Tag: liam coen

Where is Sean Tucker and where has his usage gone?

In recent weeks, Liam Coen and the offense abandoned the run game and have since lost three straight games. 

Early on in the season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were a run-heavy team that controlled time of possession and helped out the passing game. In recent weeks, Liam Coen and the offense abandoned the run game and have since lost three straight games.

Although two of the three losses came to the teams in the Super Bowl last year, that is where the moral victories start and stop.

One major question in the abandoning of the run game is where Sean Tucker has gone. Tucker was the NFC Player of the Week after his performance against the Saints, where he ran for 136 rushing yards, had three receptions for 56 yards, and had two total touchdowns. It seems insane that a player could do that and have just ten carries since then.

In week 10 against the 49ers, Tucker had no snaps played at all, let alone touches. It will be interesting to see how things stand coming out of the Bye Week if he can work his way back into the fold.

5 key takeways from the Bucs 23-20 loss to the 49ers

In a game that was not nearly as close as the scoreboard would indicate, here are 5 key takeaways as the Bucs continue to look for answers.

In what was sort of a midseason battle of attrition of under-performing teams between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers, the Buccaneers once again fell short, this time in regulation as Jake Moody hit a game-winning FG as the clock expired.

In a game that was not nearly as close as the scoreboard would indicate, here are 5 key takeaways as the Buccaneers continue to look for answers following their fourth-straight loss.

The Buccaneers are not built for close games

Close games are traditionally won by out-coaching your opposition. Todd Bowles is unable to do that and has proven it time and time again. Whether it is poor clock management or just simply playing without a killer instinct and playing to win, Bowles is overstaying his welcome among fans. Offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who would be the front-runner to take over the team should the Buccaneers make the unlikely midseason move at head coach, has continued to show flashes of great calling, followed by headscratchers. On the season, the Buccaneers

Bucky Irvin should be RB1 from now on

Of that headscratcher, as mentioned above, decisions would be why the Buccaneers have not named rookie RB Bucky Irving the clear-cut RB1 after routinely out-gaining Rachaad White on running plays. White is dynamic in the passing game; however, splitting nearly 50% of carries every week is less than ideal as Irving is not only the team leader in rushing yards but out-gains White by over a yard per carry, which is a lot considering how close the Buccaneers games have been as of late.

Defense is poorly indescribable

Injuries be damned. Players get hurt weekly, and there is no excuse for how poor this Buccaneers defense is, especially with the number of self-inflicted wounds we see weekly. That falls back on coaching. Bowles continued odd-man substitutions rarely allow for his best players to be on the field at the same time, namely on the defensive line. In last week’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Yaya Diaby, Vita Vea, and Calijah Kancey all saw more than 55% of defensive snaps, which was the highest for all three players all season. Antoine Winfield Jr. has to put 120% effort into every play, not to account for a lack of talent but for a lack of effort from his teammates, which is a recipe for disaster as the season progresses.

The lack of depth at WR should’ve been addressed

The NFL trade deadline came and went, and all the while, the Buccaneers were missing superstar WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. This left Mayfield solely to rely on a young and unproven wide receiver corps, as Jason Licht and the Bucs front office chose to stand pat and not make a move. TE Cade Otton has emerged as Mayfield’s favorite–and most reliable– target over the last several weeks; outside of Otton and the Bucs running backs being utilized in the passing game, it’s become a total crapshoot if and when someone else will step up. Luckily for the Buccaneers, Mayfield continues to toe the line as an outlier in the MVP conversation. Evans will likely return following the bye, which should help open up the offense more.

Bucs playoff hopes dwindling

Per The Athletic, the Buccaneers entered Week 10 with only a 21% chance of making the playoffs, and with another NFC loss to a team in the Wild Card picture, that only makes things harder. Five of the remaining seven games are against fellow NFC teams, making each a must-win bout. As the Bucs enter the bye week, they will look to address some of the problems in hopes of shoring up the defense. In Week 12, the Buccaneers will play against the New York Giants, who have been a mess all season, with the caveat that Bowles has never won a game following a Bye Week.

5 takeaways from the Bucs brutal loss to the Ravens in Week 7

Here are five key takeaways from the Bucs’ 31-41 loss to the Ravens in Week 7.

A quick 10-0 start for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the Baltimore Ravens sent Raymond James Stadium into a frenzy.

However, 34 unanswered points from Lamar Jackson and the Ravens had fans leaving the stadium at the end of the third quarter. While the Buccaneers may have lost the game, they would go on to lose much more as the game went on.

Here are five key takeaways from the Bucs’ 31-41 loss to the Ravens in Week 7.

Consistently inconsistent

Wins are hard to come by in the NFL and are even more challenging to earn when you do not play consistently, which is precisely what this Buccaneers team lacks. On both sides of the ball, through all seven games, it’s hard to determine which Buccaneers team will show up and how many quarters will last.

Wide receiver depth is a glaring hole

When you have the luxury of superstar wide receivers like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, there should never be a discussion about issues at WR for the Buccaneers. A worst-case scenario for the Bucs happened as the team lost both Evans and Godwin on the same night. While Evans reaggravated a hamstring injury, he should miss minimal time, whereas Godwin will likely be done for the remainder of the season.

You cannot replace receivers the caliber of an Evans or a Godwin, but who on the roster will step up and assert themselves as leaders inside the wide receivers room? Baker Mayfield and Sterling Shepard showed a rekindling of their former college teammate relationship in Week 4; however, that has been routinely non-existent since then, leaving a real issue at wide receiver for the Bucs.

Defense is still an issue

This season, the Buccaneers have needed to play nearly perfect offense more often than not, as their defense has been unable to slow down their opponents. For added context, the Bucs defense even allowed the Detroit Lions to control the clock and generate more offensive yards in a winning effort in Week 2.

Sure, they’ve battled injuries, but it’s a recipe for disaster when you force your offense to play mistake-free, and this was on full display for the Buccaneers against the Ravens. Through seven games, the 4-3 Buccaneers defense has allowed opposing offenses to outgain them four times.

Good problem in the running back room

The good news for the Buccaneers is that Rachaad White showed flashes of why he was the clear-cut starting running back coming into the season. This gives the Bucs an embarrassment of riches in the backfield between White, Bucky Irving, and Sean Tucker, the reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Week. As the Bucs will need to do some serious soul-searching, particularly on offense, with the loss of their top two leading receivers, OC Liam Coen may start leaning on the emerging three-headed monster in the backfield.

It all boils down to coaching

The Buccaneers showed they would not give up when they recovered the onside kick with 3:46 remaining in the game. On a drive that would result in a touchdown and bring the Bucs within 10 points as they trailed 31-41, there were no attempts to get out of bounds or throw toward the sideline to stop the clock— they still had all three timeouts, plus a potential of being ahead of the two-minute warning. The following Ravens series was an attempt to run out the clock, with the Bucs defense forcing a punt.

Todd Bowles kept his starters in the game, which was already out of reach with 1:34 remaining and no timeouts remaining. The result was a gruesome injury to Godwin, and the early expectation is that he will not return for the season as his lower left leg was immediately put in an air cast.

When teams are inconsistent, it comes back to coaching. Ironically, this has been a consistent theme among Bucs fans, with their general distaste for Bowles as the team’s head coach. As the Bucs await to hear the prognosis on Evans’s hamstring injury, it will be a tumultuous finish to the second quarter of the season for a Bucs team who have a gauntlet of the Atlanta Falcons, Kansas City Chiefs, and San Francisco 49ers.

Bucs’ Chris Godwin leads NFL in a key receiving catgeories through Week 6

Through six games, the Bucs wide receiver has been on a tear and leads all receivers in the NFL in not just one but multiple key categories.

Having a sure-handed wide receiver like Chris Godwin is a luxury. Through six games, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver has been on a tear and leads all receivers in the NFL in not just one but multiple key categories.

Godwin leads the way for wide receivers with a minimum of 25 targets on the season, catching 84.3% of on-target throws in his direction by quarterback Baker Mayfield, who completes 43-of-51 passes. Cincinnati Bengals superstar wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase trails with an 82.9 catch rate on 10-less targets (41), supplying Mayfield with a 138.3 passer rating when he tosses the ball toward Godwin.

Receiving yards has Godwin positioned with the third-most at 510 behind Houston Texans’ Nico Collins (566) and the Bengals’ Chase (565). Where Godwin begins to set himself apart from the pack is his 335 yards after catch eclipse that of the second-place Chase (268), who is more commonly known as an explosive receiver, by 67. The only slot receiver in the NFL who averages more yards after catch per reception is Green Bay’s Jayden Reed with 8.1 YAC/REC. He also is tied with Chase, Allen Lazard, and fellow Buccaneers Mike Evans to lead the NFL with 5 TD.

Godwin’s chemistry with Mayfield has generated a league-leading 30 receiving first downs through six games. To make things impressive, Godwin is ranked 55th in the league for average depth of target (ADOT) at just 5.2 yards- essentially half (10.3) of what he saw in Dave Canales’ offense last season.

The Texans connection between quarterback CJ Stroud and Collins has generated the second-most receiving first downs on the season with 27, with an ADOT of 12.0- nearly three times that of Godwin.

Currently on pace for a career year with 122 receptions, 1445 yards, and 14 touchdowns, The 28-year old Godwin is picking no better time to produce even higher numbers than what Bucs fans have grown accustomed to, as he is playing in the final year of his three-year contract.

The Bucs offense made history against the Saints in Week 6

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were firing on all cylinders on Sunday against the Saints and were efficient at a historical rate.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were firing on all cylinders on Sunday against the Saints and were efficient at a historic rate. They would end up winning the game 51 to 27, and the road to those 51 points is where history came into play.

Liam Coen and this Bucs offense did something that has never been done in the Super Bowl Era.

The Bucs’ offense, led by Liam Coen and Baker Mayfield, became the first offense to go on the road and pass for 300+ yards and rush for 275+ yards. They also have the past first downs and points scored this season by a team. The team now hopes this can springboard them into a more consistent presence the rest of the year.

Their next test will be against the NFL’s most efficient offense, the Baltimore Ravens. It should be a fun, high-scoring matchup on Monday Night Football’s national stage to show the country they can be one of the best teams and offenses in the NFL.

Baker Mayfield leads the NFL in an interesting stat heading into Week 6

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their offense, led by coordinator Liam Coen, have been fun to watch week to week in 2024.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their offense, led by coordinator Liam Coen, have been fun to watch week to week in 2024. They have had some highs in most weeks but the offensive line and running game have let things down at other times.

The one constant this season has been Baker Mayfield’s near MVP-level play for this Bucs’ offense. Because of that, he leads the NFL in a very interesting stat heading into Week 6 of the season.

PFF has gotten deeper stats from various areas since its inception. One of the areas they track Is how quarterbacks perform against the blitz, and the Bucs’ quarterback leads the NFL in performing against such situations.

That speaks to Mayfield’s ability to process what is coming his way and what Liam Coen is designing for plays. It is a two-way street for success between a quarterback and his coordinator.

It shows how well they have worked together through just six weeks together.

The Bucs’ rushing attack continues to flash but struggling overall

Last year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers saw Rachaad White emerge as one of the best running backs in the NFL, they then drafted another.

Last year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers saw Rachaad White emerge as one of the best running backs in the NFL. The former third-round pick out of Arizona State was a darling of the fantasy football community, and he eventually became one for Buccaneers fans.

Despite his emergence, general manager Jason Licht decided they needed more punch in their backfield. Thus, the team drafts Bucky Irving in the 2024 NFL Draft in April.

The team and offensive coordinator Liam Coen were expected to replicate the success of the team’s rushing attack in 2023 just during this season. Sadly, they have been chasing those goals and haven’t fully achieved them.

Rachaad White and Bucky Irving are the most talented backfield in the NFL right now, but they aren’t playing like it.

Coen and Licht had this picture of being able to take over games, and it just hasn’t happened. In one game, White will showcase his explosiveness; in the next, Irving will show how powerful a runner he is; they have yet to show these abilities in the same game.

Until they can have a complete game, complimenting each other, this offense cannot take the next step needed to be a serious contender.

5 key takeaways from the Bucs overtime loss to the Falcons in Week 5

Here are five key takeaways from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 36-30 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

Now and then, Thursday Night Football puts on a fun and energetic game, and tonight was nothing short of a barnburner. Combining for nearly 800 yards of offense in a game that came down to the last second of regulation as Younghoe Koo hit a game-tying 54-yard FG- if you had no skin in the game, this was one of those games.

Unfortunately for Bucs fans, the Falcons successfully defended their home field, scoring a touchdown on the first drive in overtime. Here are five key takeaways from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 36-30 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

Offense can score with the best in the league

Scoring 30 points in three-of-five games this season, it’s a safe bet that this Buccaneers offense not only can score but also keep up with the league’s best. Ironically, as potent as they have looked, the Bucs offense is in the middle of the pack due to their inability to run the ball effectively. Fast starts in the last two weeks have shown flashes of how easily the Bucs offense can move the ball down the field, and worst case scenario, have the most account long-range kicker in NFL history put three points on the board.

Baker Mayfield is a Top 10 quarterback

Mayfield’s name is all over the place regarding a quarterback power ranking. However, it’s rarely in the Top 10- and it’s time to discuss Mayfield being a Top 10 quarterback in the NFL. Mayfield plays with just the right amount of recklessness, but you can still trust him with the ball during crucial moments. The quarterback has displayed a do-it-all ability to scramble out of the pocket with 42 yards on the ground. Entering Thursday’s game, Mayfield had the fourth-highest passer rating, was second in TD passes, and top six in passing yards.

Rachaad White and Bucky Irving are a severely underrated duo

Running back duos with similar play styles is becoming more popular. In the past, it was a workhorse, a powerful back for early downs, with a pass-catching change-of-pace back for passing downs. As Liam Coen and the Bucs figure out how best to utilize Rachaad White and Bucky Irving, it’s becoming apparent that this tandem fits the mold of what the backfields are becoming in the NFL. As versatile as both White and Irving are, the way they have played the last two weeks, this duo needs to be discussed among the league’s best running back duos.

Defense still needs work

This is a banged-up Buccaneers defense playing against a rival team that game plans for them twice a year and with the importance of divisional games- arguably plans stricter than 11 of the other games they will play this season. The Bucs defense allowed 36 points and a whopping 550 yards. Shootouts will happen, however, since Week 1, opposing offenses have out-gained the Bucs offense because the defense has been unable to play a complete game. Bend but don’t break defense works to keep teams out of the endzone, but it gives up a lot of yards and, in turn, keeps the defense on the field much longer than any of them would like. Not even being one of the top pressure-generating defenses in the league can save them

Todd Bowles needs to step up play-calling

This goes hand-in-hand with the above takeaway. There is no reason for the amount of cushion the secondary gave the Falcons receivers. This aligns with the loss to the Denver Broncos that left many wondering why the defense was playing so soft, especially coming off of a game where they made Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles almost look like a team amid a rebuild. For a defensive mastermind like Bowles, Bucs fans should expect better.

5 key takeaways from the Bucs 33-16 route of the Eagles

This Buccaneers team did just that, stifling Jalen Hurts and the Eagles on defense and easily moving the ball down the field on offense.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered an embarrassing loss last week to the Denver Broncos and needed a bounce-back win in an important game against a conference opponent and playoff powerhouse as the Philadelphia Eagles came to town. This Buccaneers team did just that, stifling Jalen Hurts and the Eagles on defense and easily moving the ball down the field on offense.

Here are five key takeaways from the Buccaneers’ 33-16 route over the Eagles.

1. All gas, no brakes

Beating the Detroit Lions and then losing to the Broncos was a head-scratcher for most if not all, Bucs fans. From the opening snap in Week 3, the Buccaneers looked sluggish and could not get anything going on either side of the ball. After a week-long cry for more energy and effort, the Buccaneers came out in Week 4, firing on all cylinders and never letting up. We often see a team go up big and then play prevent defense to close out the game. This was not the case for the Bucs today, and it showed that this team can dominate games.

2. Buccaneers are capable of dominating games

One thing of note, while the Buccaneers are 3-1 on the season now, they were outplayed by both the Lions and Broncos, as the play-calling (for both offense and defense) was more conservative. The Buccaneers defense gave up 0 net yards in the first quarter for the first time since 2002 in Carolina. In every level of this game, the Buccaneers were able to dominate the Eagles. Putting up 445 yards of offense and allowing just 227 yards while tallying nearly 13 more minutes of possession, there was nothing that the Bucs couldn’t do as they had their way all afternoon.

3. Vita Vea is the engine for the Bucs defense

The Buccaneers defense has so many great players, but it’s extremely noticeable when Vita Vea misses time. Coming into the game, the Eagles were the holders of the NFL’s third-best rushing offense, and while the box score may show that the Buccaneers allowed 113 yards on the ground- 59 of those yards came on one, Saquon Barkley run. Led by Lavonte David’s two sacks, the Buccaneers got to Hurts in the backfield six times on the day, six more times than the defense got to Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix just a week prior.

4. Rushing attack was attacking

Exploiting matchups is always a key to success. While the Bucs ground game has struggled in the beginning of the season, we saw what it was capable of on the legs of Rachaad White in 2023. The Eagles’ defense was ranked 24th in the league, and Liam Coen was able to exploit a defense that had largely been unable to stop the run in its first three games. Against the Broncos, it was predictable what the Bucs offense was going to run based on the personnel on the field. It was a different tune when this team took the field against the Eagles as Coen threw in some wrinkles to his offense. Earlier in the week, Todd Bowles said that Bucky Irving had earned more touches with this play, and saw just that. Both White and Irving each had 10 carries for 49 yards. Was it a barnburner effort with 100+ yards from a running back? No. But that is not typically how this team operates, and it doesn’t appear that it will function outside of a duo-laced backfield.

5. A healthy Sterling Shepard could set this offense ablaze

Former New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard was signed to the Bucs active roster and totaled 3 receptions for 51 yards on 5 targets. If you watched Shepard with the Giants, his availability is the only knock on his game. Adding a healthy Shepard to a team that arguably has the best wide receiver duo in the NFL with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin could be the missing piece on offense, as it could truly turn into a “pick your poison” for opposing defenses. Even more when you add the element of White and Irving being solid pass-catching backs. It will certainly be worth watching how this develops as the season progresses.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield praises Chris Godwin’s hot start to the season

Chris Godwin’s consistency through three games has been praised by his quarterback.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are off to a 2-1 start. Their Week 4 meeting with the Philadelphia Eagles is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

Despite their crushing 26-7 loss to the Denver Broncos last week, the Bucs still have many positives to take away as the first month of the regular season comes to a close. One of those main reasons has been wide receiver Chris Godwin’s incredible start to the 2024 season.

Godwin scored in each of the Bucs’ first three games this season, which is a consistent part of their offense. Quarterback Baker Mayfield alluded to Godwin’s high football IQ.

“The number of years they’ve done it in a row, and Chris is reliable. [You] say it enough – it’s how smart he is, understanding the defense and the coverages, understanding what we’re trying to get done within our own concepts and [he’s] a guy that is all about winning. He’s playing really well, [he] feels good [and] we have to keep him going.”

Mayfield, Godwin, and the rest of the Bucs offense will have a chance to get things back on track this week against a weak Eagles secondary.