Buccaneers: Four Areas of Concern Heading into the Regular Season

TOUCHDOWNS IN THE RED ZONE

The Buccaneers have struggled at scoring touchdowns in the red zone finishing in the bottom half of the league for the last three straight seasons, and actually getting worse each of the last three seasons (2016 – 51.85%, 20th, 2015 – 52.94%, 22nd, 2014 – 53.85%, 17th).

As a comparison, the four remaining playoff teams (conference championship games) each of the last three seasons had an average red zone touchdown percentage during the regular season of 61.82% (2016), 60.20% (2015), and 56.52% (2014) with the Super Bowl participants having a total of 59.67%.

Now I’m not saying that just having a high percentage of red zone drives ending in touchdowns is the only thing necessary to be a playoff team, but it does help unless you have a lights out defense like the 2015 Denver Broncos who only scored on 46.15% of their red zone drives.

Last season the Buccaneers who did have a fairly good defense at times during the season but never had a lights out defense so when they got to the red zone 54 times they needed to convert more than they did which was only 28 times.

Back to the preseason, the Buccaneers didn’t show any improvement as a team in the red zone scoring touchdowns on only three out of nine drives (33%), with Winston and the starters in he completed three of ten pass attempts with an interception and no touchdowns in the red zone.

I know it’s the preseason and coaches don’t normally show their full playbook and The PewterPlank’s own James Yarcho thinks this will not be an issue, but still with the Buccaneers history of trouble scoring touchdowns in the red zone the last few season, and the added weapons this off season including a 6’6” tight end in O.J. Howard it is still alarming that they didn’t convert on more red zone attempts during this preseason.