If you’re wondering what’s going on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive play-calling, you’re not the only one.
Harold Goodwin, the Bucs’ assistant head coach and run game coordinator, doesn’t have a lot of answers for some of the play-calling decisions that are happening on game day this year.
When asked about one of the team’s most foundational run plays, 22/23 Double, Goodwin made it clear that it’s up to offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich to call it on Sundays.
“It’s in there. I can’t control what the play-caller calls,” Goodwin told Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “But it’s in there every week. It’s basically our base play. You start with that to create everything you do in the run game, from play-action passes to what we’re doing running-wise.”
“We have it in there,” Goodwin continued. “We have a lot of runs. It’s just whether we get to them or not. It’s how the play-caller is feeling. It’s my favorite play by far because we’ve have a lot of success with it. It just depends on whether Byron is feeling like calling it that day or not. I can’t control that.”
That sure sounds like a coach who wishes Leftwich would indeed call that play more often, especially in situations like the Bucs saw last Thursday night against the Baltimore Ravens. Despite leading at halftime thanks to an opening touchdown drive that featured plenty of success on the ground, Tampa Bay ran the ball just 10 times after that first possession.
It’ll be interesting to see if things change on Sunday, as the Bucs look to avoid a four-game losing streak against the Los Angeles Rams.
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