Getty The Buccaneers offense is getting slammed for being too predictable.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense continues to underachieve, and CBS Sports’ Tony Romo believes there are major flaws in the play-calling from Bruce Arians’ coaching staff. Throughout the Bucs-Chiefs broadcast, Romo consistently remarked about the lack of pre-snap motion as well as play-action calls for Tom Brady to utilize. Romo is voicing what many NFL analysts have complained about as the Buccaneers offense continues to struggle.
“Everything Romo is saying about Brady is on point right now,” The Ringer’s Ryen Russillo pointed out on Twitter. “Arm is not the issue. Saying ‘they line up and read after the snap too much.’ Why would you change everything he was comfortable with in an offense?”
During the Buccaneers-Rams matchup, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky called the team’s offense “stale” and “predictable”.
“Whatever happens for the rest of this game the @Buccaneers offensive scheme is trash,” Orlovsky tweeted. “Stale. Predictable. Stagnant. I was dead wrong-the @Saints are the team to beat in the NFC.”
Romo later praised some of the changes to the Bucs offensive play-calling against the Chiefs noting there were “signs of life.” The former Cowboys quarterback noted the Bucs are starting to add more of the plays from the Patriots offensive system where Brady thrived for so many years.
Arians Shot Down the Idea of Byron Leftwich No Longer Calling Offensive Plays
Arians made it clear that he does not plan to relieve offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich of his play-calling duties. The Buccaneers head coach backed Leftwich’s performance against the Rams and put the blame on the execution.
“I thought he called a good ballgame,” Arians said after the Buccaneers’ loss to the Rams. “We just got to execute better. When guys are open, we got to hit them. We can’t misread coverage. We have to protect a little bit better when we do have guys deep and let him hit that guy instead of having that pressure that cost us an interception. Just, as a collective, everybody’s got to play better.”
Romo Was Criticized for Not Calling Out Brady on Missed Throws
Outkick.com’s Jason Whitlock believes there is more to Romo’s comments than just constructive criticism. Whitlock wonders if Brady mentioned not being comfortable in Arians’ offense during the traditional pre-broadcast interviews with Romo.
“If you read between the lines on Romo all game, Brady told him he doesn’t like Bruce Arians’ offense and that they need to run New England’s offense,” Whitlock said on Twitter. “Romo has been harping on it all game. Brady tossed Arians under the bus.”
Given the talent level on the Bucs’ roster, the play-calling has been disappointing but some of the blame also falls on Brady. Arians received some criticism, but other analysts called out Romo for not being critical of Brady’s accuracy issues against the Chiefs.
Brady once again finished with two interceptions and missed receivers in critical red zone situations. Fox Sports’ Nick Wright noted that Brady deserves his fair share of the blame for the Buccaneers’ recent offensive woes.
“Exact quote from Tony Romo after the egregious overthrow by Brady on 3rd down: ‘This one’s on Mike Evans. Brady throws a bad ball, but…,'” Wright tweeted. “Excited for 3 hours of explanations of how nothing is ever actually Tom Brady’s fault, even the obviously terrible throws!”
Wright added that Brady has received plenty of well-deserved praise throughout his career, but it is also fair to be critical of the legendary quarterback when he is not playing well.
“When things were going well for Tampa, Tom Brady got *all* the credit, up to & including credit for the defense [committing] fewer penalties,” Wright continued. “Now, when things are bad, it’s everyone’s fault but his. Must be nice!”
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