Buccaneers get very positive sign of change in preseason trial
2023 is going to be a hard year for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Anyone that says otherwise is very wrong. A lot of new faces and a much cheaper roster to deal with a mountain of dead cap space is going to be difficult to navigate, but great coaching has a way of overcoming a […]
2023 is going to be a hard year for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Anyone that says otherwise is very wrong.
A lot of new faces and a much cheaper roster to deal with a mountain of dead cap space is going to be difficult to navigate, but great coaching has a way of overcoming a lot of issues that could be based on a lack of roster talent.
Enter offensive coordinator Dave Canales and an offensive scheme that should be miles better than the one that Tom Brady and Byron Leftwich put on the field last year.
Tampa's offense last year was….horrific. The lack of risking it for the biscuit was obvious from the start of the year, and Todd Bowles' and Leftwich's conservative scheme made one of the most fun offenses in the NFL one of the worst.
The scheme was downright horrific for the vast majority of the season, and the departure of Byron Leftwich seemed obvious from one of the first games last year.
With Leftwich gone, the difficult job of righting the ship now comes down to Dave Canales, and it is hard to state enough just how hard this job will be.
Canales inherits some massive question marks on offensive line, at quarterback, running back, and at head coach. This isn't exactly the best spot for a first-time play-caller, but Canales is already making positive changes to the offense that show he is up for the task.
One of the largest complaints amongst analysts and fans alike on Bucs Twitter last year was the lack of play-action. Tampa was dominant in this element of the passing attack, yet they used it at the lowest rate in the NFL last season.
Even the fans knew just how silly this was for a team that had hopes of making it back to the Super Bowl.
Now, with Canales at the helm and Leftwich nowhere to be seen, the Bucs have made a complete 180 in their approach, and the benefits of using the highest play-action rate in the preseason was evident when the starters were on the field.
Baker Mayfield, a career journeyman and mediocre quarterback by most accounts, looked good in the system. With enough of a sample size to seem Mayfield was playing some high-quality football that will complement Tampa's defense extremely well, and even the offense with lesser quarterbacks like Kyle Trask looked pretty good.
Play-action is a tool in the modern NFL, something Leftwich never seemed to understand. Perhaps that is the reason why he still doesn't have a job and isn't likely to see a change in that area for a while.
Seriously, how can someone get to that level and not recognize the strength of such a simple philosophy? Someone who can't figure out shouldn't ever come back to the league.
Canales has, and if he keeps calling plays like this and lets the pass open up the run, the Buccaneers are going to get better on offense this year (including their rushing attack), even if the pieces have taken a step back.
Buccaneers fire OC Byron Leftwich
Per Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles fired offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich on Thursday. It's a move that was widely expected, especially after Pewter Report's Scott Reynolds reported Leftwich's eventual firing on Tuesday. Leftwich helped the Buccaneers win Super Bowl LVI and his offense was one of the league's […]
