Buccaneers Week Four Takeaways

It was another week and another loss for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They now drop to 0-4 after they fell 17-14 to the Green Bay Packers. At this point, the season is circling the drain.

There was a lot to talk about with this game. An undrafted rookie quarterback, an impactful injury and a surprising amount of things that I thought went well. Here is my Buccaneers week four take aways.

Jalon Daniels

I actually thought Daniels played admirably in this game. The physical tools were on display, both in terms of his arm strength and his ability to run. His 55 rushing yards were an impactful part of this Bucs offense.

However, there were avoidable mistakes that ultimately cost the team the win. The two interceptions, especially the second one, were nothing special. Just defenders reading Daniels eyes and him not seeing those defenders.

Daniels also failed to get the protections set. There were times that the Packers sent more blitzers than the Bucs had blockers. It’s the quarterback’s job to see this and get the ball out quickly or change the play. Maybe Daniels didn’t have that freedom or responsibility, but that should normally be the quarterback’s responsibility. 

Not related to Daniels specifically, but it didn’t really feel like there was any significant level of drop off in quarterback play in this game. Even with Daniels playing fairly well in a lot of ways, that is a major indictment of the level of quarterback play that we have seen from Baker Mayfield this season. 

The Offensive Line Thing

I was surprised when I saw people complaining about the offensive line in this game. Start to finish, I thought they did a good job. So why did so many feel like they didn’t?

We did see Daniels have to scramble a few times, some necessary and some not. We also saw some pressure get home with some of that previously mentioned as a protection issue. I believe that is a factor in people believing that this offensive line played worse than it did.

It’s also important to note that the Bucs have had a weak link on the line this year in Ben Bredeson. He has not played well overall and has caused problems for those around him. With a consistent weak link, that magnifies the other times when a different player makes a mistake because it feels like they keep happening. 

Overall, I feel good about most of the pieces on this offensive line and I believe they are close to putting it all together. 

Zac Robinson’s Playcalling

I had two takeaways with Robinson yesterday. The first was positive in that I thought he had a gameplan in place that made sense for Daniels. There were a lot of quarterback run options and quick hitting passes that took pressure off him reading a defense. 

I also came away with another week of the offense feeling predictable. More and more it feels like Robinson gets stuck in calls that he feels are working. A lack of situational football and ability to adjust.

I’ve also come to believe that Robinson is flexible in his design to a fault. While I like that he adjusts his plan week to week, it’s also kind of left the Bucs without a strength to hang their hat on. They have become a jack of all trades and a master of none.

I’m a believer that elite strengths win championships. Being able to impose your will and the other team just can’t do much about it. The Bucs are very much not designed to be that type of team right now.

Rookie Mistakes

Sunday was a growing pains day for some of the key Buccaneers rookies. Josiah Trotter missed an assignment that led to a long Packers run. This really hurt considering that Green Bay has been terrible running the football this year.

Keionte Scott was also the victim of some quick hitting passes, including the touchdown to Matthew Golden. It felt like the Packers were targeting Scott and he took a few lumps in this game. I won’t go as far as to say that they were bad, but they did have rookie moments that helped give a spark to Green Bay.