is trying to force the deep ball which is why his accuracy is way off. It’s like a pitcher trying to throw a fast ball as hard as he can with little to no control of where it will end up. Hopefully that’s not the case but if it is and we make the playoffs don’t expect much when we get there.

    I hope we didn’t let a 26 yr old QB walk in exchange for playoff appearances, 1st round exits and late 1st round picks. Maybe Trask pushes Trey lance down in the draft.

  14. adam from ny Says:

    enough is enough when we beat the chiefs this weekend…

    it’s time for another signature type win…

    it’s necessary at this point…

    also when your mother keeps throwing dry azz boston market prepared turkey on your plate, just yell out “enough is enough ma!”

    #GiveMeAyePairOfTripleDsAndAyeWinThisWeekend

  15. Bucsfan101 Says:

    I absolutely agree. 100%

  16. Conte Piscateli Says:

    Our receivers has 4 routes last night: wr screen, out, hitch, and go route. Nothing was run across the middle, no slants, no crossing routes nothing. Why? Isn’t that what Brady has succeeded with for 2 decades. Good offensive coordinator know how to help out their quarterback with a couple of plays they like to run to get them going. In the second half we didn’t get a first down for several series and at no time did we divert to try and get Brady comfortable again.

  17. View from 132 Says:

    Failed experiment. The whole thing is a mess. They have the roster to stay in games and some really talented pieces, but there is no clear vision of what this offense is trying to do.

    Leftwich is out of his element. BA is a tired old man. Brady is not physically gifted enough, especially now, to improvise and create. At best, this is a Wild Card loser, as an easy schedule will allow the Bucs to sneak into the playoffs after the bye.

  18. DoooshLaRue Says:

    Joe, you are absolutely right.
    It’s maddening to watch. His long ball looks bad and he looks uncomfortable in the pocket.

    BA/BL need to wake the f up before it’s too late.
    Play to your strengths.

    It’s not that hard to figure out is it?

  19. MadMax Says:

    Its not our time yet….next year

  20. J dubb Says:

    I don’t think it’s his arm strength, he is over shooting guys not undershooting…I think it’s more than coincidental that when Scotty Miller’s reps declined so did Brady’s long ball. He was the only guy that he had chemistry with for the long ball to begin with due to various Evans and Godwin injuries and now AB has only been here a month. With those type of receivers we should not have to rely on the long ball anyways, just get it in their hands and let them make plays with their legs. I think the long ball will start hitting soon though as they start getting more practice reps, probably after the bye week.

  21. bucfanforever Says:

    Marpet out 3 games & Brady has sucked three games. Coincidence?

  22. Architek Says:

    This coaching staff is dated and sucks man. Better than what we have had but not championship level.

    Just accept it.

  23. Pete Mitchell Says:

    Agree 100%.

    I’m okay with one deep shot a quarter, but there are too many stretches when this offense is stale, predictable, and ineffective. There was a stretch of four or five there and outs in a row last night. Usually there is at least one dep shot on each of those three and out series. That’s not complementary football. The defense kept us in the game in the second half and it was amazing that we even had an opportunity to tie/win the game late.

    Gotta play to your strengths at times, and right now the deep downfield passing game is clearly not one of our strengths.

  24. MadMax Says:

    all good, and i lost some play money, not too much….alright, where i shine….draft baby gronk with our first…too much money tied uP in tight ends…then O line

  25. WiscoJoe Says:

    What bothers me is when Bruce Arians in his press conference says that they knew they were going to throw underneath AND THEY STILL COULD NOT STOP THEM in the first half. 7-4 is awesome but we should be 9-2 this year and that’s the frustrating part. For how big the staff is the way they coach is damning.

  26. Pewter Power Says:

    They can’t stop and they know it. They signed Brady takes about how they watched the tape and he still has arm strength and all season everyone talked about how strong his arm was. He gets no sympathy from me, if he isn’t going to be accurate down field than this experiment is pointless and they need to draft a quarterback this year because it’s not like his skills will improve with another year of age. Rivers is ballin out in Indy so dude needs to step up or retire. Winston sucked and we are beyond the half season mark so offseason familiarity with weapons is no excuse. Leave it to the Bucs to get this wrong.

  27. Casual Observer Says:

    Another thing these coaches can’t (for some reason) understand. These RBs can’t catch a simple pass. How hard is it to see than and then continue to hope they catch the next one? Pretty lame.

  28. Alaskabuc Says:

    Joe- Any chance you can pose that question at the next press conference? Would also love to know why they are so determined to avoid making any kind of defensive adjustments until the second half of football games.

  29. BucEmUp Says:

    Tom Brady to still throw the deep Paul, the problem is is that is all Byron left which wants to do is through the deep all. When you do something over and over and over and over and over To the point you are predictable mistakes are going to be made. Byron left which is hot garbage I called it the day he was hired I cited it didn’t matter how much talent we had he is the Mike Smith of our offence and just like with dirt cutter and Mike Smith Byron left which and verse areas are very close and arians will go down with the ship before he fires Byron

  30. ClodHopper Says:

    1) Yes Brady lost his long ball. Its gone. We had so much time left last night to get to field goal range. The long pass in that situation was DUMB!! There was no reason to rush. We could have easily dinked and dunked our way there.

    2) If were going to be comparing Brady and Jameis, lets put EVERYTHING on the table. Jameis beats Brady on this one specific topic, and Brady wins everything else. Jameis was not a victim.

  31. Rob Says:

    100% correct. The play call didn’t make any sense in that situation. Saw that link yesterday about Trent Silver’s read on Arians offense. When the first read is long vs. short, we’re going to find ourselves taking risky shots that put us in dangerous positions, regardless of the quarterback. Think we really need to consider being more flexible depending on the situation. Plays should have been all designed for short gains, no go routes in that last drive. Up to Arians to adapt.

  32. UKBuccaneer Says:

    It is easy to compare Jameis to Brady, but down by 3, in a 2 min drill, who honestly thinks that Jameis would have driven downfield and won the game?

    He’s have thrown a dumb pick-6 or scrambled and fumbled the ball.

  33. PSL Bob Says:

    From here on out, the goal of each play should be to get a first down. Don’t worry about TDs. Just get a first down. Then once you’re less than 10 and goal-to-go, you go for the touchdown. Unless you’ve got someone wide open deep with no defenders in sight, do not throw the deep pass. Brady just can’t hit it any more, at least well enough to consistently hit it. And, the downside of not hitting it is a possible interception. Damn that last one hurt last night!

  34. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    What is this thing they call “progressions” ? (sarcasm)……I’m not letting Brady off on some of these deep passes even if they were called from the sidelines….and, I’m sure some weren’t. He has options & he chose to throw deep and he chose unwisely.

  35. Tackleblockwin Says:

    No creativity on offense and we are extremely predictable. Pretty sure most Bucs fans could determine if we were running or passing before the snap last night 75% of the time. You can’t be that predictable against good defenses or you will lose. To be honest, I’m shocked we only lost by 3 last night.

  36. Chris@Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa Says:

    There were some stupid play calls last night.
    We had plenty of time to march downfield, but instead we got greedy.
    Brady just is not a long ball QB anymore.

  37. FairMinded Says:

    With you 100% the play calling became one note and seemed to put Brady under pressure. He is who he is at this point and we can clearly win with him and a consistent running game. Went away from the run too much last night and Brady was rattled trying to do too much. Dink and dunk our way to glory! Put the guy in the best position to win and we can win it all. The D was GLORIOUS. How much more could they have done?

  38. Tackleblockwin Says:

    And why in the world can’t we once in a while move the pocket a little. Maybe have Brady play action pass while rolling out right on occasion.

  39. UKBuccaneer Says:

    Brady right now is probably better than Manning was when he won his second ring.
    Just got to get the D working hard and play to Brady’s strengths.

  40. Pewter Power Says:

    Can’t have it both ways. Mike Evans hasn’t been getting the ball all season and the excuse was “throwing to the open guy” if Brady is throwing the ball downfield it is his choice as he has more than one read and one receiver he can go to. No Brady magic so far this season he has looked horrible when given the ball to go get a score and win the game. All criticism to him is justified

  41. BradyBucs Says:

    Who’s the KNUCKLEHEAD coordinator calling deep passes on 3rd down?

    It’s just BAD MATH. You need 8-10 years and you’re trying a 30 yard downfield pass. STUPID.

  42. BradyBucs Says:

    * 8-10 yards, not years.

  43. Mike Johnson Says:

    Eye told you all long ago. Brady is now vice prez of the Sweezy club. Getting his money for nothing and his chicks for free. Brady is good when there is no pressure. Team mobile guys who actually play better when their pass protection breaks down. BucLife baby.s now know this. You saw that pressure during the 2nd half last night, right?
    Balls started going everywhere..and into interception hands. You begged for him, well you got him for another yr after this. Meanwhile teams like AZ and Miami got young mobile Qb;s who play better with no pass protection. BucLife baby!

  44. Buc1987 Says:

    11-5 here we come!

  45. UKBuccaneer Says:

    The Steelers are undefeated with an old (now) immobile QB.

  46. Buc1987 Says:

    Chris@Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa Says:

    “There were some stupid play calls last night”

    How about MANY. Like the 4th and 1 and they decide to pass for it sending only 2 WR’s out on short 2 yard routes. They have weapons galore. Why not run 5 wide with all those weapons and get the easy first down?

    Horrible playcalling last night….but Brady didn’t help either.

  47. Leslie OPYD Says:

    Bl is awful! Not created enough! Ab still wants long balks? Damn brady got six rings doing 20 ,30 yard passes what is ba priblem to stuborn to old? The play calls suck but thats what you get with noooooo experience! A dumb hire!

  48. CChead Says:

    According to Arians in his press conference, when asked about taking over play calling he said ” Leftwhich called a good game.” What game was this ass clown watching?

  49. CChead Says:

    Out of the 67 offensive plays, Bucs only had guys in motion 6 TIMES. That is unheard of.

  50. Yehaw Says:

    The Bucs would sell out (the next 3-5 years btw) for a Wildcard and round 1 exit. #Itsabucslife.

    The craziest thing, that I haven’t heard anyone talk about is; The Patriots were a top 5 defense, with Brady there, the last couple of years even. If they couldn’t win in the playoffs with the Bill Belicheck, a top 5 Defense and Tom freaking Brady. How are the Bucs going to win in the playoffs or even get to the SB???????

  51. unbelievable Says:

    That’s a good point 813.

    Brady is such a loser he won’t even shakes hands with the other QB.

    He’s a pouty little b!tch, just like the outgoing prez.

  52. Pewter Power Says:

    No doubt the game plan was to take deep shots with this coaches. We’ve seen time and time again this year against really good defenses them wanting to go for the chunk plays rather than dink and dunk and risk making mistakes. BA old arse ain’t gonna change at this age so it would be pointless to complain. He’ll be known as the guy who got into the playoffs as a wildcard with Tom Brady and weapons at every single skill position on offense but couldn’t coach for crap so home super bowl looks like a long shot at best

  53. Eric Says:

    mortgaged our future for this?

  54. Coburn Says:

    I don’t deny that Brady sucks at long ball and don’t deny age could be a factor.. he’s thrown them before fine, especially early in season. Why would she contribute though? He seems to have more than enough zip.. or is he having to put too much into it? Or is it reaction time/reflex thing? Or does he only have long ball timing down with Miller and not the others? I’m confused as to the source of it

  55. Capt.Tim Says:

    Agree 100%.
    But I dont think its arm strength.
    I think its timing. These guys were all thrown together, without a preseason, without training camp, etc.
    it takes time, to know EXACTLY where your receiver will be.
    Dink and dunk. We’ll win- and They will develop chemistry.

  56. Miller5252 Says:

    4 losses for Brady and you want Jameis back Joe? I get you didn’t want to see him gone, but come on. When did Jameis go 7-4 with only 9 picks. Jameis can’t even start over a gadget QB.

  57. Im tired and 87 is right Says:

    Keep preaching brotha!!

  58. It would serve Buc fan right Says:

    That’s what happens when you have a neophyte would be play caller who wasn’t even a good QB in charge! SHAMEFUL!

  59. ClodHopper Says:

    Unbelievable hasn’t seen a mirror for four years.

  60. All lives matter Says:

    Something I’ve picked up on with Brady in early game time. If Brady is feeling the rush and the pressure gets to him early his accuracy takes a nosedive. Like Joe said, he’s either releasing the ball to soon and not letting the routes develop or he’s trying to throw receivers open but their lack of repetition and familiarity with Brady keeps them from being on the same page. Also, when the pass rush and pressure is forcing Brady to get rid of the ball sooner, like Joe mentioned, why don’t they use shorter route plays. I think by losing Marpet it has really stifled our offense against good rushing defenses, and it’s affecting the rhythm of the long passing game, and not to mention hurts the run game as well. Our RB were met at the line of scrimmage a lot last night

  61. jimm Says:

    rob

    Saw that link yesterday about Trent Silver’s read on Arians offense. When the first read is long vs. short, we’re going to find ourselves taking risky shots that put us in dangerous positions, regardless of the quarterback.

    so true

    especially with no time to read the progressions from far-to-near

    i’ve goggled Trent Silver / arians …. is there anyway you could provide that link?

    jimm

  62. stpetebucsfan Says:

    TBBF for the win!

    It’s Tom freaking Brady!!! If he doesn’t want to throw it long he wouldn’t do it!!!
    As TBBF points out even on long plays there are progressions and outs.

    I get that Brady played in an offense that read the progressions from short to long not the other way around. But still he’s the GOAT…BA is a decent NFL coach.
    Tom Brady is at the end of his career…ultimately he is going to do what HE thinks is right.

    I still feel as if Brady WANTS to throw deep and BA is not stopping him…not that BA wants Brady to throw deep and TB12 fears the coach too much to check down.

    Regardless…I agree we’re going deep way to often…I’d rather move the chains and pick a shot here or there. Plus we have playmakers on this team…if ROJO…AB…ME…CG catch ball in space they definitely can produce YAC.

  63. Armando Ruiz Says:

    I hate to admit this, because I rarely agree with your opinion, but this is exactly what is wrong with the Bucs. Arians is making Brady play his style of offence when Brady has perfected the quarterback position. Instead of Bruce adjusting to a six super bowl winning quarterback, the GOAT must adjust to an ego maniac coach. The self-proclaimed quarterback whisperer needs to let Brady go to the short to intermediate game. This will do four things. More scoring, more time of possession, more rest time for the defense and less time for the other team to score. It sounds simple, but this moronic coach and his OC just can’t see that what the rest of the world can see.

  64. orlbucfan Says:

    Screw all this nonsense. Tom Methusaleh Brady can override any Arians call he chooses. Those 2 lost this game last night. Man, are the rest of the players and we fans owed the final 5 games by these two wrinkled yahoos!

  65. Caleb Lee Says:

    Thank you for finally bringing this to attention! I’ve been pulling my hair out game after game seeing this trend unfold. Why? Why? Why.. are we hucking 20+ yd bombs instead of throwing to the open man. I really don’t understand their mindsets as professional coaches not to see this.

  66. WalkdaPlank Says:

    Still beating the dead horse over Jameis I see. Shame.

    It was pretty bad watching Brady last night, sure. Terrible game from him. But if you think Jameis would have this team at 7 wins at this point in the season, if at all in the season, you need to take off the blinders and throw out the kool-aid.

    He can’t even get a start over a tight end.

  67. Beastman Says:

    First of all for those who think this is on brady, your wrong. He cant throw long short with out offensive line. No run game. And its to easy to nock off any one of these million weapons. Hes suppose to have what your lookin at is a classic case of dont give him time thats what every teams wants to do to brady and with thia non existimg oline its happening evey skilled player is not fighting for ball. The skill players have got towant it bad like brady what i am seeing is no hunger out of all these players their still stuck thinking instead of reactimg and thinking. Drop balls bad defense no apecial teams and a will do it next game attiude around the board. They acting like tm promised.

  68. Oneilbuc Says:

    Beastman I said the same thing about Jamies and yall said it was just another excuse for Jamies . So why you are giving Brady a pass ???

  69. CalBucsFan Says:

    Agree with you Joe. Maybe the Leftwarians Duo can stop calling a run into the leftside of the OL on nearly every first down too. Second and long is getting old!

  70. ben green Says:

    if you want to win a superbowl arians must go. is brady showing his age? give him a good o line and he’ll be fine. I was unaware how much your line sucks. only a idiot would continue to insist these deep long developing plays with no protection. it’s football 101. at times brady looked unstoppable. he was picking them apart. then for whatever reason these stupid long plays. arians will continue to throw the goat under the bus, cuz he knows its him or brady next year