“Protection Errors”
December 28th, 2020
We’re about 48 hours from the ecstasy of our beloved Buccaneers making the playoffs, so it’s ok to nitpick a little bit.
A former Buccaneer sees a clear issue out of the Lions game, and it’s not the ugly special teams play.
Ex-Bucs tight end Anthony Becht spent well over a decade in the trenches and he was pained watching film of the Lions-Bucs game in the first half, when the Bucs were dominant.
Not good enough for a playoff team, he explained.
“Of the 43 [offensive] snaps in the first half, I counted at least 11 snaps where there were some protection errors, whether it was not working the twist or the games, getting beat 1-on-1, knocking down Tom Brady, protection from the running back,” Becht told WDAE radio. “Eleven times is 25 percent; that’s way too much in the first half to me. And they really got bailed out in the first series.”
The bailout on the opening drive Becht speaks of was a Tom Brady sack on 3rd-and-4 that was wiped out by an offsides call. (The guy offsides was not the sacker.) The 3-and-out was gone and the Bucs drove for a touchdown.
The rough protection and those first three downs, per Becht, make it tough to gauge whether the Bucs are fully out of their slow-start funk.
This was one of many topics (not Becht’s commentary) on today’s new Ira Kaufman Podcast below and on the home page.
December 28th, 2020 at 2:39 pm
This is exactly why a guy like Steve Smith thinks the Bucs will be rolled in the playoffs- imho.
December 28th, 2020 at 2:46 pm
Mr Becht is always criticizing always negative, quite predictable….I use to listen to his podcasts…..not no more…….
December 28th, 2020 at 2:59 pm
47-7…….keep up the protection problems…..
December 28th, 2020 at 3:03 pm
Blowing 25% of your protections against a playoff team is a guaranteed loss.
December 28th, 2020 at 3:07 pm
not when the other 75% of snaps are completions down the field.
December 28th, 2020 at 3:09 pm
How many were Donovan Smith just being lazy?
December 28th, 2020 at 3:30 pm
I don’t know about this. The Bucs were clearly gunning the ball down the field all day through the air – 42 passes to 26 rushes, and most of them beyond the sticks. I didn’t look as closely as Becht but my guess is that the protection looked bad for that reason – Brady was in the pocket with the ball longer than usual. I would expect a more balanced approach in the playoffs so I think it’s going to be fine – assuming we can get off to a fast start.
December 28th, 2020 at 3:39 pm
WHen you make the playoffs after a very long period of time, and when you just beat your opponent 47/7, and the only TD you received was after a kick return and the interesting think to say is this, well good luck with that Anthony Becht…..Nobody will care to much on what you say
December 28th, 2020 at 3:43 pm
So let’s get to work this week and continue to improve. But don’t give me this balance nonsense that we need to run more. We do not. We just aren’t a rushing team. The Bucs are built to pass. Just make sure the back can catch a little outlet pass if need be to keep the chains moving.
December 28th, 2020 at 4:01 pm
Just circle the wagons boys. Everybody’s got something negative to say.
December 28th, 2020 at 4:08 pm
He’s not wrong.
The beat down was awesome, no doubt. But let’s not pretend we weren’t playing a team with no coaching staff and no quarterback.
Still a lot to work on if we want to achieve more than one and done.
@Joe – what happens in 48 hours?
December 28th, 2020 at 4:15 pm
Geez, scoreboard Mr. Becht. I get it, we’re the Buccaneers, but that is one of the most asinine things that I have read in a long time. Show me a team that does every little thing absolutely perfectly on any given play and I’ll eat my tablet.
December 28th, 2020 at 4:23 pm
Donovan’s backup is better. Becht is right on with his analysis. This is why the Saints destroyed the Bucs, protection issues. And Sean has probably found a way to steal communications and cheat again. He’s one of the best Cheaters in the game, on par with Bill Belicheat.
December 28th, 2020 at 4:26 pm
What the hell was going on with Succop? That’s concerning.
December 28th, 2020 at 4:33 pm
@Mort … “don’t give me this balance nonsense that we need to run more. We do not. We just aren’t a rushing team. The Bucs are built to pass.”
Interesting comment Mort, but one that’s hard to agree with when it comes to the Bucs. We’ve only rushed on 36.4% of our plays on the season, yet in 2 of our most convincing wins … against the Packers (38-10) & Panthers (46-23) … we depended very heavily on the run & got good results. And the same against the Vikings (26-14 win). Getting BOTH the run & the pass going at the same time is a beautiful thing to watch. And yes, we do have the potential to be a solid running team IMO. We’ve got a good group of backs, but it’s all up to the OLine.
December 28th, 2020 at 5:10 pm
Protection sucked. That’s why we put up 47 points, and Tom was sitting on the bench after a half of work where he threw for over 300 yards, and many touch downs. I don’t know why people think O linemen should be perfect all the time. Those D linemen are pretty damn good too. Yeah Brady got hit, so did every other QB in the league this week. That’s why they wear pads, and helmets Tony.
December 28th, 2020 at 5:40 pm
Rolled? As in beaten badly. Not gonna happen.
Round 1: Washington/Dallas – Bucs Win
Round 2: Seattle – Bucs Win
Round 3: Green Bay or Saints – ?
We beat Green Bay and Saints killed the Bucs in Game 2. Another game with either team should be close.
December 28th, 2020 at 5:55 pm
Pretty sure the guy offsides was the Sacker Actually
December 28th, 2020 at 6:09 pm
Fournette actually did a good job of picking up some blocks and can catch. I’d probably start him over RoJo if we are playing a team like the Saints, Rams or Bears. The key is having hot reads, screens to RB and seam routes to TE if a team is blitzes us a lot. We are not running team and don’t do well on draw plays under pressure. As far as Smith, the guy has slow feet and needs TE help.
December 28th, 2020 at 6:15 pm
If they protect Brady, they wil be competative against anyone – NO, GB, KC going forward. If they do not, then they will lose simple. Even as bad as the secondary has been exposed, the offense did not match the other teams. 0-28, 0-17. NO, KC. If the offense would have been better they would not have been blown out. 14-14, 10-14 or 7-14 in the 1st against NO is a completely different game. The same in the KC game, if the Bucs score 14 or 10, it is a different game. So even with a defense just treading water, if the OLine protects Brady, the Bucs have a punchers chance at playing in the SBowl. If they do not protect Brady, they will not be competative against NO, KC or GB. GO BUCS!!!!!
December 28th, 2020 at 6:46 pm
Enough with the negative waves, Moriarity!
So New England.
December 28th, 2020 at 6:57 pm
Some of you guys are real funny with your head buried in the sand. When it comes down to it we played the Grandpa Lions because they had no teeth. Bechtel is a Coming from a fans love and knows alot more about football than we do. You remember what happened against the Ssints, Chiefs and Rams? They had that problem against Atlanta so do need to clean it up if they want to advance.
December 28th, 2020 at 7:04 pm
Always something to improve upon, always. Still, I think the results speak for themselves.
December 28th, 2020 at 7:45 pm
Sly,
We win game 1,
we play green bay.
Game 3 , Saints or Seattle.
December 28th, 2020 at 8:29 pm
Becht is 100% right, but don’t twist it – trying to judge his comments vs the scoreboard or W-L column…As of today, Bucs are 1-5 vs teams with a winning record.
December 28th, 2020 at 8:37 pm
Bucs are still poorly coached. OL Coordinator is clueless. Steve Smith is spot on. If the Bucs face Washington, they’re gonna get rolled.
December 29th, 2020 at 12:54 am
Yep.
December 29th, 2020 at 7:56 am
The proven formula for Beating Brady and the Bucs is max pressure on Brady and throw deep against our secondary. Are our coaches smart/creative enough to handle that? Only time will tell. Last time out, both Sean Payton and Andy Reed were creative and smart and knew exactly who we are and how to beat us. They seemed to be in a totally different league than Arians. Hope our coaches can figure out how to complete with these guys! The great thing is we are getting another chance to find out! Go Bucs!
December 29th, 2020 at 9:32 am
I think someone said that Anthony Becht is always negative. I never noted that with him.
Instead, I take him as always being a contrarian about subjects. You need some of those guys to keep you honest when reviewing the very lowest feelings or the very highest feelings.
However, 25 percent of plays with protection problems seems like he is just grading on a super harsh scale.