“Phenomenal Gameplan”

January 18th, 2021

In yesterday’s historic win, the Bucs offense looked an old-school, smashmouth unit more than it has all season.

What a time to bust out the mauling gameplan when your offense had been hot spraying the ball around the field.

There’s a divide at JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters; one Joe loved it, the other was left shaking his head while the Tampa Bay offense didn’t look as dynamic has it had over the past five weeks.

Former Bucs quarterback Chris Simms was applauding Bucco Bruce Arians this morning on PFT Live for his willingness to prioritize the running game in what he called a “phenomenal gameplan.”

Arians said a younger Arians might not have been willing to get conservative in a huge game against a powerful offense. “He wasn’t always willing sacrifice deep throws,” Simms said of Arians’ past.

The Bucs did throw on a couple of 3rd-and-short scenarios, including a deep shot into double coverage; it wasn’t all ground-and-pound with measured shots. But the bottom line is Leonard Fournette led the Bucs in receptions and rushing, and he and Ronald Jones combined for 125 yards on 30 carries.

That’s old school football against a true top-10 NFL defense — in mid-January.

That approach only happens if you think your offensive line is coming to bust some heads and your running backs are on point. And that’s exactly what the Bucs got yesterday.

30 Responses to ““Phenomenal Gameplan””

  1. 99.97.92.55.47.40.28.20.7 Says:

    Stinnie for the Win! Give him some love!

  2. SlyPirate Says:

    Bowles put together a magnificent game plan … Just before he interviews with the Eagles. Bowles lives 1 hour from Philly. He’s a Philly guy. That’s important to that fan base. Unless they want to go offense, I don’t see how Philly doesn’t hire Bowles.

  3. Thisisouryear!! Says:

    I think they adjusted the game plan because the safeties were playing deep and New Orleand never adjusted. The Saints shut down our receivers but played weak to the run. I think it was a great shift in game plan by Leftwich and Brady. Another example of take what the defense gives you.

  4. No Risk It No Biscuit Says:

    Is 2002 all over again!

    Go Bucs!!!!

  5. DavidBigBucFan99 Says:

    And Stinne held his own in both phases without committing a penalty if I’m correct. Unsung hero that youngish man is!!!

  6. Colonel Angus Says:

    Not sure if that was the game plan. They started out trying to throw it, had Gronk split out wide a couple times, but Brady’s game was off. I credit them with leaning on the ground game and stuck with it.

  7. DavidBigBucFan99 Says:

    They knew if they moved the safeties up closer we eventually would start to burn them deeper. See how well that worked out for them😅🤣😂

  8. TheShaz Says:

    A SMASH MOUTH run game may very well be necessary next week depending on the weather.

    Nice to know the Bucs can grind it out if needed. Can not give the O-Line enough props.

    Tom Brady did not win the game with his arm last night. He won the game by superior leadership and protecting the football.

  9. Bird Says:

    CAn i guess which joe?

    I think the joe (lee) that gives the pitt vs fsu jameis story of
    Biblical proportions was not happy with the offense ?

    Am i right?

    Saints defense may be best in nfl regardless of rankings. Their line is amazing. Their dbs give up nothing. Dont forget godwin drop. They put up 30 on great defense. Running backs ran hard. I hope
    Rojo can get healthy for green bay. He is more of the snow plow runner

  10. geno711 Says:

    For whatever reason, many in the fan base continue to attack this coaching staff.

    Look at the changes:
    They brought in players they knew would work.
    They coached the heck out of the offense line.
    The same with the defensive backs over the last coaching staff.
    They make in game adjustments.
    We scored the 2nd most amount of points in the NFC.
    We gave up the 4th least amount of points in the NFC.

    They have been a staff here for only two years.

    Credit given to them.

  11. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    I’m unclear if it was the gameplan or if it was Brady making changes at the LOS…..it seems to me that the Saints had spectacular coverage…perhaps forcing Brady to go deep…even on 3rd & short.

    One thing I know for sure……Brady threw it where only his receivers would catch it……JW would have thrown several picks against that coverage.

  12. Conte Piscateli Says:

    This was the first game of the season I felt we out coached a team. It was amazing to see. A coach I respect Ron Rivera, said he thought the Bucs could be a power running team if they wanted to. The offense lined up and challenged the manhood of the Saints defense. I swear I think Jensen loved type of game plan today, he finished every play as nasty as he started it and managed to never cross the line. This was awesome.

  13. crazyBucs_CL Says:

    @Former Bucs quarterback Chris Simms was applauding Bucco Bruce Arians this morning on PFT Live for his willingness to prioritize the running game in what he called a “phenomenal gameplan.”………..
    ——————————————————————-
    I got enough with CS degrading TB12 since day one. Enough with jealousy and WRONG predictions about our team. If we listen to him, we should have been out of playoffs…..
    BA gameplan….. BA can’t stop the clock when he should, let alone game plane…pffff
    No CS, were TB12 and the kids that w
    won the game yesterday, and gave us “SB win” like joy….

  14. geno711 Says:

    Bucs picked on Anzalone all night in the flats/ short zones and it paid off.

    Michael Thomas’ said before the game that he woke up feeling dangerous and was totally neutralized with no catches.

    Coaching knew that Bree’s was going to take short drops and not throw down field, great game plan to press coverage most of the game.

  15. Leighroy Says:

    Tampabaybucfan: did we watch the same game? Sideline bailed out Brady on an INT. His deep throws to Gronk and Evans were wayward. His throw to Jones in the flat missed him by 5 yards. Tyler Johnson made a spectacular catch that he shouldn’t have had to.

    Brady brought his B- game last night but the RBs and Defense brought their A game. Special teams coverage: F-

  16. Buc50 Says:

    The deep throws on 3rd and short was making me nauseous. Fornette had a decent game but RoJo was electric on some of his runs. I just felt that if he was totally healthy, he could have busted a big run at any minute. RoJo had one nice run called back for a penalty.

  17. Mr no rings Says:

    Is there anything better than punking that crybaby wuss coach Sean Peyton in his own house and shutting up those umbrella wearing fans!

  18. TampaTown Says:

    It was old fashioned Buc Ball

  19. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    Leighroy,

    Throws to Gronk were barely off his fingertips,,,.Godwin’s TD was a perfect.throw.The throw to Miller was fantastic…….the pass to Johnson was likely where it should have been (i think Johnson ran the wrong route)….The sideline is a defender against pics as well as catches….
    Brady was mostly on target…..the Saints cove rage was outstanding.
    Brady has deliberate misses when WRs are covered…..and, the bottom line is no turnovers….
    He has only fumbled once all year….and that was on a handoff that well could have been Rojo’s fault.

    The only thing that really surprised me last night is that Jameis didn’t overthrow his pass…..

  20. FrankPillow Says:

    I was convinced that our greatest weakness was getting out-coached by Sean Peyton and Allen. This was easily the best gameplan BA and his staff has devised and the best execution of it by the players in two seasons. It wasn’t flashy, but it did demonstrate a willingness to learn from mistakes and adapt to our opponent…and a commitment to physicality on both sides of the ball. We’re going to need to bring all, lay all on the table to punch GB in the mouth and grind out a win.

  21. 6throundpick Says:

    The plan was great. But the execution was better. 😉

  22. Bucs Fan Since ‘76 Says:

    Interestingly, we looked like a classic Super Bowl team last night. Stop our passing attack? Fine, we are gonna run the ball down your throats and not turn the ball over. You wanna dink and dunk us to death? No worries, we will play coverage with man underneath, and leave a mark on every player who touches the ball, pick a few off and cause a fumble to boot.

    Which brings us to the NFC Championship game. Mr. Six Rings vs. Mr. One Ring, who we destroyed earlier this year. Who would the public pick to QB their team this week? I’m taking TB-12.

    We have a better defense, and more weapons on offense. They have the cold weather. We have Brady, Gronk, Wirfs and Godwin, all of whom have played in the cold. This game could be epic. And if we make to the SB, does anyone believe Brady will lose the only Championship home game in NFL history? Let’s finish the story!

  23. jerseybuc Says:

    Payback after years of Payton smirking and sticking it in our faces. Jameis and the trick play was right out of that playbook. We finally got aggressive with LB’s rather than sitting soft, but I do feel like Brees looked a little like a pitcher who lost his fastball last night. Team looked ready and I really feel like it was our best coached game I can remember for years. D on point, energy all over the place and the O line was great with Cappa out. We can do this. Let’s get it.

  24. Defense Rules Says:

    Colonel Angus … “Not sure if that was the game plan.” I agree with you, but I also think that’s by design. It’s looking more & more like BA, BL & Brady go into the game with a general idea of what they’d like to do, but not the ‘scripted’ initial gameplan that most other teams use. I think at the beginning of games they kinda ‘experiment’ a bit & ‘test the waters’ shall we say to see what the opposing defense is trying to do. Then when they find a perceived ‘weakness’ they focus more on that. Just my opinion though.

    Last night I don’t think the Saints expected our run game to be so effective early-on, but when it was, the Bucs happily kept pounding. And it worked beautifully (I love a BALANCED ATTACK providing that both parts are working & the play-calling is keeping the defense off-balance). Brady’s deep throws accomplished next to nothing early (except for that 1 completion to Scotty later in the game), and so the Bucs didn’t dwell on it. The more we ran, the better our run-blocking became I thought (whodathunkit?) & the more we wore down the Saints defense.

    Still, the bottom line in that win was the PLUS-4 Turnover Differential. Without those takeaways, we probably would’ve surrendered more points and surely wouldn’t have scored the 30 pts that we did.

  25. Sorryjackchuckiesback Says:

    They beat them the only way you could have beat the saints last night… Stinnie!! Dude, YOU ARE THE MAN!!!! …. RB screens and going with the grain of that aggressive defensive front was the only way to beat them last night! Luckily Fornette was catching almost everything that came his way!! Still think he needs to power through some of those tackles but really good job by him last night!! Next week I hope to see a lot more Rojo and a lot more down field passing… Whichever of the Joe’s is happy with last night’s game plan is the one who better understands this rivalry … You’re not going to pass up and down on the saints (they can on the Packers tho) their corners were just too good! I mean the saints corners last night locked it up against GREAT receivers!! All props to them but the bucs (and I smell a lot of Brady in this gameplay) came out with the only plan and the only way you could have beat these guys last night!!

  26. BradyBucs Says:

    I don’t care if we scored 80 in the game, throwing deep routes on 3rd and short is just DUMB.

    The deep sideline pass to AB on a 3rd and 1 while trailing in the game is one of the worst play calls I’ve ever seen. Play the odds and pound the rock for the 1st or a quick out. No excuse whatsoever to even attempt a long pass play.

  27. JimbobBucsFan Says:

    In times past it was almost a biblical pronouncement, “Defense wins championships!”.

    In recent years with all of the rule changes the deck has purposefully been stacked in favor of the offenses by the NFL. (I think of this as a result of video game/arena football/fantasy football mentalities of recent generations.)

    This past weekend saw a defensive struggle between the Ravens and the Bills. We saw relatively lower scores than during the regular season by the power teams.

    It was great to see press coverage and an old-school smash-mouth win within the current schemes by our beloved Buccaneers.

    Go Bucs! Plow through the Packers in the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field!

  28. 813bucboi Says:

    BL IS WORKING MAGIC

    GO BUCS

  29. August 1976 Buc Says:

    The OL= Sucess of TB / BL / BA. “The Bug Uglies” as John Madden would call offensive lineman, are getting the job done. This Oline has faced the top 2 defenses in pressuring the QB in the last 2 weeks and they are standing tall. Jensen was blocking Anciloni into the 3 rd row of seating on Sunday. lol A fun thing to see for Buc fan. GO BUCS!!!!!!

  30. Devinwhiteshorse Says:

    Every time they went on third and short im screaming at the tv DONT THROW A BISCUIT!!