The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got off to a rough start this season, going 2-6 after falling to the Seattle Seahawks in overtime back in Week 9. That game marked the last in a five-game stretch away from home for the Bucs, which also saw them travel to cities like Los Angeles and London during that time.
But the team turned it around in the second half, finishing the year 7-9. It was an up-and-down first year for head coach Bruce Arians, who came out of retirement to coach this Bucs squad, but it’s clear this team is heading in the right direction.
So, just how big of an impact did Arians’ return have on the league? According to ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, not much. In his rankings of the 30 best and worst deals and trades of 2019, Barnwell had Arians’ return at No. 24, giving his impact on the league a D+ grade.
Here’s Barnwell’s reasoning:
“The Cardinals could have stood in Arians’ way and demanded a more significant return for letting their former coach out of retirement, but they ended up agreeing to swap late-round picks. Neither of the players drafted took a regular-season snap. Arians’ Bucs improved as expected, but those upgrades were all on defense, where Tampa Bay improved from 32nd in defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA) to fifth. Arians’ offense actually fell from 12th in DVOA to 21st, and while Jameis Winston became the first quarterback with 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in NFL history, he also became the first quarterback with 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in NFL history.”
I’m not sure why Barnwell repeats that Winston stat twice. He failed to mention that Winston also became just the eighth quarterback in NFL history to throw for 5,000 yards in a season, and the first Bucs quarterback to do so. Give credit where credit is due.
Back to that Arians grade, though. While the coach, and Bucs, ultimately didn’t have much of an affect on the NFL this year, there’s no question that the two-time NFL Coach of the Year has brought a winning swagger to Tampa Bay that’s been missing in years past. Also, he was able to convince Todd Bowles to join his staff. That, in itself, deserves an A+.
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