Tristan Wirfs sees the writing on the wall when it comes to how the Bucs' Week 2 matchup vs Lions should play out
When it comes to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense's matchup against the Detroit Lions offense on Sunday: go ahead and prepare yourself for a lot of scores on the home team's side.Now, there's definitely a chance Todd Bowles could coach up one of the best games of his life with mostly depth players on defense, […]
When it comes to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense's matchup against the Detroit Lions offense on Sunday: go ahead and prepare yourself for a lot of scores on the home team's side.
Now, there's definitely a chance Todd Bowles could coach up one of the best games of his life with mostly depth players on defense, but there's a small chance of that happening, at best. It has nothing to do with Bowles' abilities as a head coach and has everything to do with what Ben Johnson and co. do both schematically and physically when they have the ball.
The Bucs defense has been hit hard by injuries after just one week of play. All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr., defensive lineman Calijah Kancey, and reserve cornerback Josh Hayes have already been ruled out ahead of the Lions game. Another reserve cornerback in Bryce Hall was placed on IR earlier in the week and it remains to be seen if starting corner Zyon McCollum and nickelback Tykee Smith play Sunday.
"Zyon [McCollum] has some tests to pass – we’ll see how he is," Bowles told reporters Friday. "… I feel good about him. He’s working hard, he’s just got to pass the tests, which I’m not a part of. We’ll see.”
With all the injuries and the level of opponent in the Lions, the game is squarely on the shoulders of the Bucs offense. Baker Mayfield and co. will have to step up and carry the team on Sunday if Tampa Bay wants any chance at winning this game.
“I think so," Tristan Wirfs told reporters Thursday when asked if he anticipates scoring more in order to help offset the defensive injuries. "I mean, for them too – next man up mentality, but we have to do our part. They’ve held us in a lot of ball games before so now we have to take the burden off them and try to be on the field for as long as we can. Sustain drives [and] you know, give them a break when needed and definitely finish in the end zone, too, to kind of take the pressure off them a little bit.
"We know they’re going to go out and ball out and they expect the same of us. We just have to get after it.”
Wirfs and co. will have to lead the way against the Lions
If the Bucs are going to score points, then the offensive line is going to have to be on point in both the pass and run game. That is already a tough ask when going against the Lions' front seven and starting right tackle Luke Goedeke's absence won't make things any easier. There is some good news in defensive end Marcus Davenport's doubtful status heading into the game, but the Lions get defensive tackle D.J. Reader back this week, which presents its own set of problems.
At the same time, however, the starting quartet of Wirfs, Ben Bredeson, Graham Barton, and Cody Mauch is a solid crew that can certainly hold its own.
That, on top of Mayfield's escapability, Rachaad White in the screen game, and the weapons at WR give the Bucs plenty of ammo to make plays against Aaron Glenn's defense.
"I think it’s an expectation, it’s a standard, it’s what we want to do," offensive coordinator Liam Coen said when asked about the Bucs' potential to be a high-scoring team. "I get pretty frustrated when we have to punt or settle for a field goal, personally, but that’s just all of us being competitors. Games like this – we’re going up in a hostile environment against a very quality opponent – what is the expectation? The expectation is still to continue to put points on the board and score every possession.
"Who knows what that reality looks like every week, week-in and week-out. I think with what we had done in the offseason, that was a standard, that was an expectation for us – to go out and score points and be productive last Sunday.”
Bucs can't let Lions dictate what they want to do on offense
According to Coen, the Lions defense was in base defense most of the night against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1. That's a four defensive lineman, three linebacker, four defensive back personnel set that is best suited for defending the run, although teams can certainly play 4-3 packages in passing situations.
Part of the reason for that, I'm hypothesizing, was because of the Rams' offensive line situation, which was a mess coming into the game and grew into an abject disaster by the time things were over – and they still nearly won the game. The other reason why the Lions went base is because that's what they want their identity to be, this year. More man coverage and more aggression up front. That's why they went out and traded for Carlton Davis III, signed Amik Robertson, and drafted Terrion Arnold.
Obviously Goedeke won't be around, but the Bucs offensive line is in much, much better shape than the Rams' and it's simply a better unit, overall. Therefore, the Lions are probably going to have to change things up against the Bucs, which means running more subpackages/nickel defenses that work in favor of the Bucs' run game.
Speaking of which the Bucs have to get the run game early this week. They can't wait until late in the second half for things to get going. A one-dimensional offense plays right into the Lions' hands and a successful run game can help quiet the crowd to an extent. And, of course, an effective run game opens up the playbook. With the playmakers the Bucs have on offense, a wide-open playbook allows them to hit the Lions with everything they got and that certainly goes a long way in getting off to a fast start, which will be crucial, as well.
"That’s something that we have to prepare for, obviously, where they just said, ‘Hey, we’re going to try to make you one dimensional. We’re going to put base defense on the grass and you’re going to throw it every snap.’", said Coen. "That’s something that we have to have a plan for. That was something that you wished you could have gotten more. You wished they would have played the game in nickel, then Sean [McVay] would have been able to do some more that we would have been able to take from in that game.
"Essentially, they just said, ‘Hey, this is what we’re going to do, and we’re going to dictate the terms of the game.’ That was a little frustrating.”
Mayfield will need to be Superman-like, again
Speaking of Mayfield's escapability and overall game – the Bucs need him to be on. point, again, against the Lions. But especially when it comes to avoiding Aidan Hutchinson and the rest of the Lions pass rush.
Mayfield was pressured on almost a third of his dropbacks in Week 1, which is an above-average rate. Per Pro Football Focus, he was responsible for just 12.5% of the pressure he faced – currently 13th out of 32 starting quarterbacks in Week 1. Meaning, the vast majority of Mayfield's pressures came from the offensive line or elsewhere, with the most coming from the center and right guard positions (25%).
As we saw last week, Mayfield was only taken down once over the course of the 11 total pressures. His pressure-to-sack rate is just 9.1% per PFF and that's tied for fourth-lowest among starting quarterbacks. He was able to escape sacks on several occasions and those misses kept drives alive, some leading to points on the board. Specifically, Mayfield recorded 21-yards off three scrambles and then who can forget the falling, side-armed completion to White that looked just like a completion Patrick Mahomes would make?
The Bucs need another performance akin to Mayfield's Week 1 showing, which won him the FedEx Air Player of the Week award. He's been locked in all offseason and that really benefited him in the season-opener. The next step is making it happen, on the road, against a Super Bowl contender.
