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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were expected little after the four-game suspension of Jameis Winston. But two games of the season, the NFL has not yet managed to slow down his attack led by Ryan Fitzpatrick.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2017 was one of the biggest disappointments in the league when they finished only 5-11 despite their elite offensive staff. There were many factors to this, including one of the weakest defensive units, Jameis Winston's shoulder injury and an unresolved offensive line. Expectations were low for those entering the year despite reinvesting in the defense, in part because of Winston's four-game suspension.
Two weeks into the 2018 season with veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick at the helm, and this looks like the potential attack that their staff was hoping to see last year.
The Buccaneers have dominated the league with 405 yards passing, against two elite defenses in 2017. The New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles were completely caught unawares by the offensive attack of Tampa Bay.
After watching the film and retracing Fitzpatrick's attempts, it's not a stroke of luck or a double stroke of luck. I will show three different areas where Buccaneers dominate their competition so far.
Incorporation of air raids
What has really stood out so far is the adaptation of the route by coach Dirk Koetter. Koetter was traditionally Air Coryell fabric, focusing on creating pieces games with vertical routes that can open windows below chip blockers that buy extra time for slow-development games. It worked well in his first season with Winston and the team in 2016, and the franchise was so impressed that they abandoned Lovie Smith to keep Koetter.
But by 2017, the offensive line could not bear the burden, Winston's development was stuck and O.J's additions. Howard and Desean Jackson just did not work. Expectations were set a year too early, but failure forced Koetter to adjust his approach.
The big games were held with ease during the first week, while Fitzpatrick completed four of five passes over 20 yards, including three touchdowns. Instead of forcing these games, however, they were determined by glimpses that Koetter helped to fabricate, and also by dangerous tactics by the Saints.
After having been so successful in the 4-2-5 roster in 2017, the Saints tried to rely heavily on Cover 1 and Cover 3 with Marcus Williams as a lone hero. It was a huge mistake against an attack with as much talent as the Buccaneers, even if they probably did not expect the mix of formations to be launched.
The Air Raid favors the number of receivers in the field to more easily produce readings before and after capture. This includes benefits in number and the elimination of alignment disguises. Short-throw throws also play with Fitzpatrick's desire to quickly return the ball to his first reading, which is more likely to be the correct game using group formations.
What helped put this game on the Eagles is their ability to execute the same offensive principles they showed against the Saints, despite Fitzpatrick reducing his shots to three overall. The Eagles tried to take them off, and he punished them with quick blows.
This is where the mix of Air Raid staples such as platoon alignments works so well with Koetter's willingness to use Coryell's Chip Blockers and Air Route Diagrams.
Week 1, Fitzpatrick had a fantastic week with 12 passes of 11 yards or more, with 15 assists behind the line of scrimmage up to 10 yards. Week 2 was a different use dictated by the defense because he tried 21 passes under 11 meters and only 11 beyond.
This balance was not an option in the past. We thank Koetter for having expanded his game book and players who have already played at a very high level.
Overwhelming Playmakers
The obvious elephant in the room is how talented the receivers are in this team of Buccaneers. Mike Evans destroyed a near-elite Marshon Lattimore during Week 1 and the unit took turns like Ronald Darby, Ken Crawley and Jalen Mills, unable to play in the NFL. This is of course not the case.
Even a simple game like a crossover road that pits O.J. Howard against a linebacker has become a 75-yard touchdown in an instant. The offensive does not have to work very hard despite a non-functional game due to the damage suffered at the beginning of the short passes and the ability of each player, except for Cameron Brate and Adam Humphries.
For example, in the game below, the Buccaneers perform a match-pattern buster with the post-dig combination. Last year, this devastating match took place in a fraction of a second to stay below the road or stay and help, while the bend must continue, or take another route.
The safety of the weak side at the top of the screen is too late to help, and there is simply too much room for the turn to catch up with the difference in speed. The margin of error for Fitzpatrick is also larger than usual due to a large blockage.
The examples of Evans, Chris Godwin, Howard and Jackson did not fail. If the defense plays in the zone, Fitzpatrick quickly recognized it and had plenty of time to tackle the zone attacks. Against the man, he has the advantage whenever the throwing is semi-precise.
Jackson puts so much pressure on the defense with its ability to track the speed and the ball that players who read a match will seriously consider stopping calling pattern matches. His 75-quater to open the match against Philadelphia was similar to the one above, where Malcolm Jenkins incorrectly guesses a search path, and the game is basically there. Mills had no chance to run with Jackson without Jenkins to slow him down.
Fitzmagic
There have been many positive developments for Buccaneers through two games. The offensive line plays radically better in pass protection, often able to resist without significant help from the back or tight ends. And Koetter made up for the difference in talent in the trenches against the Eagles with shorter and faster passes to help Fitzpatrick avoid a collapse under pressure.
Fitzpatrick was also excellent. He can quickly identify errors and is great at first reading. He has been a prominent replacement in the NFL throughout his career because of his ability to play at legitimately high levels before breaking everything.
The key to avoiding another implosion is to clearly define the game of the situation. His third game was staggering as he made 10 of 11 shots in situations of 3rd and 9th place or less, all but one exceeding the first marker. On four attempts of the 3rd and long game, only one passed in front of the marker.
If the defenses can lead him into longer conversion games, the Buccaneers will not trust him, and he will come back to check more despite being a gun player early in the game.
He also avoided the pressure, being fired twice, with one of his own faults. And I considered only eight of his 59 attempts to qualify (by eliminating two free throws) to come under pressure. This pressure rate is unlikely to continue throughout the season.
Winston or Fitzmagic?
The obvious answer here is that the wait is there. Fitzpatrick is good in a clean pocket, but the demons on the field who have followed him throughout his career suggest that this departure is another of his berserker series that he can achieve. Once defenses get deeper into the line and coverage overflows increase, completions will be less easy.
The regression is due to the fact that Fitzpatrick can not maintain his completion rate at 78.7. The question is to know how far he has fallen and whether he will sink into the void like a good relay, but a subtle departure due to turnarounds as he has already made so many stops.
If the Buccaneers believe it, then Winston offers a set of skills that may be useful, but also have limitations. Winston is also imprudent with the ball and does not get the ball out as fast as Fitzpatrick can do it at his best. But it's also time for Winston to show he's a franchise player, so he has to play to prove it.
If Fitzpatrick continues to play well and the Buccaneers decide that Winston is not the guy that they want to represent the future for field and / or off-road reasons, they could then trade back. former world number 1. to choose. Although it is unlikely that they will get much back after two strong quarterback classes and another that could have some meritorious choices among the top five.
In their next four games against the Steelers, Bears, Falcons and Browns, who have been injured, there is enough competition to test the viability of the three separation factors described in this piece.
Sit back and enjoy the Fitzmagic, Buccaneers fans.
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