The Worst (This Century)
November 4th, 2022
Third-and-long passing: Sad!
Joe is beginning to realize Bucco Bruce Arians provided more to the Bucs offense the past three seasons than just a red pen.
Leave it to Warren Sharp to provide this horrifying statistic.
We all know the Bucs have the worst rushing attack the NFL has seen since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. In other words, in modern football, no team was worse running than the 2022 Bucs. Let that sink in.
To give you an idea how mind-blowing and jarring this information is, consider the 2014 Bucs, led by lousy Lovie Smith, had a running attack that featured the likes of Evan Dietrich-Smith, Anthony Collins, Garrett “Whoops” Gilkey and Oniel Cousins blocking for Mollie Hamster, Charles Sims and Jorvorskie Lane. All guided by ill-suited Marcus Arroyo.
And that band of misfit toys had a better ground attack than the current Bucs with Playoff Lenny, Tristan Wirfs, Donovan Smith and Shaq Mason. Unreal!
Well, Joe found another element of the offense that is woefully underperforming. NFL handicapper turned stathead Warren Sharp documents how the Bucs, converting on third-and-longs, are the worst NFL team this century.
In a video Sharp cut for TikTok (see below), he said the last team to be this brutal on third-and-longs was the Adam Gase/Sam Darnold-led Jets.
Gase was run out of New Jersey for this. Darnold was a colossal bust.
This year’s Broncos are awful at third-and-longs and Denver coach Nate Hackett is hanging onto his job by the skin of his teeth. At least he can use the excuse of having a washed-up quarterback.
The Bucs? They’ve got a healthy Tom Brady who is second in the NFL in passing with but one pick through eight games. One!
We all know how passing on first down helps prevent third-and-longs. But what do the Bucs do? Run up the middle on first downs for a one-yard loss.
How is Byron Leftwich still employed?
the Bucs have been forced into 50 third-and-longs
FIFTY
they've converted just 5 into 1st downs
FIVE
5-of-50. 10%
not just WORST in the NFL this year…
the WORST rate for any team in any season since at least 2000
must call better plays & be more efficient on early downs pic.twitter.com/BWcSW1oaSj
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) November 4, 2022
November 4th, 2022 at 10:12 am
Run gets stopped on 1st down, you’re looking at second and long which takes certain play calls out of consideration. Pass on 1st down it falls incomplete, same damn thing. At some point, people are going to have to accept the players, the actual chess pieces with minds and abilities of their own, have to start improving the concerted effort put towards carrying out and making plays. Like Warren Sapp said, you can draw up whatever you want, if the guys on the field aren’t up to carrying plays out the way its designed or via improvisation should the play break down, everything/anything called will look shotty and inconsistent.
November 4th, 2022 at 10:14 am
To all you f faces with a tiktok, I hope China is stealing your identity and hacking in to your bank account as we speak.
November 4th, 2022 at 10:15 am
So, to make an analogy (maybe not a great one, but hey), 9 out of 10 burgers being served at OneBucs Burger Drive-Thru are not edible?
In the real world, this would result in someone being fired…after the first hour of employment. OK, maybe 2 hours.
November 4th, 2022 at 10:19 am
In trying to satisfy the desire to be politically correct in your hirings, sometimes you don’t always hire the best PERSON for the job.
November 4th, 2022 at 10:22 am
The Red pen was 100% true. BA was way more important to winning the SB than most people will ever realize.
November 4th, 2022 at 10:23 am
Did we really need Warren’s little Middle School chart and shakey camera production to know the 2022 Bucs are awful on 3rd down (period, forget long)? Thank you captain obvious…”they need to do better on 3rd n long to get more scoring opportunities.” Duh
November 4th, 2022 at 10:24 am
the only thing that was true was that BA was probably moonlighting with Lefty to kickstart his career and then give Lefty the credit.
November 4th, 2022 at 10:45 am
Joe, Why can’t you set this website up so we can respond to other fans posts?
While we’re at it why do we have to scroll thru hundreds of posts on gameday just to get to the Leave a Reply box like every other blog out there?
It’s 2022 man. Geesh.
November 4th, 2022 at 10:45 am
It forces me to bring up the chant….”Let’s go Brandon”…..I mean “Let’s go Byron”
November 4th, 2022 at 10:46 am
You can.
November 4th, 2022 at 10:47 am
BA tried to help Leftwich and Bowles. Totally set them up for success but instead they’ve been royally exposed as fools. How in the heck can you be this bad with Tom Brady? Total incompetence.
November 4th, 2022 at 11:10 am
I wonder where we rank on pre-snap penalties. Many times I’ve seen the Bucs drive down the field only to be halted by a pre-snap penalty putting the team in a 3rd and long situation. In fact I remember on one drive where Donovan Smith had 2 false starts and a holding penalty. We ended up having to punt. It seemed for every 5 yards forward we were moving 10 yards back.
November 4th, 2022 at 11:11 am
It’s amazing how Byron lefwich still employed!! Todd bowles is going to run this team down to the ground if the glazers don’t interfere!!
November 4th, 2022 at 11:18 am
there can be no doubt BA was running that offense.
November 4th, 2022 at 11:27 am
There’s video on Twitter of Baltimore defense talking about the lack of creativity on Tampa Bay’s Offense, “It’s the same plays out of different formations, it’s the same plays! Nothing we haven’t seen before”
November 4th, 2022 at 11:34 am
Here’s a question that needs to be answered. Is there a certain point in this season when we’re mathematically eliminated from the playoffs and still playing like crap that they sit Brady on the bench so we can see if Trask has anything to offer or build around?
This is a question that bad teams have to ask themselves at a certain point. What about next year?
November 4th, 2022 at 11:36 am
Bowles and Co. have to go. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
November 4th, 2022 at 11:42 am
Would TB be interested in coaching?
November 4th, 2022 at 12:07 pm
No one trashed BA on this site more than me and I am willing to eat humble pie in saying I believe BA did overrule BL often and I also believe he accepted Brady’s input. Now I also believe Bowles has given total O command to BL and does not look to Brady for advice. When is the last time Brady shook off BL? Many on this site would point it out. He even did it in the SB. Some of these plays are so obtuse a pop Warner coach would laugh at them. I think Bowels neutered Brady and as far as BA, I dislike him even more for sticking the Bucs with these two morons.
November 4th, 2022 at 12:16 pm
Everybody is getting blamed except the god brady. He under and overthrows receivers, He even misses outlet passes….Kinda makes one wonder…….
November 4th, 2022 at 12:28 pm
I remember, when some of the “armchair knuckle-heads” were wanting BA gone, last year.
I always say, “be careful what you wish for”….
November 4th, 2022 at 12:32 pm
TB12 needs to just make changes at the line of scrimmage and begin to implement his offense. Stop settling for what OC gives.
November 4th, 2022 at 12:33 pm
Mike Johnson@ every QB misses passes and WR drop balls. He is 2nd leading passer in the league and most accurate at short and intermediate throws with NO running game and statically the worst oline in the NFL.
Mike Johnson is oneilsuckyall’s alias. Oh, OJ was guilty.
November 4th, 2022 at 12:35 pm
Wow, I can’t believe it.
So many tards on here were claiming BL was great.
Just look at the numbers they said.
I called BS the whole time.
I also believe Durable Donnie is an overrated and lazy sack of sh!t.
I’m probably wrong about that too.
November 4th, 2022 at 12:39 pm
It’s becoming more obvious, that Uncle Bruce really was the brains behind this outfit….. Ray Charles can see it, lol
November 4th, 2022 at 12:52 pm
OH YAH BUCS SUCK AGAIN
November 4th, 2022 at 1:09 pm
Doosh, include me on you Smith wagon, he had me fooled.
November 4th, 2022 at 1:53 pm
It all goes back to an inability to run to ball. This is where they miss Gronk, Jensen and Marpet most. The data says most teams should pass on second and long, most not all. I’ve been screaming for them to run more on 2nd down, regardless of distance. Passing has inherent risks that runs do not. Good luck if you throw an incompletion, or get sacked when throwing on 2nd down. Even if you get 3/4 yards running on 2nd and 10, or 8, it still makes a 3rd and manageable. 3rd and 7 or 6 is easier to convert than 3rd and 10, or longer. Another thing, where are the easy completions? Week after week, I see schemed up plays where guys are wide open. Everything is coming hard for them. Brady has talked about little margin for error ad nauseam.
November 4th, 2022 at 2:10 pm
It’s because Leftwich is terrible, uncreative, and predictable.
I’ve said this 1000 times but I’ll say it again, if every fan watching knows exactly what play is being called, how on Earth could you think the opposing defense does not?
Want proof? There are clips of the Ravens defense from the game last week saying they know the plays and that we keep running the same exact plays. I will post them in my next comment, hopefully Joe will allow them:
November 4th, 2022 at 2:11 pm
Baltimore defense talking about the lack of creativity on Tampa Bay’s Offense, “It’s the same plays out of different formations, it’s the same plays! Nothing we haven’t seen before”
Ravens Defense later in that game, “let’s make it manageable for us, stop the run on first down”
[Sorry, no links in comments. Google doesn’t like that. But Joe plans on writing a story about this for Saturday. — Joe]
November 4th, 2022 at 2:23 pm
They be who they be man
November 4th, 2022 at 2:36 pm
No worries Joe, just wanted people to see the travesty that is Byron Leftwich playcalling.
November 4th, 2022 at 2:38 pm
Mike Johnson … Bucs have only run the ball 163 times in 8 games; say 20 times a game. That ranks us #32 in the league (last I recall, there are only 32 NFL teams). For all the JBF talk about us running too much on 1st down & not getting diddly squat for it, I’d say that folks are just spouting the party line & not checking the facts for themselves.
Apparently Bowles & Leftwich aren’t into stats, but if they were they’d see pretty quickly where the problem lies. And it’s NOT with running too much on 1st down & not getting anything for it, thus setting up 2nd-and-long. We actually pass far more often than we run on 1st down. We also pass far more often on 3rd down than we run … with abysmal results (our 3rd down conversion rate is only 34.6%), giving us a #25 ranking. Last year we converted on 44.8% of our 3rd down opportunities, giving us a #5 ranking. Personally I think that our 3rd down play calling is a much bigger problem.
November 4th, 2022 at 2:49 pm
DoooshLaRue … ‘I also believe Durable Donnie is an overrated and lazy sack of sh!t.’
Donovan only played one-third of the Dallas game before he got hurt if you remember, and missed the next 2 games. Made it back by Game 4 and has played 100% of the snaps since then.
His arm was really messed up and I surprised he made it back when he did. You see the huge brace he’s been wearing? Can you imagine being an offensive tackle going against guys like Vea and only having 1 good arm to work with to get leverage, etc? Instead of bad-mouthing him Doosh you ought to be thankful that he fought his way back in there as quickly as he did.
November 4th, 2022 at 2:59 pm
A good roster albeit injured cannot overcome inept coaching.
November 4th, 2022 at 4:12 pm
Bring back the Red Pen…….
November 4th, 2022 at 6:00 pm
DR, Bucs run less because they loose yards or have no gain. BL maybe a moron but he isn’t an idiot, if you can’t run you go to the air and cross your fingers. Running more just to run for no gain is the formula for a beat down. Other teams just keep racking up points and the option to play catch up diminishes. What we haven’t seen was a threat of the long ball on 3rd & 2 or 4th & short. BA may have gone to the extreme last season with it but BL continues to run basic off tackles or dives. What I’m saying is because Bucs are forced to play dink & dunk 3rd, 4th & short happens often and BL chooses to run not pass. So many of those runs are on short yardage situations. Bottom line BL is a moron and an idiot.
November 4th, 2022 at 7:34 pm
DR,
I coined the “Durable Donnie” moniker as homage to his one big strength.
The rest of his game is garbage.
He is lazy, overpaid and overrated.
November 4th, 2022 at 7:37 pm
Unbelievable: I just saw that clip… Absolutely sickening to hear. How BL still has a job is beyond me.
November 4th, 2022 at 9:22 pm
“Joe is beginning to realize Bucco Bruce Arians provided more to the Bucs offense the past three seasons than just a red pen.”
Ahh-heem …. DUUUHHHH!!!
November 4th, 2022 at 11:32 pm
DG060 Says:
“Joe, Why can’t you set this website up so we can respond to other fans posts?”
.
.
Wut?
November 5th, 2022 at 5:20 pm
Listn..Some of your writing and grammar have been much better but “loose” is what your pants are when you aren’t wearing a belt, and “lose” is what happens to them if you keep walking.
November 5th, 2022 at 6:26 pm
LOL