Buccaneers' big gamble is already paying off
Coming into the season, most of the talk surrounding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was the Tom Brady-to-Baker Mayfield transition, and rightfully so. But, those who pay close attention to the team knew the decision to move stud right tackle Tristan Wirfs over to left tackle and Luke Goedeke from guard to right tackle was just […]
Coming into the season, most of the talk surrounding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was the Tom Brady-to-Baker Mayfield transition, and rightfully so.
But, those who pay close attention to the team knew the decision to move stud right tackle Tristan Wirfs over to left tackle and Luke Goedeke from guard to right tackle was just as important.
Wirfs is undoubtedly a top-3 tackle in the game. Moving an elite player like that to a completely new different position in left tackle was a huge risk on the Bucs' part, but, they knew what kind of player they had in Wirfs. Therefore, they were comfortable in their decision-making, even if it was a big gamble.
That opened the door for the complete wildcard that was Goedeke to move to right tackle. Sure, he played tackle in college. A very poor rookie season cast a lot of doubt on his abilities as an NFL player, however, leaving many to question the whole plan in place.
A month into the season, everything looks to be just fine. Both players are playing at a high level, with Wirfs looking like his elite self on the left side.
But it's Goedeke's improvement -and play- that should have both the Bucs and their fans excited moving forward.
“Luke has played well the last four games, it wasn’t just this game," Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles told reporters Monday. "‘Cam’ [Jordan] is a great player, obviously. Luke is a lot more comfortable at right tackle. He’s at home now, he understands it, he loves the scheme, [and] he works [as] hard as anybody. Him and Tristan [Wirfs] worked out together all summer. He’s holding his own, he’s playing well, you don’t notice him because he’s not giving up many plays, and he’s doing a heck of a job for us.”
Per Pro Football Focus, Wirfs' overall blocking grade of 83.0 is the second-highest grade among all tackles with at least 240 blocking snaps on the season. Goedeke comes in at No. 18 out of the 41 eligible players with an overall grade of 70.0, but he's the eighth-highest graded right tackle.
Wirfs is tied with Detroit Lions right tackle Penei Sewell for the fewest pressures allowed (2), so far this year and Goedeke is tied for the eighth-fewest with six. Things get even better when examining through the lens of pressures allowed while in a true pass set: Wirfs remains tied for the league lead with one pressure allowed, while Goedeke is sixth with three pressures allowed. Both players are in the top-12 of PFF"s pass blocking efficiency metric and only Goedeke has allowed a sack, so far.
Both players have been pretty good in the run game, too. Goedeke's return to a zone-heavy scheme is helping him and it shows. What makes his first four weeks even more impressive is he's been lined up next to a rookie in Cody Mauch. That's no disrespect to Mauch – we just know how tough life can be for a first-year player starting in the trenches and we know how easily an offensive lineman's running mate can affect the effectiveness of the guy next to him.
“Luke has been fantastic," said offensive coordinator Dave Canales. "I think his raw power really shows up. Fundamentally, obviously he and Tristan [Wirfs] are still working through being on those edges and playing these different elite pass rushers week in and week out. In the run game, he’s been fantastic. He’s fast on the backside, he’s strong at the point of attack and then his pass protection has been good. [I am] really excited about Luke.”
The Bucs' decision to move both players around is working and it's a big reason why the offense has been able to get off to a decent start. Sure, there is plenty to improve and the Bucs are going to work on that stuff during the bye, but it's hard to be anything encouraged for both guys moving forward.
